Vermont Business Magazine recently published an in depth piece on Cairn Cross, co-founder and Managing Director of FreshTracks.   The biography gives a great view into Cairn’s interesting and eclectic background, from his professional ski career, to his family’s multi-generational roots in Grafton, VT to his work with a young Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.  We at FreshTracks have always enjoyed Cairn’s recountings of his various life adventures, and now everyone can get a slice of that history by reading the piece here:Vermont Business Magazine: Cairn G. Cross of FreshTracks Capital. 

The article sheds some light on how Cairn is uniquely suited for his role as a Vermont venture capitalist, with quotes from a number of key people that he has worked with over the years.  Some of our favorite snippets include:

From FreshTracks co-founder Charlie Kireker: “[I]  developed a real understanding of what [Cairn] could bring to companies and investing with his knowledge of Vermont businesses. He's insightful. He knows Vermont. He's broad in his range of knowledge and relationships. He's the best partner a man could ask for."

From Faith Brown, acting CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation,” He's easy to talk to, very personable, and very committed to his work and to building a stronger Vermont. He has very smart partners. And he's always willing to help - always. We think FreshTracks is doing some important economic development work. They're committed to their own investments, but also interested in improving the economic and entrepreneurial environment in Vermont."

From Matt Harris, CEO and co-founder of Village Ventures: "He is highly logical and entirely reliable," Harris said. "So you can take what he says to the bank, and that's the most important thing."

And from EatingWell CEO Tom Witschi “He is an incredibly smart guy and he's a very quick study," Witschi said. "It's been a wonderful working relationship. He knows how to manage people, when to push, when to pull back support. He's seasoned and has managed many different kinds of business. He moved into the media business without much of a hiccup and gave us the latitude to do what we needed to do. I think there's very few people who could do all those things in the way that he does it."