What started as a wide-open field of 16 competitors has quickly been narrowed down to just four. Before we see the semifinal matchups, let’s see how the last round shook out.
Career discovery company Wingspans had the closest competition this round and ended up beating The Flourish Fund, a wellness baby registry, by less than 20 votes.
More than 700 votes were cast in this round, and Feast & Fettle won the most reader votes with 409. It was enough to beat out apparel production company SquadLocker for a spot in the semifinals.
VoltServer had a dominant victory over startup Pangea.app and will be moving on to the next round.
Finally, cybersecurity company Infused Innovations won over voters, sending it to the next round over Ritual Motion and its virtual gaming platform.
Check out the bracket below to see the semi-final matchups and get voting!
What is Inno Madness?
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge in which readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in? Whether you believe in one mission or product slightly 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 local businesses.
The bracket, which Rhode Island Inno’s editorial team assembled based on nominations submitted by readers in recent weeks, encompasses a broad range of private, venture capital-backed or bootstrapped firms. In some cases, startups in their earliest stages will compete against some established favorites.
Take a look at the participating companies in our bracket and read the contest rules here.
The bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of the bracket as just a fun look into tech local companies you need to know in 2022. Last year, Artist Republik took home the trophy. The company was acquired earlier this year by Friendable Inc., a mobile and marketing tech company.
Take a look at our voting guide below. Then, scroll down to cast your vote.
When can I vote?
Rhode Island’s Inno Madness includes several stages, and the competition gets narrowed down over the course of several weeks. We’ll keep you posted on who’s advancing, and who’s not, right here on RhodeIslandInno.com and in the Beat. Subscribe here if you're not already on the list.
Here’s the voting schedule to keep track of each move as voters decide who’s advancing to the next level. Voting will close at 9 a.m. on the final day of each round to give us time to tally the votes before the next round starts.
Round 1: March 22 to March 28
Round 2: March 29 to April 4
Round 3: April 5 to April 11
Round 4: April 12 to 18
2022 Inno Madness Champion announced: April 19
Now, it’s time to get to the voting. Once each round of voting closes, we’ll advance the winners.
How do I vote?
You can vote in the bracket below, which will be automatically updated throughout the competition.
Let's go!
Meet this year’s players, which are broken up into four regions.
Region A
- Feast & Fettle: This company is a premium delivery food service to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Its team prepares, packs and delivers home-cooked meals right to a customer’s door.
Region B
- VoltServer: VoltServer is trying to commercialize the distribution of electricity in a natively digital format. Its patented platform delivers safe electricity where, when and how it is needed.
Region C
- Infused Innovations: Infused Innovations takes a security-first approach to help clients create a secure intelligent workplace and reimagine their existing business models.
Region D
- Wingspans: Wingspans helps diverse youth find a career through rich, personal stories and helps companies drive racial and ethnic diversity in their talent pipelines.
