Meet the 2022 Wisconsin Inno Madness finalists

Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in?

In five voting rounds throughout March, we narrowed down a bracket of 32 Wisconsin startups to name the 2022 Wisconsin Inno Madness champion. Let's meet the 2022 winner and the three finalists.

Showboat (winner)

Created in response to the pandemic, 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.

The company is currently working on adding features and users to its platform, which is designed to enable natural interactions like side conversations within a larger event. As the concept of the metaverse has gained popularity in the last year, Showboat is positioning itself as a bridge technology.

"We see Showboat as the bridge between what exists today — the 2D video conferencing platforms such as (Microsoft) Teams and Zoom — and the full-blown VR metaverse," Showboat CEO Nate Kresse said.

Carbliss (runner-up)

Founded by husband-and-wife team Adam and Amanda Kroener when they were on a keto diet, Carbliss makes vodka-based canned cocktails that have zero carbs and sugar, and are available at bars and grocery stores in seven states.

In the crowded hard seltzer and canned cocktail market, Carbliss stands out for its flavor and the company's personable sales approach, the Kroeners said. The beverages taste like juice or Kool-Aid — "You can't taste the booze," Adam said.

The company sold more than 1 million cans in 2021 and is already close to surpassing that number this year, with around 995,000 cans sold in 2022, according to the company.

Child Health Imprints (finalist)

Originally founded in Singapore, neonatal health care technology startup Child Health Imprints moved its headquarters to Madison in 2021. The company's co-founder and CEO Harpreet Singh is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Singh, who previously worked on two other startups including one he said was acquired by a subsidiary of health technology firm Philips (NYSE: PHG), started Child Health Imprints in response to his personal experience of losing an infant child. The company leverages the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and predictive analysis in its mission to improve the quality of neonatal health care.

In addition to other partnerships across the U.S. and Canada, Child Health Imprints is collaborating with UW-Madison and American Family Children's Hospital in Madison. The company's products are already used in Singapore, India and South Korea.

Understory (finalist)

Understory builds insurance solutions for the era of climate change. The company's weather risk model is based on data from its Dot sensors deployed across the globe, enabling Understory to automate and streamline risk-based pricing, loss notification and claims processing.

The company's recent focus has been building its hyperlocal climate risk engine for insurers and reinsurers, Understory CEO Alex Kubicek said. The product aims to bridge the coverage gap he said exists in severe weather, where only a fraction of economic losses due to natural catastrophes are covered by insurance.

Understory also has a hail insurance product for auto dealerships and recently announced a partnership with Paris-based insurance technology startup Atekka to offer protection for wine growers in France's Cognac region.