Yeastie Boys announce equity crowdfunding campaign

Wellington-based craft brewery Yeastie Boys will officially launch its equity crowdfunding campaign at 6pm on 28 January.

The bell ringing will take place at the Golding's Free Dive - a craft beer pub, obviously, where guests will be ready for the countdown from 5.50pm.

The brewery is seeking to raise $500,000 through the campaign.

Yeastie Boys was founded by Stu McKinlay and Sam Possenniskie. The brewers don't actually own a brewery: the beer is contract-brewed at several locations and then sold in New Zealand and other countries.

The crowdfunding campaign has the goal of taking the Yeastie Boys brand to the UK where they expect to start brewing (the beer is already sold in the country, shipped from New Zealand).

Brewing in Britain will be more sustainable, cutting 25% off their price to market and 6 to 8 weeks off their lead time for orders in the UK and Europe.

“We’d already thought of brewing in Britain and locked in a Scottish brewery while we were over there in February” said Directive Creator Sam Possenniskie, “but the fact that our first shipment from New Zealand sold out before it even made it halfway to Britain just pushed our decision forward.”

 

Love money

The craft brewers say they have been approached by numerous potential investors over the years but have always been interested in growing the business with people who share their passion for craft beer - not ust the potential to make money. The emergence of equity crowdfunding - created through the Financial Markets Conduct Act last year - finally made their dream a reality.

“Institutional investors would call this dumb money but we call it love money” says Stu McKinlay, “We’re looking for people who we want to high-five and hug at our AGM rather than people who simply want us to make them more paper. It all looks a bit new age but, in reality, it’s a technologically assisted step back to the traditional ways that businesses started – friends, family and a whole lot of passionate people who actually want to make the world a better place while they drink great beer and make a few dollars.”

Production in Britain is planned for April 2015. New Zealand beer lovers will be pleased to know that the move into Europe does not signal a halt in Yeastie Boys’ operations at home.

“We’re still basing everything out of New Zealand with the same lean business model in Britain” said Stu McKinlay, who will set up operations in the northern hemisphere. “New Zealand will always be the home of Yeastie Boys, we’ve still got big plans for Asia, Australia and New Zealand over the next few years. I’ll be back before most people even realise I’m gone!”

Yeastie Boys currently have over 600 people signed up to the mailing list as potential investors