Ahead of our upcoming JumpStart Expo & Pitch Night, we are excited to introduce our newest cohort of Generator entrepreneurs!
These nine talented makers were selected to participate in 2026 JumpStart Business Bootcamp, a 13-week entrepreneurship program facilitated by business coach Emily Eley. This incredible crew has been meeting weekly since mid January, setting goals, crafting prototypes, and fine-tuning their business models.
Don’t miss the JumpStart Expo & Pitch Night coming up on Wednesday, April 8th where you can listen to each entrepreneur pitch their business and share a bit about their journey. Click Here to RSVP!
This program is made possible with support from M&T Bank.
Gioia
Sophie Bodnar & Liv Fauver
Gioia is a chair designed to honor the full experience of feeding your baby. Be it nursing, pumping or bottle feeding, each form asks something different of a parent’s body, and no chair on the market truly supports the ideal postures for all three. Gioia is our answer to that. A chair that supports the forward lean posture pumping requires, while also meeting the full range of feeding positions a new parent moves through and is beautiful enough to grow with your family long after your pumping days are behind you.
Lunch Brake Bike Bags
Josephine Bunnell
I design, sew, and sell bike bags out of Burlington, VT. Lunch Brake bags balance durability and functional construction with dreamy, playful colors. They are made to spend all day on the bike with you, everywhere you go. It can be tricky to find a bag that will stand up to real use and dirty riding while also having some style. Lunch Brake is a locally made option to fill this gap, selling products made and tested by a cyclist for cyclists.
Crescencia
Nadine Demers
crescenciavt.com, @crescencia_vt
I make bold and colorful bags and accessories handcrafted using fabric scraps and upcycled materials. I’ve been developing waxed canvas outerwear as a natural alternative to plastic fabrics and forever chemicals common in outdoor gear. Everything I make is expressive and playful, designed to last, be repaired, and slow the cycle of buying and discarding.
Stix-N-Bitz Construction Toolkit
Marcia Gauvin
stixnbitz.com
Stix-N-Bitz is a wooden construction set for young engineers to construct strong, complex open-ended designs. Other construction sets break easily under the rigorous structural testing which kids put them through. Stix-N-Bitz constructions are strong, sturdy and durable.
The Neon Brain
Ciaran Gilmore
I hand draw and design SILENT and discreet fidgets with a focus on function, feel, and aesthetics. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, my fidgets are a take everywhere tool to focus the mind and can even be used as a visual guide for box breathing.
Chord Blocks
Rae Kantrowitz
chordblocks.com, @chordblocks
Chord Blocks turn music theory into something you can hold in your hands. Stack blocks to form chords, sequence them into songs, and discover how harmony works — one block at a time.
Keldi
Jon Roberts
Keldi makes physical interfaces that communicate through motion and form. One product in development is a kinetic flower you “water” with your good habits. It keeps your progress visible at a glance, without pulling you back into an app through constant notifications.
Cravn Jewelry
Meredith White
cravnjewelry.com, @cravnjewelry
Upcycled Plant Hangers, Simply Designed. A modern way to display your plants. Made from upcycled leather or vinyl deadstock, these hangers are lightweight yet sturdy, holding plants securely while adding a refined, architectural element to your space.