BURLINGTON, VT (June 26, 2025) – Hundreds of business-minded community members gathered at Hula to support LaunchVT’s 2025 cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual pitch competition and celebration of entrepreneurship. The 2025 cohort presented their startups to the audience and a panel of investor judges, including Byron Batres, Louisa Schibli, and Tim Wall. 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.
This is the thirteenth year LaunchVT has run the accelerator and Demo Night. “LaunchVT is proud to celebrate another incredible Demo Night and a powerful spring accelerator program,” said LaunchVT’s Director, Lauren Bass. “This year’s cohort demonstrated remarkable growth, drive, and creativity by tackling significant challenges with innovative ideas. Demo Night was our largest ever, and the energy in the room reflected the strength of Vermont’s entrepreneurial spirit. We’re grateful to our mentors, partners, and supporters who make this possible. It’s inspiring to watch these startups take flight, and we’re excited to keep building momentum for Vermont’s innovation ecosystem.” 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 Vship, founded by sibling cofounders Ahmed Aly and Amr Aly. Vship is an innovative vehicle shipping platform that connects customers directly with carriers, eliminating middlemen and making the shipping process more efficient and affordable.
Winning the $5,000 Audience Choice Award was Xander Medical. Founded by sibling team Ali Bisaccia and Jackson Bisaccia, Xander Medical develops innovative surgical fixation systems thoughtfully designed to address intra-procedural challenges, improving performance, efficiency, and mitigating clinical and cost risks.
In addition to the cash awards, the 2025 LaunchVT cohort has been matched with LaunchVT’s generous service partners to provide them with expert professional support where they need it most. “Supporting these incredible entrepreneurs as they build their startups in Vermont is key to our economic future and central to our mission. It’s made possible thanks to the many organizations that support the Chamber,” said Lake Champlain Chamber President Cathy Davis.
The 2025 cohort included the additional startups who presented at Demo Night:
- Cardchain AI – Dan Hughes & Levi Hughes
- Heron’s Marine – Kenny Richards & Jeremy Frederick
- Kitty Badhands – Kat McVeigh & Dale Donaldson
- Rugged MicroPower – Paul Shepherd
- TukTu Inc. – Rustam Sengupta
LaunchVT is made possible thanks to its amazing partners, including All Stage, Aplomb Consulting, Atomic Audio, Better Business Bureau, Carbonate Media, Cherian Philip, Chris O’Connell, Cicada, Codingscape, Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, Convergent Accounting, Curt Alpeter, Dave Schmidt, Delta Dental, Dinse, Doug Merrill, Downs Rachlin Martin, Dudley Fund, EastRise Credit Union, Engage CFO, Features Capital, Forecast LLC, FreshTracks Capital, Frosty Fern, Gallagher, Flynn & Company, Geoff Strawbridge, LLP, Hula, HR Happens, Inner Citadel Consulting, Jason Burke, Jason Mintz, Jeff Chu, JHCapital, JPMorgan Chase, Karen Walker-Beecher, Kevin Emmert, Lee Bouyea, Leonardo’s Pizza, Manafall, Mascoma Bank, Merritt & Merritt, Merrill Family Foundation, M&T Bank, NBT Bank, Northfield Savings Bank, Omer Trajman, Paw Print & Mail, Rho Impact, Ruth and Peter Metz Family Foundation, Scout Digital, Small Business Administration, Sugarsnap, The Little Things, Tom Messner, TreBar, Trevor Barlow, University of Vermont, Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Department of Economic Development, Vermont Economic Development Authority, Vermont Federal Credit Union, and VELCO. To see a full list of our partners and the foundations supporting our work, visit our Partners page.