The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) is proud to announce that Bullfinch Earth has been selected by its peers to receive the $15,000 final award in the 2025 Forest Business Accelerator.
The Forest Business Accelerator program supports early-stage companies innovating in the forest sector – from sustainable materials and forest byproducts to advanced technologies and energy systems. This year’s cohort included eight visionary companies from across North America.
Bullfinch Earth, based in Maryland and British Columbia, impressed fellow participants with their commitment to equipping foresters with wearable sensors to collect critical inventory data. Their work exemplifies the kind of forward-thinking, sustainable innovation the accelerator was designed to support.
“The Forest Business Accelerator curriculum forced us to think rigorously about critical parts of our business sooner and trained us to communicate key concepts clearly and succinctly,” said Seth Sternberg, CEO of Bullfinch Earth. “The mentors gave us the data we needed to move forward confidently and led us to several potential customers.”
The final award reflects the accelerator’s emphasis on collaboration, peer mentoring, and shared learning. Over the course of the program, participants engaged in workshops, site visits, and networking events designed to accelerate their growth and impact.
The Forest Business Accelerator is hosted by VSJF in partnership with Vermont State University and supported by funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission. The four-month program uses a ecosVC Lens of the Market® ACCELERATED curriculum. To learn more about the program or support future cohorts, visit forestaccelerator.com.
The 2025 Forest Business Accelerator cohort companies:
Bullfinch Earth – Bullfinch Earth equips foresters with wearable sensors to collect critical inventory data viable at scale for large land managers. Maryland and British Columbia
Carbion – Carbion converts biomass into high-performance graphite for batteries. New York
Fable Forestry – Fable Forestry helps manage invasive plants. The company is developing the Naughtweed network, using community-driven data to identify the spread of invasives and connect land stewards with a curated list of invasive plant treatment professionals. Maine
Fox Forestry – Fox Forestry provides forest management thinning services, offering a tree analysis system that identifies potential forest management strategies combined with a new type of specialty cut-in-place selective cutting machinery. Maine
Haze Automotive – Haze Automotive is building on their platform for 3D printed specialty car parts to create 3D printed custom furniture using wood feedstock. California
Home Grown Fuels – Home Grown Fuels produces a sustainable, high-carbon product from wood chips that captures PFAS from water. It is sold into the water pollution remediation market. Maine
Pachyderm Industries – Pachyderm Industries develops tools for professional tree trimmers, improving safety and efficiency in vegetation management with a platform of interchangeable and remote-controlled tools below heavy lift drones, focused initially on utilities and their vegetation management contractors. Iowa
PK Wood Pellets – PK Wood Pellets is launching a modern pellet facility in Vermont to turn sawmill waste into renewable heating fuel, and is developing a line of specialty pellets for BBQ grilles. Vermont
About the Forest Business Accelerator
The Forest Business Accelerator is a Vermont-based program serving startup and seed-stage ventures commercializing new and improved products, services, and technology in the forest and wood industry. The program provides an intense accelerated learning and business development process designed to test assumptions, expose and remediate business vulnerabilities, prepare for significant investment, and provide a platform for rapid scaling. The Forest Business Accelerator is made possible through a partnership between the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF), Vermont State University (VTSU), and the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), supporting the growth of the Forest Economy in Northern New England. forestaccelerator.com
About the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund
In addition to managing the Forest Business Accelerator for startup and seed stage entrepreneurs, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) also manages the DeltaClimeVT energy accelerator, provides business assistance, supply chain coordination, network development, and strategic planning to a wide range of stakeholders in the agriculture and food system, forest product, waste management, renewable energy, and environmental technology sectors. vsjf.org
About Vermont State University
Vermont State University provides a high-quality, flexible, and affordable education for students seeking associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees, certificates, and in-demand professional credentials. The university builds upon a history of public higher education in Vermont dating back to 1787. More information about Vermont State University can be found here: vermontstate.edu