“We should start a brewery,” I said. This was toward the end of an evening of ale sampling at a beer-tasting club I had started, the ad hops committee, back in 2010.
There was no brewery within a 40-mile radius, and I figured our little town could support a small craft brewery.
That night, I learned that an acquaintance of mine already had the business plan, location, and a number of investors for a soon-to-be-launched local brewery. Within a few weeks, I was an investor, too.
By the time I was aware of it, the plan was fully formed. The two founders would each own 30% of the brewery, and up to about 10 investors, preferably people with something to offer the brewery in terms of knowledge, skill, or time, would invest the remaining 40%.
Among the investors, I was one of the youngest, and easily the most “into” the burgeoning craft beer scene. I had lots of ideas. When the brewery opened, I snapped photos of all the merchandise we’d be selling to be displayed on the website.
There was some turmoil at the brewery, also. Business was pretty good, but not great, and in order to continue growing, the investors were required to pitch in more money. There were a total of 5 of these cash calls in the first 4 years, and the sum of them equalled about 1/3 of my initial investment.