LaunchVT 2015 Final

LaunchVT is a three year old Business Pitch Competition for the State of Vermont that awards over $45,000 in cash and over $70,000 in in-kind resources for entrepreneurs. LaunchVT started as a community initiative of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce for an opportunity to get exposure, education and experience for entrepreneurs to start their business. LaunchVT has seen tremendous growth over the past several years. The organization started awarding one entrepreneur $25,000 in cash with $45,000 in in-kind resources. LaunchVT’s prize package has grown to included our first ever second place prize. Our 2015 First Place Contestant ,The Renoun Ski Company, took home $30,000 in cash and over $45,000 in in-kind resources. Our first ever Second Place contestant, Punch Pass, was awarded $15,000 in cash with over $25,000 of in in-kind resources.

LaunchVT was able to strike a nerve in the community. The amazing support and sponsors, made it clear that there was a need to continue to grow this initiative. This put LaunchVT in a unique opportunity to find a strong partner to begin to source the amount of applications we were beginning to receive. For LaunchVT to have a strong competition we needed to have an equally strong process for selecting the final contestants. When Designbook approached LaunchVT, they were offering to custom code an application platform. This directly, was able to alleviate the pressures that were holding the competition back. If this competition was to become a serious opportunity, it needed to accomplish two things; 1) the ability to iron out the details of the brand and target customer while 2) having a fully interactive site that allowed LaunchVT to source applications. LaunchVT needed the ability to review the companies privately while being able to communicate with the Board and the applicants.

Previous platforms provided only half of what Designbook was capable of which made executing our competition a challenge. Designbook directly addressed the pressures we had that were a direct weakness for LaunchVT to grow. The true partnership was in the approach and the execution of our competition this year. The team was 100% available for any questions or comments and provided live-time edits. They provided a solution to our growing non-profit.

LaunchVT had an average attendance this year of over 200 people. The media and exposure that our 2015 competition received, provided us with direct validation in our partnership with Designbook. We now have a platform which allows LaunchVT to continue to engage our applicants, alumni and winners. The most successful aspect of LaunchVT was the program's ability to provide resources after the Final Competition. LaunchVT’s Designbook platform has provided us with a long-term engagement in Vermont’s Entrepreneurship community.

Emily Piper | Co-Founder & Executive Director