Food-based businesses can solve our social and environmental problems — yet the majority of food entrepreneurs say lack of access to capital prevents them from launching or growing their ventures.
Raising Dough: The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business is an unprecedented guide to the financing options available to support sustainable food businesses. I was frustrated that no good resource existed that outlined the capital options available for food businesses — including pros, cons, criteria, and sources — and so I decided to write the book myself! Chelsea Green published it in June of 2013, and it is now available through a variety of channels.
In simple terms, Raising Dough provides valuable insights into the world of finance, including descriptions of the various capital options available (including traditional debt and equity, government grant and loan programs, cutting-edge social finance options such as crowdfunding, and community-based alternatives); guidelines for choosing which capital options are the most appropriate given the size, stage, entity type, growth plans, mission, and values of an enterprise; testimonials highlighting the experiences of food system entrepreneurs who have been there before (including both success stories and cautionary tales); and referrals to sources of capital, financiers, investor networks, and other financial resources.
Supplementary content available here at http://www.financeforfood.com will include legal templates to help entrepreneurs draft agreements with investors and business planning tools to complement the book. Designed primarily for people managing values-based food businesses, social entrepreneurs in any sector will find the tools and resources in this book invaluable, as will investors and others who want to support the good food movement.