Ian Lawson
Our Wisconsin Inno Madness competition is here! We've got 32 local startups vying for the coveted title of 2022 Inno Madness champion.
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 slightly more than another or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely up to you.
First-round voting begins now and continues through March 4. We'll open up voting round by round, ultimately crowning a Wisconsin Inno Madness winner at the end of March.
Let's get into Round 1...
Meet the players
The bracket is designed to highlight 32 innovative, fast-growing local businesses. We assembled it based on reader nominations and editorial input from the Wisconsin Inno team. Meet the participants below and read the contest rules here.
Seeding was roughly determined based on the amount of funding each company has raised, as far as Wisconsin Inno is aware.
Matchup 1
- OpenGov (#1): Headquartered in San Jose, California, this government cloud software startup opened a Milwaukee office in 2020 and has committed to hiring at least 100 employees there by 2024. It recently reported 34% revenue growth in 2021 and said it secured an additional $50 million investment to fuel the company's growth.
- Honeycomb Luxury (#32): Based in Wauwatosa, Honeycomb Luxury makes eco-friendly toilet tissue made from bamboo. It was founded in 2019 by Christie Yau, the former director of business development at Bright Cellars, a Wisconsin-based wine subscription startup. Honeycomb is on pace for seven-figure revenue in 2022, according to the company.
Matchup 2
- CrossKudi (#16): This Milwaukee startup is building a blockchain-based, fee-free international money transfer platform. Its founder, Bobola Odebiyi, is from Nigeria and was selected for the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator in fall 2021, which came with a $100,000 investment from startup accelerator and equity investor gener8tor Management LLC.
- WorkShift (#17): Based in Milwaukee, WorkShift is building a staffing platform for the restaurant and hospitality industry that matches contract or gig workers with companies that have last-minute shift needs. Started by a diverse team of three founders, the company has raised $50,000 to date.
Matchup 3
- Showboat (#9): Showboat is a web-based 3D virtual events platform designed to host natural and effective virtual conferences, networking events, sales meetings, fundraisers and town hall meetings that allow participants to interact face-to-face in a virtual space. It has raised $1 million, according to the Milwaukee company.
- Like|Minded (#24): This Milwaukee-built enterprise software platform is designed to help companies increase workplace connections. Users take a personality assessment to be matched with others they're likely to have a connection with. The startup markets the product for internship programs; employee onboarding; diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and corporate events.
Matchup 4
- CharismaQ (#8): Co-founded by former Milwaukee television and radio personality Katrina Cravy and her business partner, Terri Herrmann, this Milwaukee-area startup is building a professional coaching and communications platform. Last year the company raised $1 million from West Bend Mutual Insurance, one of its customers.
- Atomix Logistics (#25): With headquarters in Milwaukee, Atomix is a third-party logistics provider for growing e-commerce businesses. Its micro-pod model is designed to offer the benefits of in-house fulfillment with the scale of outsourced logistics. It offers one-click integration, same-day fulfillment and two-day shipping.
Matchup 5
- Pivotal Health (#4): As the 2021 Wisconsin Inno Madness runner-up, we seeded Pivotal Health among the top companies in this year's competition. The startup provides in-home health care in the Madison and Milwaukee areas, available for scheduling through its mobile app. It says it has raised $1.3 million in seed funding.
- AfroCharts (#29): Founded by Leonard Novati, AfroCharts is a free, global music streaming platform for African music. The Milwaukee-based company has participated in the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition's FOR-M tech startup incubator program.
Matchup 6
- Clock'd (#13): Based in Madison, Clock'd has built a business-to-business job platform, automated applicant tracking system, recruiting service, and employee onboarding tool for the foodservice and hospitality industry. The company said it has raised $300,000 to date and has worked with clients including Cafe Hollander, Great Dane Pub & Brewing, and the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Madison.
- Valortech (#20): Valortech in Milwaukee is a veteran-owned company that provides information technology (IT) support. With a focus on security, it offers services including cybersecurity support, managed services, data center services and more. The company is bootstrapped.
Matchup 7
- Retham Technologies (#12): Based in Wauwatosa, Retham is developing an innovative test for blood clotting diseases, including one that has been noted in some patients who have received certain Covid-19 vaccines. It previously told Wisconsin Inno it has raised nearly $700,000, including grants.
- Yips Yogurt Chips (#21): This Madison-based company makes packaged snacks made of probiotic yogurt. Founded by Erin Vranas, the co-owner of Parthenon Gyros on Madison's State Street, Yips Yogurt Chips are available online and at locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas and Washington, D.C.
Matchup 8
- Child Health Imprints (#5): This company has developed informational and computational technologies for neonatal intensive care units across the world, designed to improve outcomes for pre-term births. Founded in Singapore in 2018, it established its U.S. branch in Madison in 2021 and has raised $3 million to date, according to the company.
- Vault Sports (#28): With headquarters in the Milwaukee area, Vault is building a sport bet tracking app that syncs with sports betting platforms like DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel to automatically track users' sports bets. It launched its beta version last year and is gearing up to fully launch in the coming months.
Matchup 9
- Understory (#2): Based in Madison, Understory builds insurance solutions for the era of climate change. Each policyholder gets a Dot, Understory's weather sensor that enables the company to accurately price its severe weather risk products. The company has raised $24.5 million since it was founded in 2012, according to the company's website.
- AppEase (#31): This Green Bay startup is building technology to automatically transfer medical data between providers and insurance companies to reduce costs, and increase insurance underwriting and claims processing speeds. Founder Nicole Tilot has experience in the industry, having spent more than 10 years as a financial adviser at Thrivent Financial.
Matchup 10
- Investii (#15): This Milwaukee-based fintech startup is building a platform that leverages artificial intelligence to help people build wealth faster. The platform suggests the right amount for users to save and invest each month, and then automates those transfers. Its long-term goal is to develop a credit score alternative based on users' savings histories. The company said it has raised $100,000 to date.
- Food FIXR (#18): Founded by chiropractic doctor Grace Hameister, Food FIXR is building an augmented reality app to help users make healthy decisions while grocery shopping. It says its app is focused on ingredients, sustainability and foods that can help heal and prevent diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The Milwaukee startup said it has raised $15,000 to date and is in the process of raising seed capital.
Matchup 11
- Huupe (#10): Founded in Milwaukee, this startup created a smart basketball hoop aiming to be "the Peloton of basketball." The company emerged from stealth mode in February when it announced that its hoops are available for pre-order. The company has raised more than $1 million from investors including two NBA players, Huupe previously told Wisconsin Inno.
- PartsBadger (#23): Based in Cedarburg, PartsBadger is an online supplier of custom machine parts. No. 525 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies, it reported 936% three-year revenue growth. It said it utilizes technologies including 3D printing, sheet metal bending and collaborative robot technology.
Matchup 12
- Rapid Radicals Technology (#7): Based in Milwaukee, Rapid Radicals has developed a decentralized, high-rate wastewater treatment technology capable of keeping up with urban population growth and climate change. It says it has raised roughly $1.34 million in grant funding to help public and private entities improve water quality and public health.
- RedFox AI (#26): This Madison startup has developed an artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant for the at-home health care diagnostic testing industry. Its conversational AI technology is designed to help increase test accuracy among patients and reduce customer service resources.
Matchup 13
- Frontdesk (#3): This Milwaukee travel accommodation startup has raised at least $18 million since its inception in 2017. The company's platform offers short-term rental units in more than 30 U.S. cities and last year entered the software business when it began licensing its technology as Levr Solutions.
- Appcelerator (#30): With roots in the Madison area, Appcelerator Prep is an online mentorship marketplace for diverse talent. Designed to increase opportunities for underrepresented workers and help companies broaden their diversity recruitment efforts, its corporate partners include Accenture and Deloitte.
Matchup 14
- Debtle (#14): This Sheboygan-based startup has built software designed to help organizations negotiate with customers to settle overdue invoices and debt, including medical bills and tuition. Founded by a husband and wife team, the company said it has raised $240,000 to date and has participated in numerous local and national pitch competitions and accelerator programs.
- Helium Books (#19): Based in Milwaukee, this startup aims to make libraries more accessible through the gig economy. It offers library book deliveries for less than $5 per book, according to the company's website. Helium Books has raised more than $10,000 in capital, according to its nomination form.
Matchup 15
- Carbliss (#11): This Wisconsin-based beverage company was founded in 2018 by a husband and wife team. It makes vodka-based canned cocktails that have zero carbs and sugar, and are available at bars and grocery stores around the Milwaukee area. The company said it has raised around $750,000.
- Speakfully (#22): Based in Eau Claire, Speakfully makes anonymous workplace reporting software. Its co-founders include CEO Jana Morrin, who experienced workplace harassment firsthand, as well as the co-founder of Jamf Holding Corp., which went public in 2020. The company said it's generating revenue from customers and is raising capital to accelerate growth.
Matchup 16
- COnovate (#6): This Milwaukee company has developed a patented material that has proven a six-times faster charging time and two-times capacity compared with graphite-based batteries, according to the company's nomination form. It said it has raised more than $400,000 in equity funding and more than $2 million in non-dilutive grants
- Internship on Demand (#27): Based in Madison, Internship on Demand creates custom virtual pre-internship and internship programs, with a focus on boosting talent training and employee retention for companies. Its early customers have included Spectrum Brands and Bemis Manufacturing Co., and it's raising seed capital to build out its technology platform.
Disclaimers
Vote here or below.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most promising tech companies in Wisconsin. It is by no means a complete list of Wisconsin's best startups. It's also not just a list of the 32 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 the bracket as just a fun look into tech local companies you need to know in 2022.
Read contest rules here.
