Maximizing Vermont's Creative Brainpower
If you think Vermont industry is just about dairy farms, Ben & Jerry’s and Burton Snowboards, you might be surprised to learn that high-tech products accounted for 75 percent of Vermont exports in 2008, according to the National Trade in the Cyberstates Report, commissioned by the Tech America Foundation. High-tech exports brought $2.8 billion to Vermont in 2008. Yes, billion with a “b.”
Large, national companies such as IBM and GE Healthcare account for a sizable portion of those exports, but there’s much more to the story than Big Blue. “Tapping Tech” will introduce you to a dozen local tech companies and entrepreneurs. They’re located in office parks, renovated factories and post-and-beam farmhouses that dot the rural countryside. Some are established firms, others are growing start-ups, some are dreamers with a desire to build something of lasting value in their communities.
The individuals profiled in “Tapping Tech” work with new technology, but their stories should be familiar to anyone who’s heard of Tom Watson, Rich Tarrant Jr., Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield or Donna & Jake Burton Carpenter. Or, for that matter, Thaddeus Fairbanks. The jobs their companies create are exactly what business leaders, educators and elected officials say is needed — high-paying jobs by Vermont standards with a low impact on the environment.
In “Tapping Tech” we’ll explain, in layman’s terms, what these companies do, why they’re here, what they bring to the state — and what you can do to help them, and companies like them, succeed. Download your copy now!
“Tapping Tech” is brought to you by the Vermont Software Developers’ Alliance. This five-year-old trade group was founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, to foster a healthy software industry in the state. Its mission has expanded to include working closely with the Vermont BioSciences Alliance and other knowledge-based industries. The VTSDA created this publication to tell the story of the state’s growing tech sector, which is one of Vermont’s best-kept secrets.
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