The Eastside’s business community is creative, vital, and well-established. But which individuals and companies are doing the most to create such a vibrant economic environment? 425 Business set out to answer that question by creating the IDEA Awards, which honor and recognize the Eastside business community’s Innovation, Distinction, Excellence, and Achievement.
Nominations for the IDEA Awards were gathered via online submissions and collected from March through June. The winners were then selected by a panel of judges consisting of members of our editorial team and our advisory board, which is made up of several Eastside business leaders across various sectors. Finally, our staff hit the road to deliver the IDEA Award light bulb trophies (that actually light up) to the winners.
- Startup of the Year: CoBuy
- Best Office Space: Google with facilities manager Federico Olmedo
- Best Legacy Business: Lil’ Jon Restaurant with Parker Sjolander
- Most Philanthropic: Microsoft with Gemma Aronchick from Microsoft’s Philanthropies Team
- Best Marketing Campaign: The Bellevue Collection’s Snowflake Lane with Kemper Freeman Jr. and Jennifer Leavitt
- CEO of the Year: Nick Huzar, OfferUp
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Rajeev Dutt, Dimensional Mechanics
Learn more about this year’s winners and finalists in the December issue of 425 Business magazine and online. Nominations for the 2018 IDEA Awards will be open online at 425business.com in the spring of 2018.