Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream (Video)

In 1984, Jim Koch started the Boston Beer Company on a shoestring. No one had heard of high-quality, full flavored American beer. He believed in his beer, and believed that with a little luck people would try Samuel Adams and come to love it. Against the odds, a movement began, and the American craft beer revolution was born. In June 2008, Jim decided that the time was right for us to create a philanthropic program that stems from who we are as a company and provides a real benefit to those we sought to assist.With Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, we have started a revolution of a different kind, one that champions the great ideas and dreams of small business owners nationwide who are pursuing their passion in the food and beverage, hospitality, and craft brewing industries.

CHICAGO, April 30, 2015 — Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a micro-lending and coaching program for small business owners working in food, beverage and craft brewing, announced it will host its regional Pitch Room competition and small business Speed Coaching event in Chicago on Monday, May 4^th.

The Brewing the American Dream Pitch Room, a national competition that helps food and beverage business owners perfect the art of the sales pitch, is in Chicago for the first regional event of 2015. Starting at 5:00 p.m. CT at Ignite Glass Studios (401 N. Armour Street), entrepreneurs will present their best sales pitch to a panel of expert judges including:

• Jim Koch, brewer and founder, Samuel Adams
• Michael Arndt, Editor, Crain’s Chicago Business
• Michael Binstein, CEO, Binny’s Beverage Depot
• Jay Goltz, CEO, The Goltz Group
• Dave Hoemann, COO, Giordano’s
• Jon Jahnke, General Manager, Town and Country Distributors

After providing critical, impactful advice to each of the participants, the judges will select a regional winner based on criteria including quality of pitch, creativity, passion, and product viability. Chicago’s winner will be invited to the New York City finals in December where they’ll have the opportunity to compete for a $10,000 business grant and extended mentoring from Samuel Adams.

More information for anyone interested in attending can be found at http://btad.samueladams.com/en/about/pitch-room.aspx.

"Last year we had the opportunity to work with a variety of terrific local small businesses including The CoffeeCake Connection and Torti Products," commented Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. "As we host our second Pitch Room competition and fourth Speed Coaching event in Chicago, we’re looking forward to connecting more passionate entrepreneurs with industry experts to provide the practical know-how that’s so critical to growing a small business."

Small Business Speed Coaching in Chicago

The Speed Coaching portion of the evening, held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. CT, is a free event open to any small business owner in the food, beverage and craft brewing industries. Attendees will participate in up to six 20-minute, high-impact coaching sessions in areas such as sales and distribution, packaging, and finance with expert coaches from Samuel Adams, local-area businesses, and Accion, the nation’s leading nonprofit provider of small business capital and coaching. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to bring questions about specific business challenges they face, as well as samples of packaging, point-of-sale items, and other material that they would like feedback on.

Small business owners can register online for this free event at https://btadspeedcoachingchicago.eventbrite.com.

Year Round Lending Spurs Small Business Success

Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream continues to support Chicago small businesses year-round, in partnership with national nonprofit micro-and small business lender Accion, by providing microloans to entrepreneurs who are often shut out of traditional lending institutions. Since 2012, the program has seen beyond the barriers that many of these viable small businesses face — from lack of credit to requests for small loan amounts to the volatile nature of the food and beverage industry — and provided nearly$400,000 to almost 60 entrepreneurs in the Chicagoland area.

"Sibylicious Cupcake Cafe is a great example of how the Brewing the American Dream program is helping local Chicagoland small businesses," said Jonathan Brereton, CEO of Accion Chicago. "After receiving a loan through Accion Chicago and one-on-one mentoring from Samuel Adams, owner Sibyl Peeples has developed a new marketing and social media strategy, which has helped her to grow her cupcake business, and she’s looking forward to getting more valuable advice at the upcoming Speed Coaching event on May 4th."

Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Inspiration and Impact

Samuel Adams is celebrating 31 years of brewing, and despite the craft brewery’s success, Jim Koch hasn’t forgotten how hard it is to start and run a successful small business. That’s why he created Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a unique program that provides the two things he wishes he had when starting Samuel Adams: financing and real-world business advice.

As the core philanthropic program for Samuel Adams, Brewing the American Dream is executed in partnership with Accion–the largest nonprofit micro- and small business lender in the United States. Since 2008, through the support of Brewing the American Dream, Accion has lent more than $4.1 million to nearly 475 businesses. Just as important, the program has coached or mentored over 4,000 businesses and created or saved more than 2,000 jobs. To learn more please visit: http://btad.samueladams.com.

Samuel Adams, Sam Adams, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream are registered trademarks of The Boston Beer Company.