A new, improved AVCJ Awards

We were faced with a choice: expand horizontally, adding other country awards to our existing China and India offering; or expand the flagship Asian awards vertically, to include a wider variety of fundraising and investment categories. We have chosen the latter approach. It is our view that the industry is not yet ready for the full array of geographical awards; as it stands, certain sub-regional markets that lack sufficient depth. We will revisit this position in time.

As for 2014, we are proud to announce a larger AVCJ Asia Awards. There will not be categories for different geographies, but categories that acknowledge the quality work done across the region by firms of different sizes. No more will the $400 million single-country growth fund be pitted against the multi-billion-dollar pan-regional buyout vehicle for Fundraising of the Year; there are separate categories for venture capital, mid cap (below $1 billion) and large cap (above $1 billion).

We are taking the same approach for investments (venture capital; mid cap, below $100 million in enterprise value; large cap, above $100 million) and liquidity events (IPO; mid cap exit, below $200 million in enterprise value; large cap, above $200 million). 

Two things will remain unchanged. First, the AVCJ Awards will be limited in number; there are no plans to offer prizes across 50 categories. This was also one of several factors considered in deciding against introducing categories for service providers.

Second, the judging process will continue to reflect the combined views of the private equity and venture capital community, our panel of industry experts, and the AVCJ Editorial Board (in that order of precedence). This may invite questions about transparency. However, we would counter that a completely open vote is a reflection of basic popularity, name recognition and electioneering rather than quality.

We take steps to curb vote-packing - voters must register and only those representing members of the PE and VC community are considered, while the number of votes that can be cast by representative of a single firm is limited - but it is difficult to mitigate the practice completely. Our preferred approach is to rely on wise heads - our judging panel - as a modifying factor.

Nominations for the AVCJ Awards are now open and will remain so until September 30. For more information and to submit nominations, please go to: www.avcjforum.com/static/avcj-awards. As always, we welcome any feedback on the awards process.

THE CATEGORIES

• Fundraising of the Year - Venture Capital
• Fundraising of the Year - Mid Cap
• Fundraising of the Year - Large Cap
• Deal of the Year - Venture Capital
• Deal of the Year - Mid Cap
• Deal of the Year - Large Cap
• Exit of the Year - IPO
• Exit of the Year - Mid Cap
• Exit of the Year - Large Cap
• Venture Capital Professional of the Year
• Private Equity Professional of the Year
• Operational Value Add Award
• Firm of the Year
• AVCJ Special Achievement Award

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• Topics
• Performance
• AVCJ Awards
• Performance