Do you have a high IQ (Innovation Quotient)?
Innovation drives the Boulder Valley & Northern Colorado. BizWest's IQ Awards honors the "Innovation Quotient" among companies and organizations based in Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer, and Weld counties, the Denver-Boulder corridor, and local divisions of national/international companies in the region that are instrumental to innovation.
IQ Awards Application Process
IQ Awards for Innovative Products or Services — IQ Awards honor products and services that have demonstrated a high degree of innovation and strong market potential. Up to seven honorees will be named for innovative products or services, broken down into categories.
- Judges are looking for products or services that are truly “innovative” — entries that stand out from the crowd, have very creative ideas and are perhaps even unique.
- Judges review innovations from new companies and those already successfully doing business.
- The idea should be one that can lead to a “sustainable” successful business. For example, one is not just a design on a napkin but a product or service with the best potential to help build or grow a successful company.
- The product or service should have been introduced to the marketplace no earlier than January 1, 2024, or at least in a testing or beta situation where actual or potential customers are already using it.
- The product or service doesn’t have to have made money, but it must show a potential for profitability and survival of the business.
- Priority will be given to clever, unique, and creative ideas, not to the "slickness" of marketing materials.
- A company that has won a previous IQ Award can win again for an entirely new product or service.
IQ Awards Criteria:
- All products or services must be submitted by companies based in Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer, or Weld counties, in the Denver/Boulder corridor, or local divisions of national/international companies that were instrumental in the innovation.
- IQ Awards honor innovative ideas, not necessarily the company or person who came up with the innovation.
- Companies may send a packet of additional product or service materials (including brochure, video, or a product sample) and a more detailed market description to inform the judges better.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Jan. 31, 2026
Please help us honor the most innovative products or services in our region!