During her visit to the small village of Ellsworth on Friday (November 7th), Wisconsin’s newly re-elected Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, discussed ways for small start-ups to receive funding, one of which was crowdfunding.
According to Pierce County Herald, Russ Korpela used crowdfunding to raise capital for his company, Common Man Brewing. He expects to open the new pub in January 2015 at 193 E. Main St. in Ellsworth. Common Man is the second start-up in the state to use crowdfunding through the crowdfunding platform, Craftfund, which is designed specifically for craft food and drink companies.
The campaign’s description reads,”Fullfilling a life long dream, Common Man Brewing founder Russ Korpela is developing a gathering place for craft beer and premium spirits enthusiasts. He is a twenty year marketing veteran and craft beer devotee. A one barrel nanobrewery will be used to create a diverse selection of small batch handcrafted beers.
“The tap line will also feature beers from around the country. A small kitchen will highlight a menu of unique offerings using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Formed in July of 2014 Common Man Brewing is housed in leased premises, has received its municipal beer and liquor retail license and will be filing its federal brewers permit application soon. Anticipated opening date is mid-January 2015 with brewing operations to start in mid-February 2015.
Wisconsin’s crowdfunding law, which went into effect in June, now grants up and coming entrepreneurs rights to raise up to $1 million from state investors through online crowdfunding websites. Up to $2 million may be raised if the issuer has had an audit within the previous year and has given the results to investors and state regulators. Non-accredited investors may now invest up to $5,000 in a business.
Sharing her excitement about non-accredited investors can now help businesses through the funding method, Kleefisch stated, “The future of crowdfunding in Wisconsin is absolutely limitless. Now we can have regular folks.”
Kleefisch, who encourages supporting start-up ventures by investing, noted, “We succeed on the backs of small business owners.”
In regards to what she really thinks about crowdfunding, Kleefisch called the funding method “another level to pull,” and the “pioneer spirit, the entrepreneurial spirit, that is the engine of Wisconsin’s ceconomy.”
