Here are the 25 company finalists for the 2021 Venture Madness conference & pitch competition

Invest Southwest, in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, has announced the 25 Presenting Company finalists that have been selected for the 2021 Venture Madness Competition.

These finalists will get exclusive access to the region’s most active accredited investors, all in one place.

Invest Southwest and the Arizona Commerce Authority present the annual conference, which is Arizona’s longest running venture capital conference and pitch event.

This year’s conference is unique in a couple different ways. For the first time ever, the Venture Madness competition was opened up to companies nationwide. The competition received 120 applications and ultimately selected 25 top finalists to move on to the live conference held in October. A majority of the selected finalists are based in Arizona.

The competition is open to early stage and emerging growth companies. Not only do finalists get access to key angel investors and venture capital firms, they also receive mentorship from seasoned investors, business leaders and successful entrepreneurs to prepare for their pitches.

“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.”

The 25 finalists have been divided into five different industry categories: SaaS, Tech, Growth, Medical, and Consumer. Finalists in each category then compete in head-to-head pitches in order to win prizes or gain exposure.

“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,” Ryan Edwards, 2021 panel chair of Invest Southwest and board member, said in a statement.

There’s also major opportunities to receive funding. More than $1 billion has been given to Presenting Companies since 1992.

“They all certainly have the potential to attract large investor capital and greatly impact the overall economy.”

Also unlike any other year, this year’s Venture Madness coincides with Arizona Bioscience Week and UNMET Arizona. Both will be hosting events that week as well.

The 2021 Venture Madness conference is scheduled for October 6-7, 2021, at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus downtown.

Listed below are the 25 finalists in their respective categories.

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