First Chair: June 2024
Welcome back to First Chair 🚠: Your rundown on Vermont’s startup scene brought to you by your friends at VCET. Today’s gems:
💎 IRL is Back
💎 Some killer insight from Eric Paley we have to share
💎 OhMD gets a big honor
💎 A spotlight on ApprentiScope
💎 Start Here podcast episode #90 with Ashley Farland of DandyLion
IRL is Back
In 2019, the Burlington startup scene was saturated with in-person meetups. It felt like every night of the week I was at some brewery or coworking space, networking my little heart out. It was exhausting. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we went into lockdown. Meetups stopped abruptly, and the old adage “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” has never felt more real. I missed people.
Fast forward a couple of years and we remained socially distant from each other. The sporadic networking event felt…well, wrong. Should I wear a mask? If not, is it worth the risk? Now here we are in mid-2024, and folks, WE. ARE. BACK. Finally, there has been an incredible resurgence of IRL meetups. And you know what? It doesn’t feel “saturated”, it doesn’t feel forced or overwhelming, it feels ~ right ~. In fact, I firmly believe that these informal get-togethers form the connective tissue that brings our entrepreneurial ecosystem together. “Third Spaces” are a category for connection, collaboration, meaning, and belonging. We are in an upswell where loneliness, both individually and professionally, are at all time highs, creating a strong undercurrent of desire and necessity to reconvene. Coming together IRL not only allows us to take advantage of our small size, it helps create a sense of place and belonging for all the smart, kind folks who call Vermont home.
My team was reminded of this last Thursday when we divided and conquered the Burlington Young Professionals Meetup, Burlington Hardware Meetup and Vermont Marketing Meetup (which all took place on May 30th). Afterwards, we each raved about the people we met and the renewed energy we felt walking away.
I am grateful to the leaders in our community who are working hard to make this possible: Marty Markenson, Walker Cotton, Sam Holland, Geoff Strawbridge, Mieko Ozeki, Dan Harvey, Jeff Couture, and many more. Your work makes a difference, thank you.
Where to find me IRL:
Vermont Marketing Meetup events organized by BootstrapVT
UVM’s Entrepreneurship Forum aka EForum, a monthly (online) meetup for Vermont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Hot tip: the group’s listserv is where it’s at.
Where I stay plugged in:
Vermont Technology Alliance (VTTA)
Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE)
Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC)
Hula
Vermont Professionals of Color Network (VT POC)
VTWomenpreneurs
Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance (VOBA)
LaunchVT
and more!
Let this be your reminder to make time to show up IRL, it matters.
Sam
(Photos from recent meetups courtesy of OnLogic, VCET, and Burlington Young Professionals)
Eric Paley is one of our favorite thought leaders. We recently stumbled upon a thread of his called Two Laws of Startup Physics. If you’re a founder considering the VC route, read it. Paley shares some of the common pitfalls of startups on the “capital treadmill” who are prioritizing growth in all the wrong ways. And of course, Paley offers some insights on how to grow sustainably:
“…focus on low-cost experiments until you discover how to create positive value formulas that justify increased spending. Focus on learning fast, not burning fast.”
🧪 Vernal Biosciences launches The mRNA Monthly
🕹️ AutoPylot’s highly-rated LAANC and B4UFLY application has landed on iPads and Tablets
🩺 OhMD has been named one of the World’s Best Digital Health Companies 2024
🥃 Lost Lantern featured in a very fun interview in All American Whiskey
UVM alum Will Lippolis believes we can build a skilled workforce…without the debt. “It became clear to me that, if we were able to scale them, apprenticeships had the potential to solve many of today’s most pressing workforce issues,” said Lippolis. Tune in to our latest portfolio spotlight to learn more about ApprentiScope.
Story by VCET Marketing Associate, Blaise Siefer
Prefer to listen to stories? Check out our latest Start Here episodes 👇
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Growing high-paying jobs in the state of Vermont is central to VCET’s purpose. Check out these sweet gigs with some of our portfolio companies.
Rigorous (Williston)
Widewail (Burlington)
Fluency (Burlington & Remote)
Benchmark Space (Burlington)
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