Admin Awards

What Admin Awards does

Admin Awards is a private, founder-owned company established in 2012 by Sunny Nunan that operates what it describes as the first U.S. public recognition program dedicated to Administrative Professionals. The company runs an annual cycle in which companies, executives, and peers submit nominations across nine award categories through an online portal, an independent Board of Judges evaluates candidates through an automated Awards Portal, and the cycle concludes with a 'Good as Gold' five-star dinner gala staged in nine U.S. metropolitan regions — Dallas/Fort Worth, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Pacific Northwest, and Washington D.C. Each gala draws 400+ attendees and functions as both a recognition ceremony and an employer branding event for sponsoring companies.

Name

Admin Awards

Legal name

Admin Awards

Website

https://adminawards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Admin Awards operates the first U.S. public recognition program for Administrative Professionals, running annual nominations, independent judging, and 'Good as Gold' dinner galas across 9 metropolitan regions to help enterprise employers recognize and retain their administrative workforce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Recognition Services

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Employee Recognition, Awards & Incentive (Internal) Events (THAHAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual Awards Ceremonies & Competitions (Judging, Voting) (MPAGAOAN), Conference & Trade Show Registration Platforms (THAHAFAB)

Keywords

• Administrative recognition program
• Employee recognition events
• Corporate awards galas
• Administrative professional development
• Administrative job board

Headquarters

HQ city

Garland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Gala Ticket Sales: Individual tickets and table sponsorships for the annual 'Good as Gold' Gala events across multiple regions. Ticket prices range from $325-$350 per individual with table sponsorship packages from $6,000-$13,950.
2. Job Board Postings: Job board connecting employers with administrative talent, targeting companies seeking to reach high-impact Admins, Executive Assistants, and Chiefs of Staff.
3. Partnership Programs: Sponsorship and partnership revenue including National Sponsors (like Southwest Airlines), Major Prize Partners, and regional partnership opportunities for companies seeking to reach administrative professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Admin Awards runs a public, peer-judged recognition program for administrative professionals, centered on its annual Good as Gold Gala where nominees are celebrated and winners announced. The program is supported by an online Nominations Portal that accepts submissions and routes them to an automated Judging Portal for evaluation, plus a Job Board for administrative roles and the Beacon Institute for ongoing professional development. Revenue is generated through corporate sponsorship packages, gala tables and tickets, job board postings, and learning offerings.

Product overview

Admin Awards operates as a unified recognition platform centered on its flagship annual awards program for Administrative Professionals. The core offering includes the nominations portal for submitting candidates across nine award categories (with The Colleen Barrett Award being most prestigious), the automated Board of Judges platform for evaluation, and the Good as Gold Gala events held across multiple U.S. regions. Supporting products include a specialized Job Board connecting employers with administrative talent, The Beacon Institute for professional development (offered as a sponsorship benefit), and the Backbone Blog providing educational content and whitepapers. The program also produces the Who Really Runs Things PSA and offers a Partnerships Program for corporate sponsorship. The ecosystem spans regional operations in Dallas/Fort Worth, Silicon Valley, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, and other metropolitan areas, with annual gala events from August through November 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Admin Awards Recognition Program
• Good as Gold Gala

Quantifiable outcome

• Cost of replacing an Admin is 70% of their one-year salary - recognition through Admin Awards helps retain talent
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Southwest AirlinesmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational Sponsor of the Admin Awards. The partnership connects to the program's most prestigious award - the Colleen Barrett Award for Administrative Excellence, named after the legendary Executive Assistant who rose to become President & COO of Southwest Airlines alongside Herb Kelleher. Southwest's CEO Colleen Barrett legacy is central to the Admin Awards brand identity.
• Toyota Motor ManufacturingmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerToyota partnered with Admin Awards to produce the 'Who Really Runs Things' PSA, starring Toyota North America Chief of Staff Magaly Santos. Toyota executives see first-hand how their Admins achieve the impossible daily. Toyota also co-created the 'Start Your Impossible Award' with Admin Awards and participates extensively in regional programs.
• The Beacon InstitutecoreOthersThe Beacon Institute for Administrative Excellence is the Admin Awards' proprietary learning and development platform included as a bonus with table sponsorship packages. It provides professional development resources for Administrative Professionals and is also referenced as the Beacon Community and Beacon Community Institute.
• Major Prize Partners ProgramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCompanies can become Major Prize Partners to contribute prizes (valued at $500+) to the Admin Awards gala prize drawings. All attending Admin Professionals are automatically registered to win prizes throughout the evening.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Stevie Awards: The Stevie Awards operates multi-category business awards programs with annual galas, nominations, judging, and tiered sponsorships - structurally analogous to Admin Awards' 'Good as Gold' galas serving the administrative profession.
• Globee Awards: Globee Awards runs multi-tier business and profession-specific awards programs with nominations, judging, sponsored galas, and ticket sales - directly comparable to Admin Awards' recognition + gala + sponsorship model.
• American Business Awards: Operated by The Stevie Awards, the American Business Awards is a broader, multi-category awards program with gala dinners and tiered sponsorships - directly analogous to Admin Awards in event + sponsor format.
• The Communicator Awards: A long-running, multi-category professional awards program with judging, sponsored galas, and category-specific recognition - structurally similar to Admin Awards' nomination-judging-gala flow.

Broad incumbents

• O.C. Tanner: O.C. Tanner is an established employee recognition platform serving HR/People Ops with awards, service anniversaries, and culture programs - overlapping with Admin Awards' mission of recognizing administrative talent but operating as a broader SaaS incumbent rather than a single annual gala.
• Terryberry: Terryberry offers both employee recognition software and hosted award ceremonies/service anniversaries - a broad incumbent combining SaaS and event-based recognition that overlaps with Admin Awards' hybrid model.

Emerging players

• Awardco: Awardco provides employee recognition software with peer-to-peer and service milestone awards - addressing the same enterprise pain point Admin Awards solves (retention, recognition) but via continuous SaaS rather than an annual in-person event.
• Kudos: Kudos is an employee recognition and engagement platform providing peer recognition, rewards, and analytics - competing for the same corporate recognition budget Admin Awards targets, but with continuous digital engagement vs. annual ceremony.
• Bonusly: Bonusly is a peer-to-peer employee recognition platform with points-based rewards - complementary technology to Admin Awards' Beacon Institute L&D platform, targeting the same HR/recognition budget at the same admin and IC personas.
• Limeade: Limeade (including the acquired Fond platform) provides employee engagement and recognition software, including service milestones - a digital-first incumbent that sells into the same HR/recognition budget Admin Awards accesses via gala sponsorships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheAdminAwards
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-admin-awards
• Xx.com/TheAdminAwards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Admin Awards