FAQ

Pause Awards is open to all registered companies and individuals that live in Australia.

You can enter Pause Awards by hitting the PORTAL button in the navigation menu at the top right corner with the avatar icon, or from the home page. Or click ENTER NOW anywhere you see it.

This is how we process entries this year. Everyone must signup to create their accounts and then write their entries. The best thing about it is that you can log back in whenever you want to edit your entries.

How long is the piece of string? To signup takes 2min, to update Account another 5min. Choosing categories can take as long as you need, but with our Category Filters and search bar we think 30min is good enough. The process of entering depends on how many categories you select to enter, let’s say only one for this purpose. To write 1,000 words it can take up to 200min if you write 5 wpm. But you also have option to get back and edit until very last deadline on September 30th.

Inside Entry Portal, in Account settings select how you want to enter, with Company or as an Individual. Depending on how you set this preference you will only see those categories. You can change your preference until you submit an entry, after that your account will be locked to that entry type. The reason for this is because each account owner, if they win, gets a full profile page on our website.

If your account is set as Company, you can select as many categories to enter. Pause Awards has 21 Company categories and 10 Individual categories. If you want to enter as a Company into Individual categories, you need to create a separate account for each individual you’d like to nominate.

Entry Portal is another mini website in itself. You can find the same resources like on the website, so you don’t have to toggle across. You can browse through all categories, lookup Entry Fees, find everything about how to enter, check eligibility and timelines and download Entry Kit which we really recommend!

Your Account is the first thing you should finalise. In there you will set your preferences on how you’d like to enter, as a Company or an Individual.

Entries is a place where you manage all of your entries, pay for them, delete and see pending entries.

In Payments, you will only see due balance which you can pay from there too and also received payments.

And finally, ENTER NOW is the place where you pick your categories, submit and pay.

Your business or initiative is being judged for the success in past year between 1 July 2021 to 1 June 2022. 

Pause Awards are annual awards and we are looking for the latest and greatest. If you never entered Pause Awards you may submit results beyond the last financial year. This pass is given in a good faith so that following year you enter the most recent results.

Please follow the instructions on the entry form and answer all questions at your best ability, succinctly and clearly, avoiding exaggeration and sticking to the facts where possible. Download the Entry Kit and follow the briefings and follow our announcements.

Entrants can update an entry even after they pay right up until the very last deadline on September 30th 2022.

Your credit card will be charged on submission, but you can keep editing your entry even after you pay. This means you can catch the Earlybird prices and finalise the entry later. Hack the system!

Yes you can as long as you have additional results to share this time and it falls in the date range for this year.

We don’t accept attachments, PDFs or any other visual or written documents. You just need to answer the questions. All of them!

We are sorry but we don’t offer refunds if you change your mind.

No on the contrary. The judges are looking for your resilience, impact and how you measure success. What strategies have you employed and how has that impacted company culture and your customers?

Yes you will. After you pay you will get an automated invoice from Stripe. 

Unfortunately not. We only accept final projects that have been finalised in the specific time frame.

There are 31 categories expanded for 2022 that you can enter. 21 for companies and there are 10 for individuals too. All are set under five Category Tracks: Growth, Excellence, Operators, Good and Culture.

Yes we do. If you are an individual or a company that has or works with less than 10 people, please tick that box under Account setting in Entry Portal to apply the reduced fees. You’ll save on average 25% equivalent of $85 per entry.

Yes, you can enter your work into as many categories as you like, your entries will be evaluated separately for each category you entered. The exceptional entries will be honoured in more than one category if judges think so.

If you enter into two or more categories in the same account you’ll get ‘Company Of The Year’ category at 50% off.

Yes you can. If you think that your answers apply for other categories, you can select as many to enter and check out faster. If you group the categories to answer, you won’t be able to break them apart and edit separately after. You also have an option to write individual entries too.

There is no limit to how many entries you can have in the same category, just make sure they adhere to a specific category criteria and they are different from each other.

This is hard for us to answer, but we have categories for companies and individuals. You should pick those that you think align with your company values, strengths or strategies. Once you login, there will be a simple category filter that can help you pick categories.

You can read about that on our entry page.

Judging will take place in October and November.

We pick industry professionals from Australia and abroad. Anyone can apply and if they have enough experience they can join awards and have their profile exhibited on our website. People can also apply to judge through the website on our Entry page.

You can read about the process under the Entry page.

In order for your feedback to display the winning entry needs to purchase the Winner’s Pack to unlock that benefit.

We are super conscious of everyone’s time so we’re doing everything we can to reduce the time required to commit to being involved. We’ve introduced a whole new smart judging portal (built by us) that will speed up the process, manage your votes and assign entries.

• Approximately 6–8 hrs in total, spread across a 3 week window between 17 October and 7 November 2022 (we keep this period fairly flexible so you can fit the judging around your other commitments)
• All judging is done remotely in your own time.

To keep it fair, there is no limit on how many winning entries we may have in one category. Judges are looking for the best business success and effectiveness. But with that in mind, some categories may not have any winners if judges don’t think the entries qualify.

We give a beautiful designer Pause Awards Trophy which changes shape each year, and in addition you get Pause NFT digital art trophy and 17 other benefits, but this is all optional as there is a fee.

You have the Basic, Premium and Community option to choose from. In Basic, just by winning you automatically get a business profile on Business Index, get listed under Top10 companies, unlimited trademark, public voting inclusion and promo kits are all free of charge.

Premium Winner’s Package has stacked fees by the company size. Community is for those who want to engage in our newsroom and Startup Manifesto.

We have exclusive 17 benefits well explained in the Winners Package section on the How To Enter page. The benefits are far much greater than its cost so it pays off to get it and join Pause Business Club. The main difference is access to exclusive services such as: higher visibility on Business Index, invites to VIP events, judges feedback, partner benefits, thought-leading articles and of course Pause Trophy and NFT.

Winner’s Package is tiered by company size, check here. You only pay for the Premium Winner’s Pack by the size of your business, be it: Startup, Small, Medium. Large or Enterprise. Basic benefits is just what you get as a winner without paying. Community fees are for those that don’t enter into awards, or are past winners but want to post their news to our newsroom and engage with the Startup Manifesto.

Do you really want to miss out on the party of the year? It’s optional to attend and one ticket is included in your Winners Package, however you can purchase additional tickets for your team, friends and family too.

The trophies are handcrafted so we won’t have enough time to produce the new trophy from the time you place an order, when we announce the winners, to the event. We’ll try to have sample trophies for photo ops! But, you’ll get framed certificates, photos and good times.

It is very important that you place an order for your Winner’s Packs as soon as the winners are announced so that we can kick off the production of trophies as soon as possible. Pause NFT trophies may be done in time and can be dropped into your wallets, just in time for the awards.

Yes. Additional trophies, and merchandise can be purchased from your portal. But please feel free to contact info@pauseawards.com for more information.

Yes. It can be purchased from your portal, by selecting the year you won. Please get in contact via info@pauseawards.com for more information.

If you enter into three or more categories we’ll offer you ‘Company of the Year’ category for 50% OFF. The offer is valid only for that category, not others. We’ll also offer you a third Winner’s Pack for free if you take three wins.

Let’s be clear, the questions should not be scary. They are straight forward for a reason. However, if you are an early startup and don’t think you have valid results or can’t 100% answer the questions – provide what you know.

1. Info & Background segment won’t be judged, but it’s important.

2. Smart Tactics (SCORES 30%): Why is your solution innovative?
   – Tell us what your big idea is.
   – Some evidence of planning.
   – Why do you think it’s innovative?

3. Business Success (SCORES 30%): Provide tangible results.
   – Show any stats and results.
   – What’s your customer story?
   – Don’t have KPI’s? Let’s say you tried to dominate the world.

4. Positive Impact (SCORES 40%): What impact have you created?
   – Provide any evidence of positive impact.
   – How was the internal/ external impact?
   – Did any social good come out of it?

Yes. Please answer questions to the best of your abilities.

If you are interested in being considered as a sponsor of the Pause Awards, please contact George Hedon, Enabler of Awesome at george@pauseawards.com.

The best way to keep up with Pause Awards is through our newsletter. Subscribe via the form in the footer. You may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions in the footer of each newsletter.

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We are keeping a close watch on what’s going on and will decide if it’s safe to proceed in time, if not we will switch to online production. All this will be communicated ahead of time.

We’re looking for the influential people in various industries from startup to corporate that can help us spread the word and be the shiny beacons of the innovation ecosystem. If this is you, please get in contact directly via info@pauseawards.com 

Please send us your enquiry via info@pauseawards.com

Answers will be kept confidential for our internal use only.