In 1984, Jim Koch brewed his first batch of Sam Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen. Twenty four years later, the founder of the Boston Beer Company is brewing something else – microloans for entrepreneurs.
Looking back on his own struggles as a young businessman, Koch decided to launch the Brewing the American Dream program in 2008 to address the critical needs of the 20 million underserved entrepreneurs in America. The Brewing the American Dream program partners the Boston Beer Co. with domestic microlender, ACCION USA, to provide microloans of up to $25,000 to small businesses in the food, beverage and hospitality industries in New England, New York, Ohio and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.
In addition to capital, the program provides business mentoring to small business owners through speed-coaching events.
The support offered through the Brewing the American Dream program benefits young entrepreneurs such as Kari Morris. When Morris, a Brooklyn-based ginger syrup maker, approached a commercial bank in the summer of 2011 for a loan, she was rejected because of her short business track record. Morris was seeking to boost her production in preparation for a busy holiday season but could not secure financing because she lacked two years of income statements – a typical requirement for commercial banks.
As a member of The Entrepreneur Space, an incubator offering shared kitchen facilities in the Queens borough of New York, Kari attended a Brewing the American Dream event in September 2011. She was able to get approved for a $9,000 loan administered within a week of the event, which helped to increase production and keep two part-time workers on payroll.
“Because of the Brewing the American Dream program, I can produce five times the amount of ginger syrup and actually have inventory on hand,” Kari said.
Kari’s story is not uncommon. She is one of the many entrepreneurs who have expanded their business through a Brewing the American Dream loan. Since 2008, the Brewing the American Dream program has reached over 100 entrepreneurs with $900,000 of lent capital.
However, the Brewing the American Dream program offers more than loans. “Brewing the American Dream can open up many doors for entrepreneurs,” says Erica Dorn, Business Development Officer at ACCION USA. “Our food and beverage clients can take advantage of the many mentorship opportunities provided by experts at the Boston Beer Company.”
Sweet Smell Of Success
Sandy Russo is someone who has grown her business thanks to both the financing and mentoring opportunities provided by Brewing the American Dream. She is the owner of Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe in Boston’s North End, offering delicious desserts. And thanks to a $2,000 loan, Russo was able to expand her business by purchasing a chocolate tempering machine that sped up her cake production. Besides getting a loan, Lulu has been able to attend many Brewing the American Dream Speed-Coaching events, giving her the chance to sit down one-on-one with business experts in different fields from marketing to packaging.
It can be easy to forget that a such a hugely successful company like the Boston Beer Company started off with humble beginnings, just like the participants of the Brewing the American Dream program.
“I did a lot of dumb things, I made a lot of mistakes,” explains Koch. “And looking back on that, I really wish that I had access to some people with experience that could give me simple business advice about the parts of my business that I really didn’t know anything about.”
Lauren Yothers is a communications consultant and Jordan Vance is an intern at ACCION USA. To learn more about the Brewing the American Dream program visit www.samadams.com/btad. For more information about microlender ACCION USA, visit www.accionusa.org.
