Alternative Business Models for Burlington Telecom

H. Kenneth Merritt, Jr., who led the drafting of Vermont’s Benefit Corporation legislation, was invited by Burlington City Council President Jane Knodell to speak at a forum on alternative business models for Burlington Telecom for its pending sale. Click here to watch the video of the forum to learn more about costs and benefits of different business models in Vermont.

Why a Vt. law firm chose to expand to Manchester, NH

B Y K E N M E R R I T T

In a high­touch business, one wants to be where the prospective clients are. While Burlington, Vt., has been very good to our law firm for the past 25 years, we believe Manchester, NH, is the best place to have a second home.

As a firm focused on entrepreneurial companies, Merritt & Merritt has assisted numerous companies from startup to liquidity event. Some of the most well­known Vermont consumer product brands, such as Keurig Green Mountain, and leading companies in the software, technology, biotech and other sectors, have trusted us to help them grow.

We have chosen Manchester as our second home for a variety of reasons:

• Growing vibrancy in the city

• Creative redevelopment of the Millyard for business and residential purposes

• Strong focus on technology with a thriving and growing startup community

• Cultural benefits, such as great restaurants, a strong arts community, sports and entertainment

• Conveniently located near highways, airports, Boston, the beautiful New Hampshire seacoast and its similarly thriving business scene

• ZipRecruiter’s recent rating of greater Manchester as one of the “top 10 up and coming cities for tech jobs.”

Given our firm’s entrepreneurial focus, Merritt & Merritt will begin our expansion within Alpha Loft at 844 Elm Street amongst numerous startup companies that embody the new Manchester.

While Merritt & Merritt has represented many clients outside of Vermont, our focus in New England has historically been the entrepreneurial community centered around Dartmouth, in the Upper Valley and the exploding entrepreneurial community in Boston/Cambridge.

With the increasingly vibrant entrepreneurial environment now centered in southern New Hampshire, it is clear that Manchester is rapidly evolving into the heart of a creative and expanding zone of new business opportunity. Manchester’s attractive qualities just happen to be located right in the middle of the Dartmouth and Boston/Cambridge hubs.

Organizations such as Live Free and Start and the NH High Tech Council are catalysts for growth and valuable resources for startup and high growth companies. Business incubators ­ including the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network as well as Alpha Loft – provide physical space and mentorship at four locations in New Hampshire and entrée into the state’s network of people, places and initiatives that support entrepreneurs. These entities, combined with a high concentration of colleges and universities in the area, comprise the framework necessary to grow out future industries.

What Manchester has done over the past 15 years is impressive. Politico recently called Manchester “a new millennium marvel.” The Politico article makes clear that it took a confluence of creative deployment of assets and strategies, attractive real estate, committed leaders, risk­takers, key investments and great geography to put Manchester on the modern entrepreneurial map.

Merritt & Merritt is extremely pleased to make this growing community our second home.

NH OFFICE:

Merritt & Merritt
844 Elm Street
Manchester, NH 03101
t (603) 658-7830