Gem Misa set up food business Righteous three years ago after giving up a career as a global brand manager with a multinational company to pursue her passion for food.
Within months of launching her range of preservative-free, gluten-free salad dressings, she had secured listings in Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods Market, but to reach the next stage she needed money.
Gem, 34, says: ‘I was competing against big brands like Kraft with huge marketing budgets. I needed funding for a marketing strategy, but I had no trading history so the banks wouldn’t even talk to me.’
Instead Gem decided to look to crowdfunding for finance.
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