The underdogs just keep on winning.
In the second round of our friendly, bracket-style challenge, the lower seeds won in five of the eight matchups. That continues a trend from first round, which included the lower seeds winning in 11 of the 16 matchups. The biggest upsets in the second round included wins by No. 15 GiftAMeal over No. 2 Geneoscopy and No. 19 Honeymoon Chocolates topping No. 3 Capacity.
While the underdogs have piled up the wins so far in this year’s Inno Madness, top-seeded Arcadian Infracom remains in contention after winning in the first two rounds. 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.
More than 2,600 votes were cast in the second round of Inno Madness. The voter turnout highlights 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 2023.
Third round voting in St. Louis Inno Madness begins now and continues through 12 p.m. Thursday, March 30. 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. Meet the round 3 participants below and read the contest rules here. Readers can cast one vote per round.
Before we unveil the third 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.
The Round 3 Matchups
Matchup 1
#1 Arcadian Infracom: Founded in 2018, Arcadian develops and operates long-haul fiber networks for use by technology companies and carriers. Arcadian's key focus is serving rural and tribal lands in an effort to boost broadband access in underserved areas. Arcadian in 2021 secured $140 million in financing to move forward with its first fiber routes.
#25 Pivto Digital Learning: Pivto is an educational technology company that creates digital learning programs for the health care industry. Its content has ranged from video and simulation training for employees to continuing education programming for medical professionals. It is a member of the 2022 Arch Grants cohort.
Matchup 2
#15 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.
#26 EDUrain: The startup has developed a marketplace designed to be used by colleges and universities to assist students with securing off-campus housing. Its platform provides students with a free credit building program.
Matchup 3
#20 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.
#21 Dataplant: Dataplant has created customer management software to automate insights that companies can use to interact with customers to help them retain revenue. Its software is designed with artificial intelligence to create analysis and reports companies can use to manage their customer base. Dataplant in 2022 closed on a $500,000 seed funding round led by the seed stage fund of St. Louis-based venture capital firm Cultivation Capital.
Matchup 4
#19 Honeymoon Chocolates: Honeymoon is a maker of healthier chocolate, selling “bean to bar” chocolate that includes no refined sugar and is sweetened using only raw honey. It is pursuing expansion through a launch of new alcohol and food offerings, adding a cafe inside its Clayton brick-and-mortar storefront and factory.
#27 VertiGreens: VertiGreens is a hydroponic farming company focused on using shipping containers to grow herbs and greens.
