FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What do you mean by “OFF THE RECORD”?
A: Specific questions in Section 4 of the form have been marked “Off the Record.” CNBC will not publish the responses to these questions on any of its platforms in any form. The information is used for scoring purposes only.
Q: Is CNBC willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the confidentiality of our company’s private financial information?
A: No. We are not able to sign NDAs. CNBC has more than thirty years of experience protecting sensitive company information and honoring news embargoes. When we say the information is off the record, we mean it.
Q: Ok, I get it. It’s off the record. What if we still don’t want to share?
A: That’s okay. Withholding this information will not disqualify the nominee company from making the list, but could place it at a disadvantage to companies that provide more complete responses. Last year, more than 80% of nominees answered the off-the-record questions, and none of the information included in the responses was published.
Q: What if answers to other questions are under embargo?
A: You can use the last question on the form (“Please use this space to provide any additional information…”) to make note of reasonable additional embargoes.
Q: What about the responses to on-the-record questions? How will that information be used?
A: CNBC reserves the right to use this information for its reporting on CNBC TV, in articles published on CNBC.com, and in social media posts.
Companies that make the list will be given the opportunity to update or confirm the information before it is published. The best way to understand what we publish is to look back at past Disruptor 50 lists. You can do that by clicking here: CNBC.com/Disruptors
Q: How will CNBC use the responses to questions about the race and gender of company leadership and employees (in Section 2)?
A: This information is generally intended for use in scoring companies as part of our proprietary methodology. In the event that we publish this information, it is much more likely to be used in aggregate (i.e. “X% of Disruptor 50 companies report having a majority-female workforce”) than it is to be used to single out specific companies that make the list.
As with all other on-the-record responses, CNBC reserves the right to use this information for its reporting on CNBC TV, in articles published on CNBC.com, and in social media posts. Companies that make the list will be given the opportunity to update or confirm the information before it is published.
Q: How do the responses to questions about race and gender (in Section 2) impact companies being considered for the Disruptor 50 List?
A: These responses are used as the inputs for two quantitative categories in our proprietary methodology – Workforce Diversity and Board Diversity. The weighting of these two categories, along with all other quantitative categories, is determined by our independent Disruptor 50 Advisory Board, a group of leading thinkers in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship from around the world.
The Advisory Board rates and ranks all quantitative categories by importance in determining any company’s ability to disrupt established industries and public companies. In 2024, the council found that “scalability” and “user growth” were the most important criteria, followed by “sales growth” and “use of breakthrough technologies.” These categories received the highest weighting, but the methodology is designed to ensure that companies must score highly on a wide range of quantitative and qualitative criteria to make the final list.
A holistic qualitative assessment is also part of each company’s consideration.
A full explanation of our methodology can be found here: bit.ly/3Gxdmyu
(Note: category weightings change year-to-year based on the input of the Advisory Board.)
CNBC does not share or publish category weighting and is not able to provide any details on beyond the above. Providing complete and honest responses is the best way to give your company its best chance of being named to the Disruptor 50 List.
Q: What do you mean by “executive team?”
A: We mean C-suite or equivalent.
Q: In Section 2 (About the Company), you ask for 3 examples of competitors and 3 examples of companies your company is Disrupting. What’s the Difference?
A: Competitors are companies with similar business models using similar technology. A company being disrupted is likely a larger, older company with an older, more established business model. For example: Netflix competes with Hulu. It disrupted Blockbuster.
Q: Is it possible to make changes to an application after it is submitted?
A: No. We recommend using the above text version to prepare and proofread your responses before you submit the official application form. The form only allows for changes to be made while you are completing it. Once it’s been submitted by clicking “DONE”, you will be unable to make additional changes.
If you have a material change or believe you made a significant error or omission, you may email disruptor50@cnbc.com with the change up until the February 10 deadline. In the interest of fairness, we will not consider updates once the nomination period has closed.
If your company anticipates changes to the numbers (ex. The company is about to close a new round of funding but hasn’t yet), you may mention this in the “additional information” question of the form (please be sure to note if that information is embargoed).
Q: How can I confirm that CNBC has received my completed application?
A: You can expect to receive an email from disruptor50@cnbc.com confirming your nomination for the 2025 Disruptor 50 List. (Note: the application form does not generate an automatic confirmation email, so we are completing this part of the process manually. Please allow 2 business days to receive this confirmation email from us. Thank you for your patience.)
Q: We have additional material to share as an addendum to our nomination. Where can we send that?
A: Please do not send additional material. In fairness to all nominees, we will only consider the information in the nomination form.
Q: When will we find out if we made the list?
A: You should hear no sooner than April 7, and no later than May 1, 2025.
Q: What if we don’t hear from you by May 1?
A: Unfortunately, this means your company did not make the list. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we will only notify the 50 companies that make the list. Additionally, we do not provide explanations as to why any single company did or did not make the list. We hope you’ll try again for as long as your company remains eligible.
Q: Is there a cost to nominate companies for the CNBC Disruptor 50 List?
A: Yes. To nominate a company for the 2025 Disruptor 50 List, we require a one-time application fee as follows:
$695 from Thursday, January 2, 2025 to Friday, January 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm ET.
$795 from Saturday, January 11, 2025 to Monday, February 10, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.
All nominees have until Monday, February 10 at 11:59pm ET to complete the application form, regardless of when they submit the application fee.
If you are seeing this document and have not paid the application fee, please contact disruptor50@cnbc.com.
Q: If I pay the application fee, but do not complete the application form, is the company still nominated for the Disruptor 50 List?
A: Yes. In this case, we will use whatever information we have on the nominated company, whether that is a partially completed form or just its name. As stated above: withholding information will not disqualify the nominee company from making the list, but could place it at a disadvantage to companies that provide more complete responses.
If you submit an application fee, we strongly encourage you to complete the application form by the February 10 deadline, and will send repeated reminders to make sure you do this.
Q: Can I get a refund if my company doesn’t make the list?
A: No. We will refund your application fee if:
The company is found to be ineligible for the 2025 Disruptor 50 list or becomes ineligible before April 1, 2025.
More than one application fee is submitted for a single company.
We will not issue refunds for any other reason.