Arizona Commerce Authority Announces Winners for Venture Madness 2021

After 22 entrepreneurs pitched their companies at Venture Madness, judges selected five winners, who won $10,000 each.

The winners are:

• Consumer category: HomeKey, a Phoenix company that makes a simplified, intelligent home maintenance management system used by owners, builders and home improvement professionals.
• Growth category: Aesthetics Biomedical, a Phoenix company that makes natural and personalized products that target stimulation of the body’s natural functions to reverse signs of aging, delivering ROI for physicians and providers.
• Medical category: SaiOx, a Tucson company that developed a respiratory assist device named Hespiro for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).
• Software as a Service (SaaS) category: Better Agency, a Mesa company that provides one platform for customer relationship management for independent insurance agencies.
• Tech category: OZZI, a Phoenix company that makes a real-time, mobile safety application for users in the U.S. military and employers and contractors of the U.S. government.

In addition to these five category winners, Rubitection was selected as the 2021 People’s Choice award winner by Venture Madness attendees, taking home $2,500. Rubitection makes a device for early detection, assessment and care management of dermatological conditions and wounds.

For the first time this year, Venture Madness was opened to companies nationwide. The competition received 120 applications and announced 25 finalists in August 2021 between the five industry categories.

Venture Madness is open to early stage and emerging growth companies and offers its participants exclusive access to the region’s most active, accredited angel investors and venture capital firms. At the live event, they competed in head-to-head pitches in each category for a chance to win prizes and exposure.

The longest running pitch competition in Arizona, Venture Madness is presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Next year, Venture Madness will take place in March 2022.

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create – attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries.