CraftFund LLC Launches First Phase of its Equity Crowdfunding Platform for Craft Beer and Food
Milwaukee, WI (PRWEB) September 24, 2013 -- CraftFund LLC announced breweries and food companies can now create basic profile pages on its site as it continues to build out its equity crowdfunding platform in anticipation of changing laws on the federal and state levels. The profile page contains general product and brand information. There is no cost to create a basic public profile and creating a profile does not commit a company to ever raising funds on CraftFund.
CraftFund founder David Dupee says that the company profile page is the first of several updates to the site scheduled over next few months. "Just as beer and food companies carefully hand craft their products, so too are we crafting our own platform to meet the unique needs of the industry," says Dupee, who believes craft beer and food investments are going to attract a particular kind of investor interested in owning brands that she is passionate about. "Other platforms are about facilitating transactions; we are about facilitating ownership experiences."
CraftFund has yet to conduct equity raises and will not do so until certain regulations are in place. Dupee expects the first raises to occur pursuant to Title II of the federal JOBS Act, which went into effect this month. The profile page will evolve over the next few months, culminating in ability for companies to advertise and connect with accredited investors pursuant to Title II.
Dupee expects many larger craft breweries will create a profile in anticipation of a different provision in the JOBS Act. Specifically, Title III of the JOBS Act will for the first time allow private companies to sell shares to the general public. According to Dupee, Title III could function as a mini I.P.O, allowing breweries to provide passionate customers with unique ownership experiences. "Craft beer and food is very much about engaging consumers and creating experiences for consumers to participate in," explains Dupee. "Ownership is the ultimate form of engagement; however there are very few ownership experiences in craft beer and food right now due to regulations." Depending on how the SEC writes the final rule, Dupee believes Title III could provide a more reasonable path for breweries to become like Boston Beer and offer shares to passionate customers.
Because companies might create profiles as they wait to see how Title III unfolds, Dupee stresses that a profile page should not be equated with an immediate capital need or active raise. "We hope every brewery and brewery in planning creates a profile that they can then choose to activate at some point down the road," says Dupee. "We want to become the go-to store for investments and ownership experiences in craft beer and food."
About CraftFund LLC
CraftFund LLC is a niche equity crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on the craft beer and food industries. Crowdfunding represents an alternative source of capital that is more consistent with beer and food companies' brand and mission. CraftFund is currently building its platform to connect beer and food companies with passionate investors pursuant to new laws on the state and federal levels. To learn more, please visit http://www.craftfund.com.
David C. Dupee, CraftFund LLC, http://www.craftfund.com, +1 (414) 731-6739, [email protected]
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