Video editing by Xavier Smith
Following his win, Gregg Scoresby, CEO of CampusLogic exclaimed “I’m going to Disneyland!”
All kidding aside, Scoresby did leave the stage with bragging rights as the Invest Southwest Venture Madness (VM) champion and cash to put back into his company.
This Arizona-based event is where 64 early-stage startups battle, in a “March Madness” bracket style head-to-head competition, for cash and bragging rights.
This year, the prize pot doubled to $100,000 and the top four winners will share the gold.
Mario Martinez II, former CEO of 360 Vantage, is chairman for Invest Southwest and focused on boosting the Arizona tech ecosystem and providing new VM incentives for applicants.
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Chairman Mario Martinez II talks VM incentives for startups
Aside from the larger prize money, other new incentives include:
Early bird applicants: The first 25 applicants to VM will be invited to an exclusive event with key investors in December
Fast Pass: The champion will attend exclusive, invite-only, investor and angel group events throughout the year, including Desert Angels and Arizona Technology Investors
Other returning prizes include the People’s Choice Award for $5,000.
The final prize breakdown is: the VM champion receives $60,000, 2nd place $20,000 and 3rd and 4th $10,000.
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Highlight video from Venture Madness 2015
The judges consist of investors, seasoned executives and local business leaders who will narrow down the 64 to 16 startups who will then participate in a three-day, live pitch event and compete for prizes.
The event attracts over 250 attendees to the Valley including top investors and startups from around the state and regionally.
Applications are open to any rapid-growth company demonstrating unique value and early market traction located in the Southwest region of the United States. Applications are open now and end at 3pm MST Dec. 17, 2015.
Venture Madness will be held March 2-4, 2016 at the Talking Stick Resort. Venture Madness works in partnership with Arizona Commerce Authority.
Want to learn more about Venture Madness? We got you covered, click here.