Our DC Inno Madness competition is here. And we've got 16 local startups vying for the coveted title of 2023 Inno Madness champion.
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote 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. The bracket is designed to shine a spotlight on 16 innovative, fast-growing local businesses.
The bracket is assembled based on reader nominations, as well as editorial input from the DC Inno team. Seeding was determined total amount of funding raised to date and employee count for any companies that were relatively close in funding. Meet the participants below and read the contest rules here.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in the Greater Washington area. It is by no means a complete list of Greater Washington's best startups, which is a testament to the size of Greater Washington's tech scene. It's also not just a list of the 16 most-funded startups in the region.
Instead, the bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of the bracket as just a fun look into more startups to watch in 2023.
First-round voting begins now and continues for one week, ending 5 a.m. on March 27. Readers can cast one vote per round. We'll open up voting round by round, and future rounds will only last a few days, so make sure you're paying attention to dates. We will crown our ultimate Inno Madness winner next month.
First, let's meet the players:
ThreatQuotient: This isn't this Reston company's first run at DC Inno Madness. The security software startup arms users with threat data and cybersecurity tools.
Zephyr AI: Based out McLean, this was one of the Washington Business Journal's startups to watch for 2023. It uses medical data, like clinical research or hospital patient data, to help medical providers improve outcomes in patient care and research.
Puzzle Huddle: This District startup creates unique, diversity-focused puzzle designs, ones that have made it to Amazon channels and Target shelves, among other retail partners.
Veriheal: This D.C. medical cannabis firm connects patients seeking medical marijuana cards with doctors via a web-based platform, operating in at least 36 states and the District.
Decision Lens: This Arlington tech company, a participant in last year's DC Inno Madness, offers a cloud-based analytics platform for public sector organizations.
KeifeRx: This McLean biotech company develops treatments for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington's and Lewy body dementia.
Happied: Another 2023 startup to watch at the Washington Business Journal, the D.C. startup works with customers to help plan their corporate and staff gatherings and events.
Nevly: A D.C. fintech that just picked up some pre-seed funding, this startup creates software to help lower-income residents and underserved communities boost their credit scores.
CarpeDM: This is a D.C.-born dating app, a cohort member of the Techstars accelerator program and one of the Washington Business Journal's Inno on Fire firms, that provides vetted, hand-curated relationship matches for Black women.
Goodshuffle: This D.C. software-as-a-service company provides subscription-based software for rental companies to manage and grow their businesses.
Vocinity: Based in Reston, this artificial intelligence chatbot company helps clients create AI-powered sales and service assistants that engage with customers via voice or video.
Escalate: This Silver Spring e-learning platform helps employer solve retention issues by using AI-driven aptitude tests to find hidden talents in employees for workers to train, improve and grow with the company.
Media Tradecraft: An ad-tech company, this Reston player helps media companies modernize the operation of the organization and websites.
Bladestack: This Tysons cybersecurity firm helps companies overcome their cloud security and federal cybersecurity compliance issues while committing heavily to a samurai motif.
Tomu: No stranger to Inno Madness, this D.C. real estate startup provides prefabricated residences for individuals looking for a second home or income-producing rental properties.
Blossom Beverages: Looking to stake a claim in the hospitality realm, this D.C. beverage company provides customers a canned espresso martini, debuting at Union Market.
Again, double-check the contest rules here.
And now, let's get into Round 1 …
