Imagine that you’re one of the tycoons on Dragons’ Den or Shark Tank. What would you say yes to? The next great mousetrap? The best bread-slicer ever? Or maybe partner with the inventor of some tech gadget that’s going to make our lives so much better?
Or maybe, you can buy shares in a distillery.
At the going rate of $1 per share, Nathan Flim, the founder of The Fort Distillery, is looking to secure $1.5 million worth of investments by the end of September. And, to do this, he’s put the company on FrontFundr.
Where platforms like Kickstarter or GoFundMe give you the chance to support a start-up, get a perk and feel good about yourself, FrontFundr allows users to actually buy shares in the company they are supporting.
“We’ve raised money as we’ve grown from friends and family, but we thought, this time, let’s involve the community,” says Flim. “Let’s see if there’s people in Canada, in Alberta, in Edmonton, who are interested in investing.”
The reason the Fort Saskatchewan-based distillery needs to raise the capital is for the marketing and travel needed to expand its Tumbler & Rocks ready-made cocktails into the United States. When Tumbler & Rocks becomes available on Arizona store shelves this autumn, it will be the 12th state that is receiving liquor shipments from The Fort.
The ready-to-drink cocktails are also available on Porter flights, thanks to a deal that was struck a year and a half ago.
Tumbler & Rocks cocktails are available in six flavours: Old Fashioned, Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Margarita, Espresso Martini and Martini. Two other varieties were made available locally: Maple Bourbon Smash and Blueberry Margarita. The Smash will soon make its way to America, as well.
“Every time we launch in a new state, it’s a very exciting time,” says Flim. “We’re getting onto new store shelves and working with new distributors. But it’s also very expensive. There’s a lot of marketing that goes into it, there’s a lot of travel.”
The shares are priced at $1 each, but a $500 minimum buy-in is required.
