First Chair: July 2024
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| Welcome back to First Chair 🚠: Your rundown on Vermont’s startup scene brought to you by your friends at VCET. Today’s gems: 💎 Wanted: The Next Big Thing 💎 The Six Forces of Failure and another key resource 💎 PortCo news from ZymoChem, Benchmark, Rigorous, and more 💎 A spotlight on NOMAD Transportable Power Systems 💎 Start Here podcast episode #91 with Matt Dunne of CORI |
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Wanted: The Next Big Thing With $15M across two evergreen venture funds, VCET is looking to make new investments into Vermont-based teams and companies. Our aim each year is to make a few “smart” investments into undeniable founders who are offering a specific insight within inevitable markets. But before pitching to us, let us pitch to you. Our CapitalOur capital includes the new $9M Vermont Growth Fund 2 using grant proceeds to VCET secured by former Senator Patrick Leahy, and the $6M Vermont Seed Capital Fund 1 which launched in 2010. Our ProcessWe evaluate the Team (Why you?), Tech (Why this?), Timing (Why now?), and the transaction’s Terms (What benefit?). While not perfect, we do our best to give clear, quick, and candid decisions on our level of investment interest and eligibility for funding. We don’t like formal pitches, nor do we need flashy slides. Just come as you are with what you’ve got. Our StyleVenture capital funding is not for everyone, and by design it has a high threshold to obtain. VCET can fund you alone (or join a syndicate); lead a transaction (or not), and take a long-term view on the return of capital. We have been through the “start, scale, and sale” lifecycle many times, and as we tell our portfolio companies, “we are with you until you are bought or buried.” Most capital seekers also benefit from VCET’s free business advisory work and mentoring, whether we make a direct investment or not (a resource that is not often available from private funds). In fact, 350 people accessed our advising this past year alone. Companies range from student startups, scaling Series A level firms, to profitable companies with $40M+ in revenues. Each one trusts us to be authentic, provide expert advice, and remain empathetic…understanding where they’re coming from and what they’ve overcome to get where they are today. Having and maintaining their trust gives our team purpose and duty to perform every day for each Vermonter we serve. Our InterestsOur investments are focused on Vermont-based teams and operations, technology-enabled and scalable. We do not fund retail, restaurants, real estate projects or companies…or algae biofuels. What’s getting me most excited are technologies and companies using graphene, building for industry 4.0+, or almost anything to do with water. So, that’s our pitch. If you like what you’ve heard, please consider emailing venture@vcet.co to chat about your company or one you’d like to refer. There is no such thing as too early to #StartHere. Let’s talk, Dave |
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The Failure Museum’s Six Forces of Failure. We’ve spent more time on this site than we’d care to admit…you should too. They even have a directory of failed companies that includes everything from New Coke to Theranos.  |
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| Need Help with Your Company? Work with Middlebury Consulting Group Middlebury Consulting Group is a group of 100+ Middlebury College students ready to help with your company at whatever stage you’re in! Middlebury Consulting Group (MCG) is a non-profit student organization dedicated to providing pro bono consulting services to local businesses and national startups. What MCG Can Help You With: Strategy consulting, operational consulting, data analysis, research and development, marketing and analytics, and much more! How it Works: Contact: Email mcg@middlebury.edu with a brief summary of your company and needs or any inquiries. Or reach out to morgan@vcet.co directly! Morgan Lee is a VCET Associate this summer, but also happens to be one of MCG’s Vice Presidents for Client CoverageMeeting: MCG’s Vice Presidents for Client Coverage will schedule a meeting with you to discuss our organization, your business, and a partnership between the two. Project launch: MCG’s partners meticulously select 5-8 focused consultants for your project based on their majors, experience, and goals. Your project will last a minimum of 3 months, depending on the tasks. Read more about Middlebury Consulting Group here. |
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| You asked for it! Part II of “I’m a VCET-er…” has landed 👇 |
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🧪 ZymoChem Unveils World’s First Scalable, 100% Bio-Based, and Biodegradable Super Absorbent Polymer: BAYSE™ 🚀 Benchmark has been awarded a NASA SBIR đź©ş OhMD is now part of the Healthie Harbor Marketplace đź’» Fluency has ranked #1 on G2 for key client success categories for the fifth consecutive quarter 🤖 Rigorous Technologies launched The Rigorous Approach video series discussing AI and its implications for the industrial sector ⛱️ Lost Lantern Whiskey now opened their new outdoor patio…go visit them in Vergennes! |
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The world’s first megawatt-scale mobile energy storage platform, NOMAD stands out for its rapid deployment capabilities, operational within an hour. This agility, coupled with 100% U.S.-based manufacturing, positions NOMAD as an industry leader. Story by VCET Marketing Associate, Blaise Siefer |
| Read the Story |
Prefer to listen to stories? Check out our latest Start Here episodes 👇and don’t forget to follow, rate, review, and subscribe! |
| Listen to the episode |
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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. |
| GPMS (Waterbury)Customer Success Representative OhMD (Burlington)Customer Support Specialist, Demand Generation Marketer Rigorous (Williston)Mechanical Engineer IISoftware Engineer II ZymoChem (Burlington)Director of Supply Chain Benchmark Space (Burlington)Assembly, Integration, and Test Technician Fluency (Burlington)Director, Enterprise Sales & more! |
| Are you enjoying First Chair?Do you have a (kindly worded) suggestion for how to make it better?I’m all ears! 👉 sam@vcet.co |
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| Special thanks to our strategic partners ❤️ Senator Patrick Leahy, the University of Vermont, Middlebury College, Consolidated Communications, the Vermont Technology Council, the State of Vermont, M&T Bank, HUD, & SBA. |
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