This year's Inno Madness has concluded. You can see the final results here.
The reigning champion is out after the first round of this year’s PHL Inno Madness challenge, and it wasn’t the only heavyweight to fall. Underdogs swept the Round 1 matchups, clearing the way for an unexpected second round.
In a late push Monday night, Narberth-based Respage edged out the 2022 Inno Madness champion, Center for Breakthrough Medicines. The AI-driven apartment marketing and lease solution firm, the bracket's lowest-seeded startup at No. 16, took the win with 51% of the votes in the most closely contested matchup of the week.
While many of the first-round upsets were tightly contested, No. 15 seed AnaOno scored a runaway victory over the bracket's No. 2 seed, dbt Labs. The Philadelphia apparel brand for breast cancer survivors shot out to an early lead over the unicorn analytics startup and held onto it throughout the March 8-13 voting window. AnaOno got more than 62% of the vote to advance.
In another surprise win, Langhorne-based Lux Ice, which makes slow-melting ice spheres for beverages, took more than 59% of the vote in its matchup against AI-driven trading card valuation platform CollX.
Motobyo, the Horsham used car marketplace startup, also pulled an upset, taking nearly 55% of the vote in its matchup against bet trading app Sporttrade.
No. 3 seed AscellaHealth, which last year made it to the second round before falling to the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, was toppled by Delaware environmental startup Carbon Reform, which took over 55% of the vote in their Round 1 matchup.
Three other matchups — No. 4 WatchBox vs. No. 13 Rego, No. 5 The Rounds vs. No. 12 Navengage, and No. 8 CampusESP vs. No. 9 Propeller — went down to the wire. The lower seeds all emerged victorious, eking out victories by less than 5% of the vote.
With the first round in the books, the remaining companies move on to Round 2, which will see Propeller take on Respage, Navengage compete with Rego, AnaOno clash with Motobyo, and Lux Ice take on Carbon Reform.
Voting for Round 2 runs through March 20 at 11:59 p.m.
Need a refresher on each of these companies? Read more about them below and then cast your vote to determine who will move on to the semifinals.
- Propeller: The Philadelphia-based insurance tech startup just raised a $6.4 million seed round in January after growing 300% in 2022. Founded by two insurance industry veterans, the firm allows agents and customers to quote, pay and receive bonds in minutes, streamlining an antiquated process. Propeller projects it will grow another 300% in 2023 and reach $3 million in gross written premium per month.
- Motobyo: Based in Horsham, Motobyo was founded in 2021 and had its beta launch in 2022. The young company serves as a used car marketplace for buying and selling vehicles and is looking to expand throughout the Northeast this year before going national. It also connects users to third-party services like inspections, financing and insurance. Its founders have raised $2.5 million to date.
- Lux Ice: Launched in 2020, the Langhorne-based startup is looking to disrupt the ice industry by creating and selling slow melting, ionically filtered ice spheres for cocktails and other drinks. Focused on consumers amid the pandemic, Lux Ice is now shifting its focus to the food and stadium industries. The company raised over $2 million in a Series A last year and has brought on Frito-Lay alums to its executive team. In the first quarter, Lux Ice is opening a new facility in Dallas which it expects will lead to growth by a factor of 40.
- Navengage: Based in Conshochoken, Navengage was founded by three Penn State University alums. Its mobile app and web platform helps colleges and universities increase engagement with students, which may help boost retention. In September, the company announced it had raised $1 million, including from Nelnet, toward its $1.5 million goal.
- Rego: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw out about 12 million tons of furniture each year. Philadelphia-based Rego is looking to reduce that figure. Founded in 2020, Rego's platform gives residents and property managers the tools to divert waste with technology. The company works with multifamily communities to pick up and distribute goods to nonprofits. Since its launch, Rego has salvaged 90,000 tons of furniture.
- Carbon Reform: Founded by two University of Delaware alums, Carbon Reform is looking to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions from buildings. Based in Wilmington, the firm raised a $3 million seed round in November, the same month its founders were named to the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Founded in 2020, Carbon Reform is looking to democratize carbon capture by creating a device that can be integrated into existing HVAC systems.
- AnaOno: After being diagnosed with breast cancer, AnaOno's founder decided to create a line of garments that met the needs of survivors like herself. Last year the Philadelphia-based brand raised a $1 million seed round which it is looking to use to more than triple its user base to 100,000. Earlier this year, AnaOno received additional funding from Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
- Respage: Last year, Respage landed at No. 36 on the Business Journal's annual Soaring 76 list of the region's fastest-growing companies. It saw two-year growth of 35.84%. Based in Narberth, Respage is an AI-driven apartment marketing and lease solution firm that amid the pandemic helped multifamily complexes navigate social distancing restrictions and then shifted to leads. Last year, the company launched a new AI software application aimed at nurturing apartment prospects.
Questions about Inno Madness? Read the contest rules here.
