FreshTracks & Bolton Valley hosted another successful Peak Pitch Vermont event on 3/6/09.  Over 50 people gathered on the mountain to share lift rides and exchange business ideas between ski runs at Bolton's Timberline base area.  Below is a video summary of the event which gives a good feel for the day.

Hosted by FreshTracks Capital, the Vermont Peak Pitch '09 event will take place at the Bolton Valley ski resort on Friday, March 6th. Save the date, and sign up now at www.peakpitch.com

Lee Bouyea, Managing Director of FreshTracks Capital, and Craig DeLuca of The ARNO Group will lead a Seminar aimed at non-traditional businesses looking to secure startup or expansion capital.

Here is a promotional video from ISIS which gives a good overview of their product mix and the company's approach to the market, which can be summed up as: "ISIS fits women.  Women who hibernate in winter and conquer it - sometimes on the same day."

The 2nd Vermont 3.0 Career Tech Jam was another resounding success.  FreshTracks once again participated in the Vermont 3.0 Tech/Creative Career Jam by hosting a booth, becoming a sponsor, blogging for the event and hosting a panel on Entrepreneurship and Raising Capital.

The Renewable Energy Vermont Conference was held on 10/15 at the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington.  David Blittersdorf of Earth Turbines spoke on the “Can Vermont Become 100% Renewable?” panel, using his time to describe what he saw as the Big Energy Picture.

FreshTracks Capital recently traveled to Manchester NH to participate in the Speed Venture Summit, a conference designed to match entrepreneurs with investors through a 15 minute speed dating pitch format. 

Champlain College launched its new Emergent Media Center on 10/21 at the Champlain Mill in Winooski.  The EMC focuses on the power of electronic games and social networking, and the power of innovation that these two industries are bringing to our world today. 

Bob Bloch, Director of Champlain College’s BYOBiz Program, recently invited Alan Newman, co-founder of Magic Hat Brewery to speak at the school’s Alumni Auditorium as part of BYOBiz’s Speaking from Experience Series.

In early October, FreshTracks attended the Village Ventures Fund Managers Meeting at the Intercontinental Boston.  This annual conference is an opportunity for the Village Ventures network to gather for 2 days of great relevant content about growth companies and venture financing, intertwined with a healthy amount of networking.

Solar Industry Magazine reported this month that Draker Labs has hired Chach Curtis as its new CEO, with founder AJ Rossman moving into his new position as CTO of the company.

SolarOne was incremental in a recent photovoltaic LED outdoor lighting project at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY and featured in a recent River Reporter article.

FirstCare Texas signed a contract with Vermedx to provide the patent-pending Vermedx Diabetes Information System for health care providers and members of the First Care Health Plan operating in several cities in Texas.

EatingWell's editorial director, Lisa Gosselin, explains the importance of fresh, healthy meals with short prep time, a priority to the lifestyles of today's consumers.

Brighter Planet recently launched its "Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking" contest. Community members share their food creation experience and inspiration, choosing from five categories, and potentially winning sustainable cooking prizes such as kitchenware, cookbooks and Amazon Kindles.

Vermedx, which provides decision support software for diabetes, is featured in a Burlington Free Press article on UVM's Office of Technology. Professor of medicine, and now entrepreneur, Ben Littenberg explains the need, the health benefits, and the cost savings of the Vermedx system.

Vermont Teddy Bear's "Bucks for Bears" promotion invites folks to "send in their old, worn out teddy bears in exchange for $20 off the purchase of an authentic handcrafted Vermont Teddy Bear."

Brighter Planet CEO, Patti Prairie, is interviewed by Carbon Offsets Daily and discusses their new website.  The new site promises to help users start taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint and save money using Brighter Planet's carbon calculator and social networks.

After six months as Vermont Teddy Bear's, new CEO, John Gilbert feels that the company is in good shape despite the recession. The company is refocusing on kids as an added target market to the continuing market of adult males.

The Sentalis 800, recent release of Draker Laboratories, provides performance monitoring of commercial, industrial and institutional solar systems. 

*NEHP Hires New President & Company Named Top Innovation Winner

*EatingWell on ABCNews.com

*SolarOne Develops Lighting Project in Masdar, United Arab Emirates

*Vermedx in Vermont Business Magazine

*Quirky Featured on CNBC's PowerLunch

*VTB Goes Green & PajamaGram Goes Glee

*Vermont Teddy Bear Ramps up for the Holidays

*Vermedx Completes 21st Century Health Piece, Airs on CNBC

*XConomy Article Includes Coverage of FreshTracks & Brighter Planet

*EatingWell Recipes Featured in USA Today & on ABC News

*Draker Labs names Chach Curtis CEO

*Vermedx Lands New Customer FirstCare Texas, CEO Littenberg to Speak at NAMCG

*EatingWell Lands Coverage on USA Today and MSN.com

*SolarOne Project Covered in the River Reporter

*Vermont Teddy Bear Story Runs in the Boston Globe

*Quirky Featured in NY Times Article Titled "Groupthink Inc."

*Vermedx Featured in Burlington Free Press

*Brighter Planet Launches its Sustainable Cooking Contest

*NativeEnergy Wins Best Carbon Offset Provider Award, Launches Social Networking Tools

*Vermont Teddy Bear Refocuses Under New CEO

*EatingWell in Washington Post & Receives Recognition for iPhone App

*Kluster & Quirky Land New York Observer and EConsultancy Press

*SolarOne Video Hosted on YouTube

*Brighter Planet in FastCompany & CarbonOffset Daily

*Auterra Featured in Story about NYSERDA

*Vermont Investors Forum Application Due 9/15/09

*NEHP Lands Solar Job with SpectraWatt, Adds new Board Member & Opens Office in New York

*GetWell Network Announces New Hospital Additions to Their Network

*Draker Launches Sentalis 800 Product & Cited in Testimony

*Bullish on Bears in the Boston Globe

*Cross Quoted in VBSR Article on Private Investing

*Quirky Lands Press in Fast Company, The Deal and TechCrunch

*NativeEnergy's Work in Greensburg, KS featured on Good

*EatingWell Lands Press in Washington Post and Seattle Times

*Cross Quoted in Law360 for His Views on Carbon Market

*FT Leads $500k investment in Vermedx

*Kluster Launches Spinoff Quirky.com

*EWMG Lands TV Coverage on ABC, Wins Another James Beard Award

*VTB Launches New Captain Kirk & Spock Bears

*Kluster Announces Spinout Quirky Inc. - Lands Press in BusinessWeek

*ANW is now Auterra

*NativeEnergy is Exclusive Carbon Offset Marketer for Greensburg

*EatingWell In Season:  The Farmer's Market Cookbook

*Win a $1,000 Shopping Spree from ISIS

*JnJ Development Corp. Completes Investment in GetWell

*Vermont Teddy Bear Hires New CEO, John Gilbert

*Kluster CEO/Founder Ben Kaufman Takes Trip to the White House

*EWMG Nominated for 3 James Beard Awards

*Draker Labs Hires Two New Sales Executives

*NEHP Featured on Fox 44 News

*Cross to Speak at VBSR Conference

*Bouyea to Speak at Invention 2 Venture