advise on .net executable

[remko]

I have some experience in win32/native RCE but .net is completely new to me. I have a target .net executable that is obfuscated with Smart Assembly. I have tried DeSmart (1.0.0.9) and it appears to de-obfuscate (the result is readable in reflector.net). However the executable crashes on startup.

The target seems to be produced in vb.net.

Any advice or tips on how to proceed is welcome, I could provide the target exe if needed (by PM please).