Today is a very exciting day for Team Liftopia. It’s truly a unique milestone that we’ll look back on and remember fondly. We’re very proud to announce that we have raised $1.3MM in a round led by First Round Capital along with Chris Sacca, Dave Morin and Erik Blachford. You can find the full press release here.

As we approached the fundraising process, one thing we were certain of was that if we decided to bring in new investors, they needed to not only see Liftopia as a solid investment opportunity but also share our passion for bettering the ski industry with killer technology.

How die-hard are our new investors? We put them to the test:

First Round Capital: Joining our Board from FRC is Kent Goldman.  Kent learned to ski at Ski Sundown in the Connecticut Alps, has a quick cameo in this year’s TGR film (though he claims he poses better than he skis), and has photos of La Grave and the Aiguille du Midi hanging in his office.

Chris Sacca: Chris has strong roots out of Ellicottville, NY where he grew up skiing Holiday Valley, home of Radio Ron, Backseat Jesus and The Gobbler. Chris refused to divulge his favorite chairlift to “save his stash” and has a collection of 90’s neon at his home in Truckee.

Dave Morin: Dave hails from Helena, Montana, grew up skiing at Great Divide and has deep family history in the ski industry, ranging back to to his grandfather holding the position of head doctor of the US Ski Team. He spent his skiing youth competing on the Junior Olympic circuit and considers himself a skier first and an entrepreneur and investor second.

Erik Blachford: Erik hails from the land of Poutine and honed his skills at Mont Saint Sauveur. He skis, teles, and snowboards, sticking to the latter when it is deep. His fiancée confessed to him that their first day skiing together at Squaw Valley locked him in as “passing the test”.

As you can see, we have been very fortunate to work with investors and a team that share our passion for improving the industry that we love so much. With their help we are going to continue to work our asses off to provide the best possible service and value for our resort partners and customers alike.  While we have come a long way from working off of kitchen tables and out of closets, we still have a ways to go.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us take this next big step.