From the editor: A 'Hot Ticket' for young companies

I get lots of invites to award events -- so many that it can be hard to tell how much credence to give any of them. We live in an age when everyone is a winner, right?

Still, businesspeople tend to be a competitive lot. No matter what the stakes, people like to be recognized.

I was reminded of that essential truth last week when I stopped by the Northern Virginia Technology Council's "Hot Ticket" awards event, a kind of un-awards ceremony held around the swimming pool at president and chief executive Bobbie G. Kilberg's house in McLean. The dress code for such an august event: Hawaiian casual.

Casual it was until the awards were handed out, and it was impossible to miss the plastic smiles on the faces of some of the losers.

I asked one attendee why anyone would care about winning an award for, say, the "hottest" venture deal. For a young company, I was told, it's important to establish credibility in the marketplace. "Customers are trying to decide whether they can do business with you." The backing from an important investor can help. So can a big name on the executive team. Awards from reputable groups can also provide a seal of approval.

In other words, awards matter. So without further ado, Tuesday night's winners included:

Hottest bootstrap: McLean's CustomInk.com, which custom-makes T-shirts from graphics and designs customers upload or make on the company's Web site.

Hottest international company: BroadSoft, a Gathersburg provider of Internet voice, video and data services that recently went public.

Hottest management team: Zenoss, an Annapolis firm that provides information technology management services.

Hottest emerging government contractor: Chantilly-based Agilex Technologies, a professional services firm.

Hottest venture capital deal: LivingSocial, a D.C.-based provider of online coupons.

Hottest exit: National Interest Security, a Fairfax IT consultancy that was bought by IBM.

There were no long-winded speeches, but there was one poignant moment when Matt Howard, founder and chief executive of a Reston company called ZoomSafer, came up to collect his plaque for the "hottest social buzz."

ZoomSafer makes software that locks a cellphone's keypad so it cannot be used for texting or e-mailing when a car is in motion. Howard told his audience that the inspiration for the company came in 2008 after he decided to send a text message while driving. He glanced down for just a moment, only to look up and see his car strike and nearly kill a 9-year-old boy on a bike.

That got the attention of a BlackBerry- and iPhone-loving crowd.

-- Dan Beyers