Innovative Startups Shine at Venture Madness 2023
PHOENIX, AZ (April 13, 2023) — The annual Venture Madness competition, a collaborative effort by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and Venture Madness, recently declared its 2023 winners. This event is renowned as Arizona’s longest-running pitch competition and serves as a crucial platform for early-stage and emerging growth companies to connect with prominent angel investors and venture capital firms.
This year, from a competitive pool of 88 applicants, 17 finalists were chosen to participate in head-to-head pitches, culminating on April 13. The judges awarded cash prizes to the top three contenders: $25,000 for first place, $10,000 for second, and $5,000 for third.
Top Three Winners of Venture Madness 2023
- 1st Place: Strategikon Pharma, which offers a comprehensive cloud-based platform designed to streamline the budgeting, sourcing, and management of complex clinical trials.
- 2nd Place: The Polls Platform, a tool that enables users to create, share, and vote on polls, enhancing engagement and conversion naturally.
- 3rd Place: Elevate, a program helping candidates acquire essential skills through a focused 10-week course aimed at securing technology roles.
Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, praised the winners: Congratulations to this year’s Venture Madness winners. Each year, we are more impressed than ever with the caliber of startups and their innovations focused on solving tomorrow’s challenges. For over a decade, the ACA has prioritized advancing our startup ecosystem and supporting our entrepreneurial community. We are proud to partner with Venture Madness and support these talented entrepreneurs.
Venture Madness 2023 also featured alumni sessions with previous winners and finalists such as Botco.ai, Better Agency, AlgoFace, and Metfora. These founders shared insights on capital raising and scaling operations in Arizona. Moreover, the event included an Expo area for the second consecutive year, providing a platform for finalists and other emerging companies to present their innovations to a nationwide audience of accredited investors.
Since its inception in 1992, Venture Madness has facilitated over $1 billion in capital funding. Noteworthy past winners include CampusLogic, Televeda, Homie, and Qwick.
Media Contact: Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]
About Venture Madness
Venture Madness by Invest Southwest is a premier organization connecting investors with the region’s top ventures. It offers year-round events, including Arizona’s longest-running capital conference and pitch competition, and serves as an essential networking hub for investors, early-stage companies, business leaders, and mentors. For more details, visit venturemadness.com.
About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is Arizona’s leading economic development organization, dedicated to growing and strengthening the state’s economy through attracting, expanding, and creating new businesses. Learn more at azcommerce.com and follow on Twitter at @azcommerce.
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