How to Use PR Awards to Build Founder & Brand Authority: How We Helped Kinside Earn Recognition From Inc., Fortune & More
Kinside founder Shadiah Sigala recognized as one of Inc. magazine’s Female Founders 100, highlighting her leadership and innovation in the childcare technology industry.
When Kinside came to us, the company was building a technology platform designed to make childcare more accessible for families and employers.
But building a strong company isn't the only challenge for a growing brand. You also have to build credibility around the company and the people behind it.
For Kinside, that meant looking beyond traditional media coverage and identifying opportunities to position founder Shadiah Sigala and the company for meaningful industry recognition.
Through strategic awards research and submissions, Kinside earned recognition from outlets and organizations including Inc., Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, and Employee Benefit News.
Here's what the strategy can teach other founders about using awards as part of a broader PR strategy.
1. Awards Are More Than a Badge
Winning an award isn't just something you put on your website and forget about.
The right recognition can become another third-party validation point for your company.
For Kinside, recognition included Inc.'s Female Founders 100, Fortune's Impact 20, Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, and Employee Benefit News' Excellence in Benefits recognition.
These recognitions gave Kinside and Shadiah additional credibility across entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, and employee benefits.
The takeaway:
Don't think of awards as an isolated PR tactic. Think of them as another layer of authority.
2. Find Awards That Actually Fit the Story
One of the biggest mistakes companies make with awards is applying for everything.
That's not necessarily strategic.
The better question is:
What does this company or founder deserve to be recognized for?
For Kinside, there were multiple legitimate stories.
The company was addressing challenges around childcare and working parents. It was building technology in an important and evolving industry. And Shadiah had a compelling founder story.
That opened the door to different types of recognition rather than forcing the company into one generic awards category.
The takeaway:
The right award isn't necessarily the most famous award. It's the one that reinforces the story you want your brand to own.
3. Put the Founder Into the Awards Strategy
For founder-led companies, awards can build authority around more than the company name.
They can also establish the founder as an entrepreneur, innovator, expert, or industry leader.
Kinside's recognition included founder-focused opportunities such as Inc.'s Female Founders 100 and Fortune's Impact 20.
That matters because when someone searches for a founder, they're not just looking at the company's website. They're looking for evidence of what that person has accomplished.
The takeaway:
Your founder's accomplishments are part of your company's credibility.
4. Look Beyond Traditional Media Coverage
Awards shouldn't replace media relations. They should complement it.
Kinside's PR presence included both awards recognition and traditional media coverage, creating multiple forms of third-party validation.
The company was featured in outlets including TechCrunch, Reuters, Insider, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company, Cheddar News, and Employee Benefit News.
The combination is powerful:
Media coverage shows people are talking about you.
Awards show credible organizations recognize your work.
Together, they create a stronger authority footprint.
5. Turn Every Award Into More Content
Another opportunity is what happens after you win.
An award can become:
A website announcement
A LinkedIn post
A social media asset
A press pitch
A founder bio credential
A media kit inclusion
A newsletter mention
A talking point for interviews
Supporting evidence in future award submissions
This is where awards become part of a larger PR ecosystem rather than a one-time accomplishment.
One recognition can create multiple pieces of credibility.
6. Build Recognition Over Time
The most valuable PR strategies don't depend on one moment.
Kinside's recognition accumulated alongside ongoing media opportunities, including coverage around funding, partnerships, company growth, and acquisitions.
That creates something more powerful than a single headline:
a track record.
And that track record can continue working long after the original award or article is published.
What Kinside's Awards Strategy Teaches Us
The goal isn't to win every award.
It's to identify the recognition that supports the story you're trying to build around your company and founder.
For Kinside, that meant finding opportunities that reinforced its position around:
Innovation + Entrepreneurship + Childcare + Technology + Employee Benefits
The result was recognition from respected business and industry organizations alongside a substantial body of media coverage.
That's what strategic awards PR should do: not just give you something to put on a trophy shelf, but give your brand another credible reason to be recognized.
Want to build more authority around your brand?
At Fein PR, we develop strategic PR programs that combine media relations, thought leadership, awards, and brand positioning to help companies build lasting visibility and credibility.