Ecosystem: Burlington VT

Project

Ecosystem: Burlington VT
Project Information
Has title	Ecosystem: Burlington VT
Has owner	Nancy Yu
Has start date	2019/03/15
Has deadline date	2019/03/28
Has project status	Active
Subsumed by:	Incubators in Five Ecosystems
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Incubators in Burlington VT

For incubators that support high-tech and high-growth companies, I only found two in Burlington so far: Generator Makerspace and Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET). There are several incubators(Intervale Center, Flynndog) focus on other industries: art and farming.

Generator Makerspace

Though Generator Makerspace describes itself as a business incubator, services (mentorship, technical assistance etc.) to entrepreneurs are available to selected candidates. entrepreneurs have to apply for their JUMP/START program to be considered as candidates. Their membership consists of the access to space and equipment, and tool training, but does not come with business and financial assistance. As for now, Generator Makerspace focuses more on space rental, workshops, and providing a community for creation and collaboration.

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET)

VCET is the major incubator in Burlington. Their lifetime portfolio includes over 50 startups and scaling companies (currently have 35+ startups in house). They help companies prepare for and identify the financial support, which is either through the direct investment by the Vermont Seed Capital Fund or their private investors. Their long-term strategic partners include US Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the University of Vermont, the Vermont Technology Council, the State of Vermont, Middlebury College, Norwich University, Champlain College, the Vermont State College System and many other economic development organizations.

Research Process

This section summarizes my research process for finding above information. The research is mainly done by Google search. Some search term to be considered:

• incubator Burlington VT
• incubator Burlington (may give you information of Burlington in Canada)
• startups in Burlington VT(try to search for startups in the area, and look for accelerators/incubators that these startups are consulting with)
• Tech startups in Burlington VT
• incubator Vermont
• accelerators Burlington VT (find those accelerators can be classified as incubators under our definition)

Some other important websites for researching ecosystems in Burlington VT:

• AngelList: contains information of all startups in Burlington
• The University of Vermont: I find that the University of Vermont is partnered with both above incubators, and is also providing programs and classes to help their students translate ideas into business

Events/Organizations that support Burlington's entrepreneurial ecosystem

Events/Programs

• Growth Acceleration Program
• LaunchVT:early stage acceleration programs
• LaunchVT Collegiate: pitch competition for entrepreneurs from Vermont's colleges and universities
• Peak Pitch Vermont 2019

Capital Providers

• FreshTracks Capital
• Vermont Works
• VENTURE.co

Co-working spaces

• Karma Bird House
• Office Squared
• Study Hall

Individuals/Organizations

• Vermont Technology Council
• The University of Vermont

Things to quickly look at

(updated on 3/26/2019)

• Ken Merritt: Possible head of Angel Network in Burlington or somewhere in Vermont
  • Investment Committee Member at VECT
  • Managing Director of Merritt&Merritt law firm, information of him on Merritt&Merritt website

• Lee Bouyea: earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth who was running an Angel in Vermont
  • His information on AngelList
  • Managing Director at freshTracks Capital
  • Chair of the Advisory Board for LaunchVT

• Matt Dunne: Former Community Manager at Google - starting an incubator in Springfield, VT
  • Founder and Executive Director at Center On Rural Innovation(CORI)
  • A news article about him announces that $1 million has been raised toward starting the Black River Innovation Campus(BRIC) in Springfield, VT
  • About BRIC: to educate and train people in digital skills, employ them in digital economy jobs, provide co-working space for tech companies based elsewhere, and provide funding and training for entrepreneur to launch the startups that will continue to drive Springfield’s digital economy
  • Article:plan to build a network of “innovation hubs” across rural America

• Creare - might also have spillovers into VT
  • Located in Hanover, NH
  • Engineering research and development firm
  • Doesn't look like an incubator, but (possibly) more toward engineering consulting/research

• Battenhill, VT: Northshire Incubator which runs contracts for the Navy
  • Couldn't find any info on this incubator, have tried searching for incubators in Battenkill, Incubators runs contracts for the Navy etc.