[shashashasha]

Ello looks like it raised a seed round from Fresh Tracks Capital in Vermont:

"Ello.co is a beautiful, simple & transparent ad-free social network. Ello is designed with the end user in mind, not advertisers, promising “You are not a product”. The site is a collaboration between Paul Budnitz, the graphic design lab Berger & Föhr, and the technologists at Mode Set."

http://www.freshtrackscap.com/fund-iii-companies/Ello

Does anyone know any more about Fresh Tracks?

[jlark777]

It looks to be a small VC firm founded in Vermont. I don't recognize the players off-hand but I do recognize the organizations they're affiliated with.

Vermont has a very small, active (activist, even) business community...they tend to like to grow things at home.