Burlington Hardware Meetup / Event Spotlight

Burlington, Vermont’s Hardware Meetup is part of a global community of engineers and builders who come together to share projects, exchange ideas, and build connections in the hardware industry. The VCET-backed Burlington chapter launched during the pandemic and has since grown into one of the most active gatherings for Vermont’s hardware community. In this Q&A, Blaise spoke with Andrew Bennett and Sam Holland about the origins of the meetup, the culture they’re creating, and what’s ahead.

Blaise Siefer: Andrew and Sam, thanks for making the time! First of all, where are you both from? What’s your connection to Vermont?

Andrew Bennett: I’m originally from Oregon, but I came to New England for school and stayed.

Sam Holland: I’m from Winchester, Mass. And then I went to UVM, moved down to Brooklyn, and then back up here. 

Blaise: How did the Burlington Hardware Meetup get started?

Sam: My company informal, runs Hardware Meetups around the country. There are 42 chapters and we have them in most major cities. When I moved up here during COVID, there was a desire to start one. The first edition was online and had 15 people. That was true for the first year and change. And then I met Andrew, and he really wanted to make this a thing, and it was the kick in the pants we needed to actually set something up – more than just Zoom meetings. 

Blaise: Andrew, how did you first hear about these meetups? 

Andrew: I have attended meetups – or some incarnation of them – for about 10 years. Actually, I got my first real mechanical engineering job at one of the original meetups in 2014 after skipping class to go. I thought this was the coolest thing ever. It’s people being like, ‘I have a problem to solve and here’s how I solved it. Also, I’m hiring for this position. Come talk to me.’ It’s networking that doesn’t suck within this very niche hardware world. I have since attended various Hardware Meetup events, including when I used to live in New York, and then when I was in Boston. 

Blaise: Why was it the right time to formally bring these events to Vermont?

Sam: I went to UVM and studied mechanical engineering. When I graduated in 2013, there were about 15 [hardware] jobs available in Vermont, and all the smart kids got them. So I had to go down to Brooklyn. When I moved back, the tech scene had changed a lot. OnLogic is huge now. Beta is up here. There are newer players, too, including Resonant Link and Rigorous in Williston. Even Green Mountain Power is an innovator on hardware.

Blaise: What’s a typical event like?

Andrew: It’s hosted by a different company in the area and typically starts right after work. People show up and chat for about 45 minutes while having pizza and beer. There are two to three speakers – usually including one person from the hosting company – who talk about problems they solve. For instance, Rigorous said, ‘Here’s our robot’, and then went into way more depth than you would ever go into with random strangers. And then another person from the community will present on an interesting topic, like hiring. At the end of the night, there’s an open mic section, which is for people hiring, looking for a job, or with something else to say.

Sam: The cool thing with the meetups is they aren’t sales-y. It’s a safe space for engineers to be nerdy and come out of their shell. No one ever has these conversations randomly at a bar or restaurant. 

Blaise: Tell me about a particularly memorable meetup. 

Andrew: A really cool meetup was hosted at Beta Technologies. They had an electrical engineer talking about how the company has grown and how they’re making changes. And then one of their mechanical engineers talked about his passion project of racing children’s Hot Wheels cars. And then another guy talked about how his company ties between all these other startups and power electronic systems. It ran the gamut.

Blaise: Who shows up? How many people attend?

Andrew: We usually gather 50 to 75 people, depending on the time of year and the weather. Last time, we got 50 people on a really nice day in June. We get some people out from Boston. I don’t know if we’ve gotten anyone up from New York yet. But we mostly draw from the greater Burlington area.

Sam: UVM grads show up. And some college seniors, too. People are curious – even those who aren’t in the market yet.

Andrew: Also a lot of small businesses with people that do hardware.

Blaise: Do you put much effort into marketing? Or is it mainly word of mouth?

Sam: We blast it on LinkedIn and the channel of whoever’s hosting. VCET helps too. After the OnLogic event, things changed. Before, Andrew and I would have to knock on doors and be like, ‘Hey, can we host an event with you?’ But now, people come up to us saying, ‘Can we have one at our place? When’s the next one?’ We actually have a waiting list of locations and presenters. When you get the flywheel going, you don’t have to do as much work, which is great because we’re both new dads with full-time jobs.

Blaise: How do you define success for these meetups? 

Sam: Engaging conversation. After a presentation, the number of hands that go up is a good indicator. When we have to say, like, ‘two more questions, and then we have to move on…’. And afterwards, people find each other, and keep talking. You have to get them to leave. 

Andrew: It’s the deep technical questions of like, ‘Why is the vibration in a motor breaking in a certain way?’ And you’re just so deep down the rabbit hole.

Sam: Engagement is strong. People are there until it’s time to shut down. It’s not like people are showing up, listening on their phones and running away. That’s a mark of success.

Blaise: What has VCET’s support meant to these meetups? 

Sam: VCET’s support helps keep these events running. And what’s really cool is folks like Nicole and Dave know everyone. I was just chatting with Nicole about hosting an event in Waterbury. And she goes, ‘Oh, I know five companies down there.’ And they’re not going to get you that “hello @” email, they’re going to connect you to the lead engineer at this company, and you can talk to them and get in the door. That’s been huge. It adds credibility to us too, right? It’s not just two dudes running an event. People know who VCET is.

Andrew: VCET is connective tissue among the community. And with their discounts on services? The SolidWorks and OnShape discounts are literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s insane for a hardware startup to get that. That is one of your biggest line items as a hardware engineer, and to just have that solved for…it’s pretty huge. 

Blaise: And I heard that you all have a brewery sponsor aswell?

Andrew: Yeah, we’re actually the only hardware meetup that is sponsored by a brewery. Zero Gravity has been the best partner, and it’s just so fitting for Vermont.

Sam: And, I mean, it’s very Vermont in general, to be like community-led. And like, that’s also why Zero Gravity is involved. You say we’re community building around hardware, and they’re like, ‘Okay, I don’t understand that. But like, sure, I’ll have some beer.’ 

Blaise: You mentioned an OnShape discount as a new perk added to these meetups. Can you elaborate on why that’s a big deal?

Andrew: OnShape rocks. I’ve been using it for eight years. I’m an evangelist. It’s a cloud-based CAD (computer-aided design) program based out of Boston. It’s fully online, really easy to collaborate and share. They’ve actually sponsored hardware events of ours other cities. 

Sam: It’s like the Google Docs of CAD (computer-aided design) and it never breaks. 

Blaise: What are your goals for these meetups over the next two years?

Sam: Expanding beyond Chittenden County. Burlington is the headline name, but there’s a lot going on in Waterbury, White River Junction, and the Upper Valley. If we get some people to move to Vermont because we’re providing the network for them, that’d be great. 

Andrew: There’s a lot of manufacturers and designers here. We haven’t really connected those two yet. There’s this whole ecosystem here that we’re helping tie together. It could be at an event of ours where you find your manufacturer, your new founding partner, and a VC. It’s all doable.

Blaise: How do people get involved?

Andrew: Our meeting page is Luma (sign up here).

Sam: And then just follow us on LinkedIn (Sam; Andrew). 

Blaise: Anything else helpful to know? 

Sam: These events are not formal. Show up and have fun. You don’t have to print out a resume. 

Andrew: A lot of people say it’s their first work presentation while having a beer. And I’m like, ‘Oh, man, you are not having enough fun at work.’

Sam: Yeah, we literally heard that from the last presenter.

Blaise: Awesome, guys, well thank you. I’m sure people took a lot from this – I certainly did. 

Sam: Thanks Blaise!

Andrew: Thank you.