BURLINGTON, Vt. (May 28, 2026) – Get ready for the most exciting night in Vermont entrepreneurship! Each year, hundreds of community members gather at Hula to support LaunchVT’s cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual pitch competition and celebration of entrepreneurship. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, June 16.
The 2026 cohort will present their startups to the audience and a panel of investor judges including 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). Tom Messner, former NBC5 meteorologist and host and producer of Vermont Startup News, will serve as the evening’s emcee.
Two businesses will walk 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.
A program of the Lake Champlain Chamber, LaunchVT empowers local businesses and provides founders with the opportunity to take their startups to the next level.
The startups and their participating founders pitching at Demo Night are:
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Thicket Adventure – Kara Hardman
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Height of Land LTD – Robert Kelly & Adam Howard
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Agrilab Technologies – Brian Jerose
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Aligna App – Reddhi Patel
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NEK Biosciences – Kenneth James
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Oru – Neil Shah
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Giftdrive – Logan Vaughan
“I am thrilled to feature these companies at Demo Night,” said Noragh Devlin, director of LaunchVT. “Every single one has done incredibly important work through the accelerator, and I am so excited to see what they will do next.”
Get the details and register for free at launchvt.com. Registered audience members will have the chance to vote for their favorite startup.
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.