BURLINGTON, VT (June 17, 2026) – Hundreds of community members gathered at Hula to support LaunchVT’s 2026 cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual pitch competition and celebration of entrepreneurship. LaunchVT is a division of the Lake Champlain Chamber.
The 2026 cohort presented their startups to the audience and a panel of investor judges, David Bradbury, president of Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET), Christine Dodson, CEO of Mamava, and Melissa Merkel, impact investing manager at the Center of Rural Innovation (CORI).
Two businesses walked away with cash awards, and all will receive professional services from local businesses worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Demo Night marks the end of LaunchVT’s annual twelve-week intensive accelerator program, where entrepreneurs in the cohort work with dedicated business coaches and strategic advisors to address their startup’s most pressing needs, including refining their business models, developing their go-to-market strategies, and preparing for future fundraising and investment.
In its 14th year, LaunchVT is Vermont’s pre-eminent startup accelerator. “We are so pleased to be able to accelerate the growth of these amazing companies,” said LaunchVT Director Noragh Devlin. “These entrepreneurs worked so hard throughout the accelerator, and that work was evident during all of their pitches. And the community was out in force to support them – Demo Night was standing room only! We’re grateful to our mentors, partners, and supporters who make this essential work possible.” If you missed their pitches on Demo Night, you can replay the live stream by visiting launchvt.com.
Taking home the $15,000 Lake Champlain Chamber Award grand prize was Oru, founded by Neil Shah. Oru builds premium, connected safety and efficiency monitors that give woodstove owners real-time temperature data and peace.
Winning the $5,000 Audience Choice Award was Aligna. Founded by Reddhi Patel, Aligna is a Family Harmony Platform that helps reduce invisible mental load, relationship frictions and turn household chaos into connection.
In addition to the cash awards, the 2026 LaunchVT cohort has been matched with LaunchVT’s generous service partners to provide them with expert professional support where they need it most. “Helping high-potential Vermont startups grow drives job creation, innovation and investment, all of which adds up to a strong Vermont economy. Our work is made possible thanks to the many organizations that support the Chamber,” said Lake Champlain Chamber President Cathy Davis.
The 2026 cohort included the additional startups who presented at Demo Night:
- Thicket Adventure – Kara Hardman
- Height of Land LTD – Robert Kelly & Adam Howard
- Agrilab Technologies – Brian Jerose
- NEK Biosciences – Kenneth James
- Giftdrive – Logan Vaughan
LaunchVT is made possible thanks to a robust network of support, including sponsors, business coaches, and the many other partners who champion our startup community.