Eight startups have advanced to the third round of KC Inno Madness and represent industries such as insurtech, health care and fitness.
The competition started with 32 rising and innovative companies, and we hope it sparks more awareness and excitement for the local startup scene.
Voting for Round 3 kicks off Tuesday and continues through Sunday. We're asking voters to keep in mind: "Whom would you invest in?" Round 3 winners will be announced March 21. (Here's what you need to know about the contest rules.)
Click on the bracket below to see the Round 3 matchups and to cast your vote. If you're not familiar with the players, check out our brief descriptions at the end of this article before starting to vote.
Our handy scouting guide for the remaining competitors:
ApolloTech: An insurtech company that offers online enrollment solutions to insurance agents and consumers. Its central hub features the best carriers, ranging from healthcare.gov to private carriers and health sharing options. It wants to revolutionize how health insurance is done and put an end to the many Americans who suffer from financial and health hardships because they don't know their options.
Artio Medical: A leading medical device company developing innovative products for the treatment of peripheral vascular, neurovascular, and cardiovascular diseases. Through collaborative relationships with the best, brightest, and most inventive minds in medicine, Artio designs, develops, manufactures, and commercializes first-in-class and best-in-class medical devices.
Fit Truk: Created a fully equipped mobile gym that’s attached to a truck and includes features such as a weather-proof sound system and app-controlled LED lights to set the mood. A variety of strength-training equipment is attached to the exterior for the startup’s cutting-edge group strength training workouts, which are designed to provide maximum results in a safe and fun environment.
Fresh Factory KC: A premier selfie studio and event space located in Zona Rosa. It invites guests to #playpartyphoto in more than a dozen themed selfie sets celebrating Kansas City's fresh culture and its people.
Kenzen: A physiological monitoring platform that includes a wearable device to keep workforces safe from heat, fatigue and overexertion on the job. Its data-driven insights also help companies maintain productivity.
Ronawk: A life sciences startup that’s garnering interest in new markets, such as cultured meat. Its Bio-Block platform includes different substrates that easily connect to one another like Legos and enable cells to grow in a 3D format. Bio-Block eliminates the need for subculturing, allowing scientists to rapidly grow cells and focus more time on high-impact experiments for developing next-generation therapies.
Splitsy: Developed a mobile application that allows users, such as roommates, to automate the process of splitting shared recurring transactions such as rent, utilities, streaming services and more.
Veeper: A Shopify app that tracks a customer’s spending habits over time and solves the problem of universal discount codes, which typically cause retailers to overspend. Veeper’s algorithm nudges shoppers to add more items to their cart to see their discount increase. The most loyal shoppers get rewarded the most.
