It's the final countdown, and Atlanta Inno's Tech Madness Semi Finals have been chosen.
What’s Tech Madness you ask? It’s our reader-driven bracket competition in the spirit of March Bracket Tournament highlighting some of the local startup scene’s biggest, brightest and most exciting technology companies.
During the month of March, 32 Atlanta-based startups will go head-to-head in the bracket and readers like you will decide who goes on to the next round.
At 7,400 votes thus far, it's the most votes we’ve seen cast for this year's startup competition. Let's dive into the stats.
We had two close calls during the Quarter Finals round. KNOW Foods squeezed a win over Motivo with 23 votes difference. But the biggest upset was ViZZ took the win over returning champion OnPay with just 9 votes. OnPay was our Tech Madness runner-up last year.
The startups that received the most votes were BoxLock, at 234 votes, ViZZ at 159 votes and OnPay at 150 votes. Given that OnPay has been a top vote getter for the whole championship and they were a returning heavyweight, ViZZ's win was a big takedown.
So let's take a look at the matchups for the Semi Finals.
KNOW Foods is up against BoxLock. As history will tell us, KNOW Foods has had two close calls in Round 2 and 3, typically winning by just two dozen votes. BoxLock has received some of the most votes throughout the competition, so it's anyone's guess who will come out on top.
Underdog Layr is up against mid-seed startup ViZZ---which begs the question: will the underdog upset the biggest upsetter we've seen this season? Only you can decide.
To determine the outcome of each matchup, ask yourselves this question: Who would you invest in?
This can be interpreted a number of different ways. Is this about which startup could deliver the highest return? Who you think is the safest bet? Or is it about supporting a project or mission you’re passionate about? How ever you want to interpret that question is up to you. That’s Tech Madness! (And keep in mind that this isn’t a ‘versus’ thing. Just identify who you’re bullish on and pick away. A vote for one company is not a vote against another. But Tech Madness is a friendly competition and one must move on.)
The matchups are (for the most part) random. All startups on the list are private startups, most of which are venture-backed and tech-enabled. We seeded the companies based on venture capital funding and other growth metrics. Seeding isn’t an editorial judgment. We rely on venture funding because it’s the most accessible and universal metric available.
The fourth round ends on Thursday, March 26 at midnight, and you can view the whole Tech Madness schedule below…
- Round 1 voting March 6 – March 12.
- Round 2 (Last Sixteen) voting March 13 – March 18.
- Round 3 (Quarter Finals) voting March 19 – March 23.
- Round 4 (Semi Finals) voting March 24 – March 26.
- Round 5 (Finals) voting March 27 – March 30.
- Announce the 2020 Tech Madness Champion on Tuesday, March 31.
Vote for your Semi Finals picks below and be sure to share the bracket with friends and colleagues.
