Burlington is a city of about 40,000 people, tucked away between New York and Vermont, situated on the shores of Lake Champlain. Because of its proximity to both New York City and Boston, Burlington is a prime location for those on the East Coast who want to enjoy a city while also living in a quieter area.
Burlington is home to Champlain College, Saint Michael's College and the University of Vermont, who turn out plenty of fresh talent from their doors. The combination of college town and proximity to nature makes Burlington a great location for a startup company looking to get off the ground. In this article, we'll look at 10 amazing startups in Burlington, Vermont.
If you are thinking of joining a startup in Burlington, or creating one of your own, put yourself in good company. Synaptic Supercollider💥 is a conference and festival that takes place in Burlington every October. The event brings together forward thinkers to discuss new trends in innovation entrepreneurship, music, lifestyles and the arts.
Beta is the future of flight. That's their mantra, and it's fast becoming a reality. Beta's mission is to design a self-sufficient eVTOL aircraft ecosystem that satisfies the needs of humans, embraces the laws of nature, and works in harmony with the planet.
The company was founded in 2017 by Kyle Clark, a Harvard trained engineer, experienced entrepreneur, and former professional hockey player. One of Beta's early backers was United Therapeutics, who awarded the company a $48 million dollar contract to develop an efficient means of delivering man-made organs for human transplant.
In recent months, the company has received an order for 140 aircraft from United Parcel Service and secured over $400 million dollars in funding from Amazon's Climate Fund and Fidelity Investments.
Beta's home page includes a quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an aviation pioneer and the author of Le Petit Prince. “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” The quote exemplifies founder, Kyle Clark's vision to simplify and amplify access to the vertical dimensions of mobility.
We are fortunate to have Kyle Clark as a keynote speaker at this year's Synaptic Supercollider. Come join us if you are looking for inspiration to make your projects soar.
If you've got a satellite that you want to move around in space, Benchmark Space Systems is the company to partner with. Benchmark positions itself as an in-space mobility provider with products that enable orbit insertion, stationkeeping and collision avoidance. They specialize in solutions for cubesat and smallsat class spacecraft which have become compelling alternatives to larger satellites.
Ryan McDevitt co-founded Benchmark with Matt Shea to commercialize technology he developed as a graduate student at the University of Vermont. Ryan worked on projects funded by the United States Air Force and NASA to build chemical micropropulsion systems. Since its inception in 2017, Benchmark has built a world-class team of engineers and business development professionals on the shores of Lake Champlain. And unlike SpaceX which is based in Los Angeles, they won't need to bore giant tunnels to get to work on time 😀
Benchmark Space Systems is one of many examples of how Burlington is emerging as an innovation hub. Vermont may be known as the home of Ben & Jerry's, but its reputation is quickly expanding in leading-edge industries such as space exploration and aviation.
Mamava provides safe breastfeeding spaces for mothers. Their spaces, essentially small pods, provide safe, clean and private spaces to breastfeed their children. Mamava also provides an app that tells you where their pods are in your area, and what the lactation laws are in your state. In fact, they have a pod on Battery St in Burlington.
Mamava is a startup that was created by Sascha Mayer and Christine Dodson, two moms who were tired of pumping in places that weren’t appropriate. So they decided to create safe spaces for breastfeeding. In fact, their pods are in almost all 50 states.
THINKMD is a Burlington startup that uses clinical intelligence technology designed by professional physicians to determine how ill a patient is, with 85% - 95% accuracy. THINKMD's solution univeralizes access to better healthcare decisions, reducing preventable deaths by combining physician logic with mobile technology that anyone, anywhere can use. Whether a patient themselves, or a parent, clinician or frontline health worker, the tool can be used for instant access to high quality health information, including risk, referrals, care plans and triage.
THINKMD has multiple use case studies on their website, demonstrating scientific validation and the impact of their technology.
Faraday assists various brands in analyzing consumer behavior with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). Faraday provides tools such as Reach, which allows companies and startups to enter various criteria for ventures such as customer outreach, candidate hiring etc. Reach then adjusts various parameters to help find better sales prospects and increase revenue. Faraday essentially automates the hard parts of data science to allow brands to focus on aligning with their customers.
Faraday also publishes blogs, studies and white papers to showcase the benefits of using their products. Some companies they reference include Cabot Creamery, Burrow, Advia and Saatchi Art, to name a few. Faraday exists to help understand the complex parts of data science and AI; success is key.
DealerPolicy helps make the insurance step of buying a new car easier by moving the process online for both dealers and customers, enabling them to save more on insurance and thus have more purchasing power. DealerPolicy offers a tool, FastPass, which allows customers to access competing insurance quotes on a vehicle they want to buy, right there on the showroom floor.
DealerPolicy has partnered with J.D. Power to use their Intelligent Match software, which displays insurance quotes based on your personal preferences. This all combines to deliver a smoother, much more pleasant experience when purchasing a car. If you want to buy a car and are worried about purchasing insurance for it, don’t worry. DealerPolicy is the startup for you.
No company is complete without marketing, and that’s where Fluency comes in. Fluency is a digital advertising company that uses scaled data automation to help companies leverage their marketing power. Now, they do not perform this service themselves; Fluency customers are companies that manage their marketing in-house. This starup's custom software allows clients to create their own specific ad campaigns across unlimited portfolios, so as to maximize audience reach and relevance.
They even have a template on their website; you enter the major details of the company media profile (how much you spend on media monthly, whether its managed in house or outsourced, etc) and Fluency will work with you accordingly.
OhMD is an encrypted messaging system that medical professionals can use to communicate with patients and each other. The CEO, Ethan Bechtel, says that physicians in all 50 states use OhMD. It’s designed to be as much like texting as possible, to establish a more relaxed and user-friendly experience when communicating with your doctor.
Messages sent through OhMD are HIPAA certified, so rest easy in the knowledge that your information is safe when using OhMD.
Check out Renoun Skis for your skiing needs. This Burlington startup was founded by Cyrus Schenck in 2011. Renoun builds skis with non-Newtonian polymers, using a patented technology called VibeStop. It’s a Hyper Damping Technology (HDT) and it stops unnecessary vibrations in the ski by hardening when vibrated.
The technology is not new; NASA used something similar, but Renoun is the first startup to use it in production. Renoun aims to move the skiing industry into the future by using more experimental materials, and, to boot, they are a climate neutral company. That is, they aim to offset the impact of their production as much as possible, and they use a third party auditor to remain accountable. Finally, Schenck is a born and raised Vermonter and is headquartered in Burlington!
Located in Montpelier, just 45 minutes south of Burlington, Caledonia Spirits is racking up recognition across the world. This startup was founded by a beekeeper and an amateur distiller. Caledonia Spirits are made from all-natural ingredients, and the results are: Barr Hill Gin, Tomcat Gin and Barr Hill Vodka. In fact, their Gin has won awards at the New York and Hong Kong International Spirits Competitions: Double Gold and Best Gin of the Year, the two highest awards.
In keeping with the beekeepers wishes, all Caledonia Spirits incorporate raw, in house produced honey into the process. If you’re looking for an authentic Vermont distillery, definitely give Caledonia a look. You won’t regret it.
Headquartered in Burlington, Zero Gravity aims to give back to the community and ensure everyone is around to enjoy their beer for many years to come. They inhabit a 30 barrel taproom in the South End Art District on Pine St, and offer a full canning line and tasting room in addition to a beer garden and retail shop. Zero Gravity adheres to classic brewing styles painstakingly through the use of the best malt and hops, ensuring balanced smooth beers. Their quality control is paramount, and should you taste it, doesn’t disappoint.
Jonah Madill
Outreach, Synaptic Supercollider
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