www.freshtrackscap.com@FreshTracksCap & @VT CairnCross

cairn@freshtrackscap.com & www.linkedin.com/in/cairncross

FreshTracks Capital Overview

• Founded in 2000 • Based in Shelburne and

focused on investing in VT

• 3 Funds Raised – (2001, 2007 & 2013)

• Invested in 30 portfolio companies to date

FreshTracks Named Business of the Year

Roadmap to VT’s Innovation Economy

Commercial Interruption for Peak Pitch

• 3/12 @ Sugarbush• Signups now Open• Space is Limited• Best Early Stage

Networking Event of the Year

Matt Dodds @

• From Matt’s talk to Vermont Legislators on first day of 2015 session

• “Evolving Brand Vermont”

My first thought was…

“Holy crap Matt Dodds has been stalking me this year”

National VC trends Slightly Improved in 2014

• Q1 – Q3 2014 186 firms raised $24Bn vs. $18Bn for all four quarters of 2013

• In Q3, 5 firms accounted for 50% of the money raised by the industry > there continues to be concentration in hands of a few big firms

• IPO activity in 2014 highest since 2000• Lots of M&A activity at crazy looking valuations: $19Bn for

WhatsApp which had $20MM in revenue• Crazy looking venture valuations: What do Instacart, WeWork

Companies, Stripe and Kabam have in common?

What about the Angels? Q2 SVB Halo Report

• Round size of “angel only” deals drops• But, more angels cooperating with venture and

“non angel” investors in syndicates• Median valuations up

– ($3MM “Pre” compared to $2.7MM in Q1)• Angel groups active in non-traditional markets

– Texas in top three– Maine in top eight

• Healthcare deals up• Internet & Mobile deals down

Alternative Funding

• Kickstarter (Rewards Crowdfunding)– In 2013, Kickstarter platform

raised $480MM from 3MM people.

– In Q2 ’14, Kickstarter raised $144MM from 1.1MM people

• Equity Crowdfunding Portals:– In 2013, helped raise $204MM– In Q1 2014, helped raise $90MM

But cracks in the “social fiber” of VC & Tech Communities are appearing

What About Vermont?

2013 VT VC Funding Compared to the Region

State

Deals/MM populatio

n

U.S. Rank

VT 16 7

NH 12 11

ME 3 36

CT 15 9

MA 53 1

NY 20 4

RI 12 10

http://www.ssti.org

• In 2013 VT was well below average for Dollars invested per 1MM residents

– 2013 U.S average $53MM per 1MM

– 2013 VT was $34MM per 1MM

• Q1 – Q3 2014 VT is $50MM per 1MM

Vermont VC Trends Remain Positive (PWC Data)

Additional Detail for VT Private Investments

2014 Vermont “Reg D” deals not included on previous slide:•23 companies raised at least $17MM

– From small deal at $30K, to – NG Advantage raising $5.5MM

•Of note:– 3 breweries– 3 Ag-related deals– Several consumer product cos.– 2 food deals

• Ello Accolades:– 9 most significant deals of 2014 (Inc. Mag)– 2015 most surprising things to watch (Forbes)– # 9 most popular social network (Cowen & Co)

• What the conversation should be about:– Why Burlington and Boulder, not Silicon Valley?– Why is a tech co. a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)? – Venture investors will invest in a PBC? – How is this different that a B-Corp?– Does this signal a convergence of values and $s?– What does this mean for the VT Technology ecosystem?

Vermont Deals of Note

Vermont Deals of Note

IrisVR•Graduate from Middlebury•Win LaunchVT•Hire handful of young professionals•Raise angel capital•Accepted into TechStars NY •Get ready for really big things in 2015

Vermont Deals of Note

• CleanEthics based in Richmond, VT & Founded in 2010• Take a bike ride, end up with stale Camelbak & find a pain

point to solve• Start your company & build a product• Apply to Shark Tank > Get a deal with a Shark.

Additional FreshTracks Highlights from 2014

Faraday wins $1MM SunShot Grant from DOE

Bridj expands into Boston/urban transportation

An IPO?

• Files S-1 January 5th 2015• This will be first VT

company to go public in more than a decade

• Still relatively small company to go public ($45MM revenues first 9 months of 2014)

• Will be interesting to watch this offering progress

• Zero press coverage so far in Vermont

Road Pitch – First Annual August 2014

• 30 riders• 1 Lt Gov• 4 days• 7 towns• 28 pitches• 500 miles• 1 rain storm

www.freshtrackscap.com@FreshTracksCap & @VT CairnCross

cairn@freshtrackscap.com & www.linkedin.com/in/cairncross