This motorcycle gang is looking for investment opportunities
Photos by Bob LoCicero
The 2016 FreshTracks Road Pitch, a gang of motorcycling business investors and advisors, is stopping in Brattleboro on the afternoon of August 2 (3:30 p.m. at the River Garden) to hear six funding pitches from local businesses that are ready to scale up.
This is the third year FreshTracks has organized its Road Pitch. This year, more than 40 motorcycle riders hitting the roads of Vermont from Monday, August 1 through Friday, August 5, stopping in 10 towns to listen to at least 50 entrepreneurial pitches. Their goal is to find exciting opportunities to invest in.
The Brattleboro stop will be at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street), organized by Strolling of the Heifers and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. Additional stops are scheduled for Essex Junction, Rutland, Bennington, Barre, Randolph, St. Johnsbury, Lowell, Morrisville and Grand Isle.
Businesses presenting to the riders in Brattleboro will be: Zootraceuticals DBA the Resplendent Hen, Independent Television Festival, Inc. Branch Corp., KUSIKUY, Storm Petrel LLC and Oak Meadow.
The Brattleboro stop of the Road Pitch tour is free and open to the public. It starts at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2.
At each stop, the riders will award a $500 Riders’ Choice Prize plus a Vermont Teddy Bear “biker bear” to one pitcher in each of the 10 communities. More importantly, for the participating entrepreneurs, the Road Pitch is an opportunity to tighten up their business model and scale-up plan, get coaching on honing their business pitch presentation, and develop connections to a network of funders and advisors
In addition, the local winners will have a chance to compete at a statewide final event in October for over $4,000 in cash prizes.
2015 Brattleboro winners, Julie Lineberger and Joseph Cincotta of WheelPad
“The ride promotes Vermont as a terrific place to do business and as a perfect motorcycling destination with lots of scenic twisting roads, picturesque small towns, and plenty of locally sourced food and beverage,” said Cairn Cross, co-founder of FreshTracks Capital.
Cross founded the Road Pitch in 2014. This is the second year the tour will be stopping in Brattleboro.
“I gathered together close to 30 other founding riders that year, and we proved the Road Pitch concept by riding 500 miles through Vermont, stopping in various towns and listening to more than 30 pitches.”
Road Pitch is generously sponsored by the Vermont Department of Economic Development, Key Bank, Gallagher, Flynn & Co., Burlington Bytes, Champlain College, Vermont Small Business Development Center, Milk Money powered by VSECU, Dinse, Champlain Makers Faire, LaunchVT, Designbook, North Country Angels, Merritt & Merritt, FreshTracks Capital, and the Moulton Law Group.
