The Hot 40 and Hot 50 for 2016-17: Nominations open for annual Advanced Bioeconomy rankings

Who will be #1 – who will get your vote? Photo Voting expanded – special bonus votes for most original artwork.

In Florida, The Digest announced the official opening of nominations for the 50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy and the 40 Hottest Early-Stage Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy. Nominate companies here.

Voting Rules

Voting will be open to all registered subscribers of The Digest and invited selectors; this year, votes may also be cast via Social Voting, which includes both Facebook voting and Instagram Photo Voting.

This year, votes will be weighted as follows: 50% based on votes received from the invited Panel of Selectors; 25 percent based on votes received from registered subscribers of The Digest, and 25 percent based on Social Votes.

The Big Change

This year, owing to the large number of new companies in the field, and growing fast, we are changing the Hot 40 criteria from “Small Company” to “Early-Stage Company” and making that criteria based on company formation in the past 7 years, or since July 29, 2009.

Nominations — You Gotta Be in It, To Win It

Each company or organization that receives a nomination will be included on the ballot, along with last years’ Hot 50, Hot 30 and Hot 40 recipeints. Nominations will remain open through September 2nd at 5pm ET.

Note: No company has yet made it into the Rankings as a write-in. So, nomination is virtually essential for a good result — “you have to be in it to win it,’ so make sure you nominate the companies you are a fan of.

Nominate companies here.

Company eligibility

Any company engaged in the advanced bioeconomy as a producer, supplier, investor or partner is eligible for the Hot 40 and Hot 50. To be eligible for the Hot 40, a company must have been formed since July 29, 2009.

Voting period

For the hot 40, voting will begin September 6th and continue through October 21st.

For the hot 50, voting will begin September 6th and continue through January 27th, 2017 at 5pm ET.

Announcement of Hot 40 results at ABLCNext in San Francisco – November 3, 2016 and gala event.

The Hot 40 rankings will be announced at ABLC-Next in San Francisco on November 3, 2015 at 6pm PT, and we will honor the companies, their suppliers, industrial partners, investors and team at the annual Hot Party in San Francisco.

Announcement of Hot 50 results at ABLC in Washington, DC – March 2017 and gala event.

Hot 50 rankings will be announced at ABLC in Washington DC on March 1, 2017 at 6pm ET, and we will honor the companies, their suppliers, industrial partners, investors and team at the annual Hot Party in Washington DC.

Selector balloting

Official Selectors will receive their official Hot 40 ballots from The Digest during the week of September 7th, 2015 and must return them via email no later than 5pm ET, Friday, October 21st, 2016.

Selectors will receive their official Hot 50 ballots from The Digest during the week of December 7th, 2015 and must return them via email no later than 5pm ET, Friday, January 27th, 2017.

Selectors may cast one ballot in each each ranking competition (Hot 40 and Hot 50).

Subscriber balloting

For the Hot 40, subscribers will receive a link to their official ballot in each e-mail newsletter issue of The Digest published between September 2 and October 21, 2016.

For the Hot 50, subscribers will receive a link to their official ballot in each e-mail newsletter issue of The Digest published between September 2, 2016 and January 27, 2017.

Subscribers may cast one ballot in each each ranking competition (Hot 40 and Hot 50).

Social Voting

This year, you may submit social votes in support of your candidate company, either via our Facebook page (text votes), or Instagram (photo votes). To post your vote, simply tag any post on your account with the phase “Digest Hot 50” or “Digest Hot 40” in any post on your own Facebook account. Or submit a photo tagged “Digest Hot 50” or “Digest Hot 40” on your Instagram account.

Each social text vote will count as one note, and each Photo Vote will count as five votes.

The photo must be an original creative work — substantially made for the competition — and must contain the name of the company you are voting for and the words “Hot 50” or “Hot 30”. Repetitive photos (e.g. a photo of every employee in the company, holding a “Hot 50” sign), will not be counted.  The Digest retains the right to reject any photo on the grounds of lack of originality — e.g. repetitive photos for the same company, images that are from the public domain simply with a “Hot 40” or “Hot 50” inserted. Images from the public domain can be used if they are used as a springboard for an original creative effort representing an original idea.

Hot 40 Photo Votes will be accepted between August 31st 2015 and October 16, 2015 at 5pm ET. Each Photo Vote will count as five votes.

Hot 50 Photo Votes will be accepted between August 31st 2015 and January 15th, 2016 at 5pm ET. Each Photo Vote will count as five votes.

Special bonus votes for Photo Voting

The most original PhotoVotes of the Week will count for 250 votes — the Digest will determine the number of awards given each week, based on the flow and quality of submissions.

The Digest reserves the right to accept Social Votes on the grounds of voting fairness and taste — Each photo submitted will count five votes towards a company’s totals.

Write-in votes

All companies that registered for the Hot 50 and Hot 40 Rankings are included in the Official Ballot, but if there is a deserving company that did not register for the Official Ballot, voters are welcome to cast a write-in vote for that company.

Voting criteria

Voters may judge for themselves what makes a company “hot”.

In our view, we believe that “hot” represents an ideal blend of visibility and credibility. Companies that are substantive but unknown may be credible, but they are not hot. Likewise, companies that are widely-known but hyped are visible, but not hot. Hot is not the same as “best” – nor is it the same as “popular” – and the Rankings are neither intended to be a popularity contest nor a quality rating system.

Prohibited voting practices

Voters may not attempt to spam the ballot box through deceptive practices, nor may competing companies organize spam balloting efforts. The Digest reserves the right to reject any ballot it deems to be the product of a spamming campaign — or to cancel all ballots from that voter, or remove a company from the competition — and such a determination will be made in the Digest’s sole discretion, and its decision is final.

Prohibited voting practices include but are not limited to: creating multiple digital accounts in order to submit multiple ballots; using faked or borrowed digital accounts to submit multiple ballots in violation of daily ballot restrictions; or encouraging potential voters to create, borrow to otherwise use multiple digital accounts in order to submit multiple ballots.

In general, any practice designed to prevent a fair ballot is prohibited, and may result in the suspension of a company from the Rankings or the cancellation of any and all ballots which the Digest, in its sole discretion, deems to be tainted.

Permitted voting practices

Companies or individuals may exhort colleagues, friends or the general public to vote for a deserving company – campaigning for a Hot 40 or 50 ranking is not prohibited so long as the voting itself is fair and ethical. Voters are permitted to vote for companies they are personally, directly or indirectly, affiliated with.