And then there were 16.
Round 2 of Chicago Inno Madness has come to a close with 1,151 total votes cast.
You all helped us get to this point, but now we have to cut the list in half once again.
Before you cast your vote, let's recap what happened in a wild second round that saw two near ties and left only two top-seven seeds still standing.
Doorage, last year's winner, barely pulled out its second upset, getting by Rheaply, a resource-sharing network that helps organizations recycle and source items, by one vote: 576 to 575.
That wasn't the only tight race we saw this week, with Leaf Trade barely holding off 1440, a Chicago-based media company that was named the fastest-growing private company in the city by Inc. 5000 earlier this month, 578 to 573.
In the round's only 12-versus-13 matchup, travel app Out of Office was the clear winner, securing nearly 63% of the vote over Anthill, a Chicago HR startup that helps companies better engage with their blue-collar workerforce.
Check out the bracket below to see all the companies that made it to the next round, and keep the votes coming!
Meet the remaining players, broken up into four regions. We'll update this list of companies with each round's participants.
KeyCare: A virtual care platform built to help health systems schedule patient appointments with a nationwide network of virtual care groups using electronic health records.
BriteCo: An online jewelry insurance platform that lets users quickly see quotes and purchase coverage online.
Oak9: A cybersecurity startup that integrates into a firm's development pipeline and continuously scans new code for vulnerabilities, sends alerts when there's a problem and can automatically remediate the code.
Nature's Fynd: A startup that’s created a new method for producing meatless and dairy-free foods.
Doorage: A tech-enabled storage and moving startup led by CEO Sean Sandona.
New Era ADR: A software startup that allows arbitrations and mediations to take place completely virtually.
Foxtrot: A food-delivery startup and convenience store that's reimagining the corner store.
Stigma: A mental health app that crowdsources videos from people battling a range of conditions.
Farmer's Fridge: A maker of healthy vending machines.
Aqua Cultured Foods: A startup that's making alternative seafood made from mushrooms.
Science on Call: A platform that provides 24/7 on-demand tech support to restaurants.
ShowingHero: A platform built for property managers or real estate agents that allows them to manage showings and screen prospects easily and efficiently.
Leaf Trade: A startup building enterprise software for cannabis dispensaries and growers.
Out of Office: A travel app that helps you plan trips based on recommendations from your friends.
Clever Carnivore: A meat-making biotechnology startup that makes actual pork, beef and chicken using stem cell biology and bioengineering.
Mezo: A technology platform for property maintenance.
