Season 1 · 7 official awards · 21 main award slots

SOFL Award Categories

SOFL V2 structure: 7 official awards, each with 1 first place and 2 runners-up. Data Trust is no longer a standalone award — it is a system-wide condition and tie-breaker. AI only assists with extraction, normalization, scoring support, and anomaly flagging; final winners require an audit log, exception reasons, and organizer/admin review.

Official categories
7
Main award slots
21
Max per startup
1
Tie-breaker
Data Trust

Tech — Tech

Technology3 categories
tech_app_growth · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Tech App Growth

For tech startups with an app, web product, or digital platform showing verified download or usage growth.

Tech product

App, web product, or platform with verifiable download, install, or usage metrics. Startup must be in the Tech group with an approved source.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
App StorePlay StoreWebsite analyticsVerified dashboard
Download/install delta is the primary metric; usage, engagement, and growth rate are secondary or tie-breakers.
Minimum threshold: Verified baseline and final metric snapshots required; no baseline means no award consideration.
tech_social_reach · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Tech Social Reach

For tech startups with verified public social channel growth.

Tech social proof

Public social channel tied to the startup or tech product. Startup must be in the Tech group with an approved public platform proof.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
LinkedInFacebookTikTokX/TwitterPublic social analytics
Follower delta is the primary metric; growth rate, engagement rate, and platform proof are secondary or tie-breakers.
Minimum threshold: Only approved follower/engagement sources count; growth rate alone is not sufficient.
public_fundraising · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Tech Public Fundraising

For tech startups with a public fundraising signal from a credible source.

Public fundraising signal

Publicly confirmed funding milestone from a credible source. No self-declaration; a confirmed public source is required.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
Press coverageBroadcast mediaOfficial announcementsPublic investor/accelerator confirmation
Confirmed and publicly announced funding milestone. Self-declared fundraising does not count.
Minimum threshold: Seed signal <$500K · Growth signal $500K–$5M · Major signal >$5M

NonTech — Non-tech

Non-tech1 category
nontech_order_growth · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Non-tech Order Growth

For commerce, services, F&B, education-services, creator-businesses, and non-tech online/offline models.

Non-tech business

Business with confirmed orders via platform or verifiable evidence. Startup must be in the Non-tech group with an approved order source.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
E-commerce platformPOS/order data exportSOFL order systemVerified order evidence
Confirmed order delta. Paid or completed orders are preferred; unconfirmed leads do not count equally.
Minimum threshold: Verified baseline and final order snapshots required; pending or rejected sources are not counted.

Community — Community

Community2 categories
donate_support · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Community Donate Support

For startups that received valid, capped community support with an exception queue to prevent manipulation.

Community support

Valid support after per-supporter/day and per-startup/day caps. Support exceeding limits is logged but the excess points are not counted.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
SOFL support ledgerPayment/admin verificationSupporter identity signal
Valid support counts, unique supporter count, and support points after daily caps.
Minimum threshold: Max 300 points per supporter per day; max 1,000 points per startup per day; anomalies enter the exception queue.
founder_choice · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Founder Choice

Cross-ecosystem vote from verified founders with active public startup profiles.

Founder ecosystem vote

Verified founders vote for 1–3 other startups; votes are locked on submit. No self-vote; if the voter is disqualified, votes are handled per competition status.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
Verified founder accountPublic startup profileFounder vote audit log
Locked founder votes, max 3 per voting startup per season, no self-vote allowed.
Minimum threshold: Only verified founder accounts with a successfully public startup profile may vote.

Overall — Overall

Overall1 category
overall_breakthrough · 3 slots
AI assists · Human decides

Overall Breakthrough Award

Composite breakthrough for the most outstanding startup after weight class, growth delta, Data Trust, and award cascade.

Overall breakthrough

Most outstanding startup after award scores, weight class, Data Trust, and risk flags. Must not have received a higher-priority main award and must have no unresolved severe complaints.

1st place ×1 · Runners-up ×2
Award scoresMetric snapshotsData TrustAdmin exception queue
Composite growth within weight class + Data Trust + no unresolved severe flags.
Minimum threshold: Startups that already received a higher-priority main award or have unresolved red flags are excluded.

Data Trust — system condition, not a standalone award

Data Trust is a system-wide condition and tie-breaker, not a separate award category. Startups with weak data, missing evidence, heavy risk flags, or unverified sources cannot win even if their headline numbers look strong.

If a startup leads multiple categories, the system distributes awards so that startup receives only one main award — the highest-ranked one.

Scoring principles: draft profiles do not affect scores; only approved and clean-data profiles are scored; all scores require an audit log; admins can only flag or override with a stated reason, not edit scores directly. See Operating Policies for full rules.