February 26, 2016

Just months after resigning from his position as chief executive officer with Boulder Brands, Steve Hughes has partnered with New York-based private equity firm, Trilantic North America to launch the new early-stage venture capital group, Sunrise Strategic Partners.

The fund will provide capital and expertise to early-stage companies focused on healthy, active, and sustainable lifestyles that have reached revenue of between $10 million and $20 million. Despite the fact that the first investment made by the fund is in Boulder-based apparel company, PACT, Mr. Hughes told the Daily Camera that the fund will mainly focus on food and beverage startups.

"I'm not really an apparel guy — I'm a food and beverage guy," he said. "But I'm a big Brendan (Synnott) fan. If it had been anybody else, I don't think we would have done it."

PACT’s chief executive, Brendan Synnott was the co-founder of Bear Naked Granola and EVOL, which was acquired in 2013 by Boulder Brands for $48 million.

Sunrise Strategic Partners will be seeking out companies that resonate with millennials and their lifestyles choices. Over the next two years, the firm is looking to invest in between seven and ten companies, and is already in talks with several Colorado-based startups that Sunrise hopes to scale up to $100 million operations.

"Trilantic and I share the vision that there is tremendous value to be created by helping founders of brands that resonate with the millennial consumer scale their business," said Hughes in a recent press release. "I am excited to partner with Trilantic to create a platform with the growth expertise and capital founders need to scale a great proof of concept into a disruptive force in their category."