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The Has Offers team celebrates their big win in the Bootstrapper of the Year category last year.

It’s that time of year again. Our very own version of the Oscars — The GeekWire Awards — are taking place May 9th at the fabulous EMP in Seattle. This is one of our favorite events of the year, recognizing some of the most important achievements of innovators and entrepreneurs in the Northwest.

gwawardsThis year, the awards are going to be bigger and better than ever. We’ve added new categories — including Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Game of the Year and Geekiest Office Space. And we’re bringing back some old favorites — Startup CEO of the Year, Bootstrapper of the Year and Next Tech Titan.  We are also opening the competition to a larger field, expanding the geographic boundaries for nominations to include the greater Northwest. (Time to bring it Portland, Vancouver, B.C. and Spokane).

Today, we’re kicking off nominations in the 14 categories (see nomination form below) and opening early-bird ticket sales. (Make sure to get your tickets as we expect a sell out).

As in years past, there are four key steps in the awards process.
1) Today, we will begin soliciting nominations from the community in 14 categories.
2) Starting April 9, we will call on our panel of expert judges to help determine the five finalists in each category.
3) Those finalists will be presented to the community to select winners via voting on GeekWire from April 16-30.
4) Winners announced on May 9th. Party ensues.

The awards — originally started by Seattle entrepreneur Marcelo Calbucci — are in their 5th year now. Past winners have included Tableau Software, Z2Live, PopCap Games, angel investor Andy Sack, Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh and many others.

GeekWire is proud to be stewards of this great tech tradition. Come join us on May 9th, and use the form below to submit your nominations.

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