Always good to see some interesting dealflow out of Vermont, the state where I attended high school. The other day, Burlington-based beer producer Magic Hat announced the acquisition of Pyramid I was shocked to discover that Seattle-based Pyramid is actually publicly traded (NASD: PMID). At some point, I'll need to go through their filings and do a writeup on the economics of a (relatively small) brewery. Also notice that Magic Hat has both a trippy name and a trippy logo, which is exactly what you need to appeal to all the Vermont-based Phish-heads.
The other deal is a cool one. Brattleboro-based(!) Putney Pasta raised $2.35 million in VC money. Very cool. Basically, they make gourmet, fresh pasta: tortellini, ravioli... stuff like that. As I see it, a VC investment in a company Putney Pasta is a longshot bet on getting in early on the next Ben & Jerry's. Realistically it probably won't happen on quite the same scale. But Vermont does seem to be a bit of a hotbed for premium, fast-growth food companies. There's just something about a food product coming from Vermont. It just feels right. It's why a lot of small cheese producers don't operate out of neighboring New Hampshire, even though they've got the more business-friendly tax code.
There does seem to be an entreprenurial vibe in VT, much more so than my home state of Maine.
I'm curious about the dynamic of this. Both states are similar; rural, northern New England enclaves.
The Green Mountain State does seem to have a higher per capita of back-to-the-land types than the Pine Tree State, however, which may explain the propensity towards unique business models.
Posted by: Jim | July 02, 2008 at 11:39 PM
You went to HIGH SCHOOL in Vermont? THAT's your total identification with the place? Well, better than nothing and you're one lucky New Yorker if you ask me. About Vermont and Maine: Vermont is known for its drop outs, creative types and entrepreneurs. Obviously, creativity is a critical piece of entrepreneurship, but I'm guessing from personal experience that many of the "drop outs" in Vermont are there precisely because they are, in fact, creative. And once they got/get done hanging, they have to make money. (This might not pertain to all the drop outs hanging in Harmony parking lot, but my guess is that a few of them will make it big.) Anyway, my related point is that Mainers are not known (legendarily/mythically or not) for these same demographic characteristics. Beautiful coastline though, if a bit cold.
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