Mission Brewery has launched a stock purchase campaign unlike any other. In honor of its 10th anniversary, the San Diego community has the opportunity to invest in Mission through an online application on the website WeFunder.
The platform connects investors to publicly and privately held companies, giving the unaccredited public the opportunity to purchase shares in the company during a two-month window. This is the first time this is being done by a brewery in San Diego and it’s the only opportunity for unaccredited investors in the area.
“Our hands have been tied over the last 10 years limiting us to accredited investors only, which is 6 percent of the population [of San Diego] to fund Mission,” said Dan Selis, Mission Brewery‘s president, founder and CEO. An accredited investor is defined as someone who earns $200,000 a year individually, $300,000 jointly or has $1 million in assets. Mission has kept its investor pool small by requiring a minimum investment of $100,000. Previous investor rules only allowed accredited investors with a certain income and net worth to participate in lucrative investments. The “JOBS Act,” Title III, grants regulation crowdfunding and Title IV grants non-accredited investors (someone who does not meet the net worth requirements under the Securities & Exchange Commission’s regulations) the ability to participate in alternative investments. Virtually anyone can invest in Mission Brewery through WeFunder.
“This new law and process allows us to be more inclusive and open up the opportunity to a larger group,” Selis said. “This is a more inclusive process that we never could have done ourselves. The paperwork alone would have buried us even if the law allowed. This is a way to involve San Diegan’s and true beer lovers across the country and keep our brewery local.”
Selis said several competitors in other cities outside of California have raised $1 million in less populated areas and not in beer centric areas like San Diego.
Selis said as of late last week, the brewery has already brought on 132 new shareholders for a total of $85,506.
“We are on track to fund the targeted $1 million,” Selis said.
The goal is to bring Mission, which produced nearly 13,000 barrels in 2016 into households nation-wide and open more tasting rooms for San Diego.
“Now is the time [for the public] to join us in investing in the company and becoming part of the local craft beer family and officially own a piece of San Diego’s beer history.”
The platform calculates how much unaccredited investors can invest annually based on net worth and income. The minimum investment is $200 and the opportunity to invest is open online for two months. Once the investment goal of $1 million is reached, the opportunity will be closed and hopeful investors will be put on a waiting list.
“Investing doesn’t just help the brewery but it gives San Diegans the chance to become a part of the local San Diego beer scene as more than just a consumer or home brewer,” Selis said. “The short answer is growth.”
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