If there’s an entrepreneur to watch right now, it’s Kevin Lesage. He’s the founder of SearchLight, an analytics platform bringing a clear, unbiased view to return on ad spend and showing contractors which leads actually turn into booked jobs.
After founding a company, seeing it acquired, and realizing he wasn’t built to sit still, he launched J Skis, a direct-to-skier brand creating hand-crafted, limited-edition skis.
Welcome back to First Chair 🚠: Your monthly rundown on Vermont’s startup scene.
April 08, 2026
AI After Hours is designed to bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, and curious minds across Vermont and the region. Featuring Pillar VC and LucenArc.
After leading advanced design at Honda, Jason walked away to create what he calls “mechanized art”. He now makes supermachines.
In Burlington, Vermont, an engineer codes from a hammock. Down the hall, co-founders debate marketing strategy in a Spiderman-themed meeting room. In the corner, a pair of designers sketch out a video game. Through the kitchen windows, Lake Champlain stretches toward the horizon. This is VCET.
VCET will host the first-ever Northeast Meetup at SXSW in Austin, TX. The meetup will serve as a gathering space for founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders from across the Northeast.
Julie explains everything from working with the world’s biggest brands to strategies centered on youth culture, sports, and experiential marketing.
Welcome back to First Chair 🚠: Your monthly rundown on Vermont’s startup scene.
One thing about being planted in New England is that collaboration between regional innovation leaders feels natural and authentic. As part of our collaboration, Vermont founders will gain access to the pilot of Orbit, an AI-based startup planning and strategy tool, that is specifically tuned for entrepreneurs.
If Vermont wants to keep the twenty-somethings here, we’ve got to show them more than just the lifestyle. Read Ema’s perspective on how to keep them here.
She’s steering VBSR into its next chapter by doubling down on in-person connection, pragmatic advocacy around housing, and more, building a stronger, more generous Vermont business ecosystem!