{"id":8411,"date":"2016-02-21T18:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T01:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/?p=8411"},"modified":"2016-02-19T12:21:53","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T19:21:53","slug":"accion-teams-with-national-craft-brewer-to-coach-local-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/articles\/starting-or-growing-a-business\/accion-teams-with-national-craft-brewer-to-coach-local-entrepreneurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Accion Teams With National Craft Brewer to Coach Local Entrepreneurs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"By<\/a>

By Justin Hyde, New Mexico Market Manager, Accion<\/p><\/div>\n

Nico Ortiz needed money in 2001 after exhausting the startup capital that helped him launch Turtle Mountain Brewing Company in Rio Rancho two years earlier. But without a five-year track record, he said, \u201cno lender would touch me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loan officers suggested Accion New Mexico, and there Ortiz\u2019s luck changed. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a big loan,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe $20,000. But it enabled me to get over the hump\u201d and sustain the business until its fifth birthday, when traditional lenders were willing to lend. Today the company employs nearly three times as many people as it did in 1999, and its gross revenue has quadrupled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccion is critical, because the (business) failure rate for zero to five years \u2014 especially for restaurants \u2014 is ginormous,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cThey help fine companies survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabe Jensen, a board member of the New Mexico Brewers Guild, also borrowed from Accion to open Albuquerque\u2019s Bosque Brewing Company in 2012. \u201cA traditional lender wasn\u2019t interested in lending to a startup with no experience in the industry; at the time, breweries were lumped into the \u2018restaurant\u2019 (category) \u2014 a much riskier segment to finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Past<\/a>

Past speed coaching event; courtesy of the Boston Beer Company<\/p><\/div>\n

His first loan was for $100,000 to buy fermenters, serving tanks, barrels and other equipment. Jensen later returned for expansion money \u2014 a total package of $300,000. The brewery produced 4,000 barrels \u2014 about 124,000 gallons \u2014 of beer in 2015. \u201cThe paperwork and process of getting a loan (with Accion) is easy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels like you\u2019re part of an extended family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jensen will share his expertise with other aspiring brewers and entrepreneurs on Feb. 23 in a free business-coaching event sponsored by Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program in partnership with Accion; the Accion U.S. Network is the largest nonprofit micro- and small-business network in the United States.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not representing the guild in an official capacity at the speed-coaching event, he said, but plans to \u201ctout the benefits of membership to anyone who will listen. I have experience in other industries, like software development and commercial real estate appraisal, so I feel like I can provide a well-rounded platform for advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event aims to help entrepreneurs in food- and beverage-based businesses get solid answers to questions about marketing, packaging, sales and distribution and legal and financial challenges. It\u2019s scheduled for 5:30 to 8 p.m. at FatPipe ABQ co-working space, 200 Broadway Blvd. N.E., in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

During the networking reception at 5:30 p.m., participants sign up for the consulting stations most relevant to their concerns. At 6 p.m., they begin their circuit, spending 20 minutes at each station receiving personalized coaching from local pros and experts from Accion and Samuel Adams, which grew in 31 years from a small, regional microbrewery into America\u2019s leading craft brewery.<\/p>\n

Organizers urge registrants to bring specific questions and samples of packaging, point-of-sale items and other materials on which they seek feedback. Registration is required at: http:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/samuel-adams-brewing-the-american-dream-speed-coaching-albuquerque-tickets-20772156078<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Accion has helped a growing number of breweries and distilleries in New Mexico, including Firkin Brewhouse, Distillery 365 and Quarter Celtic Brewpub \u2014 in its 22 years of serving small businesses. For information about an Accion loan, call 505.243.8844 or visit www.us.accion.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Download 438_Accion Teams With National Craft Brewer to Coach Local Entrepreneurs<\/a> PDF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nico Ortiz needed money in 2001 after exhausting the startup capital that helped him launch Turtle Mountain Brewing Company in Rio Rancho two years earlier. But without a five-year track record, he said, \u201cno lender would touch me.\u201d Loan officers … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8411"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8417,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8411\/revisions\/8417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}