Finnish business journal “Talouselämä” wrote about Sori Brewing
Sori Brewing raised a total of 451 700 EUR (625 000 USD) through an equity based crowdfunding. We heard that is a some sort of record in Finland. We also got awesome people behind us who are driven to take Sori to the next level of craft brewing.
It has been a long road with our crowdfunding financing round and now we wanted to share you the wisdom we have learned through this journey. This all wouldn’t have been possible without the support and loving of our families, the mentoring advisory board and of course the investors who have faith on Sori Brewing as a business.
We have been asked a lot “how did you guys do that?” and since there’s no simple answer, we sat down and gave it some thought. Like a great craft brew, it’s a recipe that is brewed by the people, so the main ingredient in this one is the people behind.
This is our recipe to this point
1. Have a clear vision – and also have faith in it!
You can’t be a bouncing ball. Have a vision and stand by it. Some times people try to take hits on you, but never let them bring you down. If it is something you believe in from all your heart, go for it. You have to build your faith in your cause, make it an ambition. But have your arguments ready, because in business world it’s not all about believing in beautiful stories.
I was not born with tremendous ambition. -Roger Moore
2. Do your homework.
Some say that “stop thinking, start doing”. Well, when it comes to serious business like financing or starting up a business, you should “stop doing and start thinking” first. We took over half a year just doing research and not just every now and then – it practically was our day job to gather information. When you have all the information needed, you need to validate it and figure out how to use it. Personally we believe that within a year we have learned more than in five years in the university.
Whether it is fact checking, practical assistance or mentoring, you need to ask for help. Sometimes people help you without you asking but usually the best results come when you ask for it. And people love when they feel that they can help in something. Secondly, when someone asks your help, you better help, because we believe in karma.
Sori Brewing talking about International Craft Beer in OlutExpo 2013
3. Be open and admit your shortcomings.
We are not perfect. We always have our shortcomings but we do our best to eliminate them and learn. When you are open with your ideas and let people close to you, even take some shots at you, you gradually grow up and shine!
For us one of the most significant learning process was how we do presentations and how we communicate with people during it. When we got to that zone that was more of our alley, which is presenting things through humor, people noticed that we are more relaxed and perform better.
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations. -Steve Jobs
4. Time
To make big things, you have to give it your full attention. When you are doing something new and something extraordinary, make sure you have the time it needs. This means that you have to give up some things that are valuable for you, whether it is the time you have with your loved ones or with things you love. The task at hand must be the number one passion – until you finish it, of course.
5. Luck
There are always points where you can’t be totally in control. For us those have been the people we have gathered around us, the timing for everything and of course the fact how people have welcomed us. But the most of your luck is because of hard work – people will follow, things will click and people will love your vision.
Chance favours the prepared mind. The more you practice, the luckier you become. -Richard Branson