Amagansett Food Institute Will Host Series Of 'Crowdfunding For Small Food Business' Meet-Ups

The Amagansett Food Institute will host the first in a series of small food business meet-up events, which aim to provide small food producers networking opportunities, with “Crowdfunding for Small Food Business” on Thursday, June 22, at Plain-T in Southampton Village.

Cheryl Clements, the founder and chief executive officer of PieShell, will give a presentation about the best practices of crowdfunding, explain what reward-based crowdfunding is and how it can be beneficial for small food businesses.

PieShell is specifically designed to resolve the challenges small businesses find on established crowdfunding sites and improve the 75 percent failure rate on other platforms, Ms. Clements said. The company starts by incubating the startups through the crowdfunding process, ensuring they are following best practices, which sets them up for greater success. It provides support from beginning to end and employs built-in stretch goals—that is, greater rewards for financial backers when higher and higher fundraising goals are met. One best practice that PieShell encourages is to highlight the social mission behind the companies, with a bigger focus on the founders and why it is important to them.

Need was the mother of invention for Ms. Clements. “I thought, briefly, about making a salad dressing that my mom used to make and was going to crowdfund to start it, but the existing big sites didn’t feel right for food and I couldn’t find a food site,” she said. “I was raised [to believe] if you want something done right, do it yourself, and PieShell was born.”

Aside from helping small food businesses navigate the logistics of crowdfunding and market themselves, Ms. Clements said her site also brings entrepreneurs together.

Small food and beverage businesses will also be able to pitch a business model to PieShell at the event.

Admission is free, but due to limited space, those planning on attending should email info@amagansettfoodinstitute.org. The event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Plain-T Headquarters at 87 Powell Ave, Southampton.