‘Milking’ the web for funds

 

 

 

Community > Business News

‘Milking’ the web for funds

By ERIK SANDIN

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Sarah Kowal has a plan. Open a retail store-restaurant in downtown River Falls, Wis., selling Wisconsin-made value and specialty cheeses, maple syrup and honey and grilled cheese sandwiches and soups made from locally sourced ingredients.

Kowal has the idea spot picked out in the 100 block of South Main Street in River Falls that see high foot and vehicle traffic.

All Kowal needs is money. For that, the entrepreneur has turned to the Internet.

Kowal has turned to a website to raise $100,000 by the end of February to help finance the opening of her business, WeatherVane Creameries. So far, Kowal’s Internet effort has raised about $1,500 “without a lot of effort.”

That’s far from Kowal’s goal, but she said the effort has caught the attention of commercial and development bankers interested in funding Kowal’s venture.

Kowal said the interest bankers are showing in her business idea is a far cry from her initial search for financial backing for WeatherVane Creameries.

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate said she developed her business plan for WeatherVane last spring.

“I started my business plan in May. I had an investor in Chicago,” Kowal said.

But Kowal’s financing plans were stopped in November when her Chicago backer dropped out of the deal, telling Kowal that he learned his business partner had apparently been stealing money from him.

“I was working with a friend in Chicago since November,” she said. “We had weekly calls about how we’re going to make this happen.”

Kowal said the idea to raise money through the Internet resulted from a wealth seminar she attended with her friend, Maikal Akintonde.

“I threw my silverware in my car to pawn something, because I literally had no money,” she said.

Kowal said her “crowd sourcing” idea to raise capital was further refined with advice from a friend in Portland, Ore., who was using the idea in a campaign against lead poisoning.

“All this stuff literally came together,” she said.

Kowal said resorted to the Internet to raise capital because of the difficulty she had getting bank financing.

“I was feeling discouraged about banks,” she said. “A lot of small businesses are being financed by credit cards, which doesn’t help us get out of this mess. That’s not how I want to start my business.

“I want my funding to come from my community,” she adds.

It is a community where Kowal lived 10 years ago while getting her horticulture degree and interning at a Lake Elmo organic farm.

“That’s where I got my interest in co-operatives and food,” she said.

Since returning to River Falls, Kowal found what she said is the perfect spot for WeatherVane Creamery between a cafe and bakery.

“It gets over 14,000 cars past it every day,” she said. “Kitty-corner from it, Nash Finch is changing an Econo Foods (grocery store) to a Family Fresh. They’ve raised buildings on that block and made a parking lot. People can see my store from the parking lot. It’s heavily foot-trafficked.”

Why a cheese shop? Kowal said the reason is simple.

“The biggest food buyers of specialty cheese are 25- to 34-year olds with an average annual income of $70,000,” she said.

Kowal plans to use suppliers in a wide perimeter of the River Falls area.

“Everything has to be local. I also want to keep it simple for everyone involved,” she said. “It’s all Wisconsin. Everything. Whole Earth Grocery roasts its own coffee. I’m working with them on an exclusive blend based on a recipe I found in Portland.”

Although Kowal’s Internet fundraising campaign has raised less than $2,000, she is confident of reaching her $100,000 goal by her late February deadline.

“I plan to hit the goal by Feb. 23,” she said. “I’m certain the money will show up. I want to open on April 1.”

 

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