Investment and capital for the beer industry

[Brewtopian]

As some of you may know I have been working on a business plan for a while now for a new upscale retail beer concept that I hope to take nationally. I've finally finished the plan and the financial model and am now ready to move forward with funding but am having some difficulty finding investors that have any experience with investing in beer related businesses.

Does anyone here on the board know of any angel groups that have any history of investment in beer businesses? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Rick
www.brewtopiabeermarket.com

[tsewong73]

Do your investors really need to have beer industry experience in order to invest? Business is business and as long as your business plan makes plenty of business-sense, you should be able to find investors regardless of their brewing industry experience.

[Butcher Scott]

I have to second Mike's questions, and also ask if you even want people with a lot of experience in beer related projects - it opens the door for a silent partner to be not-so-silent (and sometimes not in a good way). On the other hand, if you are looking for owners to supplement your own experience (or lack thereof) then that's a different story.

Either way, unfortunately I don't know of any angels out there.

[einhorn]

As I recall, your concept is for a retail business involving beer and potentially wines & spirits. You should be proposing your concept on that basis, as beer-related topics tend to be much riskier for investors. Or has the concept changed?

[Brewtopian]

Thanks for the questions guys. I really love the community spirit of boards like this one and ratebeer. I would like to take it to the next level and assemble a network of resources that we can all share and benefit from.

The concept is beer exclusive, no wine, no spirits. I've participated in some discussions with others here on the board that feel that beer is a loss leader and you need the other two legs of that old stool to remain profitable. I think I've found a model that will allow a beer only retail operation to return profits of more than 20%.

I'm not requiring that an investor have some experience with beer but everything that I've read and everyone I've talked to who has sought out investment for their business has told me that if you can find someone with experience or a passion for your industry you want to try and bring them on board. This person will have a comfort level with the product and an understanding of the market compared to someone who is just wanting a place to put their money. Sure you run the risk of getting someone who wants to be more involved that maybe you'd like but through careful selection of investors and a strong shareholders agreement I should be able to weed out the worst of them.

Experience also does help bolster me and my management teams weak spots. For example, I'm hoping to get in front of a guy who made his fortune with 7-11 stores. His experience running multiple stores and working as a franchisee would be very helpful as I have not operated in those conditions.

I have a few investors already on board but we're still a ways from meeting the goal. So if anyone out there knows of someone that might be interested I'd love to talk with them.

Thanks again.
Rick
www.brewtopiabeermarket.com

[tsewong73]

I'm sure you're already aware of this type of stuff, but I want to reiterate for you to be careful with the amount of offerings you make and how you make those offerings. Otherwise, you could be getting in trouble with the SEC.

I'm afraid I can't help line up some investors for you. After having been through it myself just over a year ago, I know how tough and frustrating it can be. Hang in there and just keep plugging away at it. Best wishes to you.

[Brewtopian]

I'm sure you're already aware of this type of stuff, but I want to reiterate for you to be careful with the amount of offerings you make and how you make those offerings. Otherwise, you could be getting in trouble with the SEC.

I'm afraid I can't help line up some investors for you. After having been through it myself just over a year ago, I know how tough and frustrating it can be. Hang in there and just keep plugging away at it. Best wishes to you.

You're absolutely right, it is a tricky thing to seek out investors. Fortunately I have a good attorney who has been a big help.