Game On: Introducing Richmond Inno’s Inaugural Tech Madness Bracket

Game on, Richmond. To drive awareness and excitement for the state’s startup ecosystem, Richmond Inno is introducing Tech Madness, a reader-driven bracket competition in the spirit of NCAA March Madness highlighting some of the local startup scene’s biggest, brightest and most exciting technology companies.

Over the past month, we asked our readers to submit nominations for consideration in this year’s bracket. For the next few weeks, 32 Richmond tech companies will go head-to-head with readers voting to determine who will move on to the next round.

Companies ranged in industry, growth stage and size, with plenty of fast-growing food product makers and edtech startups. But Richmond's tech ecosystem continues to resist classification, with entries from digital media collectors, augmented reality pioneers, lunch purveyors and more.

The matchups are (for the most part) random. All startups on the list are private, venture-backed or recently-exited businesses. We generally seeded the companies based on venture capital funding and other growth metrics. And an important note: Seeding isn’t an editorial judgment. We rely on funding because it's one of the more accessible and universal metrics.

Finally, to determine the outcome for each matchup this year, readers will just have to answer one question — Who would you invest in? And we know that this can be interpreted in several different ways. Is this about who's a safer bet? Who has a higher ceiling, despite the risk? Or is it about investing social capital and determining the product and mission that you’re passionate about? The answer is “yes” to all. However you want to interpret that question is the right way.

The first round of voting ends Thursday, March 14 and a full schedule is below. The winner will be announced Announce Winner Tuesday, April 2.

Vote for your first round picks below and be sure to share the bracket with friends and colleagues.