Tune Your Skis and Your Fundraising Pitch

Peak Pitch brings entrepreneurs and investors together for a uniquely Northern New England version of the classic "elevator pitch". In the traditional elevator pitch, entrepreneurs take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to share an elevator ride with a potential investor and quickly present their business idea. At Peak Pitch, a shared chairlift is substituted for the elevator, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business plans to a variety of venture capitalists, angel investors, commercial lenders, and other entrepreneurial advisors as they ride together up a mountain on a high-speed chair lift.
The proven success of Peak Pitch in linking Northern New Englands unique natural assets with its entrepreneurial culture and business community has motivated Peak Pitch founder and series organizer Borealis Ventures of NH to expand the program for 2006. The Peak Pitch 06 program will include a series of events co-organized with local hosts to support the entrepreneurial communities across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Fresh Tracks Capital is the local host for the Bolton Valley event scheduled for March 3. In addition to FreshTracks Capital, co-sponsors for the Vermont-based event include: Merchants Bank, CEI Community Ventures, Merritt, Merritt & Moulton, Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, Vermont Department of Economic Development and the Vermont Economic Development Authority.
We are excited to bring this event to Vermont, said Cairn Cross co-founder and Managing Director of FreshTracks Capital. Vermont has a history of successful innovation and entrepreneurship and of course a long and storied ski culture. This event combines the two and provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with the resources they need to grow their businesses, all in a fun and informal fashion.
The Inaugural Peak Pitch event was held March 10, 2005 at Mount Sunapee Resort, with more than 100 entrepreneurs, investors, and business advisors participating. The event served as a precursor to the Start-Up New Hampshire Business Plan Competition 2005 (Start-Up NH 2005). Peak Pitch 05 was conceived by Borealis Ventures and jointly organized with the NH Advantage Foundation, sponsor of Start-Up NH 2005.
More information and registration details on Peak Pitch 06 are available on www.peakpitch.com.
For information on the Bolton Valley Peak Pitch 06 event please contact Lee Bouyea at 802-388-6283 or [email protected]. For information on the Peak Pitch series please contact Meagan Pryor at 603-643-1500 x.0 or [email protected].
About Peak Pitch 2006
Led by Peak Pitch founder and series organizer Borealis Ventures, the Peak Pitch 06 program will include a series of events to support the entrepreneurial community across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Dates, locations and local hosts are as follows:
February 15 Attitash Mt., NH
Co-hosted by Mt. Washington Valley Economic Council
March 3 Bolton Valley, VT Co-hosted by Fresh Tracks Capital
March 16 Mt. Sunapee, NH Co-hosted by the NH Advantage Foundation
March 30 Sunday River, ME Co-hosted by the Maine Investment Exchange
To learn more about the Peak Pitch 2006 series, please visit our website: www.peakpitch.com
About Fresh Tracks Capital
FreshTracks Capital (www.freshtrackscap.com) is a Middlebury-based $11 million venture fund founded in 2001 that has invested more than $4.5 million to date in its core geographical markets including Vermont, and surrounding New Hampshire and New York counties. FreshTracks Capitals institutional investors include Middlebury College, Banknorth, Key Bank, National Life of Vermont, the Vermont Community Foundation and the John Merck Fund. FreshTracks Capital is affiliated with Village Ventures, Inc. (www.villageventures.com), an early stage venture capital firm investing in exceptional entrepreneurs building companies in emerging domestic geographies. Village Ventures identifies these investment opportunities in partnership with its nationwide network of early stage venture capital funds that are focused on these emerging domestic geographic markets. The combination of local capital and FreshTracks hands-on investment practices--backed by Village Ventures' centralized services and national network--has created an innovative investment strategy, one that is bearing substantive results.
About Borealis Ventures
Borealis Ventures is a seed and early stage venture capital firm uniquely focused on investing in companies in Northern New England and throughout the Dartmouth College network. With offices in Concord and Hanover NH, Borealis uses its local knowledge and presence to understand and meet the needs of Northern New England's entrepreneurs. We combine this "home field advantage" with the national-scale resources of Village Ventures and the Dartmouth alumni network to help our companies succeed.
www.borealisventures.com
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