March Madness is coming close to an end. After many an upset and underdog win, the Final Four is here, and it’s a weirdly awesome mix.
Here at BostInno, we have our own varied assortment of companies, spanning all industries, in the championship crew of Boston Startup March Madness. We started out with 64 businesses and two brackets, and begged the question: Who will be the most valuable Boston-based company in five years?
Keeping along with the tournament on TV, you voted last week, whittling down the companies to an Elite 8. Only Drizly, LoseIt!, IdeaPaint, InsightSquared, LevelUp, Apperian, Abine and HeyWire remained.
Monday marks the first day of Final Four voting, and you won’t believe which budding companies got kicked out in the last round …
In the first bracket, fan favorite alcohol delivery startup Drizly (No. 15) dropped out of the competition last week in a match against fitness tracking app LoseIt! (No. 12). LoseIt! pushed ahead of the company 443 to 381 votes. We wouldn’t be surprised if they’re indulging the win with a few bottles of bubbly, brought to them by the Drizly team.
The highest ranking finalist InsightSquared (No. 9) held its ground against dry erase paint provider IdeaPaint (No. 14) in the Elite 8 games. The data intelligence company knocked out IdeaPaint by a brutal 72 votes. But will the Boston B2B powerhouse be able to beat down up-and-comer consumer app LoseIt! in the Final Four?
In bracket number two, app management system Apperian (No. 6) inched out mobile payment company LevelUp (No. 13), 613 to 561 votes. In the Final Four, Apperian will be sized up against “privacy for the people” startup Abine (No. 14 seed).
Abine, which offers completely free online privacy products, slammed international messaging app HeyWire in the last round by nearly 200 votes. Late in the game, that has to hurt.
Following the Final Four matches, only one company will prevail in each bracket. That means the playoff is right around the corner, the win is in sight and voting is more important than ever. Make your picks and stay tuned to the schedule for the coming week!
Final Four Voting Ends: Friday, April 4, at 8 a.m.
Championship Voting Starts: Friday, April 4, at 9 a.m.
Championship Voting Ends: Monday, April 7, at 8 a.m.
Winner Announced: Monday, April 7, at 9 a.m.
Image via Psal
