Editor's note: This year's Inno Madness has concluded. You can see the final results here.
PHL Inno Madness is here, with 16 local startups vying to be crowned 2022 champion.
Inno Madness is a 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-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely up to you. The bracket is designed to shine a spotlight on 16 innovative, fast-growing businesses in the region.
The inaugural Inno Madness field is by no means a complete list of Greater Philadelphia's best startups, and it's 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 region's growing tech ecosystem. Think of the bracket as a fun look into local tech startups you need to know in 2022.
The bracket is assembled based on reader nominations, as well as input from the PHL Inno editorial team. Companies have been grouped into four categories:
Unicorns
- Dbt Labs: Data analytics startup dbt Labs is weighing the possibility of going public. Now the second-highest-valued startup in Greater Philadelphia with a valuation of $4.2 billion, dbt Labs is channeling its energy into further developing its platform to handle its fast-growing user base.
- Gopuff: Delivery startup Gopuff is well on its way to going public after raising huge growth capital in the last year. Gopuff last raised a $1.5 billion convertible note that could lift its valuation to as much as $40 billion. The company was last valued at $15 billion.
- Misfits Market: Misfits Market has evolved from a startup solely selling “ugly produce” to cut down on food waste into a full-blown grocery vendor offering direct-to-consumer produce, proteins and dairy. The startup raised $425 million in 2021. With a valuation now topping $2 billion, Misfits Market is expanding quickly and hiring hundreds of individuals in Greater Philadelphia.
- Phenom: Human resources tech startup Phenom is on an acquisition streak, picking up four companies in the last two years. The Ambler-based unicorn most recently acquired German tech startup Tandemploy and is planning for rapid expansion into Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Life sciences
- AscellaHealth: AscellaHealth is one of Greater Philadelphia’s fastest-growing companies with revenue growth reaching 417% over the three-year period from 2017 to 2020. The Berwyn-based pharmacy benefit management startup was ranked at No. 299 on Deloitte’s 2021 Technology Fast 500 list and has raised $50 million since it was founded in 2013. AscellaHealth offers pharmacy management programs to provide access to specialty medications.
- Center for Breakthrough Medicines: The Center for Breakthrough Medicines is already having a busy 2022, entering deals with local organizations to research and develop gene therapy treatments and opening a lab that could add up to 400 jobs in Greater Philadelphia. The King of Prussia startup received $350 million in an equity investment from SK Inc., a South Korean conglomerate, to continue developing cell and gene therapy treatments.
- ExpressCells: Gene editing startup ExpressCells is making big moves, securing a patent for its gene-editing technology. The Temple University spinout also inked a deal with a Japanese distributor to get its products to Japan’s research community and received a round of funding to continue to expand its operations.
- Picwell: Picwell aims to take the guesswork out of workplace benefit and health care plan decisions through its platform that lays out the cost and parameters of each. The startup has doubled its client base and revenue since launching its product in 2019.
Emerging growth
- Crossbeam: Crossbeam didn’t need growth capital when it raised a $76 million Series C in October, but the startup felt it could grow into a better company faster with the large cash infusion. The startup operates a platform that lets companies share data between firms to build or improve partnerships.
- Houwzer: Houwzer is challenging the traditional homebuying model while being one of the country’s fastest-growing companies. The real estate tech startup is set to add three new products to its roster, a move that will help Houwzer expand in its current markets. It recently raised a Series B comprising $18 million in equity and a $100 million warehouse line of credit.
- LifeBrand: If you’ve been to a sports event in Philadelphia in recent months, odds are you’ve seen LifeBrand’s logo. The West Chester social media auditing startup has partnerships with local teams including the 76ers, Eagles and the Phillies. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith obtained equity in the company through an endorsement deal last year. LifeBrand raised a $27 million Series A in January, bringing its valuation to $110 million.
- Piano: Piano is working to be the first service publishing companies think of when it comes to posting online. That includes buying up startups operating in the same space. Piano recently acquired social media metrics company SocialFlow, a startup that also caters to media companies.
Up-and-comers
- Employee Cycle: Employee Cycle was the only Philadelphia-area company to land a spot in Comcast NBCUniversal’s coveted LIFT Labs accelerator in 2021. The startup is in the midst of raising a $2.5 million seed round to expand the reach of its human resources data firm.
- Lula Delivery: Lula is on an upward growth trajectory. The Philadelphia startup, which offers delivery from convenience stores and bodegas through existing platforms like DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats, as well as through its own platform, recently raised $5.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round.
- Philanthropi: Headed up by Keith Leaphart, the chair of the Lenfest Foundation, Philanthropi created a “401(k) for philanthropy” platform that lets consumers start their own personal foundations to support charities and nonprofits of their choice. The startup, among the newest in Greater Philadelphia, raised a $4 million seed round in December.
- xBound: XBound is on the path to creating new opportunities for older folks. The Philadelphia startup developed a job board website for experienced job seekers — such as retired or semi-retired people — seeking full-time work, a part-time gig, consulting jobs or volunteer opportunities. Employers looking for workers with decades of experience can post their listings on xBound.
Now that you've met the businesses in the running for the 2022 Inno Madness title, it's time to vote. First-round voting begins today and continues through March 7 at 11:59 p.m. New rounds of voting will launch each Wednesday and close the following Monday. We'll hold voting round by round, ultimately crowning a winner at the end of March.
Let's get started with Round 1. Vote here:
Questions about Inno Madness? Read the contest rules here.
