Vermont Works Management Co. created the Vermont Investors Summit in 2017 to showcase local businesses and entrepreneurs and provide greater visibility to the ecosystem, specifically to socially minded investors within the state and beyond.
While the broad mission remains the same, the content of the Summit has evolved. This year, the Vermont Investors Summit will be a two-day event with a breadth of content focused on collaboration and community building. We'll have speakers, workshops, networking, business expo and company speed dating. Tickets are available as individual sessions; please remember to register for all events you plan to attend. See below for full itinerary and event descriptions!
DAY 1 | WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Hosted at Courtyard Marriott in Harbor Room
Session 1 | Money is Power: Investing in Women
Keynote & Conversation with Deborah Jackson of Plum Alley Investments
8:00AM-11:30AM | $20.00, includes breakfast
While women have more money to invest than ever before, female entrepreneurs continue to struggle to raise capital. Enter Plum Alley Investments. Deborah Jackson and Andrea Turner Moffitt teamed up to create a new investing model that encourages more women (and men) to invest in women.
Setting the stage for this energizing keynote and conversation, Change the Story VT will outline the challenges that women-led businesses face when raising capital as well as some of the systemic barriers and unconscious biases that adversely impact women (founders and funders) in startups and early stage companies. Deborah Jackson will then share her journey from Wall Street to Plum Alley, discussing how venture capital combined with community andpurpose can be a powerful tool to have influence and impact on our world. Through a facilitated conversation and Q&A session, we’ll learn why it’s so important for women to have a seat at the table when it comes to directing capital to companies driving innovation and disrupting the norm.
Session 2 | A New Emerging Model for Economic Development
Keynote & Workshop with Andy Stoll of the Kauffman Foundation
12:00PM-4:30PM | $20.00, includes lunch
In this informative and entertaining lunchtime talk, Andy Stoll, Senior Program Officer at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation — one of the world’s leading foundations focused on entrepreneurship -- will share stories and insights into the changing nature of the economy in a 21st century world and the role of entrepreneurs in transforming the local economy, creating jobs, reducing poverty and increasing community vibrancy.
Building on the lunchtime keynote, this interactive workshop will dive deeper into specific tactics and collaborations needed to build a more robust entrepreneurial ecosystem across Vermont. This workshop is intended for entrepreneurs, those who support them and anyone interested in building a more robust system of support for entrepreneurs in the region - attendance at the lunchtime keynote is not required, but highly encouraged. The workshop format will primarily use small-group, discussion-based activities in which participants will collaboratively develop actionable next steps to help move the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem forward.
Open Networking & Cocktail Reception
4:30-6:30PM | Cash bar
DAY 2 | THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
Company Speed Dating
Hosted in Burlington, VT
1:00PM-5:00PM | Free, RSVP via email
An opportunity to show off Vermont’s best investable opportunities, brag a little and create meaningful connections for mentors, investors and companies. This year, we have widened our view to include high-quality mentors as well as investors to help companies with their human and financial capital needs. Speed dating will take place at Highball Social and will lead into the Vermont Investors Summit on the waterfront for an evening of drinks, snacks and great conversation.
3rd Annual Vermont Investors Summit
Hosted at Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center
5:00PM-8:00PM | Free
Created in 2017, the Vermont Investors Summit was created to showcase local entrepreneurs and businesses, providing greater visibility to investors from Vermont and beyond. While the broad mission remains the same, the Summit has evolved into a two day event with speakers, workshops, company speed dating and networking. The 2019 Vermont Investors Summit will focus on community building and collaboration and the possibilities that arise as a result. The Summit will culminate in a networking event at the Community Sailing Center with an expo of our amazing local businesses showcasing their products and services.
** We understand that parking was a challenge last year, so we will arrange shuttles to pick up/drop off from the various parking garages in town. Please stay tuned for details! **
For questions and to RSVP, please email Madeline at [email protected].
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