Invest Southwest Announces Venture Madness Final 16 and Keynote Speaker at Inaugural Event

Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, introduces the final 16 competing start-ups. Additionally, Venture Madness announces that Geoffrey Moore, best-selling author of Crossing the Chasm, will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural event.

“Venture Madness is that coalescence of entrepreneurs, start-ups, venture capitalists, angel investors, incubators, along with Arizona’s many supporting organizations, which work together to form a vibrant business environment that helps early-stage companies advance in the global marketplace.”

After two online elimination rounds, only 16 of the original 64 start-ups remain. These final contenders will live pitch their way through the brackets of this unique, head-to-head business pitch competition that culminates March 5-7 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. Only one start-up will be named Venture Madness Champion and walk away from the event with their share of $50,000 in cash prizes, along with the prestige that comes with the title.

“Our state provides a platform for innovators to showcase their ideas to the world, creating opportunities for the next generation of Fortune 500 companies and breakthrough start-ups to rise from Arizona,” said Sandra Watson, president and CEO of Arizona Commerce Authority. “Venture Madness is that coalescence of entrepreneurs, start-ups, venture capitalists, angel investors, incubators, along with Arizona’s many supporting organizations, which work together to form a vibrant business environment that helps early-stage companies advance in the global marketplace.”

The Venture Madness Final 16

The advancing start-ups, their industry and hometown, plus their head-to-head matchups for the live pitching rounds are:

• Strongwatch (Tucson | Instrumentation) v. Picmonic (Tempe | Education)
• Brettapproved (Phoenix | Travel) v. Pinnacle Transplant Technologies (Phoenix | Biotech)
• Universal Bio Mining (Tucson | Biotech) v. Outski (Tucson | Travel)
• Phocus (Phoenix | Products/Services) v. ReplyBuy (Scottsdale | Mobile)
• Contatta (Scottsdale | Software) v. Park Genius (Tucson | Software)
• Recoleta (Tucson | Advertising/Marketing) v. Endovantage (Tempe | Healthcare)
• SiO2 Nanotech (Phoenix | Nanotechnology) v. Delivery IT (Phoenix | Software)
• Notebowl (Tucson | Internet/Web Services) v. Clear Demand (Scottsdale | Software)

Keynote Speaker

Geoffrey Moore, best-selling author, leading business consultant and  managing director at Geoffrey Moore Consulting, will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Venture Madness event. Moore brings an in-depth knowledge of the start-up ecosystem to the Venture Madness event agenda.

“Our goal with Venture Madness was to create the go-to event in the region for investors and the start-up ecosystem,” said Jonathan Ariano, chair of Invest Southwest. “Between the exciting, live-pitch format of the competition and now Geoffrey delivering the keynote speech, the inaugural Venture Madness is set to exceed our goal.”

Tickets to Venture Madness, to be held March 5-7 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., include all access to live pitching, an opening and closing cocktail reception, plus tickets to a Spring Training baseball game. Click here to learn more, view the details agenda and purchase tickets.