Some people are constant Kickstarter backers and others lie on the opposite side of the spectrum firm in the belief that if your idea is good, you should be able to “sell” it to a bank or investor.
I am in the middle of the debate. I think that some Kickstarter projects are cynical cash grabs or marketing ploys whereas others are truly needed investment to boost a company to another level. Which is why I am choosy about which ones I post about here and why I put cold hard cash into even fewer.
But I read about what looks to be a better way (or at least different) to acquire funding from the New School Beer Blog.
With the recently passed “2015 Oregon Community Capital Initiative” the state has joined 12 other and created a program that lets Oregonians invest in Oregon companies. Sort of like a minor league stock market. Agrarian Ales of Eugene has jumped into the pool and valued their shares at $100 each. And these stocks are worth something more than a t-shirt or branded pint glass. Every other year you get a dividend in brewpub credit of 5%.
So you are saying that is like buying into a mug club or society but the difference is that you buy that stock ONCE! And if the brewery grows, the value of your stock grows. There is a no-selling period of nine months but once that passes you can sell to another Oregonian for the new price. Your $100 could become more or less depending on how much beer they sell.
That is local investing and I hope it can catch on.