This weekend saw the culmination of the LaunchVT competition, in which startups from across Vermont compete for a $30,000 first prize.

Hence congratulations are in order for Grossman School of Business students, Max Robbins and Peter Silverman, along with their CTO Michael Roberts, who took 1st place in the competition.

Their winning startup, MajorWise (formerly BeaconVT), which they built in parallel to their business school studies this past year, is an innovative online platform that houses different work projects and career opportunities for university students; allowing students to try out different industries, build experience, and make money.

Max and Peter started MajorWise to answer a question they had: why is it so hard to find a job in Vermont?

MajorWise hopes to solve that big Vermont issue - brain drain. Vermont has a considerable number of higher education organizations, including UVM, Middlebury and Champlain College; however, when students graduate, less than 30% remain in Vermont to work. This is partially due to the lack of job exposure for students. MajorWise hopes to help students find better jobs in the state, improve the local economy, and reduce brain drain. So if students want local jobs but can’t find them, and businesses can’t reach local students with their job posts, there is a clear disconnect the MajorWise platform hopes to fill.

All around it's a win-win for Vermont.  They plan to reinvest their prize money back into their team, grow a scalable software company and hire graduates from Vermont universities.

When you see Max and Peter, be sure to congratulate them.