The Tech Madness Sweet Sixteen may have had half the amount teams in the bracket, but the remaining ones pulled in three times the amount of votes as round one – just over 3,000 to be exact.
Upsie is still in the game, but was displaced by Dispatch as the top vote-getter this round. Upsie next faces off against fellow Target + Techstars alum Inspectorio. Inspectorio was up against tech giant Code 42 last round and emerged victorious by just 15 votes. And prior to that, Inspectorio beat its round one matchup, Learn to Live, by only one vote.
Recovree won its mental health matchup against MN Cup champion HabitAware by only seven votes. Recovree pulled off a big upset in round one, topping agriculture-technology company Conservis. We'll see if it can keep up the momentum in the Elite Eight against fin-tech startup Sezzle.
The tightest race of the Sweet Sixteen was between Structural and Field Nation. Ultimately, Structural came out on top, but only by two votes. Next, Structural is up against Branch, which beat Bright Health, the most funded startup in the state, in round two. Branch also made it to the Final Four in last year's tournament. Needless to say, it won't be an easy round for either startup.
Remember, to determine the outcome of each matchup we want you to ask yourselves this question: Who would you invest in? This can be interpreted a number of different ways. Is this about which startup could deliver the highest return? Who you think is the safest bet? Or is it about supporting a project or mission you’re passionate about? However you want to interpret that question is up to you.
Read more about the Tech Madness Elite Eight below the bracket.
Branch: Branch was founded in California but relocated to the Twin Cities after participating in the first Techstars Retail program in 2016. The company, which offers employee scheduling software, grew quickly in its new home state, closing on $10 million less than a year after moving to Minneapolis.
Structural: Structural is a SaaS startup that aims to give businesses greater insight into their workforce by analyzing data contained in human-resources systems and employee-created profiles. The company raised $2.5 million in 2018 from a group of investors that included Rise of the Rest. Structural is led by tech veterans Scott Burns and Chip House.
Dispatch: High-tech delivery service Dispatch raised $7.8 million in late 2018. Dispatch targets companies that need to deliver products like auto parts, construction materials, paint and HVAC components to customer sites. The company’s tech lets suppliers orchestrate deliveries without owning their own fleet of vehicles or employing drivers.
ClickSwitch: Financial-technology startup ClickSwitch aims to make it easier for people to move bank accounts from one financial institution to another. The company was founded in 2014 and closed on $3.5 million in funding last year.
Inspectorio: Techstars Retail alum Inspectorio makes technology for supply-chain inspections. Last year, the company closed on $10 million from an investor group that included Techstars and Ecolab. The company moved to Minneapolis from Hong Kong after participating in the Techstars accelerator in 2016.
Upsie: Another Techstars Retail alum, Upsie makes a mobile app that lets consumers compare, buy and track extended-service warranty plans. The company closed on a $1.7 million round of funding last year led by an investor group that included Techstars.
Sezzle: Sezzle, a startup that makes it easier for consumers to pay for online purchases in installments, closed on more than $100 million in financing in 2018. More than 200,000 users have signed up for Sezzle’s service since it launched 18 months ago.
Recovree: Recovree, a startup founded by former Minnesota Cup director Melissa Kjolsing and her brother Luke Kjolsing, is helping people recover from substance use disorders by connecting them with peer support specialists, an increasingly popular, sponsor-like resource for those trying to achieve and maintain sobriety. Since then, the company has raised a $325,000 seed round to grow its business. Recovree also received $50,000 after winning a startup competition in North Dakota and received $30,000 for taking the top place in the Minnesota Cup’s impact ventures division.
