The Boston Globe reports that Samuel Adams beer owner Boston Beer Co. plans to expand nationwide with an initiative designed to help local small businesses.
According to the story, the company began its “Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream” in 2008, working with micro-lender Accion “to help small businesses with mentoring support as well as with loans that generally run in the range of $1,000 to $20,000.
“Boston Beer founder Jim Koch has said that his own experience persuaded him to launch the program. When his company started out in the mid 1980s, banks turned down Koch’s loan requests on the grounds that a chap armed only with a family beer recipe was not a safe bet. One goal of the American Dream program is to help small businesses that traditional banks deem as too risky.”
The story notes that “the program focuses on small businesses with a connection to the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. Since the launch, there have been 74 New England beneficiaries of the program, Boston Beer said. Last year, the program was expanded outside of New England to include New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Greater Chicago.
“In its Tuesday announcement, Boston Beer said the American Dream program will now be eligible to small businesses across the country, and the goal is to target at least $1 million in new loans.”
According to the story, the company began its “Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream” in 2008, working with micro-lender Accion “to help small businesses with mentoring support as well as with loans that generally run in the range of $1,000 to $20,000.
“Boston Beer founder Jim Koch has said that his own experience persuaded him to launch the program. When his company started out in the mid 1980s, banks turned down Koch’s loan requests on the grounds that a chap armed only with a family beer recipe was not a safe bet. One goal of the American Dream program is to help small businesses that traditional banks deem as too risky.”
The story notes that “the program focuses on small businesses with a connection to the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. Since the launch, there have been 74 New England beneficiaries of the program, Boston Beer said. Last year, the program was expanded outside of New England to include New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Greater Chicago.
“In its Tuesday announcement, Boston Beer said the American Dream program will now be eligible to small businesses across the country, and the goal is to target at least $1 million in new loans.”
- KC's View:
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I love stories like this, and companies like this.
And as a bonus, they make great beer.
