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Jammer

VERMONT TECH JAM
Saturday, October 26, 2024

Hula Lakeside Tech Campus
50 Lakeside Ave., Burlington, Vermont

  • Career + Tech Expo
    (10 a.m.-3 p.m.)
  • Unnecessary Inventions Talk
    (Noon)
  • OnLogic Keynote + Happy Hour
    (3 p.m.)
Attendees at the 2023 Vermont Tech Jam

Looking for a job, a degree, a collaborator or professional contacts? Find them all at… Vermont Tech Jam!

Exhibitors at the Jam make everything from microchips to motion sensors, robotics systems to charging stations, AI tools to electric aircraft. And all of them want to know if you can help them — or if they can help you.

Vermont Tech Jam is an annual career and tech expo, organized by Seven Days, that showcases some of Vermont’s most innovative companies. This year’s event takes place at Hula, a coworking campus on the Burlington waterfront.

Since 2008, each Tech Jam event has attracted hundreds of job seekers, career changers, tech professionals, college students, enthusiasts and anyone eager to learn from and connect with Vermont companies.

2024 PRESENTATIONS

Join us for TWO special events featuring some amazing creators in our community.

NOON TALK

This is Unnecessary

Matty Benedetto

Matty Benedetto

The oscillating TV stand. The alarm clock cup. The Lego Suck It!, which vacuums up Legos and instantly sorts them by size.

These are all examples of Matty Benedetto’s Unnecessary Inventions — pointless products he has designed, fully prototyped and documented across his social media channels. He’s made more than 400 of them in the past five years. His videos mimic actual promotional campaigns, and watching him take a ridiculous idea from concept to reality is oddly satisfying, which explains his audience of 15 million.

And that’s just on his social channels; Benedetto has also demonstrated his inventions on TV, including appearances on the “Today” show and repeat segments on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” The Lego Suck It! was a hit with Clarkson and her guests, including “America’s Got Talent” judge Simon Cowell.

Big brands have noted Benedetto’s reach; Captain Morgan paid him to create the Super Bowl Punch Bowl — you might have seen it, and Matty himself, in an ad during this year’s game. He’s also been part of branded collabs with Disney, Wendy’s and Apple.

A Long Island, N.Y., native, Benedetto came to Vermont in 2008 to attend Saint Michael’s College. After earning a business degree in 2012, he stuck around. His current base of operations is a spacious second-floor suite on the top block of Church Street that used to house the Gap.

Benedetto will discuss his unlikely entrepreneurial journey — and share his strategy for making content that viewers can’t resist sharing.

3 p.m. KEYNOTE+HAPPY HOUR

From Zero to $100 Million: How OnLogic built a global business in South Burlington

Roland Groeneveld and Lauren Lavallee of OnLogic

Roland Groeneveld and Lauren Lavallee of OnLogic

Many Tech Jam exhibitors over the years have been sold, moved or disappeared. OnLogic, a locally owned industrial PC company founded in 2003, has demonstrated real staying power. Husband-and-wife team Roland and Lisa Groeneveld launched the company from their kitchen table. He was the engineer; she brought sales and marketing muscle — and a connection to Vermont. Lisa grew up in Barre; they built the business here to be closer to family.

Initially known as Logic Supply, OnLogic has grown and changed as computing demands have shifted. Today it’s known for creating hardware that can survive in some of the most challenging environments on, below and even above Earth — NASA is one of its clients, along with Amazon, General Dynamics, General Motors and Universal Studios.

OnLogic’s specialty is building small, fanless, highly reliable computers — some of the company’s systems have been operating nonstop for more than a decade.

In spring 2024, OnLogic opened its new global headquarters: a 150,000-square-foot, three-story building visible from Interstate 89, by the landmark “Whales’ Tails” sculpture. It features geothermal heating and uses solar power, and the building is four times larger than OnLogic’s previous location across the highway. The University of Vermont Grossman School of Business recognized Roland and Lisa in September with a Vermont Legacy Award.

In this keynote presentation, Seven Days deputy publisher Cathy Resmer talks with cofounder and now-executive board chair Roland Groeneveld and vice president of human resources Lauren Lavallee about how OnLogic has adapted and expanded in a rapidly changing business environment.

Keynote includes a happy hour with a cash bar and cookies courtesy of Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman.

Get a new profile pic.

Need a better headshot for social media or to share with potential employers? Storyworkz is on the job. The Montpelier-based photo service provides the backdrop and lighting equipment — all you need to bring is your smile! Get expert coaching to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera and 4-5 images uploaded to a private, personal gallery. Book by 10/23 to guarantee your $15 session. Limited walk-in sessions at Tech Jam are first-come, first-served for $25. Sponsored by Seven Days Jobs.

Headshots from StoryWorkz

Find a great gig!

Calling all coders, chip designers, production technologists, logistics technicians, sales associates, digital marketers and engineers of all kinds! Meet up with recruiters from dozens of local tech companies and network with other like-minded professionals. Get inspired and discover new opportunities right here in your own backyard.

Exhibitor accepting a resume for an attendee

Refresh your resume.

Career coach Sue Schlom from The Targeted Resume offers drop-in resume reviews and job-seeking tips in the Sandbar conference room near Brio all day long. Stop by and make an appointment for a free 15-minute session. Don’t forget your resume!

Sue Schlom from the Targeted Resume

Try to fly!

What’s it like to pilot Alia, Beta Technology’s battery-powered aircraft? Get behind the controls of Beta’s flight simulator, aka the MobileDome, located outside in the Airstream trailer parked between Building 44 and Building 50. Three interactive displays geared toward students teach the fundamentals of the science behind Beta’s all-electric aircraft. The displays demonstrate how electric propulsion works, the basics of flight controls and battery technology.

Someone trying our the Mobile Dome flight simulator from Beta

Learn about FIRST.

The nonprofit FIRST designs robotics programs that use a little friendly competition to motivate young people ages 6 to 18 to pursue careers in STEM. Members of Vermont’s FIRST teams are taking over the Isthmus conference room. See their creations and talk with coaches, students, parents and mentors about how you can participate or help train the next generation of Vermont’s technical workforce — and have fun doing it!

Photo © Daria Bishop Photography
NOMAd trailer
Marvell
Hula
Data Innovations
Vermont Information Processing
GlobalFoundries
UVM Office of Research
Norwich University
NOMAD & Kore Power
National Life Group
Myti logo
Northfield Savings Bank
Greater Burlington Investment Corporation logo
Vermont Technology Council
Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman
The Targeted Resume
WCAX-3
Vermont Public
Seven Days
Vermont Technology Alliance
Spaceman

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Jammers Unite!

Jammers Unite!

Job Seekers

Looking for work? Speak with recruiters from dozens of local tech companies looking to expand their teams. Update that résumé and start researching the companies you want to connect with. It’s time to get back in the ring.

Techies

Step away from the computer and chat with humans IRL. It’s rare to find so many like-minded individuals under one roof, so come connect with them and learn what they’ve been up to. You could come away with an awesome new idea or some help for that next big project.

Teachers & Parents

Plumber, doctor, artist and chef are all great career choices, but what about inventor, scientist and engineer? Bring your students to Tech Jam to show them future career paths they may not have known existed — especially in Vermont.

College Students

Looking for a job? Internship? Get that résumé up to date because dozens of local companies working in tech will be at the Jam and are ready to meet you. So go iron that button-down shirt and practice — you’ve got this!

I love Tech Jam!

Kylin Willis and Jabez Boyd

Our growing company, Biocogniv, leverages artificial intelligence to tackle sepsis, the leading cause of in-hospital death in the United States, as well as other acute conditions before they become irreversible. Our offices are in Burlington’s Hula coworking campus and when we found out the 2021 Vermont Tech Jam was happening here, we knew we had to participate.

Exhibiting at the Tech Jam paid off. We were fortunate to meet Kylin Willis, a biomedical engineering student from the University of Vermont, who stopped by our office to learn about Biocogniv. Not long after, she started as an intern and is now our latest full-time hire. We are thrilled to have her on the team and glad we were able to keep a recent graduate turned young professional in Vermont.

Our team is looking forward to the next Tech Jam at Hula in October.

Jabez Boyd
COO, Biocogniv Inc

Mike Fink

I’ve attended as a job seeker and as an exhibitor on behalf of my employer, VEIC.

At my first Tech Jam, I was considering a career change into data analytics. The event gave me a chance to chat with recruiters and professionals in the field. Everyone I met was more than happy to offer advice and encouraged me to apply for jobs once I felt ready. I still remember having some great conversations with people from two companies that I hadn’t even been aware of previously: Greensea and MicroStrain (now Parker LORD). A couple years after my first visit to a Tech Jam — and after taking much of the free advice I got there — I found a position with VEIC that has been more satisfying than I could have expected.

In the years since, I’ve attended on behalf of VEIC. The Tech Jam is a great way to connect with people from all different fields — it’s surprising how often people in very different industries are facing analogous problems in data analytics. This event is a rare opportunity to meet people from a wide range of local companies all under the same roof. I look forward to it every year.

Mike Fink
VEIC energy data analyst

Tech Jam 2023: The future is here.

By the Numbers:

  • Exhibitors: 50
  • Attendees: 1200+
  • Years since the first Tech Jam: 15
  • Robot dogs: 1

The 2023 career and tech expo at Hula Lakeside in Burlington really rocked, from the FIRST in Vermont student robotics parades to the instant headshots by Montpelier’s Storyworkz, from BETA Technologies’ MobileDome flight simulator to the reception sponsored by KORE Power.

The Tech Jam concluded with a keynote presentation featuring Dr. Rachael Floreani & Irfan Tahir discussing the question: Will Vermont Go For Lab-Grown Meat?

Thank you to our hosts at Hula, to all of our community partners and to the exhibitors for a day of fascinating conversations and new local connections.

Tech Jam 2022: Let’s work together.

The Vermont Tech Jam, Seven Days’ career and tech expo, returned to Hula Lakeside in Burlington on Saturday, October 22. More than 40 employers came to the tech campus with open jobs to fill.

They met with nearly 1,000 Jammers who wandered through the former factory to talk tech: job seekers, college students, entrepreneurs, FIRST robotics coaches, tech professionals, candidates and elected officials including Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger. Crowds congregated outdoors, too, in front of Beta Technologies’ MobileDome flight simulator.

The Tech Jam concluded with a keynote presentation featuring inventor, philanthropist and Boston Scientific cofounder John Abele and CoreMap CEO Sarah Kalil. 

Thank you to our hosts at Hula, to all of our community partners and to the exhibitors for a day of fascinating conversations and new local connections.

Tech Jam 2021: Reboot. Reconnect. Reimagine.

Photos © James Buck

The Vermont Tech Jam career and tech expo, returned to Burlington on Saturday, October 23, 2021. The weather was perfect, and so was the timing. Dozens of employers came to Hula with open jobs to fill.

Roughly 1,000 mask-wearing Jammers wandered through the former oven factory to talk tech including job seekers, college students, entrepreneurs, FIRST robotics coaches and teachers — including Karen McCalla, the recently announced Vermont Teacher of the Year. Exhibitor space sold out; so did the afternoon session.

The Tech Jam concluded with a keynote presentation featuring Beta Technologies founder and CEO Kyle Clark and Beta’s first customer, Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics. They spoke to a standing-room-only crowd about their unique partnership, and where they see Beta going over the next few years. 

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