As April Showers arrive, let’s take a look back at this year’s March Madness hosted by Houston Business Journal’s Houston Inno. Set up in a friendly, bracket-style challenge that called on readers to vote based on one question: Whom would you invest in?
Whether a more believable mission or better product, voting asked readers to subjectively investigate sixteen early-stage startups and companies while shining a spotlight on innovative and local businesses. The brackets were assembled after sourcing reader nominations and seeding was determined by fundraising. The goal of Inno Madness was to represent the “full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem … as well as a fun look into local companies you need to know in 2022.”
Data Gumbo faced off first against Datagration, a knowledge automation platform before moving to round two. With just sixteen companies left, Data Gumbo went head to head with Live Tinted, a multicultural beauty movement company. After notable upsets, the semifinal March Madness round matched us against NanoTech Inc., a materials science innovator serving the passive fireproofing and thermal insulation market. The other side of the bracket featured the immersive training platform HTX Labs versus fintech startup Pronto Pay.
Championship Match
Pitted against Pronto Pay, we are thrilled to say that Data Gumbo narrowly edged out our fierce competition once the contests' irregular and repeated votes were eliminated from the final tally.
We had a great time casting our votes this year and getting to know other local companies. A big thank you to all of the Houston Inno readers for helping us clinch the championship title. As well as a big congratulations to all participants of this year’s competition!