*Solais Series A Transaction Covered by VentureWire

*ISIS Acquired by Kellwood

*EatingWell Video on 7Days

*PajamaGram Featured on Rachel Ray, Leno and in NY Daily News

*SolarOne Lands Coverage in Solar Daily

*Multiple GetWell Press Releases Hit Last Month 

To read the complete newsletter, please click here:the freshtracks flurry march 2010

FreshTracks held its 5th annual Peak Pitch event at Bolton Valley on March 3^rd.  The event was our best attended yet, with over 80 skiers out on the slopes.  Congratulations to our top 3 pitchers:

• ElectroCell Technologies - liquid waste management technology
• Sirius/PureProphet - vertical axis windmill
• Ursa Major - Natural skin care products for men

We would like to thank our sponsors who pitched in to help pay for the lift tickets, lodge setting and meals throughout the day.  We greatly appreciate their support: Champlain College BYO Biz, Chittenden Bank, Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, Dartmouth Regional Tech Center, Fleischer Jacobs Group, Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LaunchCapital, Merritt, Merritt & Moulton, UVM Ventures & Office of Technology Transfer, Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development , Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.   

One of our Top 3 finalists, Ursa Major, wrote a couple of blog posts about the event.  If you’d like to read about the event from a “pitcher’s” perspective, please click here: http://ursamajormen.blogspot.com/.

*FreshTracks Announces New Investment in Solais Lighting

*Draker Labs on Vermont Public Radio

*Vermont Teddy Bear to Exhibit at American International Toy Fair

*NativeEnergy's Adam Scherr Joins IATE in Antarctica

*GetWell Network at Southeast Venture Conference and on DC Tech Source

*Brighter Planet Releases Sustainable Cooking Guide

To read the complete newsletter, please click here: the_freshtracks_flurry_feb_2010

Following is an excerpt from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: Solais Lighting Raises $2.3 Million

Solais Lighting, Inc., the leading manufacturer of specification-grade, high-output LED lamps, announced today the close of its Series A investment, totaling more than $2.3 million.  The investment round was led by Tim Davis, managing director of FreshTracks Capital, and Will Cowen, managing partner of Long River Ventures, who both joined the Solais board of directors.  In addition, eight angel investors participated in the round. 

"We see may funding opportunities in lighting and technology at FreshTracks, but Solais Lighting stands out as a smart solution with a proven team," said Davis. 

"At a time when venture-capital funding for start-ups is historically low, I am grateful to have both the advisory and financial support of such high-caliber institutions and angel investors," said James Leahy, president of Solais Lighting.

EatingWell's 500 Calorie Cookbook featured on Seven Days "Stuck in Vermont" program.  Click here to watch the video and cooking demonstration by Jessie Price as she prepares Lemon Chicken Stirfry: EatingWell in 2010

*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

To read the complete newsletter, please click here:the_freshtracks_flurry_jan_2010

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

*XConomy Article Includes Coverage of FreshTracks & Brighter Planet

To read the complete newsletter, please click here: the_freshtracks_flurry_dec_2009

*EatingWell Lands Coverage on USA Today and MSN.com

*SolarOne Project Covered in the River Reporter

To read the complete newsletter, please click here: the_freshtracks_flurry_nov_2009

The following is an excerpt from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: Draker Labs Names Curtis CEO

Charles Curtis has joined Draker Labs as CEO, while AJ Rossman - founder and former CEO of the company - has become chief technology officer.  From 2000 to 2007, Curtis was the CFO and vice president of business development of Northern Power Systems Inc., a developer and integrator of alternative and renewable energy systems.  

The following is an excerpt from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: Solar One Illuminates

Paul Dibbell drove all the way from the Town of Hunter in Green County for a firsthand look at the attractive lamps that were the subject of a special event at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts last week.

Those who turned out for the event received a copy of a new publication detailing field-test results for photovoltaic-powered LED luminaires installed at three public outdoor sites in Sullivan County. LEDs are seen as important tools in the ongoing effort to reduce outdoor lighting energy consumption.

The resulting publication, “The Field Test DELTA: Post-Top Photovoltaic Pathway Luminaire,” evaluated 24 prototype Renaissance luminaires designed by Sullivan Renaissance, Philips Hadco and SolarOne® Solutions.

Following is an excerpt from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: Vermedx Diabetes Information System

FirstCare CEO Clifford Frank cites the success of the Vermedx Diabetes Information System, as detailed in the March 9 edition of The American Journal of Managed Care.  This article describes how Vermedx reduces annual treatment costs by an average of $2,400 per adult patient while improving treatment quality. "It's a very cost-effective, quick to implement and easy to operate technology for our providers to add to their repertoire of tools for improving patient satisfaction and enhancing treatment quality," said Frank. 

The following is an excerpt from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: Celebrity Chefs, TV Shows and Internet Change How We Cook

Lisa Gosselin, editorial director of EatingWell magazine, says nutrition has become increasingly important to many consumers, and the amount of time they have to prepare meals has shortened considerably.  "For many people" she says, "cooking has become 'What is going to be good for me, what is going to be good for my family and how can I prepare something that is going to be fresh, quick and healthy?'"  Most of EatingWell's recipes take less than 45 minutes to make and use about 12 ingredients, she says.

*Vermedx Featured in Burlington Free Press

*Brighter Planet Launches its Sustainable Cooking Contest

To read the complete newsletter, please click here:the_freshtracks_flurry_oct_2009

Brighter Planet launched its "Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking" contest, allowing community members to share experiences of how they use less energy and reduce waste without sacrificing nutrition, flavor, or the joy of sharing a delicious meal.  Participants are given the opportunity to inspire others to create great food that's also good for the planet choosing from the following categories: (1) Menu & Dining Planning, (2) Ingredients, (3) Food Sources, (4) Techniques, and (5) Appliances, Gadgets and Gizmos.  Dozens of winners will take home sustainable cooking prizes including kitchenware, cookbooks and Amazon Kindles. 

To learn more about the contest and to submit your ideas, please click here:  Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking.

Following are excerpts from this piece.  To read the complete original article, please click here: From Ivory Tower to Market

As a professor of medicine, Ben Littenberg spent years studying the quality of health care in a conventional academic way — doing research and publishing the results. Then a few years ago, he and two colleagues came up with an idea for improving diabetes care that ultimately nudged him into a new role: entrepreneur.

In the case of the diabetic data system, he admits, “I’m putting less emphasis on publishing and more on translating the science into the community so that people will get better.”  More than 20 million people in the United States have diabetes, at a cost to the nation of well over $100 billion, yet remarkably, the are many people receive for this chronic condition is spotty.Most diabetes patients are due at least twice a year for blood tests that monitor blood sugar and cholesterol levels, kidney function and levels of urine protein.  These tests are supposed to help the doctor forestall complications that can include heart and vascular disease, renal failure, and so on.

Littenberg and his two UVM College of Medicine colleagues (Charles MacLean and Michael Gagnon) devised a low-cost, computerized data information system that automatically collects the lab data, updates the flow sheet, and sends it directly to the doctor’s office computer. Missed appointments or worrisome results are flagged with letters to doctors and patients.  Patients under the system, perhaps because they and their doctors were more in tune with their ongoing health status, filed fewer insurance claims and saved, on average, more than $2,000 a year.