Close to 2,000 votes were cast in Inno Madness Round 1, and the competition continues.
Inno Madness — our annual bracket-style competition between regional startups — has gone through the nomination process and its first round of voting. It continues with Round 2, and the competition is narrowing.
In Round 1, each match was close, with few upsets or smackdowns. Some of the biggest companies in the region prevailed, like cybersecurity firms A-LIGN and Deepwatch. Tampa Bay Inno profiled the first 32-company competition last week.
But two matches came down to the wire. ShyftOff and Bedrock faced off until the final day of the round, and ShyftOff won with only a close margin. In a similarly tense showdown, Hook Security's match against Nickelytics played out a tight match. By the end of Round 1, Hook Security had emerged as the winner with a 1.5% margin.
Besides these close competitions, two early-stage companies knocked out larger venture-backed firms. Early-stage data service startup Clearset.AI beat one of the most highly valued startups in Tampa Bay in 2024, automation firm Rewst. Meanwhile, venture-backed Funnel Leasing lost to early-stage fractional services platform Fractio, and national production company Vu Technologies lost to the newly launched startup from Synapse creator Brian Kornfeld, MaxU.
Look at the results below and vote in round 2 of Inno Madness. Voting will end on April 17.
Round 2 Competition
Matchup One: Deepwatch vs. Grifin
- Tampa cybersecurity firm Deepwatch has raised more than $180 million and closed the largest funding deal of 2023 for Tampa. In the past five years, it has raised more than $256 million.
- Tampa fintech startup Grifin makes investing in stocks simpler for users by allowing them to invest as they shop. It has raised millions in funding.
Matchup Two: A-LIGN vs. Chattr
- Tampa cybersecurity firm A-LIGN has significant partners in the field, like San Francisco-based-Vanta and San Diego-based Drata, and has raised more than $55 million across investment rounds from FTV Capital and Warburg Pincus.
- Tampa AI hiring software startup Chattr has raised more than $3 million in recent years and partners with fast-food chains and retail stores across Florida.
Matchup Three: Clearset.AI vs. Hook Security
- Early-stage startup Clearset.AI was founded in 2023 and seeks to be a “data scrubbing and cleaning” service for companies. Clearset.AI's founder is Tampa resident Yasmine Gardiner, according to LinkedIn.
- Lakeland-based cybersecurity startup Hook Security closed $5.5 million in 2023 from investors across the state. It combines psychology with programming for its cybersecurity services.
Matchup Four: Fractio vs. Certus Core
- Fatin Kwasny founded Tampa startup Fractio to create a subscription platform for connecting startups to fractional employees.
- Veteran-founded Certus Core is a Tampa software startup seeking to leverage AI and data analytics for companies. It holds government contracts with the U.S. Air Force and has raised more than $1.5 million in seed funding.
Matchup Five: Outbound.com vs. the Natural Nipple
- Tampa entrepreneur Aaron White officially launched his AI-marketing startup Outbound.com from stealth in March. The startup plans to offer customizable outbound marketing services.
- Tampa startup Natural Nipple is seeking to aid breastfeeding in hospitals through infant feeding alternative bottles. The startup has backing from Johnson and Johnson and Florida Blue.
Matchup Six: ShyftOff vs. Reptrics
- Tampa consulting startup ShyftOff seeks to streamline outsourcing and offshoring consulting and contact centers. Florida Funders is an investor in the company.
- Tampa-based software startup Reptrics closed an investment from TampaBay.Ventures in 2022. Its software service seeks to help businesses manage their data.
Matchup Seven: ArchSlate vs. Immertec
- Tampa tech startup ArchSlate closed a $700,000 pre-seed round with participation from Tampa Bay area investors in 2022. Its platform seeks to offer collaboration and automation for the construction industry.
- Tampa-based VR healthtech software startup Immertec has plans to reach its company goals and profitability with a recent $4 million extension funding raise in February.
Matchup Eight: Scholar Education vs. MaxU
- Tampa edtech startup Scholar Education closed a $1.5 million friends and family funding round in March with participation from a cast of Tampa Bay entrepreneurs and businesspeople. The startup has an AI platform for tutoring students and is piloting its tech in Florida.
- Founded by the entrepreneur behind Synapse Summit Brian Kornfeld and co-founder Dan Greco, early-stage software service MaxU seeks to be an educational platform for athletes. It recently partnered with Iowa-based Perfect Game, a talent scouting tool.
