The underdogs flexed their muscles in the first round of St. Louis Inno Madness.
In our friendly, bracket-style challenge, the lower seeds won in 9 of the 16 first-round matchups of our 32-company bracket. Some of the biggest upsets included wins by No. 32 Approach Dating over No. 1 Wugen and No. 30 Business Video School topping No. 3 Balto.
More than 2,500 individuals cast votes in the first round of St. Louis Inno Madness. A handful of the first-round matchups came down to the wire, decided by only a few percentage points.
The strong voting turnout and close matchups in the first round highlight the goal of Inno Madness, which is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in St. Louis. This contest is by no means a complete list of St. Louis' best startups, which is a testament to the size of St. Louis' tech scene. The bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, look at the bracket as a fun look into local, technology-enabled companies you need to know in 2022.
Second round voting in St. Louis Inno Madness begins now and continues through 5 p.m., Monday, March 14. In this competition, we're asking voters 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. As a reminder, seeding in the bracket was determined based on the amount of funding raised by each company and name recognition of the businesses nominated.
Meet the round 2 participants below and read the contest rules here. Readers can cast one vote per round.
Before we unveil the second round bracket, we’d like to provide a tip of the cap to the companies that won’t be advancing to the next round. Thank you for your participation and for adopting the spirit of Inno Madness through your friendly competition and efforts to get out the vote for your companies. We hope to see you again in the bracket next year and encourage you to vote for your fellow local startups throughout the rest of this year's contest.
Now, let’s get to Round 2…
MEET THE PLAYERS
Matchup 1
#2 Geneoscopy: Geneoscopy, founded in 2015, last year started enrolling patients in its CRC-PREVENT clinical trial, which aims to determine the safety and efficacy of its screening test for colorectal cancer. In 2021, the startup closed on $105 million in financing to advance its technology.
#15 Mission Control: Founded in 2018, Mission Control has developed technology designed to help organizations and intramural sports groups host esports recreational leagues. In July 2020, it announced it had raised $1.75 million in a seed financing round. Last year, it announced it inked a partnership with Plano, Texas-based movie theater chain Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK).
Matchup 2
#4 Summersalt: Founded in 2017, Summersalt is a women’s apparel company that launched with an initial focus on swimwear and has since expanded into other clothing categories that include loungewear, knitwear, sleepwear, intimates and activewear. The startup has raised $26 million in venture funding since its founding.
#20 Eemerg Roadside Assistance: Founded in 2018, Eemerg Roadside Assistance has developed a roadside assistance marketplace app that connects customers with car issues directly to service providers. It has raised about $250,000 in funding and named as one of St. Louis Inno's 2022 Startups to Watch.
Matchup 3
#6 KNOWiNK: KNOWiNK, founded in 2011, is a provider of election technology used by over 1,500 voting authorities in more than 30 U.S. states. The company’s flagship product is Poll Pad, which allows election jurisdictions to replace the paper-based voter check-in and verification process with an electronic alternative.
#22 IncentiLock: IncentiLock provides software available for companies, consulting firms and government agencies. The technology is designed to manage and track economic development tax credits and incentives and to calculate headcount benefits. It won an Arch Grant in 2018.
Matchup 4
#10 Advocado: Founded in 2017, Advocado has developed a cross-media data management technology platform used by brands, media companies and advertising agencies and designed to boost advertising performance. It recently raised $10 million and made a pair of acquisitions.
#26 Total Orbit: Total Orbit has created an education and training platform used by hospitals. It received a $50,000 grant from Arch Grants in 2021.
Matchup 5
#14 Rezilient Health: Founded in 2016, Rezilient has developed robotic telehealth technology and a cloud platform that allows doctors to perform medical services remotely at health care clinics it's currently establishing. It closed a $2.5 million seed round in 2021 and named a semifinalist in the $10 million ANA Avatar XPRIZE contest.
#30 Biz Video School: The company has developed an online school for real estate agents and the real estate workforce to help them use video in their communication and marketing efforts.
Matchup 6
#16 GiftAMeal: Launched in 2015, GiftAMeal has developed an app that provides a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo on its app at a partner restaurant. The startup works with local food pantries to distribute the meals. In 2021, it raised $500,000 from investors to pursue growth in new cities.
#32 Approach Dating: The startup has created a dating app it says partners with local businesses to facilitate dates.
Matchup 7
#21 HomeTraq: Founded in 2017, HomeTraq has created a home showing app designed to help users find agents to schedule a home showing. It was selected for the Capital Innovators startup accelerator in 2019 and won an Arch Grant that same year.
#28 Speak Information Technologies: The startup, led by a group of students from Washington University, is a clinical documentation software company aimed at helping health care providers streamline data entry and administrative tasks. It has raised $22,000 in non-dilutive funding from competitions.
Matchup 8
#24 Hum Industrial Technology: Founded in 2019, Hum Industrial Technology is developing wireless technology and predictive analytics for railroads, rail shippers and car owners. It won a 2020 Arch Grant.
#25 Phas3 Health: It has developed a mobile and web application that facilitates remote cardiac rehabilitation. The startup developed out of research the two co-founders did together at Saint Louis University on smartphone-based medical devices. It won an Arch Grant in 2019.
Read contest rules here.
