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Perfecting your elevator pitch

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  • Perfecting your elevator pitch

    I'm curious about any brewery founder's "elevator pitches" they made when seaking capital. What key points have you found to effectively demonstrate that your brewpub or microbrewery is an attractive investment?

    Thanks,

    Jesse
    fungus rules the earth

  • #2
    cash money

    What are you doing (What problem are you solving)
    Who are your customers
    Why are you different (Competitive advantage)
    How you will succeed (marketing plan)

    Most importantly:
    That the investment will make them money.

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    • #3
      Thanks, I understand what the basic content should compose of ,but am looking for the "hook". The type of investors I need to pitch this to don't see microbreweries as attractive ventures because of their minimal return and investment (respective to common tech investments). Our venture only requires approximately $350K beyond owner's equity, which is small fries for VC investors.
      fungus rules the earth

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      • #4
        I haven't found a sure fire hook yet. Except maybe the promise of free beer.

        Unless there's a way a microbrewery can turn $10M in profits by year two, I don't think microbreweries will ever attract VCs. There might be an occasional Angel. It's been Friends, Family, and Fools for us, plus the occasional obsessed beer aficionado who's looking for a high risk investment. They'll invest because they like you, your beer, craft beer, the idea of owning a brewery, and/or supporting local small business.

        Serve samples of test batches.

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        • #5
          I neglected to say this is for a competition with some decent monetary prizes. It's just craft beer is the only business I'm passionate enough to pitch to 500 people. Some entrants do walk away with an angel or VC by their side, but that isn't my goal as we have a pretty good friendship with an investor already.

          Now where's my beer?
          fungus rules the earth

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          • #6
            I know you are looking for a "hook", which I really think depends on your audience, but one thing I would make sure to emphasize is the growth of the craft brewing industry. This point highlights the fact that it is a fast growing industry and there is room for more players, especially if you live in an area that is not super populated with craft breweries. It really lets the potential investor know that its not a just pipe dream when you come to the table and say look...there has been a combined three year growth of around 30% and there are no immediate signs of things slowing down.

            Along with this, I would also HIGHLIGHT the point made in previous posts, that investing in a brewery is not going to make you rich quick. I think this can be viewed in some ways as a positive! Yeah if people give you their money they want to get it back plus a little something extra, but this is not your typical investment. This is an investment that people can say..."I own part of a brewery!". So I think it is important to make this clear, let them know they are not going to get rich quick, but they will get paid out over time and it will be a heck of a lot more fun. This is the mindset you want from your investors any ways. You want your investors to be proud of their "ownership" to the point that they will talk it up and spread the word. You don't want these big money investors who are on your back about every decision you make because their return for the year is dependent upon your performance. The people who understand that it will take time will have more pride in watching it grow instead of just seeing $$$$$. I think with the minimal amount of money you are trying to raise, it will not be hard to find a group of people like this. From my experience Doctors are all about these opportunities!

            Finally, my advice is to be yourself and don't have a highly planned out road show for your investors. This is why I don't really believe in a "hook" or why I believe it depends on the audience. Craft brewing is a very personal industry, so it is important for the potential investors to know you as a person and not you as a "salesman". The more personal you make a sales pitch the more comfortable the potential investor will feel and really know what they are getting in to with YOU. Because if this is a start up they are investing in YOU!!! Discuss the project over some beers or something like that. However, with that said you also must still be prepared to give a formal presentation to a group of suits, because some people just think that is the way it should be.

            I am sure I probably reiterated stuff you already knew, but I thought I would offer my 2 cents since I recently went through this. It was my first time doing so and I was given some good advice by a seasoned veteran, from another industry, and it really made things quite easy. Good luck and I apologize if you did not want a lecture on how somebody else did this!

            Cheers-
            Eric
            Last edited by eric@marshallbrewing.com; 10-04-2007, 09:28 AM.

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            • #7
              If you are looking for more than just a prize at a competition and are really seeking funding for your brewery you need to have something more than just a 30 second elevator pitch.

              There is a great podcast called Startupnation.com that has elevator pitches of all kinds to listen to. I would spend some time there and get a feel for the sort of info investors are looking for.
              Owner
              Grind Modern Burger
              PostModern Brewers
              Boise, ID

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              • #8
                Thanks you guys, I appreciate the responses and find them useful. I am drawing a clear distinction between competition and actual fundraising, and realize there are similarities as well as differences. I'm just starting to get stocks of my beers together, "to discuss things over" with key people. It is just too bad these beers aren't allowed in competition.

                And to reinforce edm1077's comments, I've had the opportunity to pitch this at future potential investors (which took a lot longer than 30 seconds). One reputable banker and investor of over 20 years actually liked how I wasn't afraid to state a net loss for the first year of operations and the realistic, low profit margins for the next couple of years. That presentation with that format went well enough to have a beer loving attorney offer his services for free (seeing will be believing). I imagine that for this industry, if you present inflated earnings, then "bullshit" will be called directly out of the gate.

                ,Jesse
                fungus rules the earth

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