Entrepreneur of the Year
Celebrating NH’s game-changing leaders
The NH Tech Alliance has recognized its Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) since 1987, honoring visionary entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and business success while making a significant impact on New Hampshire’s technology and innovation ecosystem.
The annual Entrepreneur of the Year award is presented at the Innovation Summit, where the state’s business and technology community gathers to celebrate innovation, achievement, and economic growth.
Nominations
June – July, 2026
The short nomination form can be submitted by the entrepreneur or another person.
We will contact nominees about next steps in August. The finalists will fill out a more detailed application at that time.
Eligibility
In order to meet eligibility, nominees must be a founder, owner or manager of a New Hampshire-based business who successfully organized, developed or managed a technology-based concept into a viable product or service. An application can also be submitted for two or more people (e.g., co-founders of a company).
The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, or a subsidiary or division thereof, based in NH.
To meet the high technology requirement of the competition, the Applicant’s business must develop, manufacture or distribute a commercially successful technology-based product or service. To be eligible to receive an award, the Applicant must be an owner/manager who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company and an active member of top management.
The Applicant’s company must be at least two years old. If the company is publicly held, the Applicant must be an active member of top management.
Factors considered in judging are around risk, innovation, growth, competition, profitability and employment.
The Process
A talented team of judges that often includes past winners carefully reviews the applications. A winner(s) is announced and celebrated at the annual Innovation Summit.
View the list of past recipients
