Message from the vtTA

Welcome to 2017. The Vermont Technology Alliance is set to continue its efforts this year to support, promote and expand Vermont's technology-focused businesses, organizations and jobs. We're excited about the momentum we have from our activities and accomplishments in 2016, from our tech job recruitment effort, to our outreach, advocacy and communications.

You can review
vtTA's 2016 highlights here .

We also want to give a shout out to
Logic Supply , for their year-end donation to support the vtTA's work to increase awareness of Vermont's tech career opportunities.

We recently had the opportunity to discuss the Alliance and Vermont's tech industry with the House Committee and Economic Development in the Vermont Legislature. We discussed the importance of the tech sector for Vermont's economy, tech hiring and efforts to recruit employees to Vermont; and other programs and issues. We were encouraged by the committee's interest and support for growing tech in the state.

Sign up now to attend our Feb. 9 Lunch & Learn session . Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, director of the UVM Spatial Analysis lab, will share his perspective on the commercial and scientific applications of drone technology, and discuss the lab's use of state-of-the-art drones for digital mapping technology.

Jeff Couture
Executive Director, Vermont Technology Alliance
Useful Links


 
Become a Sponsor
We have sponsorship opportunities in our newsletter, for our Lunch & Learn and social events, on our website, and much more.
 
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Upcoming Events
[January 31, 2017 - VCET, Burlington] 

Interested in helping more women enter the tech industry? Have teaching experience, or would like to acquire some? Attend this info session to learn about teaching and teacher assistant opportunities available with Girl Develop It Burlington.

Find more here. 

[February 9, 2017 - Community College of Vermont, Winooski]   

The guest speaker for this Lunch & Learn session is Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, director of the UVM Spatial Analysis lab. The lab is one of only a few in the world that specializes in the use of drone mapping technology. Jarlath will share his perspective on the commercial and scientific applications of drone technology, and discuss the lab's use of state-of-the-art drones for digital mapping technology. The session is sponsored by the UVM Office of the Vice President for Research .
 
Find more here .
Vermont Technology in the News

Burlington Electric, VT Tech Council Assess Energy Startup Accelerator
[January 22, 2017 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine/Press Release]
 
The Burlington Electric Department and the Vermont Technology Council announced the formation of an exploratory team to assess the potential for a Vermont energy startup accelerator - PowerUp Vermont. The 12-week program would be designed to provide growing energy businesses with a mentorship program and seminars. Energy entrepreneurs are invited to complete a survey to gauge interest.

Read more here.

New Leadership at "Code for BTV"
[January 24, 2017 - Source: Vermont Digger/Press Release]

Burlington's local Code for America Brigade of civic-minded technologists, Code for BTV, has announced that tech -friendly music nonprofit Big Heavy World has taken on its coordination. Code for America is a national nonprofit that organizes a network volunteers - Code for America Brigades, like Code for BTV in Burlington - dedicated to helping government deliver services to the public better using the tools and practices of the digital age.

Read more here.

Generator Offers Jumping-Off Point for Creative Entrepreneurs
[January 19, 2017 - Source: Vermont Digger]
 
Artists and entrepreneurs who are part of the community workspace called Generator have moved to a new home in the South End Arts District. Generator provides tools and technology and aims to be a jumping-off point for new, creative small businesses. Read more here .
VTC Reports 100 Percent Placement for 2016 Class
[January 18, 2017 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine/Press Release]


Vermont Technical College reported that the overall placement rate in advanced education or employment of Vermont Tech's Class of 2016 is 100%. The percentage of graduates employed within their field is 96%, including jobs with Vermont tech businesses.

Read more here.
  
A report from the Vermont Chamber of Comm erce s ays the s tate needs to add 10,000 people to its workforce every year to grow the economy. The Vermont Futures P roject released a report Monday that says 10,975 more people are leaving the workforce every year than entering it.The so-called workforce supply gap is the result of more people retiring and fewer people entering the workforce. According to the report, 11,375 Vermonters retire
every year, and an additional 7,600 jobs are open
for other reasons.
 
Read more here .
 
Burlington Middle Schools Win $40,000 for Maker Space
[January 12, 2017 - Source: Burlington Free Press]

T wo Burlington middle schools received grants from a national program totaling $40,000 to create makerspaces. Lyman C. Hunt and Edmunds middle schools competed nationally for the grants from the Verizon Innovative Learning program. Each will receive $20,000 to set up and launch their maker labs.

Read more here .
 
Inntopia Acquires DestiMetrics
[January 10, 2017 - Source: Press Release]
 
Inntopia, an eCommerce and central reservation provider for the travel industry, has announced the acquisition of Destimetrics, a leading comprehensive market intelligence provider for the destination leisure travel industry. The acquisition of Destimetrics follows Inntopia's merger with Ryan Solutions in November, and adds another component to Inntopia's offerings: a full suite of market intelligence reports and analytics for the travel and hospitality industries.
 
Read more here.
[January 5, 2017 - Source: Press Release]
 
FirstLight Fiber, a leading fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in New York and Northern New England, has announced that Oak Hill Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of Oxford Networks, and has combined the operations of Oxford with FirstLight. FirstLight now operates a 5,000 route mile, high-capacity, fiber optic network.

Read more here .
Big Apps, Small Package
[January 2017 - Source: Business People-Vermont]

Business People -Vermont profiles vtTA member Green Mountain Software and owners Lou Krieg and Ann Pettyjohn. Burlington-based Green Mountain Software develops mobile, web, and big data apps for iOS, Android, and related server software.

Read more here .
Think Tank Measures Vermont's Tech Economy
[January 5, 2017 - Source: Mountain Times/ ITIF]

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) reported in a new study that high-tech innovation plays a large role in the Vermont economy. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank for science and technology policy examined 20 indicators of the high-tech economy in all 435 U.S. congressional districts, the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Vermont ranked second in high-tech share of all manufacturing exports and fourth in both patent filers and patents filed per 1,000 workers.

Read more here .
United Van Lines: Vermont Number 2 for State People are Moving To
[January 3, 2017 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine/Press Release]

At least as far as United Van Lines customers go, Vermont is a place to move to.
South Dakota (68 percent inbound) is first and Vermont (67 percent) edged out Oregon (67 percent) for the second position in a national study that looked at moving patterns in 2016. The United Van Lines' 40th Annual National Movers Study tracked customers' state-to-state migration patterns over the past year. Vermont ranked third for 2015.

Read more here .
IT Firm InfoZen Expands in Vermont, Seeks to Fill 20 Tech Positions
[December 20, 2016 - Source: Vermont Technology Alliance]
 
InfoZen, a Bethesda, Maryland-based information technology company, is hiring for 20 tech positions in Vermont, and possibly more over the coming year, as part of its contract with the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.

Read more here .
Featured Member: Greensea Systems

Located in Richmond, Vermont, Greensea is a worldwide leader in advanced marine robotics providing navigation, control, and automation products for ocean vehicles based on their patent-pending OPENSEA TM operating platform. Greensea systems have been installed on over 600 surface and subsea vehicles throughout the world such as underwater drones, diver propulsion devices, research submarines, and U.S. Navy systems.

Partnering with organizations such as the Schmidt Ocean Institute, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Greensea systems turn complex oceanographic vehicles into easy-to-operate tools allowing scientists to explore and monitor the health of the oceans more efficiently and thoroughly.

Greensea was founded in 2006 by Ben Kinnaman to fulfill a passion to improve the relationship between man and machine - making work easier and more intuitive through innovative technology. Greensea is a workplace of flexibility, productivity, and play, where team members are rewarded for initiative and creativity, and grow along with the company. Greensea employees are not just sitting behind a computer or in an electronics lab, but are hands-on and get to test their designs on systems all over the world in places such as Guam, Australia, and Norway.

Pioneering worldwide marine industry innovation right here in Vermont, Greensea not only employs local talent whenever possible, but outsources work to Vermont-owned suppliers for such things as metalwork, machining, and custom electronics.

To learn more, visit www.greenseainc.com .

Vermont Technology Alliance Membership Update

The Vermont Technology Alliance thanks the following new and renewing business members:
 
Renewing Members:
Dunkiel Saunders , Care Management Solutions , Pwnie Express, Renewable NRG Systems , Richard Gliech Translator , Stone Environmental , Vermont Information Consortium.

Join the Vermont Technology Alliance
The Vermont Technology Alliance welcomes businesses and individuals to join our non-profit business association. Members benefit from vtTA's advocacy and programs and services, including job postings in our Career Center, invitations and discounts to events, and networking and business opportunities. To find out more and to discuss membership, contact Jeff Couture, jeff@vtta.org, or sign up to be a new member here . 
Useful Information & Links
Vermont Department of Labor Offers Free Services and Programs for Employers
 
Are you an employer needing assistance with your hiring needs?
 
The Workforce Development Division under the Department of Labor offers free services and programs to assist with filling position openings. A sampling of its programs includes:
  • Conduct an onsite hiring event at one of its local offices.
  • Can't find qualified candidates to fill specialized positions? Funding through the WIOA (Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act) helps employers defray the costs associated with training new employees through our On the Job Training program. Are you utilizing WOTC or Work Opportunity Tax Credits for hiring? For more details regarding these programs and others, please click here.
  • Need free copies of the mandatorystate and federal posters? You can download them here.
  • Interested in comparing wages in your area? The Vermont Department of Labor offers labor market information at www.vtlmi.info.
  • If you are an employer experiencing a possible downsizing or need to reduce hours, you can reach out to one of the Career Resource Centers listed here.
Questions? Please contact Ann Carnell, Employer Resource Consultant at Ann.carnell@vermont.gov. She also is the contact for Chittenden and Franklin Counties.
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 . The Career Center features 150 - 200 tech and non-tech jobs with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses.
 
For more, click here .  
Executive training program available to VT entrepreneurs
 
Vermont Technical College is the educational partner of the SBA's Emerging Leaders program, and is seeking 20 entrepreneurs throughout the state to participate in a free business course starting in April.
Emerging Leaders is a free executive-level training program for established business owners poised for growth. Over the course of seven months at Vermont Tech's Williston campus, each participating entrepreneur will learn immediate ways to improve their business and will create a three-year strategic growth plan to build a sustainable business of size and scale.
Emerging Leaders is for established business owners and is not for start-ups or people who are thinking about starting a business. To be considered, firms must be for-profit enterprises, been in business for at least three years, have at least one full time employee other than self, and have annual revenues between $400,000 and $10 million.
Business owners interested in the program need to fill out the online application here by March 1. Interise, a non-profit organization specializing in entrepreneurial education, oversees the Emerging Leaders nationwide. The SBA reviews the applications and selects the class participants.
For more information, click here, email darcy.carter@sba.gov or call 802-828-4422 ext. 203 .
Vermont EPSCoR Funding Opportunities
Vermont EPSCoR has announced two funding opportunities for Vermont Small Businesses
Small Business Technology Transfer Phase (0)
 
These are awards for research and evelopment projects which will lead to applications for federal SBIR/STTR programs.
  • Maximum grant amount of $15,000
  • One award will be made in areas of interest to NASA
  • Deadline for submission: Feb. 14, 2017
Faculty Small Business Partnerships
Grants for small businesses in collaboration with UVM faculty for projects aligned with Basic Resilience to Extreme Events in the Lake Champlain Basin project 
  • Maximum amount of each award is $10,000
  • Deadline for submission: March 1, 2017
Find more details on the EPSCoR website here.
ExporTech Training Program Scheduled for Winter/Spring 2017
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC has scheduled the fifth session of a proven program designed to help small- and mid-sized Vermont manufacturers and other interested companies boost their sales through profitable exports.
ExporTechâ„¢ provides companies with a systematic process for entering or expanding in global markets and connects them with the best international business experts in the region. The program assists participants in developing a peer-reviewed export growth plan, quickly moving them from planning to closing export sales.
The program is limited to 4 to 8 companies at a time, with up to 4 leaders from each company.  
Find more information here .
SCORE Small Business Education Series
 
SCORE continues to offer free education sessions for small businesses on the second Wednesday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the New England Federal Credit Union in Williston. This series is targeted to those who are either thinking about getting into business or have a new business, and could use some information and education to help them be successful.
 
Next workshop: Market Your Small Business to Get the Sale - Feb 8 
March Workshop: Define Your Presence on the Internet - March 8
 
Call 802-879-8790 to reserve a seat or register online here .
"Inquiry" Highlights Research Projects at UVM
 
The University of Vermont has published "Inquiry," a chronicle of research, scholarship, and creative arts at the University of Vermont. Read about the latest projects going on at UVM here .