ParrotDog
Age of company:
8 years
Sector:
Food and Beverage
Annual Revenue:
$2.8 million (in FYE 2017)
Campaign link:
Total Raised:
$3 million*
Number of Investors
1,100+
Country:
New Zealand
*Over 2 equity crowdfunding campaigns
Background
In 2011, Two Matts started home brewing beer in their flat in Aro Valley. It was pretty good! Parrotdog was born.
Another Matt came along and they did a contract brew in Taranaki, turning out an India Pale Ale called Bitterbitch.
It was a massive hit.
They moved into their first space in Wellington city. The brewery grew organically. They went on to take home accolades from the Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards and the Australian International Beer Awards.
In 2016, their factory hit capacity.
“(Did we want) a Big Daddy investor, or a crowd whoβd drink beer with us?
”
ParrotDog Timeline
What worked well?
They had fun throughout the campaigns and they were totally themselves the whole time. Case in point: this video. They also offered fun rewards for their crowd, like a beer mug behind the bar with your name on it if you pledged over a certain amount of money.
They were prepared with a planned out process. They wanted to win fast or lose fast. There was even a full day-by-day plan on the wall in the crowded Parrotdog office.
They built anticipation with a newsletter for interested investors, with numbers of subscribers increasing from 800 to 4,000, pre-campaign launch. They sent out regular digests with information to build the anticipation in their crowd. They even provided their full offer document one week before the campaign launched.
They gained respect by doing things thoroughly. Their information memorandum was thoughtfully designed and they also hosted an investment evening.
Conclusion
Parrotdog raised $2mil in 2 days. And another $1mil the year after.
After their first round of investment, they handed sales and distribution activities to a third party and put all their focus on fitting out the Lyall Bay brewery. They released their first cider, opened Nice. Takeaway, and took home 13 medals at BGNZ and ABIA awards. The next round of investment (beautifully entitled Get the Next Round) allowed them to bring sales and distribution back in house, open ParrotDog Bar, and introduce cans to their product mix.
Putting it into practice
Build anticipation before you launch
Start a newsletter for interested investors. Post about it on your socials. Set up a page on your website.
Get prepared
Make a plan. It doesnβt have to be day by day, but you should generally know who is doing what and when.
Pull your docs together
This can take longer than you think. Even with expert help, itβs still up to you to understand everything and commit to everything your offer document says. If itβs all done early, you can put it to your potential investors.
How can PledgeMe help?
If youβre considering an equity crowdfunding campaign, weβre ready to help. Contact us for a chat.
You can also learn more about creating crowdfunding campaigns in New Zealand or in Australia on our main website.