Feb 10, 2015
Austin, TX
Launch Your Food or Beverage Company the Right Way
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FBU Austin: Master Fundraising with Founder of Sweet Leaf Tea, CircleUp, Silverwood

What are the best ways to position your company to raise capital, how should you close the deal, what are the ongoing investment trends surrounding food and beverage investment, and how can you understand just what the heck is on this term sheet?

These questions and many others — a wealth of information surrounding the wealth of companies — will be answered during BevNET’s Food and Beverage University (FBU) Austin event on Feb. 10 at the Brazos Hall in Austin.

Featuring entrepreneurs-turned-repeat-investors like Clayton Christopher, Brad Barnhorn, and Scott Jensen, unique platforms like CircleUp, and investment and deal advisors like Brette Simon and Mike Burgmaier, FBU Austin will feature a broad look at financial options for new food and beverage companies that will match their lifecycle and needs at all growth stages.

As a complement to the day of discussion of brand development and sales and marketing strategy, FBU Austin’s financial program will help attendees understand the best ways to find financing and utilize the capital they raise without distraction from their core mission, from initial investment via friends and family to angel and institutional fundraising.

Just-Announced Sessions include:

  • Clayton Christopher, the co-founder of Sweet Leaf Tea and Deep Eddy Vodka, and investor in Rhythm Superfoods and High Brew Coffee among many other businesses will be presenting a tutorial on fundraising strategy, covering the ways he has connected with investors in the past, and the ways he currently evaluates potential investment opportunities
  • Brad Barnhorn, an investor, board member to several food and beverage companies, and an  advisor to both private equity and financial services companies on CPG opportunities, will discuss ways that CEOs and founders can focus on building their companies to make them attract the kind of financing they need to grow
  • Katie Fitzgerald, the Business Development Director at CircleUp, will provide an overview of investment trends concerning entrepreneurial food and beverage companies, a discussion of some of the challenges that those companies face in raising capital, as well as insights into crowdfunding platforms

Additionally, previously announced speakers Mike Burgmaier of Silverwood Partners and Brette Simon, an experienced deal attorney and advisor, will provide instruction on the various funding needs for company growth stages and a deep dive into the vocabulary and mechanics of the investment process.

These sessions, combined with insights from active entrepreneurs, will give FBU Austin attendees a strong grasp of what it takes to raise money, and the best times to do so.

Registration is open and ongoing. Please contact Jon Landis at (617) 231-8834 or jlandis@bevnet.com with any questions regarding the event.

About BevNET FBU

FBU is BevNET’s educational platform, a business development series originally known as Beverage School, that it has run for the benefit of new Food & Beverage entrepreneurs and their employees since 2009. BevNET’s track record in providing relevant business development content is evident through its video subscription service at Food & Beverage University (www.BevNETFBU.com), a collection of focused interviews with CPG experts that offer insight into all levels of strategy for food and beverage product entrepreneurs.