After four weeks of competition and thousands of online votes, just one local startup is left standing among the 16 Triangle companies featured in Triangle Business Journal's 2022 Inno Madness bracket challenge.
The winner of Triangle Inno Madness is 16-seed Connect Cause of Durham, which beat 6-seed Tellus Therapeutics in the final round. The championship match saw more than 4,400 votes, with Connect Cause getting 56 percent of the support.
Connect Cause is the brainchild of Ahmad Eied, a native of Islip, New York. The company works exclusively with nonprofits and other charitable foundations to improve their technology solutions.
In a profile last year tied to his TBJ 40 under 40 award, Eied said success with Connect Cause came after a failed first startup.
“Sometimes you have to know when to walk away,” he said of the experience. “Taking my first loss on one of my early companies was tough. Sometimes you have to know when to walk away. That was a hard decision, but allowed me to come back stronger, better and a little wiser with the next opportunity.”
Inno Madness launched March 1. It's a bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in? The bracket is designed to shine a spotlight on innovative, fast-growing local businesses. Seeding was determined based on the amount of money the companies have raised from various sources.
Meet the Players:
Spiffy: Spiffy is an on-demand car care startup that allows users to schedule car washes, details and oil changes from their house or office using a mobile app.
Pryon: Pryon has developed a virtual assistant platform companies use to process large amounts of information, closing the knowledge gaps and improving employee productivity.
Finmark: Finmark develops financial modeling tools intended to make it easier for startups to build models and forecast finances without spreadsheets.
Gemelli Biotech: Gemelli is a biotechnology firm that specializes in the microbiome and IBS diagnostics.
MemberHub: MemberHub offers online fundraising and other tools to nonprofits such as PTAs. https://www.memberhub.com
Tellus Therapeutics: Tellus Therapeutics is using technology licensed from Duke University to develop a treatment for babies born at risk of brain injury.
Cycle Labs: Cycle Labs is a test automation platform built for enterprise applications and supply chain systems such as warehouse management.
Green Places: Green Places looks to simplify sustainability for businesses through a software platform that allows firms to calculate their carbon footprint, set reduction goals and keep track of their progress.
The Convoy: The Convoy aims to allow companies to "pool [their] buying power with thousands of other small businesses" in order to access the kinds of savings typically reserved for national chains.
BlueRecruit: BlueRecruit is a staffing firm created as a "better way for tradespeople to find work," without them having to craft a resume or fill out a complicated application.
Rownd: Rownd is a data privacy platform made for businesses that gives users "control of their data."
HomeCloud: HomeCloud is looking to rethink "a neglected piece of the homebuying process" by digitizing home data and simplifying home management.
Rxperius: Rxperius serves information technology and drug development consulting firms through technology platforms that capture user experiences in real-time via analytics.
Without A Trace Foods: Without a Trace is a snack company that creates packaged snacks without any traces of nuts, wheat, eggs, milk and other common allergens.
Snthesis: Snthesis works to convert research data "into one harmonized, searchable knowledge graph."
Connect Cause: Connect Cause works with nonprofits to improve their technologies.