James Toomey, the Deloitte partner who leads the programme, points out that there are a wide range of benefits for companies who take part in the awards.

“It gives companies an impartial, third-party ranking, a benchmark of where they stand in the Irish tech sector,” adds James.

“It’s also a great way to raise the profile of the company. This can be particularly helpful for younger businesses, who may not have had enough time to develop a strong national or international profile yet.”

Andrea agrees, “For me, the most meaningful part was knowing it helped more businesses find us. That means more founders getting the funding they need to grow – and that’s why we do what we do. As a female founder, it was also powerful to be part of a platform that celebrates bold, high-growth companies.”

An important innovation, says James, is the recent creation of an Alumni Group, which gives past participants the opportunity to network easily and bounce off each other across a wide variety of topics. “Most of them are facing the same challenges in terms of scaling or breaking into specific markets, so it’s inevitable that someone in the network will have been down that path before.”