3. FreshTracks Capital Overview
• Founded in 2000
• Based in Shelburne and
focused on investing in
VT
• Raised 3 Funds (2001,
2007 & 2013)
• Invested in 26 portfolio
companies
4. National VC trends mostly negative
•
•
•
•
Only 205 Firms raised new money in 2013
50% of VC Funds raised in 2013 went to 14 firms.
Dwindling pool of traditional venture capital nationally
Increased concentration in hands of a few big firms
5. National VC Industry Trends: Growth 1990 –
2000,
Flat 2000 – 2007, Declining since 2007
6. What about the angels?
• $ Deployed is similar in comparing the two asset classes,
however number of angel deals is 18X the number of VC deals!
10. VT VC Funding Compared to the Region
State Deals/MM
populatio
n
U.S.
Rank
VT
NH
6.0
5.0
15
21
ME
CT
MA
4.5
14.4
61.7
26
8
1
NY
RI
17.0
14.2
6
9
• In 2011 Vermont was
1st in dollars per
capita basis
• VT was in the Top 10
twice in past 6 years
for a dollars per capita
• VT in Top 10 once in
past 6 years on deals
per capita basis
• Average $25MM of funding
past 6 years, YTD Sept
2013 = $29MM
http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/013013.xlsx
12. What about Vermont Angels?
• Assume same metrics as national (18 angel deals
per 1 VC deal & approximately equal dollars)
• That would suggest 100 investments per year at an
average of $250K round size.
• However, no measured statistics on angel investing
exist in Vermont.
13. FreshTracks Capital Summary
• Raised 3 Funds from more than 75 discrete Limited
Partners:
– FTI, 2001 Vintage- $11MM
– FTII, 2007 Vintage- $14MM
– FTIII, 2013 Vintage- $10MM to date
• FreshTracks remains the only independent Vermontbased VC firm, while other sources of risk capital
have launched over past 13 years: VSJF Flexible
Capital Fund, Vermont Seed Capital Fund, etc.
14. FreshTracks Capital
•
•
•
•
26 Investments made since inception
35% “seed stage”, 65% “early stage”
Focus on Vermont (75%+ of dollars invested in VT)
Industries including:
– Media
– Software enabled
– Advanced manufacturing
– Health Care Information Technology
– Consumer Products
– Alternative Energy (not project finance)
– Financial technologies
15. FreshTracks Capital’s Impact on
VT
• On average every dollar FreshTracks invests in
VT is leveraged by other investors at an 8:1
ratio
• ~450 employees at our current VT portfolio cos.
• Recent notable Vermont exits:
– EatingWell sold to Meredith Corporation
(NYSE: MDP $2.2BN market cap). MDP has
kept EWMG in VT, added jobs and built new
office and test kitchen space
– NEHP sold to Sequel Industrial Products
(now Critical Process Solutions). Company
remains in VT & significantly grown
employment base post acquisition.
16. VT Deal Flow & Investment Pace
Accelerating
• FreshTracks III likely to take less than 12 months. 2 deals
closed for FT3 so far in 4 months, 1 term sheet signed & 1
further term sheet issued.
• FreshTracks’ annual deal flow has grown 4X since 2000.
18. Why We are Bullish on the VT
Opportunity
• Take a page from Brad Feld’s “Startup
Communities”. His thesis:
– Entrepreneurs should lead the startup
community
– Leaders must have a long term
commitment (~20 years)
– Startup Community must be inclusive
of anyone who wants to participate
– Community must have continual
activities that engage the entire
entrepreneurial stack
19. How do we Stack Up?
• Increasing number of activities to
engage the entrepreneurial stack
• Very inclusive community
• FreshTracks & others have long
term vision
• Entrepreneurs are beginning to lead
