Meet the Arizona startup finalists for 2023 AZ Inno Fire Awards

Small businesses are the spark behind the growing Arizona economy, and the Phoenix Business Journal is again ready to honor a group of fast-growing, innovative (and pretty cool) startups and founders in the second-annual AZ Inno Fire Awards.

The 2023 Fire Awards will honor startups and founders in four award categories: Software, Biotech/Health Care, Inno Picks and Female Founders. The Fire Awards are the premier awards program for AZ Inno, the statewide online publication that is the go-to source for information about fast-track startups and the state's innovation economy.

The Fire Awards event, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, is set for Thursday, June 15, at Papago Golf Club, 5595 E Karsten Way, in Phoenix, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Get tickets here.

Nearly 60 nominations were received this year, including financial performance, employee growth and recent funding rounds and other reasons why they should be considered as a Fire Award finalist — those startups that are laying down a blazing trail of growth, disruption and innovation in their respective industry niches. The finalists were selected by the AZ Inno staff.

Diana Vowels wins Blazer Award

In addition, AZ Inno will also honor an entrepreneur who has worked tirelessly over the years to promote Arizona's startup ecosystem and innovation economy, and has a track record of giving back to the community.

The 2023 winner of the AZ Inno Blazer Award is Diana Vowels, CEO of StartupAZ, an organization set up to bring together and inspire Arizona entrepreneurs. She also serves on the board of directors of the Venture Madness, and was the 2021 chair for its annual startup investors’ conference and pitch competition.

Vowels will be presented with the coveted red blazer jacket by the 2022 Blazer Award winner, Gregg Scoresby, the founder of PHX Launch, a venture studio that is funding startup Valley software firms.

Scoresby will also be featured in a one-on-one interview with AZ Inno reporter Amy Edelen to talk about the state of the Arizona venture capital scene.

Here are the 2023 AZ Inno Fire Awards finalists, listed in alphabetical order in each of the four categories:

Software

Health Care/Biotech

Female Founders

Inno Picks

Based on the information received from nominees, these companies stood out to the judges as feisty examples of startups that are setting the stage for a fast-track future:

Click here to read about the winners of the inaugural Fire Awards in 2022, and look through the photo gallery below to see who attended last year's awards event: