The grand prize was won by Photos out of kindness
Vermont Business Magazine More than 200 business-oriented community members gathered in Hula on Tuesday to support LaunchVT’s 2022 cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual dinner and entrepreneurship celebration. The 2022 group presented its business to an audience and jury of investors, including Bridget Croke, John Howard and Matthew Upton. Two companies have gone away with cash prizes, and all seven will receive professional services from local companies worth over $ 100,000.
Demo Night marks the end of LaunchVT’s annual 10-week intensive accelerator program in which group entrepreneurs work with dedicated business coaches and strategic advisors to respond to their startup’s most pressing needs, including perfecting their business models, developing their market entry strategies and preparation for future fundraising and investment.
This is the tenth year that LaunchVT has run the accelerator program and the annual Demo Night. “Working with seven phenomenal founders during the 10th anniversary of the LaunchVT accelerator program has been one of the greatest privileges I have experienced during my career,” said LaunchVT CEO Lauren Bass. “Demo Night was a huge success, showing off our brightest stars in our startup community. All these great entrepreneurs and their ventures have a great chance to become famous names. ” If you missed their pitches on Demo Night, you can replay the live broadcast at launchvt.com.
Take home the $ 15,000 Lake Champlain Chamber Award, lost *. Founded by Thor Retzlaff, Kelsey McWilliams, Brophy Tyree and Taylor Zehren of Burlington, wasted * is redesigning portable sanitation to make it better for the user and the planet.
The $ 5,000 Audience Award went to Little Patakha. Founded by Akshate Nayaka of Jericho, Little Patakha arouses curiosity in eager young minds by introducing them to different worlds, ideas, sounds and people.
LaunchVT director Lauren Bass, left, MC Tom Messner and Akshata Nayak of Jericho, founder of Little Patakh.
In addition to cash prizes, the 2022 LaunchVT cohort has been paired with LaunchVT’s generous service partners to provide them with expert professional support where they need it most. “The mission of Lake Champlain Chamber is to create economic opportunities for all Vermonters, and LaunchVT is one of the ways we do that,” said Lake Champlain Chamber President Cathy Davis. “None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary support of our sponsors and the extremely generous time given to us by our coaches, guest lecturers and mentors. They are the engines that drive our program and provide the tools and guidelines shared by each of the entrepreneurs. ”
LaunchVT is a division of Lake Champlain Chamber supported by a community of our amazing partners, including: Vermont Department of Economic Development, Hula, People’s United Bank – Division of M&T Bank, Ruth & amp; Peter Metz Foundation, FreshTracks Capital, JH Capital, Rival Brands, Gallagher Flynn & amp; LLP, Northfield Savings Bank, VSECU, Burlington Telecom, Dudley Fund, Vice President of Research, University of Vermont, Merrill Family Foundation, Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC, Scout Digital, Vermont Federal Credit Union, Vermont Economic Development Authority, Tom Messner, Silverlake Wealth Management , Leonardo’s Pizza, Delta Dental, Laury Saligman, Dinse, Think Dynamic Digital, Moulton Law Group, Burlington Code Academy, Forecast LLC, Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, Merritt & amp; Merritt, The Great Northern, Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream, Whitmyer IP Group, Bindle and Mila’s Flower Farm. To see a complete list of our partners and foundations that support our work, visit our partners page.
LaunchVT offers business acceleration programs and resources that empower Vermonters to solve problems and create economic opportunities in their communities. LaunchVT is a division of Lake Champlain Chamber, the largest business advocacy organization in Vermont. The Lake Champlain Chamber ensures prosperity in the Lake Champlain region through five different points: seeking economic opportunities for all; celebrating business ownership and entrepreneurship; promoting a strong, diverse economy of visitors; nurturing community leadership; and nurturing new talent.
To learn more about LaunchVT, visit www.launchvt.com
To learn more about the Lake Champlain Chamber, visit https://lccvermont.org
