Editor's note: This year's Inno Madness has concluded. You can see the final results here.
PHL Inno Madness has been full of surprises over the past three weeks, with underdogs taking out the bracket's top seeds to advance despite the odds. That remained the case in the semifinals, where No. 3 seed Houwzer topped No. 1 seed Misfits Market to set up a match with the Center for Breakthrough Medicines for the inaugural title.
PHL Inno Madness launched on March 2 as a fun way to elevate tech-enabled startups in Greater Philadelphia and showcase the innovation ecosystem as a whole. We built a bracket of 16 companies based on reader nominations, as well as editorial input. Companies were seeded and divided into four categories: unicorns, life sciences, emerging growth and up-and-comers.
Over 1,300 votes were cast in the semifinal round, which ran through March 21.
Companies from the emerging growth and life sciences sections of the bracket ultimately emerged victorious, setting the stage for one final clash.
Houwzer, the Philadelphia-based real estate startup, hasn’t had an easy draw. In the first round, it went toe-to-toe with fellow Philadelphia startup Piano in a very close reader vote in which it prevailed 51% to 49%.
That set up one of the most hotly contested second-round matchups of the tournament as it went up against LifeBrand, which looked to stop Houwzer’s momentum. After the companies exchanged leads throughout the week, Houwzer made a last push to prevail 52% to 48%. For its efforts, Houwzer was rewarded with tournament heavyweight Mistfits Market in the semifinals. The Delanco, New Jersey, grocery delivery service, which knocked off No. 1 seed Gopuff to emerge from the unicorns region of the bracket, looked like the favorite. But as it had in past rounds, Houwzer dispatched its competitor in its most comfortable win to date – 57% to 43% – to claim its spot in the finals.
There it will again be the underdog in a title showdown with the No. 1-seeded Center for Breakthrough Medicines. The King of Prussia cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization has had strong voter support from the start and moved through its portion of the draw with ease. The Center for Breakthrough Medicines first took out ExpressCells (62% to 38%) and then AscellaHealth (58% to 42%) to claim the life sciences region of the bracket. In the semifinals, it came up against Philanthropi, which had huge reader support – but not as much as CMB. In its closest matchup of the tournament, the Center for Breakthrough Medicines pulled through to win 53% to 47%.
Who will prevail in this final round and claim the first PHL Inno Madness title? Readers will decide. Voting is now open and runs through March 28 at 11:59 p.m.
Read up on the finalists below.
- 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 2,000 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.
- 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.
Cast your vote here: PHL Inno Madness finals
Questions about Inno Madness? Read the contest rules here.
