Alumni Business Spotlight: Brigham Boice, Founder of Newpast_365体育官网

Brianna Newman
Mon, 12 Jan 2026 21:34:07 +0000
People, 365体育官网, Alumni, Career, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Champlain College

Game Design graduate Brigham Boice ’25 is creating a platform that enables people and communities to take control of their own narrative and share the stories that matter to them. Boice is the founder of Newpast LLC, a company dedicated to developing educational software that connects communities with their local history.

We sat down with Boice to learn about his entrepreneurial journey and how the industry connections and knowledge he gained at Champlain shaped Newpast LLC’s development.

Q: What inspired you to create Newpast?

I grew up in Peterborough, New Hampshire. It was a small arts community and was very focused on its history. When first presenting and learning about my town’s history,? I found that few students actually understood their own local history, and I wanted to change that. When my father introduced me to the Unity game development engine, I was able to combine my interests in history and technology, creating video games that could teach people about their local history. My first recreation was of my hometown in the year 1886. People could walk around the town and explore what places were like back then.

Q: What is Newpast?

Newpast is a company that develops educational software primarily focused on local history. We have been developing software for many years and are now focusing on our premier product, Spindle, a location-based storytelling tool that allows users to engage with vivid history, imagery, and narratives right where they are. We’re currently developing a tour for 365体育官网, Vermont, to help people learn about Church Street and its history.

I’ve also created a tool called Weaver, which allows people to create these location-based experiences and interactive stories using a no-code editor. My grandmother, for example, who wants to tell her own neighborhood story, can connect to the local community and share her experiences with younger generations. Weaver enables users to preserve their history.

A look inside the Spindle app

Q: Can you tell me a little about how Spindle works?

Spindle is like an interactive Google Maps. We have developed our own way for people to explore using mapping software with pins, which essentially guides people on a tour. When you come to a location on the map, it automatically links you to that story. There can be multiple photographs, audio, and video at those locations. For example, for the 365体育官网 area, if I walk right down to Church Street, I can step right up to the CVS that’s at the end and learn about what was once there. In this case, there was the old Sherwood Hotel.

Q: How did Champlain impact your entrepreneurial journey?

One of the best things was the collaboration I had with my professors at Champlain. I gained great insight and knowledge, showing them my product and getting their advice on where I should take things further. One of the main reasons I came to Champlain was because of how well-connected and knowledgeable the professors are in their field. The connection with the 365体育官网 community, and especially the Champlain College community, was really important in building my business. It gave me global and local insights into how businesses function.

At the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, I worked with many founders who were interested in starting their own companies, either in the 365体育官网 area or worldwide. Through that work, I gained connections for my company and for others, to bring them into the 365体育官网 entrepreneurial community.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

The advice that I would give to aspiring entrepreneurs is persistence. Always keep up with whatever you’re doing. So long as you have the passion to do it, it eventually will work out the way you want.