Inno Madness is back, with 16 companies vying for the title of 2023 Inno Madness champion.
First held last year, Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: What company would you invest in? Whether you believe in one mission or product over the other, or you would prefer to back a more-established company instead of an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely up to you.
The bracket you'll see below was assembled following a call for reader nominations and drawing from the input and insights of the Cleveland Inno team. The information that was used to help produce the bracket seedings includes recently completed funding rounds and total funding raised to date.
The goal of Inno Madness is to offer a glimpse at some of the companies working in the innovation space in Northeast Ohio. It is by no means a complete list of Cleveland's cutting-edge companies or the city's deep roster of startup ventures. It's also not just a list of 16 companies that have received high-profile funding commitments to date.
Ultimately, think of the bracket as a peak into some of the many forward-looking companies doing business locally.
Some of the companies in this year's field are returning to the competition after having been part of the 2022 bracket; others are first-time entrants.
If you're not familiar with all 16 companies in this year's field, keep reading: You'll find snapshots of the companies below.
First-round voting begins now and continues through March 12. We'll open up voting round by round, culminating in an Inno Madness winner in the weeks ahead.
Read the contest rules here.
And with that, let's get into the voting in Round 1.
Meet the players
- Binary Defense Systems Inc.: Binary Defense Systems Inc. secured $36 million in November, the company's first fundraise. The Stow-based company's technology aims to provide a proactive, hacker’s mindset to protect computers against cyberattacks. Bob Meindl leads the company as CEO.
- Centerline Biomedical Inc.: Cleveland-based medical technology developer Centerline Biomedical Inc. is commercializing a way for surgeons to visualize and guide catheters, guidewires and stents in the human body while minimizing dependence on radiation and contrast agents. Gulam Khan, formerly president, CEO and co-chairman of U.S. Endoscopy in Mentor, joined Centerline in October as CEO. That followed the company in June raising $33 million during an investment round led by Cleveland Clinic.
- Champ Titles: Champ Titles uses technology to speed up the automobile title transfer process. The Cleveland company, led by Shane Bigelow as CEO, raised $12.9 million in a Series B round of financing last fall. That followed an $8.5 million Series A investment in August 2021.
- Cleveland Kitchen: A finalist in last year's Inno Madness competition, Cleveland Kitchen makes fresh-fermented foods such as kimchi and pickles. The company last summer closed a $19 million funding round intended in part to help Cleveland Kitchen complete its acquisition of Sonoma Brinery, a California-based pickle and sauerkraut maker. Co-founder Drew Anderson is Cleveland Kitchen's CEO.
- Convelo Therapeutics Inc.: Convelo Therapeutics Inc. secured $11 million in funding in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Cleveland-based life sciences company, led by Derrick Rossi as president and CEO, is developing medicines aimed at nerve cells with a goal of restoring function to patients with neurological disorders.
- Diasome Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Cleveland's Diasome Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing a helper drug to treat diabetes. The company has raised at least $20 million for its clinical trials, and a Diasome official last fall said an investor group stood ready to match that amount if the trials show promising results. Company co-founder Robert Geho is Diasome's CEO.
- Fello: Pepper Pike-based Fello uses information from home sellers and algorithms to calculate fair-market prices for houses with an iBuyer platform. The company, formerly known as FlashHouse, raised $25 million in debt and equity in June to scale its operations nationwide. Co-founders Ryan Young, Tom Schrader and Stephen London lead the venture.
- Felux Inc.: Felux, the B2B marketplace and supply-chain platform for steel and other metals, raised $19.5 million during its first institutional funding round last year. The Cleveland-based spinoff of Majestic Steel Co. is led by CEO Dallas Hogensen.
- Land Energy: Cleveland electric-vehicle startup Land Energy secured its first investment round in 2022. The company, led by founder and CEO Scott Colosimo, subsequently worked to finalize fixtures that would enable a contract manufacturer's robots to weld the frame of each of its bikes, speeding up the manufacturing process with designs on the company hitting a goal of shipping 1,000 bikes in 12 months. Land exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and is slated to present as a finalist in the SXSW Pitch event in Austin, Texas, later this month.
- Neuros Medical Inc.: Neuros Medical Inc. is a developer of neurostimulation devices intended to treat chronic pain. The Willoughby Hills company, which reportedly completed an $8 million fundraise in the fourth quarter last year, is led by Tom Wilder as president and CEO,
- Remesh Inc.: Remesh Inc. is an AI-powered digital-conversation platform used by companies for market research and human-resource management. Led by CEO Andrew Konya, the Cleveland company reportedly completed a $12 million fundraise in December.
- Smart Soda Holdings Inc.: Smart Soda Holdings Inc. earlier this year unveiled a countertop version of its smart, vitamin-infused, alkaline water dispenser. Led by co-founder and CEO Lior Shafir, the Mayfield Heights company last year secured a $3 million investment and partnership agreement with Refreshing USA, which provides vending machine, micro-market, and water and coffee dispenser services to workplaces nationwide.
- Society Brands: Canton-based Amazon aggregator Society Brands began its 2022 by raising $204 million in debt and equity in its first institutional capital raise. Led by co-founder and CEO Michael Sirpilla, the company proceeded to add to its staff, acquire several online brands, and develop technologies intended to generate growth and efficiencies for those brands.
- Splash Financial Inc.: Splash Financial Inc. is a digital lending platform that targets the student-loan refinancing marketplace. The Cleveland company, led by founder and CEO Steven Muszynski, raised $10 million in funding in the second quarter of last year.
- SPR Therapeutics Inc.: The winner of last year's Inno Madness competition, SPR Therapeutics Inc. has developed the Sprint Peripheral Nerve Stimulation system to relieve chronic pain without the use of opioids or surgery. Maria Bennett is founder, president and CEO of the Highland Hills company. She said in an interview last year that the growing company anticipates "the true trajectory of revenue growth to occur in 2023."
- Sundays for Dogs Inc.: Sundays for Dogs Inc. produces human-grade, air-dried dog food sold online via subscription. Founded by veterinarian Tory Waxman and software engineer Michael Waxman, the Solon-based company reportedly secured $13 million in funding in October on the heels of a $10 million fundraise last March.
