Only four companies are left in our 2023 DC Inno Madness bracket competition among D.C.-area startups.
May to the victor go the spoils (ahem, note from the editor: There are no spoils beyond bragging rights).
As always, it’s your vote that keep the madness going and these companies' bracket dreams alive. And that vote hinges on a simple question: Which of these companies would you put your dollars behind, if given the chance?
Round 2 recap
The second round saw tons of interest with 5,495 votes. And again the lower seeds stole the show with No. 14 seed Bladestack overcoming No. 6 KeifeRX, and No. 7 seed Happied taking the win over fellow Inno Madness veteran No. 2 seed Zephyr AI. Meanwhile, newcomer No. 12 seed Escalate took out No. 4 seed Veriheal.
No. 9 seed CarpeDM was the only higher seed to take home the win against No. 16 seed Blossom Beverages, which saw the clock strike midnight on its Cinderella story.
Will the reign of the lower seeds continue in round 3? Check out the bracket below to see the Round 3 matchups, and click to vote.
The rulebook
Once again, each individual gets one vote per round. Be sure to share the bracket with your networks and mark your calendars so you can join us for the ride. And you can follow it all in our twice-weekly newsletter, The Beat (you can sign up for free).
Third-round voting begins now and continues for one week, ending 5 a.m. on April 10. Each round lasts a week, so make sure you're paying attention to dates. We will crown our ultimate DC Inno Madness winner April 17.
Meet the participants below and read the contest rules here.
Game time!
Alright, it's time now to check out the bracket below of our four remaining contenders to see the Round 3 matchups and to cast your vote below. And if you need a refresher of the remaining companies, see our descriptions below before starting to vote.
Matchup 1
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. (Seed: No.9)
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. (Seed: No. 12)
Matchup 2
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. (Seed: No. 7)
Bladestack: This Tysons cybersecurity firm helps companies overcome their cloud security and federal cybersecurity compliance issues while committing heavily to a samurai motif. (Seed: No. 14)
