Tech Investment and Businesses Grow in Vermont
Recent reports and activity point to a resilient and growing tech economy in Vermont in the wake of the pandemic.
A report prepared by Cairn Cross, co-founder and managing director of VTTA member FreshTracks Capital, found that Investment in Vermont companies rose nearly 500 percent last year. This was primarily due to large capital investments in tech-focused companies Beta Technologies and Polly, formerly known as DealerPolicy.
About $600 million in capital flowed into the state on 38 deals – including $368 million to Beta and $140 million to Polly. That’s above the 2020 figure of $106 million, making the percentage increase the largest in the country, based on data from Pitchbook. Just as important, Cairn thinks the number of investments will continue to increase in the coming years.
At the same time, a report released by the CompTIA, which is focused on core information technology and software jobs, showed that Vermont ranked #1 for the percentage increase in new tech business establishments at 11.6% - a positive trend.
At the same time there were an estimated nearly 4800 tech job postings in 2021. Additionally, the IT and software jobs looked at in the report make up 7.1% of Vermont’s economy, with a median wage of $76,943, which is 81% higher than the median state wage.
These reports and other news, such as KORE acquiring Northern Reliability with plans to add 25 jobs in Waterbury, Vernal Sciences’ plan to triple its staff, and a $3 million Sen. Leahy earmark that will spur more development at the Black River Innovation Campus, are positive signs for Vermont’s tech ecosystem.
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Legislative Update
Budget Bill
The Vermont Senate approved a FY2022 budget of more than $8 billion, which will have to be negotiated with the House, which passed a bill with a similar price tag, but with some different priorities. The bill includes funding for programs supported by the VTTA, including $95 million in broadband investment and $89 million in workforce and economic development funding, encompassed in the economic development bill that passed the Senate. However, the final budget bill will be negotiated by both chambers, and faces a potential veto from Governor Scott, because it does not allocate enough for his priorities such as economic development, housing and capital grants.
Cloud Tax
Thanks to the ongoing work of the VTTA and other organizations, it appears the Cloud Tax – which in its current form would add the sales tax to all online services and infrastructure – is not likely to be implemented this legislative session. But as we’ve learned in the past, there’s always a chance it could be added in the last days of the session.
The Senate Finance Committee has decided to not include new revenue sources, potentially including the Cloud Tax, to fund proposed child tax credits and other proposals. That committee received an update on the Cloud sales tax proposed by the House. The amount that is estimated to be raised from the Cloud Tax, if implemented, has increased to $16.8 million in the first year, and is projected to rise to more than $20 million within 3 years. Most of this would be paid for by Vermont businesses.
Meanwhile, the Cloud Tax had been discussed as one of several new taxes to fund a universal free school breakfast and lunch program in bill S.100, when federal Covid funding ends. Adding the tax for this purpose was put on hold for at least another year. Instead, the bill allocates $29 million from the state’s $95 million education fund surplus to pay for the free meal program for the 2022-2023 school year. The need for potential funding to keep the program going additional years, including “expansion of the sales tax base,” is left for future review.
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We always welcome new business and individual members to our business association. Find more information about membership here.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director
Vermont Technology Alliance
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Featured Member – Competitive Computing (C2) |
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C2 helps organizations establish and sustain a competitive advantage through the innovative use of technology. With a focus on building strategic value, C2's industry-leading solutions are custom-designed to help position clients to compete in an increasingly fast-paced and highly connected world. Since 1993, C2 has worked with brand-name businesses, as well as educational and government institutions, to deliver award-winning solutions. C2's local team is nationally recognized and specializes in best-in-class B2B Digital Experience Platforms, Software-Defined Data Centers, Cloud Management, IT Transformation Services, and 24/7 Managed Support.
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Northern New England MedTech Pitch Competition
(April 27, 2022)
The Upper Valley MedTech Collaborative is hosting a Pitch Competition at the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, NH. The competition is open to Northern New England innovative health start-ups (MedTech, HealthTech, Digital Health) that have raised less than $2 million through institutional investment. The event is free and open to the public and will be streamed live.
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Burlington Code Academy Software Development Demo Day
(April 28, 2022)
Join the Burlington Code Academy for its Software Development Demo Day. BCA’s Bootcamp cohort is wrapping up their 12 weeks as software development students, and are now full-stack developers ready to start new careers in the tech industry. During Demo Day the students will showcase the culmination of their hard work by sharing their capstone projects. Teams will be presenting live via Zoom.
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2022 Vermont Womenpreneurs Summit
(May 4, 2022)
The Vermont Womenpreneurs Summit is an evening of connecting with women-empowered businesses and organizations at the Hula campus in Burlington. The theme for the Summit is MotHER of Invention and will feature six women-empowered businesses. The keynote speaker for the evening is Sascha Mayer, CEO and cofounder of VTTA member Mamava.
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Essentials of DOD SBIR and STTR Grant Programs
(May 12, 2022)
The Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center (VT PTAC) is hosting a conference on the Department of Defense’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for Vermont businesses and educational institutions involved in Research and Development (R&D). This DOD-focused workshop provides detailed instruction on preparing a proposal to meet the requirements of the DOD, including both technical and commercialization plans, and navigating the submission process.
Find more and register here.
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MindEdge & VTTA Professional Development Offering |
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Learn the principles of Agile Project Management: an iterative, skinnied-down
approach to project management for teams that move quickly. Agile Project Management can provide an edge for success in your current job or future opportunity. I
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Why Agile Project Management Training?
Agile adds incredible value to an organization with early and continuous delivery of projects, frequent review of requirements and plans, increased project control, and reduced risks.
Beginning with an introduction to the core philosophy of Agile and the basic structure of an Agile project, our courses address specific challenges that may be encountered by teams using Agile, best practices for integrating Agile methods into Waterfall
environments, and the principles of Scrum – one of several
specialized Agile methods.
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Course List:
1: Agile Project Management (ACE CREDIT®)
2: Certificate in Agile Project Management
3: Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam Prep
4: Challenges for Agile Teams
5: Integrating Agile Into a Waterfall Environment
6: Introduction to Agile
7: Principles of Scrum
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Report: Investment in Vermont Companies Soared Nearly 500 Percent Last Year
(April 5. 2022 – Seven Days)
Investment in Vermont companies soared nearly 500 percent last year, mostly due to massive capital infusions at the electric-aviation company Beta Technologies and Williston-based Polly, formerly known as DealerPolicy.
About $600 million in capital flowed into the state, including $368 million to Beta, $140 million to Polly, and $17 million to the lesser-known SuperPlastic, a Burlington-based toy and entertainment company. That’s well above the 2020 figure of $106 million.
The year-over-year percentage increase is the largest in the country, said Cairn Cross, cofounder of Fresh Tracks Capital, who creates an informal report each year on investment funding in the state. Nine of the 38 deals last year were with companies based outside Chittenden County, he said.
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US and Vermont Add Tech Jobs and New Tech Businesses in 2021 According to Tech Workforce Report
(April, 2022 – VTTA)
Technology-related employment increased in 44 states in 2021, a testament to the broad-based impact of tech, according to the State of the Tech Workforce report released by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.
Vermont ranked # 1 for the percentage increase in new tech business establishments at 11.6%. This annual report focuses on a narrow set of core information technology and software jobs. The estimated median wage for these jobs in Vermont is $76,943; 81% higher than median state wage.
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Beta Technologies Raises $375 Million in Series B Funding
(April 20, 2022 – Flying)
Vermont-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Beta Technologies announced it has raised $375 million in Series B funding, bringing its total investments to nearly $800 million. The financing round was led by TPG Rise Climate and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
The money will support further development and eventual type certification of Beta’s Alia eVTOL, which is currently undergoing flight testing. Beta has said it expects FAA type certification in 2024.
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Vernal Biosciences Plans to Nearly Triple its Staff making mRNA for Cutting-Edge Medicine
(April 15, 2022 – Burlington Free Press)
Vernal Biosciences, the Colchester-based manufacturer of mRNA used in cutting-edge medicines, plans to nearly triple the size of its staff, from 12 to 35, using a grant from the Vermont Training Program.
The Vermont Training Program is administered by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and is used to develop Vermont’s workforce and enhance its skills.
Vernal Biosciences CEO Christian Cobaugh launched his company last April to produce mRNA in high volumes at high purity levels and supply it to pharmaceutical companies and others who are developing new drugs and vaccines based on mRNA, such as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
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Major State Technology Upgrades Coming in Vermont, CIO says
(April 12, 2022 – StateScoop)
Vermont will soon embark on several major state technology modernization initiatives, thanks to $66 million in additional funding in a budget that’s currently making its way through the legislature, said Chief Information Officer John Quinn.
During a visit to Washington for a conference hosted by Salesforce, Quinn said he’s planning an overhaul of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, upgrades to user interfaces in several other agencies’ online services and, perhaps most crucially, the replacement of a 20-year-old enterprise resource planning system.
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$3 Million Earmark Will Spur More Development at Springfield Innovation Center
(April 10, 2022 – VTDigger)
With a $3 million earmark secured by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and almost $2 million more from the state, leaders of the Black River Innovation Campus in Springfield hope it can spur further revitalization downtown.
The money will update the 500-seat auditorium and gymnasium inside the Park Street School, a multi-use building that now houses 6,000 square feet of the campus’s workspace, plus Springfield School District administrative offices and a podcasting studio.
“It gives us a more modernized space to host people for events, as well as for our program we call ‘Actuator,’ which is our hybrid incubator accelerator program for scalable tech companies,” said Trevor Barlow, executive director of the Black River Innovation Campus, known as BRIC.
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Rural Population Bounces Back in 2021
(March 28, 2022 – The Daily Yonder)
After losing population for most of the last decade, rural counties bounced back a bit last year, according to a Daily Yonder analysis of new Census data.
Rural counties added a net of about 117,000 residents from 2020 to 2021. The gain is slight on a percentage basis – less than half a percent – but it’s the biggest annual growth in more than a decade.
The difference between 2021’s population growth and the loss in previous years was migration. Nearly a quarter million more people moved to rural counties last year than moved out. That’s a dramatic change from most of the last decade.
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KORE Power Acquires Waterbury-based Northern Reliability Inc. (NRI)
(March 24, 2022 – KORE Power)
KORE Power, Inc. has acquired Northern Reliability (NRI) and launched KORE Solutions, a full-service storage integrator that will operate as a division of the US-based battery manufacturer, allowing KORE Power to become a vertically integrated energy solutions provider.
KORE Solutions combines the manufacturing capabilities of KORE Power with NRI’s nearly 50 years of experience advancing energy storage solutions. The acquisition positions the company to take advantage of the rapidly expanding energy storage solution space, as KORE Solutions brings on NRI’s robust, US-made project pipeline. The company announced it will immediately add 25 positions to its Waterbury, Vermont location.
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Vermont Technology Alliance Membership Update
The Vermont Technology Alliance works on behalf of its members and is able to carry out its mission through the support of its membership.
Renewing members include: SymQuest as a Partner Member/Sponsor. We are thankful for the foundational support of our annual Member/Sponsors such as SymQuest. Other renewing members include Mamava, QGenda, and individual Bill Scudder,
Not a VTTA member yet? Then why not join now? Find more information and register here. You can also contact us at admin@vtta.org.
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Useful Information & Links |
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Vermont BIPOC Business Roundtable Sessions
Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity is hosting a series of virtual BIPOC business roundtables. These roundtables will inform recommendations to the State of Vermont on how best to support BIPOC business development.
In 2020, Vermont Partnership conducted a survey of BIPOC business needs. They now want to know in greater detail how best to deliver or through what mechanisms BIPOC business needs might be met from the point of view of the business owner.
Each hourlong roundtable will have between 8-12 participants. Curtiss Reed, Jr., President & CEO of the CRJ Consulting Group, L3C, will facilitate each roundtable.
Anyone interested in participating in one of the roundtable sessions, can sign up here. The scheduled dates for the upcoming sessions are: April 28, May 5, May 12. May 19 and June 1.
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Online Professional Development Courses
The VTTA has partnered with MindEdge to offer easy-to-access, affordable, online professional development courses. Whether you are looking to expand your skill set, earn professional credits, or learn something new, these courses are an option to gain essential and in-demand skills on your own time, at your own pace, and from any location. As a bonus, VTTA members save 10% on all offerings.
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VTTA Career Center
Vermont Technology Alliance member companies are hiring, and when you visit the Career Center on the Vermont Technology Alliance website you can browse and search for these job openings and subscribe to updates. The Career Center on average features 150+ tech and non-tech jobs with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses. Jobs available from VTTA members are listed at no charge in the Career Center as a member benefit.
Find the Career Center here.
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The VTTA Thanks Its Member/Sponsors
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