Entrepreneurs, investors and startups have a new place to access real-time data, trends and industry insights for the Valley’s tech ecosystem.
Scottsdale-based Freeway, a founder-led community that aggregates entrepreneurial resources, tech talent and events, on Friday launched the Startup Ecosystem Dashboard powered by StartupAZ in collaboration with the city of Phoenix, Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Silicon Valley Bank.
The interactive dashboard — developed by database management company Dealroom — provides metrics for the local ecosystem, such as company valuations, founder information, emerging industries and capital raised. Users can delve deeper into investment activity, including funding data by round, industry and amount.
The platform identifies top-performing startups based on experience of their founding teams, growth rate and more. It includes a news aggregator as well as pages for events and job opportunities. Founders also have an option to claim their company profiles on the platform and add their own data points.
By offering transparency and “actionable” intelligence, the dashboard serves as a catalyst for attracting investment dollars, new startups and top-tier talent to the region, said Daniela Santangelo, director of community at StartupAZ and founder of Freeway.
"This dashboard is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation," Santangelo said. "Our aim is to foster transparency, stimulate investment, and facilitate strategic decision-making through a unified platform accessible to all."
Another goal of the dashboard is to help put Arizona’s fast-growing tech ecosystem on the map. It has been bolstered in recent years by a business friendly environment, university research, an uptick in venture capital investment and entrepreneurial support programs.
StartupAZ exec: Not a 'set it and forget it' project
Santangelo, an entrepreneur, startup adviser and community builder, told AZ Inno that Freeway is a “landmark project” that should drive interest in the region from out-of-area founders and startups.
“This is not a set it and forget it project. This is something that will be maintained to ensure the quality and accuracy going forward,” she said. “We really see this as an opportunity to have a single source of truth as we're kind of looking into how we grow and cultivate our ecosystem.”
Related coverage:
• Why HireRising is seeing growth in tech recruitment sector
• Arizona tech job postings at five-year low, but industry group sees positive signs
Freeway intends to meet quarterly with GPEC, the city of Phoenix and Silicon Valley Bank to analyze improvements for the dashboard.
Santangelo said insights gained from the dashboard can potentially be used to inform decision makers on how to approach growing the local tech ecosystem and design programming, events and investment funds.
“From a founder perspective, it’s really going to help give a lens into the startups that are raising funds and growing and being able to look at them as a case study,” she said.
Jasmine Bhatti, CEO and founder of Navi Nurses, called the Freeway tech dashboard “the golden compass for startups in Arizona.”
“It connects entrepreneurs with all the incredible opportunities that are available in our growing ecosystem so that they can really think ten steps ahead about what directions they want to take, and what support is available to them at the different time points along their journey,” Bhatti said in a statement.
Despite a national slowdown in venture capital deals in 2023, investors poured capital into Arizona-based startups, which raised a total of $1.26 billion across 139 deals last year, the Business Journal previously reported.
Crunchbase data shows Phoenix-area startups generated a total of $6.3 billion in venture capital funding from 2018 to 2023, representing 42% growth across all industry groups. Internet services startups generated $995.8 million in total funding during that time period, representing the greatest amount raised among sectors.
“The surge in funding and entrepreneurship activity in greater Phoenix showcases how the region is becoming a hotbed for prop-tech, edtech, fintech, bioscience and climate tech,” Chris Camacho, GPEC president and CEO, said in a statement. “This dashboard will activate the capabilities of founders and investors to work in tandem and further catalyze sector growth.”
