We kicked off Cincy Inno Madness earlier this month with 64 competitors vying for the title of champion. You have whittled down those contestants to eight. Now, it’s time to select who will win each region and head to the esteemed semifinals.
But before we get to that, let’s see how this last round shook out – it was undoubtedly our craziest yet.
For the first time in Cincy Inno Madness history, vote tallies were so tight we had an exact tie between No. 2 seed Genetesis and No. 3 seed Sense Neuro Diagnostics. Each landed 812 votes.
Genetesis ultimately advanced following a live coin toss conducted by Cincy Inno and Business Courier staff. Velontra, our No. 8 seed, also skirted by No. 9 Homeshake by a mere 18 votes.
Truly unprecedented times.
Underdog Lerch, a No. 15 seed, advances once again, this time knocking off No. 3 BioWish Technologies. The company, a mobile event app and recent Techstars alum, defeated No. 2 Coterie and No. 10 Losant in previous rounds.
No. 13 seeds Backyard Bet, a new social platform, and Hearty, which is building a LinkedIn alternative, won by very comfortable margins over No. 8 Enosix and No. 9 Amplicore, while No. 6 Cloverleaf, a winner over No. 2 seed Lisnr, was the top vote-getter in the round.
More than 1,620 votes were cast in Round 3, bringing the total tally in the contest thus far to more than 4,120.
Now check out the bracket below to see all the matchups – and get voting!
Round 4 ends Sunday, March 26, at 11:59 p.m.
A winner will ultimately be crowned April 6.
Meet the players
- Backyard Bet is a social platform and mobile app that makes placing bets with friends easier — and more fun. The company launched its beta in November 2022.
- Akru’s blockchain-based platform allows for fractionalized real estate investing, democratizing commercial real estate investments.
- Hearty is a recruiting company building a LinkedIn alternative — where connections are built using personal recommendations.
- Genetesis is developing the CardioFlux to rapidly scan for various heart conditions without the use of radiation, contrast or exercise. The company expects FDA “de novo” market authorization this year
- Carefeed provides digital communication solutions to senior care facilities.
- Lerch is a mobile event app that combines order-ahead technology with venue GPS. It's a recent Techstars Tulsa alum.
- Velontra is building a hypersonic space plane to transport satellites into low-Earth orbit.
- Cloverleaf is an automated coaching platform for workers and teams.
What is Inno Madness?
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in? Whether you believe in one mission or product over the other or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stager, how you answer that question is entirely up to you.
The bracket is assembled based on reader nominations, as well as editorial input from the Cincy Inno team. Seeding was determined by total funding and recent momentum.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in the region. It is by no means a complete list of Greater Cincinnati's best startups. It's also not just a list of the most-funded startups in the region.
Instead, the bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of it as another fun look into local tech companies you need to know in 2023.
