NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Shorty Awards celebrated its milestone anniversary at a live event in New York City on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023. The internet’s preeminent annual awards program announced the winners and honorees of the 15th Annual Shorty Awards in 148 categories, including brands, agencies, non-profits and independent creators. Additionally, a new $100,000 fund for creators was announced in partnership with Wave, the one-stop money management solution for small business owners.
The winners and honorees of this year’s Shorty Awards include brands such as Northrop Grumman, W Hotels, OMD USA, Paramount, FCB, dentsu, Nickelodeon, NFL, Smile Train, Whalar, Day One Agency, Observatory, Jay Shetty, Crooked Media, Expedia, Fiverr, and more. View the full list of winners and honorees here.
The Elevate Creatives Fund is aimed at providing a financial boost to creators looking to grow sustainable businesses. The initial fund of $100,000 will be distributed among five recipients – selected based on the merit of their work, creative aspirations and contribution to their communities. Recipients will also receive personalized bookkeeping and accounting coaching from Wave’s in-house experts. Applications are open between now and September 15th on the Shorty Awards’ website. The recipients will be announced in November 2023.
“The Creator Economy is booming, but creators have needs that aren’t being met. They don’t necessarily have traditional cash flow and may rely on multiple revenue streams to earn a living, making it challenging to turn their digital talent into a sustainable business,” says Zahir Khoja, CEO, Wave. “Creative entrepreneurship is the economic engine of small business, and we’re thrilled to launch a fund that will directly enable more of these businesses to start, survive, and thrive.”
Since its inception in 2008, the Shorty Awards have evolved with the internet, from the birth of social media to the proliferation of digital content, to the emergence of Web 3.0 and the exponential growth of the creator economy, defined by the US Chamber of Commerce as a group who make money directly from their audience, consisting of consumers, entrepreneurs that cater to their audience, advertisers, and companies that market to artistic entrepreneurs. Digital talent has spawned a new era of entrepreneurship, and creators have become the fastest-growing type of small business.
