Local Brewery Crowdfunds Start-Up
June 25, 2015

WEST PLAINS, MO – Wages Brew Company (WBCo) of West Plains has launched a fundraising drive with a twist as its next step toward opening doors later this year. “Founding Memberships” are being sold to raise $10,000 by July 1 that will enable the fledgling company to access further financing via a small business loan, said owner Phil Wages, who describes this approach as “crowdfunding like Kickstarter, but in person.”

Kickstarter is an online fundraising venue in which startups offer a sampling of their offerings to financial “backers” who pledge to contribute donations of a certain amount of money toward a project. In a similar vein, WBCo is offering unique benefits to supporters of WBCo’s opening.

Wages said this current fundraiser is part of a much larger fundraising effort. Ultimately, he said, the goal is to raise a total of $20,000 by September 1. “That’s for an opening with more equipment so we can supply more beer to more people,” he said, adding that “for those who want to have a greater level of involvement, we have pieces of equipment to sponsor which will make our opening that much more spectacular.”

WBCo consists of Wages, co-owner and wife Amber, and brewing team members Nathan Burch and Aym Fischer.

*This story was picked up by Ozark Radio Network originally airing on June 2, 2015!