Voting opens for Venture Madness top 64 startups

Time to break out the brackets for Venture Madness 2016! This event, brought to the Valley by Invest Southwest and Arizona Commerce Authority, is where the top 64 startups go head-to-head in a pitch competition and vie for a portion of the $100,000 prize and the chance to be crowned champion. The first elimination round begins tomorrow … Read more

Winner! Winner! ACA Innovation Challenge Fall finalists announced!

There’s a week or so left before the new year and these startups have more money to kick off 2016 with a bang and build their business. The ACA Innovation Challenge announced their Fall finalists who will take home $250,000 in grant money to grow their business. Let’s find out who’s celebrating tonight…   Beacon … Read more

Top 10 finalists announced for Fall 2015 Arizona Innovation Challenge

Ten finalists were announced today for the bi-annual Arizona Innovation Challenge held by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). This time around 131 companies applied from Arizona, California, Ohio, Utah and Virginia. It was whittled down to 25 semifinalists in October and now to the top 10. This is the biggest challenge in Arizona and the … Read more

Top 25 semifinalists for Fall 2015 ACA Innovation Challenge announced

Over 131 applicants were considered before the judges narrowed it down to the top 25 semifinalists in the Fall 2015 Arizona Innovation Challenge. Led by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the Challenge is a bi-annual business plan competition for promising early-stage companies in high-growth industries where early-stage startups vie for a slice of the $1.5 … Read more

Top 10 finalists revealed for Spring 2015 Arizona Innovation Challenge

It’s coming down to the wire for the Spring 2015 Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) Arizona Innovation Challenge. Who will win the $250,000 to build their business? Today, 10 finalists were announced, and software and science took the majority of spots as finalists.   Beacon Biomedical –  is a medical diagnostic device that provides easy, accurate and affordable blood … Read more

25 startup semifinalists in Spring 2015 ACA Innovation Challenge

The list is in! Here are the 25 semifinalists for the Spring 2015 Arizona Commerce Authority Arizona Innovation Challenge vying for $250,000 to help build their business. All but one startup (Matrix Medical) is Arizona-based. Since 2011, the AIC has received over 1,400 applications. This Challenge is a semi-annual business plan competition awarding $1.5M in the Spring … Read more

CampusLogic wins 2015 Venture Madness, takes home $30K

Sixty four startups down to one winner at the 2015 Venture Madness. This year ed tech and med tech went head-to-head in the final round. In the end, CampusLogic, a software service that simplifies the process for college students to apply for financial aid, took home $30,000 and bragging rights as the Venture Madness champion. EndoVantage placed second … Read more

Top 8 startups advance in Venture Madness

The madness came earlier than expected this March as 16 startups tipped off in the 3-day Venture Madness competition all vying to win cash to build their business- first place winners take home $30,000, 2nd place receives $10,000, and $5,000 each for 3rd and 4th place. Day 1 ended with the announcement of the Top … Read more

Venture Madness announces its sweet 16 – updated

The next round of Venture Madness brackets leaves only 16 startups who will move on to the final, live-demo portion of the competition for a chance to win their share of $50,000. Jonathan Ariano, chairman of Invest Southwest comments on the startups, “[They] are shining examples of the entrepreneurship and innovation happening in the Southwest … Read more

32 startups advance in Venture Madness

This round of brackets have closed leaving 32 of the original 64 startups from around the Southwest to compete head-to-head to win their share of $50,000 in 2015 Venture Madness. From here, it’s down to the final 16 companies who will compete in a live-demo event held between March 4-6, 2015. Jonathan Ariano, chairman of … Read more