Port City Brewing Company Founder Launches World Class Idea in Local Community

Best Success Story:

We have been able to secure distribution in our first year. Our beers are now available in 500 locations in the Mid Atlantic — in to 250 restaurants and bars and 250 retailers.

This is due to two factors: the quality of our beer, and the pent up demand for great quality local craft beer. We have been able to scale up production to continue to produce consistent quality and maintain supply.

Biggest Startup Challenge:

The biggest challenge was securing the financing for our project. We are in a capital intensive industry, and we were organizing the business during 2008 and 2009 when the credit markets were pretty much shut down, especially for a small business with a limited track record.

We talked to ten banks before we found a bank that wanted to work with us. It ended up being a regional business bank that understood the potential of our business, and what it could mean to the local community.

#1 Tip for Entrepreneurs:

You cannot start a successful new business if you have any self doubt about whether it will work or not. You must find a way to eliminate any self doubt about what you are doing and whether it will work. Others will question you and doubt that you can succeed, and you must ignore all of this in order to have a chance at success. If you don’t believe in yourself completely, then no one else will either!

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