Invest Southwest and the Arizona Commerce Authority Announce 64 Startups Selected for Venture Madness Competition

PHOENIX, AZ (January 9, 2015) — It’s game time: 64 of the most promising startup ventures in the southwest have been selected to compete in the second annual Venture Madness pitch competition, representing 23 different industries and three states, including Arizona, Colorado and Texas. The complete bracket of 64 with company information is published at: www.VentureMadness.com.

Presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), Venture Madness is a unique competition that pits 64 early stage growth companies against one another in a bracket-style, head-to-head competition.

“The high quality of applications we received this year is a testament to the strength of our innovation ecosystem,” said Jonathan Ariano, chairman of Invest Southwest. “This very promising group of companies demonstrates that investors should be paying attention to what is happening here in the Southwest. One of our main goals is to help participating companies raise awareness, with both potential investors and customers, and the addition of bracketology to the competition this year really boosts that level of exposure.”

“Venture Madness is a unique program among the many opportunities Arizona offers early-stage growth companies,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority. “Engaging with these companies is an important part of our mission to strengthen and expand Arizona’s overall economy. Arizona has become an established center for entrepreneurial activity and is a best place to start and grow a successful business.”

The companies competing in Venture Madness include past participants from the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), the ACA’s bi-annual business plan competition for innovative startups and early stage companies. In addition, companies from around the Southwest region applied and were identified through an evaluation and selection process to form the first bracket of 64 ventures.

Listed in alphabetical order, the 64 companies competing in Venture Madness are:

Access Legal
Adosia LLC
Beacon Biomedical Inc.
Big5 IO LLC
Brightguest Technologies Inc.
Cactus Semiconductor
CampusLogic Inc.
Clear Demand
Crowd Mics
EndoVantage LLC
Eventinterface
EZ Dump Commercial Inc.
Force Impact Technologies
FullContour.com
GLTYR
GoMechanic
HumansFirst Technology
Innovative Green Technologies LLC
Intrakr
Invisume
Iris
iTel Companies Inc.
Keasy
Kengineering Technical Services
Kulira Technologies Inc.
MedToGo LLC
MobileLogix
My Rounding Solutions LLC
NeoLight
Next Potential LLC
Numa Tactical LLC
Outski Inc.
Pandora’s Hope
Park Genius
Photon Medical Communications Inc.
Picmonic
Play Without Boundaries Inc.
Pure Chat Inc.
Put IT Down
Rennection Inc.
ReplyBuy Inc.
Revolutionary Medical Devices
RevolutionParts Inc.
Rideye
RightBio Metrics
Sentinel Internet Systems
Service Guru
ShootersRev
Smart Armor LLC
Software Ops Mobile Apps
Solution54
Solution Synergy LLC
Spotlight Software LLC
Stellar Research Enterprises Inc.
+swappow
Swimlane
Talu
Tiply Inc.
The BLAST Mask
The Medical Memory
ThroughPoint Solutions
TopFan
Triton Microtechnologies
Universal Bio Mining

The first of two online elimination rounds begins on January 9, 2015 at VentureMadness.com. During the two online rounds, a winner in each matchup will be determined solely by a panel of judges. After the two online elimination rounds, 16 companies will advance to the live-demo portion of the contest held March 4-6, 2015 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. It's here where they will compete for their share of $50,000 in cash prizes by live-pitching their way through the brackets before the panel of judges, who will ultimately determine which company will be crowned the 2015 Venture Madness Champion.

New this year, the public is invited to evaluate the company information online beginning on January 9, 2015 and fill out a bracket, choosing which companies they think will advance through each round. The first place bracketology winner will receive a 13 inch MacBook Air, and the runner up will win an iPad Air 2. Bracketology winners will be announced after the competition is over.

Media Contact

Diane Smith, MartzParsons, (480) 998-3154 [email protected]

Joseph Valdez, Arizona Commerce Authority, (602) 845-1234, [email protected]

About Invest Southwest

Invest Southwest has been the premier organization for connecting investors with ventures in the region for over 20 years. In addition to providing valuable thought leadership on topics important to the investment and startup communities, Invest Southwest offers year-round opportunities for engagement via a series of educational seminars and networking events. Its signature event, Venture Madness, is a unique startup competition presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Venture Madness pits 64 startups against one another in a bracket-style, head-to-head competition to crown the champion. Visit www.investsouthwest.org for more information.

About the Arizona Commerce Authority

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. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter at @azcommerce.