Invest Southwest today announces the Presenting Company finalists selected for the 2021 Venture Madness competition, in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Venture Madness is Arizona’s longest running venture capital conference and pitch event, and joins Arizona Bioscience Week and UNMET Arizona, also hosting events that week at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus at 850 PBC and UA Virginia G. Piper Auditorium.
For the first time since its inception, Venture Madness was opened up to companies nationwide. The competition received 120 applications and ultimately chose 25 top finalists, four to six companies in each of five industry categories. These finalists will move on to the highly anticipated live conference held October 6-7, 2021 at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus downtown. This year’s event also features a host of returning and new partners who generously contribute time, resources and expert mentors to facilitate the Conference and help prepare finalists for the competition. Guest speakers and panel sessions are to be announced.
“Our expert selection committee always has their work cut out for them, and this year was no different,” said Diana Vowels, 2021 chair of Invest Southwest and board member. “We received an incredibly diverse batch of entries from early-stage companies across the U.S. that are shaking up their industries with promising new technologies, products and services. And we’re thrilled with this year’s line-up. We look forward to an incredible turnout of attendees including the ‘who’s who’ of business leaders, mentors and the region’s top investors.”
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. All finalists also receive expert mentorship from seasoned investors, business leaders and other successful entrepreneurs in preparation for the competition. At the live event, they’ll compete in head-to-head pitches in each category for a chance to win prizes and exposure.
“This year’s category tracks should make for a fascinating event.” said Ryan Edwards, 2021 selection panel chair of Invest Southwest and board member. “We created the range of categories to help early-stage firms across a variety of market sectors that are all positively affecting small and emerging-growth businesses. They all certainly have the potential to attract large investor capital and greatly impact the overall economy. ”
This year, there are five industry tracks into which the finalists have been divided. Following are the categories, and the companies that have been selected to represent each:
SaaS
- AlgoFace, Carefree, AZ
- Better Agency, Mesa, AZ
- coManage, Tucson, AZ
- Journeyage, Phoenix, AZ
- Nurture Boss, Scottsdale, AZ
- Steady Install, Tempe, AZ
Tech
- OTOjOY, Scottsdale, AZ
- OZZI, Phoenix, AZ
- Revolute Robotics, Scottsdale, AZ
- Sylvan Source (SSI), San Carlos, CA
- True Adherence, Salt Lake City, UT
Growth
- Aesthetics Biomedical, Phoenix, AZ
- Branch 49, Phoenix, AZ
- Oryx Additive, Inc., Tempe, AZ
- ProCARE Portal, Chandler, AZ
Medical
- Aqualung Therapeutic, Tucson, AZ
- Heads Up Health, Scottsdale, AZ
- Peerlogic, Scottsdale, AZ
- Rubitection, Rochester, NY
- SaiOx, Tucson, AZ
Consumer
HijiBand, Phoenix, AZ
- HomeKey, Phoenix, AZ
- Parts Detect, Phoenix, AZ
- Quilted, Tempe, AZ
- Waiver, Scottsdale, AZ
Winners from the 2020 competition included:
- AdWallet (Consumer category)
- CIRQ+ (Tech category)
- Additive Implants Inc. (Medical category)
- Televeda (Software-as-a-Service category)
Invest Southwest is the premier organization for connecting investors with the best and brightest ventures in the region. In addition to providing valuable information on topics important to the investment community, Invest Southwest offers ongoing opportunities for angel and venture capital investors to connect with early stage and emerging growth companies. Its signature event, the Venture Madness Conference, is a unique competition presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Venture Madness pits thoroughly vetted companies against one another in a head-to-head competition to crown a champion in each category. For more, visit InvestSouthwest.org.
