Vermont Business Magazine For the fifth consecutive year, FreshTracks Road Pitch, will take placeJuly 30th through August 2nd, 2018. Road Pitch is a four day motorcycle tour of Vermont in which a gang of “business bikers” (comprised of investors, entrepreneurs and business advisors) ride around the state and stop in 8 towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts. This year, the tour will stop in Essex Junction, Hyde Park, Lowell, Bennington, Rutland, Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury and Barre. The schedule tab on the Road Pitch website:www.roadpitch.cohas a detailed listing of the dates and times for each event. There are still pitch slots available in some of the eight towns and entrepreneurs interested in pitching should apply to pitch by contacting the local organizers listed in the “find out more” link next to each event listing in the schedule tab.
So that prospective pitchers can tune up their pitch prior to the event, The Center for Women & Enterprise Vermont will be hosting a “Pitch Camp” to help develop business pitches. Lead by Cairn Cross, the workshop will take place onTuesday, June 26th, 2018 from 10am- 2pm. Pitch preparation includes stengthening openings, telling interesting stories about your business, analyzing other pitches, meeting with advisors, and practicing pitches in front of peers. This wonderful opportunity costs $50 (scholarships available). Contact Gwen Pokalo for more information at 802-391-4871 or visit the registration page here https://www.cweonline.org/About-CWE/News/Article-Detail/ArticleId/694/Pitch-Camp-CWE-VT-Jun-26.
This year Road Pitch will again have the Twitter handle @ThisisVT and become the voice of Vermont during the week of Road Pitch. Twitter users can follow the event as it makes its way around the state by following the @ThisisVT Twitter feed. This year, nearly 50 business bikers expect to listen to 40 pitches from a wide variety of Vermont entrepreneurial companies, including food and beverage product companies, software companies, manufacturing companies, natural product companies, and clothing companies.
The individual pitch events are free and open to the public. Come cheer on your local entrepreneurs as they compete for the coveted “Riders’ Choice Award” consisting of $500 and a special edition “Vermont Biker Bear” contributed by Vermont Teddy Bear. The Riders’ Choice winner from each town will be invited to a final statewide “Pitch-Off” event which will be held the evening ofOctober 17thsponsored by and held at Champlain College. The Riders Choice winners from around the state will be invited to pitch for a grand prize of $5,000 and a year’s worth of mentoring from the Road Pitch Riders. “We are pleased that Champlain College has agreed to host the final Road Pitch Pitch-Off event during Innovation Week in Burlington”, said Cairn Cross, Road Pitch Founder and Co-Founder of FreshTracks Capital.
“The final event will bring together the best pitches from the summer’s Road Pitch for one final pitch competition. As with our other Road Pitch events, the final event is open to the public.”
“We are able to offer these prizes through the generous sponsorship provided by Vermont Department of Economic Development, Champlain College and Champlain College’s BYOBiz program, Bytes.co, Key Bank, Gallagher Flynn and Company, Moulton Law Group, Champlain Mini Maker Faire, Social Sentinel, Vermont Teddy Bear, Dinse and EMBOLDIA” said Cross. “Each of these sponsors plays a key role in the statewide entrepreneurial ecosystem and we are happy for their support.”
The goals of Road Pitch are to connect Vermont entrepreneurs to resources, such as capital and advice, to advocate for entrepreneurs throughout the state, to help entrepreneurs polish and refine their pitching skills, to showcase entrepreneurship through a highly visible annual event, to find investable opportunities for private investors and source capital for entrepreneurial businesses, and to promote motorcycle touring in Vermont while having fun and riding safely.
About Road Pitch: Road Pitch is a multi-day motorcycling event where motorcyclists with investing, business advising, or entrepreneurial experience ride through Vermont stopping in small towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts. Riders provide advice, connect the entrepreneurs with resources where appropriate, and occasionally make an investment in a business opportunity. The ride also promotes Vermont as a terrific place to do business as well as a perfect motorcycling destination with lots of scenic twisting roads, picturesque small towns, and plenty of locally sourced food and beverage. Road Pitch was founded in 2014 by Cairn Cross, co-founder of FreshTracks Capital.
Source:Shelburne, Vermont. FreshTracks Road Pitch 6.14.2018