Okay, we admit it — we're pretty proud of Jen and Sam. Former Infomedians, they've made good on their promise to fight the good fight for local food.
Okay, we admit it — we’re pretty proud of Jen and Sam. Former Infomedians, Jen Barnett and Sam Brasseale have made good on their promise to fight the good fight for local food, creating Freshfully from the ground up through web savvy, crowd-funding, and good old-fashioned hard work.
Last week we brought you a couple of local Kickstarter projects, but we knew Freshfully went another direction with their pitch to fund a cafe in their already successful local market in Avondale. The cafe is now serving up really delicious treats, from sandwiches to smoothies (seriously, we’ve had them — they’re fantastic), so we asked Jen a little about how it was done.
IndieGoGo Means Keeping Your Money
“We used IndieGoGo, primarily because you were able to collect your conributions even if you didn’t make your full goal,” she said. “You need to put a lot of time and effort into letting your supporters know about the campaign, and having nothing to show for all that work can be disatrous for a business that already has real expenses.”
Crowd-funding Means Customers, Not Investors, Have Your Loyalty
On why she went the direction of crowd-funding over traditional investor funding, Jen says the crowdfunding route gives her more freedom to do what’s best for her customers and for Freshfully: “Dealing with investors and with customers at the same time really splits your efforts. Our customers are a completely different demographic from investors, I had to decide if I wanted to put on my overalls and sell veggies, or put on a suit and sell my business. Right now, I’d rather sell veggies.”
Testing the Market Before You Launch
Another benefit to crowd-funding your business? Knowing if there are customers who want to buy what you’re selling — before you open a business or expand. it. “We did crowd-funding about one and a half years into our business to build a new part of our business,” Jen says. “I think it’s brilliant for new businesses, because you can know quickly if there’s a market for your product. I am a big fan of the minimally viable product!”
Check out Freshfully’s menu and stop by soon for a seriously delicious — and local — lunch!
Photo Credit: B-Metro via http://b-metro.com/10-spots-my-favorite-places/8552/
