BRATTLEBORO — Strolling of the Heifers and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation are inviting ambitious entrepreneurs to apply to participate in the 2016 FreshTracks Road Pitch.
The Road Pitch, a group of motorcycling business investors and advisors, will stop in Brattleboro on the afternoon of Aug. 2 to hear up to six funding pitches from local businesses ready to scale up, according to a news release.
This is the third annual Road Pitch. It will take place from Monday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 5, with more than 40 motorcycle riders hitting the roads of Vermont and stopping in 10 towns to listen to at least 50 entrepreneurial pitches. The riders' goal is to find exciting investment opportunities.
The Brattleboro stop will be at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street), organized by Strolling of the Heifers and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. Additional stops are scheduled for Essex Junction, Rutland, Bennington, Barre, Randolph, St. Johnsbury, Lowell, Morrisville, and Grand Isle.
At each stop, the riders will award a $500 Riders' Choice Prize plus a Vermont Teddy Bear “biker bear” to one pitcher in each of the 10 communities. More importantly, for the participating entrepreneurs, the Road Pitch is an opportunity to tighten up a business model and scale-up plan, get coaching on honing a business-pitch presentation, and develop connections to a network of funders and advisors.
In addition, the local winners will have a chance to compete at a statewide final event in October for over $4,000 in cash prizes.
To get started, interested entrepreneurs should apply no later than July 5 at www.strollingoftheheifers.com/roadpitch. BDCC and the Stroll will select up to six finalists who will pitch on Aug. 2. Before the event, finalists will benefit from several coaching sessions, including “dry runs,” so that they will have the best possible pitch ready for the motorcyclists.
Each pitch is strictly limited to seven minutes, followed by an eight-minute question and answer period. Powerpoints, demonstrations and samples are encouraged as part of the pitch.
“The ride promotes Vermont as a terrific place to do business and as a perfect motorcycling destination with lots of scenic, twisting roads, picturesque small towns, and plenty of locally sourced food and beverage,” Cairn Cross, co-founder of FreshTracks Capital, said in the news release.
Cross founded the Road Pitch in 2014. This is the second year the tour will stop in Brattleboro.
“I gathered together close to 30 other founding riders that year, and we proved the Road Pitch concept by riding 500 miles through Vermont, stopping in various towns and listening to more than 30 pitches.”
Qualifications to apply are:
• Currently in business or with a product/service that is ready to launch: “We will not consider businesses that are in the early start-up phase, without an actual product or service to show or demonstrate. Preference will be given to businesses that are actually open for business, with a product or service currently being sold.”
• Ready (or soon will be ready) for scale-up: Scale-up is the phase beyond startup in which a business takes a major step forward by expanding into new geographical areas, adding new products or services, exploiting new marketing channels, and/or developing new production methods.
• Willing to consider outside funding: Participating in the Road Pitch isn't a commitment to accept outside funding, but participants should be willing to consider outside investment or loans to enable them to take the scale-up leap.
Businesses that pitched at the 2015 event may apply to pitch again, but only if they have made substantial progress in developing their business since last year. Businesses in this category should be in touch with the organizers before applying.