FINANCING & FUNDING: SHOW ME THE MONEY
Figuring out how to fund your business idea can be the hardest step. For businesses like Defunkify and The Bier Stein, they utilized their networks and other community institutions.
Article by DESTINY ALVAREZ
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Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the American dream and yet so many are unsupported and left struggling to find their way in a deteriorating ecosystem—but that’s not the case for many Eugene-based business owners.
Eugene’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem is setting local businesses up for success by fostering innovation, connecting them with investors and providing them with resources and guidelines to help finance business and make Eugene an epicenter for small businesses and start-up companies. Troy Potter, owner of The Bier Stein, a connoisseur beer shop and pub in downtown said since he’s taken over the business from his friends and long-time owners Chip and Kristina Hardy, he’s felt the city’s support for local entrepreneurs is unmatched. |
“This place has become more of a community center than anything,” Potter said. “People are here all the time—business meetings, dinners and parties. Without that support, we wouldn’t be here.”
-Troy Potter
-Troy Potter
The Bier Stein sells over 1,000 different bottles and 30 different taps of craft beer and was just named the best bar in Eugene by Eugene Weekly, said a very proud Potter.
Potter’s journey to owning The Bier Stein started with utilizing the numerous free resources, including how-to guides, policy and regulations pamphlets, local economic information, provided by the state of Oregon. The city of Eugene helped him develop a business plan that successfully landed him a small-business loan through a local branch of Banner Bank.
According to Potter, Banner Bank was instrumental, but every company he came in contact with really cared about helping him succeed. He said the availability of those resources and the overall supportive nature of the community to enhance entrepreneurial development made his transition into a business owner much easier than he expected.
“Financing was a rollercoaster, it took about a year to get funding and I didn’t have a lot of money when I started,” Potter said. “I turned over every rock I possibly could to get it. Having a place like this that so willingly provides those resources shows how much they want people to grow.”
Traditionally, would-be business owners expect to take on a lot when trying to finance their companies. This extra load is something Mike Murphy, a senior vice president and division manager for the Eugene branch of Banner Bank said he hopes to help small business owners navigate.
“Small business has always been a part of the history of Banner Bank,” Murphy said. “We feel privileged to be among those [in Eugene] that get called in to help these business owners succeed.”
Murphy said at Banner, they pride themselves on providing as many programs and as much assistance, like small business loans, as possible. But from creating detailed business plans, pitching them to banks and investors, finding ways to effectively finance a company can be almost as difficult as running one.
For Richard Geiger, CEO of Eugene-based startup company Defunkify, fundraising to finance the company became like a second job.
“If you’re opening a traditional restaurant, you're going to have economics that makes sense to normal funding institutions like banks,” Geiger said. “For a startup, it’s not like that at all; it all comes from investors, from angels to venture capitalists. Take Tesla for example. You aren’t going to start Tesla with a bank loan.”
Geiger’s company Defunkify, originally called deFUNKit, is a line of environmentally-friendly performance laundry detergent and products that made headlines for how well it worked when it launched in 2017. Defunkify emerged out of its parent company, Dune Sciences, run by Geiger’s business partners John Miller and Jim Hutchison, two leaders in surface chemistry and engineered materials research from the University of Oregon.
After starting with small investments from family and friends, Geiger said the company applied for and became a finalist in the 2014 Willamette Angel Conference, an investment conference that aimed to enhance entrepreneurial development by connecting angel investors, high net-worth individuals that invest in new startup ventures, with new companies that have potential.
“Getting connected to investors is a key part of that financial process. For every one of us who comes first, it’s going to be easier for everyone after us.”
Defunkify won at the WAC and received an investment that launched them into a well-known brand that works with Summit Bank in Eugene. They are now in their first round of securing venture capital investments but are still thriving. The product is available in over 2300 grocery and local stores, including Safeway, Albertsons and additional Eugene-based companies.
Both companies, while functioning in different industries, are great examples of the possibilities that come from a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, where both the community and the company thrive.
“It's pretty clear that there's a group of people that are really trying to build an ecosystem here for small startups and businesses,” Geiger said. “And that's why I'm here. It’s not just about helping to connect people to funding but helping connect companies to other companies, so now we collaborate a lot with other small companies. And the network is really helpful, not to mention, I love having meetings at The Bier Stein."
Potter’s journey to owning The Bier Stein started with utilizing the numerous free resources, including how-to guides, policy and regulations pamphlets, local economic information, provided by the state of Oregon. The city of Eugene helped him develop a business plan that successfully landed him a small-business loan through a local branch of Banner Bank.
According to Potter, Banner Bank was instrumental, but every company he came in contact with really cared about helping him succeed. He said the availability of those resources and the overall supportive nature of the community to enhance entrepreneurial development made his transition into a business owner much easier than he expected.
“Financing was a rollercoaster, it took about a year to get funding and I didn’t have a lot of money when I started,” Potter said. “I turned over every rock I possibly could to get it. Having a place like this that so willingly provides those resources shows how much they want people to grow.”
Traditionally, would-be business owners expect to take on a lot when trying to finance their companies. This extra load is something Mike Murphy, a senior vice president and division manager for the Eugene branch of Banner Bank said he hopes to help small business owners navigate.
“Small business has always been a part of the history of Banner Bank,” Murphy said. “We feel privileged to be among those [in Eugene] that get called in to help these business owners succeed.”
Murphy said at Banner, they pride themselves on providing as many programs and as much assistance, like small business loans, as possible. But from creating detailed business plans, pitching them to banks and investors, finding ways to effectively finance a company can be almost as difficult as running one.
For Richard Geiger, CEO of Eugene-based startup company Defunkify, fundraising to finance the company became like a second job.
“If you’re opening a traditional restaurant, you're going to have economics that makes sense to normal funding institutions like banks,” Geiger said. “For a startup, it’s not like that at all; it all comes from investors, from angels to venture capitalists. Take Tesla for example. You aren’t going to start Tesla with a bank loan.”
Geiger’s company Defunkify, originally called deFUNKit, is a line of environmentally-friendly performance laundry detergent and products that made headlines for how well it worked when it launched in 2017. Defunkify emerged out of its parent company, Dune Sciences, run by Geiger’s business partners John Miller and Jim Hutchison, two leaders in surface chemistry and engineered materials research from the University of Oregon.
After starting with small investments from family and friends, Geiger said the company applied for and became a finalist in the 2014 Willamette Angel Conference, an investment conference that aimed to enhance entrepreneurial development by connecting angel investors, high net-worth individuals that invest in new startup ventures, with new companies that have potential.
“Getting connected to investors is a key part of that financial process. For every one of us who comes first, it’s going to be easier for everyone after us.”
Defunkify won at the WAC and received an investment that launched them into a well-known brand that works with Summit Bank in Eugene. They are now in their first round of securing venture capital investments but are still thriving. The product is available in over 2300 grocery and local stores, including Safeway, Albertsons and additional Eugene-based companies.
Both companies, while functioning in different industries, are great examples of the possibilities that come from a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, where both the community and the company thrive.
“It's pretty clear that there's a group of people that are really trying to build an ecosystem here for small startups and businesses,” Geiger said. “And that's why I'm here. It’s not just about helping to connect people to funding but helping connect companies to other companies, so now we collaborate a lot with other small companies. And the network is really helpful, not to mention, I love having meetings at The Bier Stein."
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