Boston Beer founder and chairman Jim Koch runs a program that supports small craft brewers - Brewing The American Dream.
Nearly four decades ago, Jim Koch helped spark a craft beer revolution when he launched Sam Adams. That brand became the centerpiece of Boston Beer, a publicly traded company with $2.1 billion in annual revenues. Now, as both the number of craft breweries and those breweries' obstacles to profitability spike, Koch wants to protect the craft beer revolution at all costs—even by funding those who might end up being his own competition.
Microbrewers setting out today face high startup costs and a dearth of banks willing to lend small sums. Remembering his own difficulty obtaining initial financing for Sam Adams, Koch created a program called Brewing the American Dream to provide loans and mentorship to small food and beverage entrepreneurs. The program has partnered with microfinance nonprofit Accion Opportunity Fund to loan out $99 million since its founding in 2008, and Koch says the repayment rate has been 96%. This year the program will cross the $100 million mark.
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