Boston Beer Company’s founder Jim Koch announced on a visit to the Wall Street Journal on Monday, a special loan program targeting upstart breweries. This new loan program is an extension of Boston Beer’s “Brewing The American Dream” program, founded in 2008 to stimulate the food & beverage industry.
Jim Koch has pledged $100,000 to assist small breweries with start up costs. The assistance goes beyond just loans & cash. Koch and other employees plan on volunteering time in the form of seminars, webinars and hands on events to guide the fledgling breweries. Not just on the art of brewing but assistance with tough questions about buisness models, leases, and employee pay structure.
Koch & Boston Beer Company has made many micro loans to start up businesses. Over 50 to date. In 2011, the 100k capital will be given to Accion USA, whom will manage and underwrite the loans. Koch has a great quote in the article – “We all grow together, or not at all.”
The program’s expansion will be announced Tuesday. <Wall Street Journal>
