This has been a difficult time for all businesses, including our vtTA members and other tech businesses, as they comply and adjust to the state’s Stay Safe, Stay Home orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
From our recent survey, we know that most have seen an impact, either to their current business or a slow down or cancellation of future work, in some cases by 50% or more. Most have successfully transitioned to work at home, and a majority has not had to layoff staff – so far.
Since in-person events are not possible, we’ve organized some free, online presentations of interest to the tech and business community.
We had an informative session with Vermont Senate President Tim Ashe discussing what is happening in the Legislature in response to the coronavirus and the issues ahead. We’re presenting a
free, online Let’s Tech Together presentation
by Galen Dow of AMPED Pipeline Marketing discussing inbound marketing for business and the leading inbound marketing application, HubSpot. And we have another free Let’s Tech Together webinar on April 29: a
Results Accelerator Workshop
with Annmarie Curley of Newgrange IT Consulting.
During this time when businesses are operating remotely, cutting back, or even temporarily closing, we want to thank our members who have continued to support the Vermont Technology Alliance through their continued membership.
Throughout this period, we continue to work to champion advocacy, collaboration, outreach, communication and resources that promote and support our members and the tech sector.
If you’d like to discuss, or have news and events you want to share with other members and the tech community, please email me at
jeff@vtta.org
.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director
Vermont Technology Alliance
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Let’s Tech Together: Inbound Marketing Best Practices for B2B
(April 23, 2020)
The Vermont Technology Alliance presents a free, online presentation by Galen Dow of AMPED Pipeline Marketing discussing inbound marketing for business and the leading inbound marketing application, HubSpot.
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Burlington Code Academy Demo Day
(April 23, 2020)
Join the Burlington Code Academy for its first remote Demo Day, showcasing the work of their spring cohort of software development students. Teams will be presenting live demos via Zoom.
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Let’s Tech Together: Results Accelerator Workshop
(April 29, 2020)
The Vermont Technology Alliance presents a Let's Tech Together Results Accelerator Workshop webinar with Annmarie Curley of Newgrange IT Consulting.
The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to realign your priorities and focus on the work that will provide the right results that your business needs right now.
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Venture Summit Virtual Connect 2020
(May 5-7, 2020)
Join early stage venture capitalists, corporate VCs, angel investors and founders of venture backed, emerging and early stage companies at this online conference. Vermont Technology Alliance members receive
20% off the registration fee
.
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Vermont Technology Alliance Members Step Up to Help Address Coronavirus Needs
(April, 2020)
As we all deal with the coronavirus pandemic, Vermont Technology Alliance members of all sizes have stepped up to provide products, services, helpful information and other outreach to address business and community needs and concerns.
Read this summary
of some of what vtTA member businesses and organizations are doing.
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Champlain College Names New President
(April 21, 2020 – Champlain College)
The Champlain College Board of Trustees has announced Benjamin Ola. Akande, Ph.D., as the ninth President of Champlain College. Dr. Akande will assume the role effective July 1, 2020. Akande currently serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Affairs–Africa, and the Associate Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Named one of the city’s “Most Influential Leaders” by the
St. Louis Business Journal
, Dr. Akande is an accomplished economist and scholar educator, as well as a recognized civic and business leader.
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Inntopia Increases Support of Goggles for Docs
(April 17, 2020 – Inntopia)
vtTA member Inntopia continues to ramp up its support of Goggles for Docs, which solicits donations of new or used ski goggles for health care workers on the front line battling COVID-19. The campaign was launched with the help of Gregg Blanchard, Inntopia’s VP of Marketing. The initiative has collected more than 10,000 goggles, and Inntopia has provided its booking engine to more securely and easily track donors and inventory for the 300+ hospitals who have requested goggles.
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Businesses Partnering with the State of Vermont to Address Rural Broadband Gap
(April 17, 2020 – Vermont Department of Public Service)
The Vermont Department of Public Service announced it is collaborating with several partners – Microsoft, vtTA member RTO Wireless, and Up And Running I.T. – to increase public Wi-Fi hotspots for dozens of rural towns in Vermont to help them work and learn remotely during the state’s Stay Home, Stay Safe period. Deployment started on April 11 to install devices in 31 Vermont Communities.
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Agency of Commerce and Community Development Establishes Economic Mitigation & Recovery Task Force
(April 15, 2020 – Agency of Commerce and Community Development)
Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development announced the establishment of the State of Vermont Economic Mitigation & Recovery Task Force. The task force is charged with providing technical assistance and expertise to mitigate the devastating short-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and develop strategies designed to speed long-term business and community recovery. The task force is made up of three teams: the Employer Financial and Technical Support team, the Local Support and Community Action team, and the RestartVT Team.
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UVM Team Invents the “Vermontilator" Emergency Ventilator
(April 8, 2020 – UVM)
A team at the University of Vermont has developed a new design—and built a working model—for a simple, inexpensive ventilator. “We think these could be rolled out very quickly and be effective on an emergency basis,” says University of Vermont lung expert Jason Bates who is leading the new effort in response to the coronavirus epidemic. Dubbed the “Vermontilator," preliminary calculations suggest the UVM Ventilator “can be produced quickly and in large numbers for a few hundred dollars per unit in parts and materials,” Bates says.
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Chroma's Products Play Key Role in COVID-19 Testing
(April 8, 2020 – Vermont Business Magazine)
Chroma Technology in Bellows Falls, which manufactures optical filters for the scientific, biomedical, photonics, and imaging industries, is facing an unprecedented call for its products as a result of COVID-19. Today, in laboratories around the world, scientists are frantically working on tests for and vaccines against the COVID-19 virus, which depend on the types of optical filters manufactured by Chroma.
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Tiny Digital Businesses Play Key Role in Local Economies, Study Says
(April 7, 2020 – New York Times)
A new study that examined the millions of small digital businesses suggests they could help many communities weather the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak. The new research, based on data from 20 million websites, found that these small-scale entrepreneurs generate significant spillover benefits to their communities. The analysis also concluded that counties with more of these ventures experienced stronger recoveries from the last recession than elsewhere.
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Upper Valley MedTech Collaborative Launches to Assist Businesses
(April 6, 2020 – Vermont Business Magazine)
The Upper Valley Business Alliance (formerly the Hanover and Lebanon NH Chambers of Commerce) announced the launch of the Upper Valley MedTech Collaborative (UVMTC). The purpose of UVMTC is to broaden awareness of the many companies located in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire that are researching, developing and manufacturing medical devices. The organization was created to bring medical technology entrepreneurs, companies, and investors in this medically-rich region of New Hampshire and Vermont together to address the challenges of bringing devices to market and growing their businesses.
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Featured Member – Leonine Public Affairs, LLP
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Founded in 1987 by two former high-level members of the administration of Governor Madeline Kunin, Leonine Public Affairs, LLP, is Vermont’s premiere government relations and strategic communications firm. The Montpelier-based firm currently has seven partners and over twenty employees. It represents a wide variety of clients in the Vermont legislature and before the executive branch of Vermont state government, and provides strategic communications services, such as building grassroots support and engagement with the media, and on the local, state and regional level. Through its “Focus” business unit, the firm also monitors, analyzes and reports on legislation in all 50 states for a number of national businesses and trade associations, manages a 50-state network of lobbyists (The Advocacy Group), and provides consulting services to the wireless telecommunications industry on tax policy issues in the 50 states.
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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.
New members include David Del Toro. Renewing business members include
Champlain College
,
Comcast Business
,
Consolidated Communications
,
Data Innovations
(which has renewed as a Partner Member/Sponsor),
Green River Data Analysis
,
Project Management Institute Champlain Valley Chapter
,
Renaissance Information Systems
, and
RTO Wireless
. Renewing individual members include Eric Bokelberg, Sara Munro, Sergei Serdyuk, and Bill Scudder.
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Join the Vermont Technology Alliance
Join the Vermont Technology Alliance and be part of our growing tech community. The Vermont Technology Alliance welcomes all businesses, organizations and individuals who make up and support Vermont's diverse, tech-based economy to join our business association. Members benefit from vtTA's advocacy, programs, events, communications, and services – including job postings in our Career Center – and networking and business opportunities.
We are happy to learn about your business or organization and tell you more about our organization – contact
jeff@vtta.org
. You also can find more information
here
, or sign up today to be a new member
here
.
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Useful Information & Links
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Comcast Business Launches Webinar Series
Comcast Business has announced a new webinar series aimed at helping businesses, of all sizes and across all industries, navigate the current environment, including strategies on how to rethink their short- and long-term goals and leverage technology to remain productive and nimble with their operations.
The free, five-part series, features Comcast Business leaders and subject matter experts alongside industry partners and topical experts tackling some of the biggest questions facing today’s businesses amidst the global pandemic. Interested businesses can view full details and
register here
.
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VMEC Launches Manufacturing Exchange-Vermont (MXVT.org)
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has launched a new cloud-based platform, Manufacturing Exchange-Vermont (
MXVT.org
), whose primary mission is to connect people and supply chains to deliver solutions. It gives manufacturers and suppliers access to needs and capabilities in a virtual collaboration space that empowers innovative thinking, helps solve problems and can create new business opportunities. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial focus of the Manufacturing Exchange has been on enabling and accelerating connections between urgent health-related equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs with Vermont manufacturers, suppliers and other collaborators. VMEC expects more working groups to emerge that are focused on specific needs and business opportunities.
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Coronavirus Resources and Information from vtTA Members and VT
Several vtTA member businesses and organizations and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development have compiled resource links and other information for businesses dealing with the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
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BRIC Offers Virtual Spring Break Resources
The Black River Innovation Center (BRIC) has put together a resource of some of their favorite digital, fitness, and off-screen Activities for students on spring break, including online yoga and other classes at the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center. Parents: If you’re looking for some help, check it out.
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Advertise in the Vermont Technology Alliance Newsletter
Feature your business or organization as a sponsor or with an ad in this newsletter and support the VtTA. Each month reach an audience made up of leaders, innovators, supporters and partners of Vermont’s growing and dynamic tech sector.
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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 currently has
200+
tech and non-tech jobs
with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses and organizations. Jobs available from vtTA members are listed at no charge in the Career Center as a member benefit.
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The vtTA Thanks Its Member/Sponsors
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