I haven’t talked much about the Aerial Resupply Coffee investment raise lately. Part of that is intentional. Part of that is me doing what I always do, which is putting my head down, roasting coffee, shipping orders, trying to keep everything moving, and occasionally remembering that I’m supposed to also be fundraising.

The other part is that pitching your company to investors is a scary thing, regardless of everything else. People are not just buying into the business; they are buying into YOU.

When I first set out to build Aerial Resupply Coffee®, the entire thought of fundraising for investments was a foreign concept - and the decisions around raising money are fascinating, and scary at the same time.

The Questions Behind the Raise

What is the purpose of the raise?

Is equity involved?

If equity is not involved, then what is the offer?

Do I want to retain the company's identity as Veteran-owned?

I've had to wrestle with this as I've built my company because these details matter. These are the things that they don't teach you at “I'm going to start my own business and figure it out as I go along school.”

$143K Raised, But That Is Not the Goal

To date, Aerial Resupply Coffee has raised $143K, which is awesome. I’m genuinely grateful for everyone who has decided to put their money behind this. That’s not something I take lightly.

But also… that number isn’t the story, and it’s definitely not the goal.

From day one, the goal has been simple: build a direct competitor to that other brand. You know exactly who I’m talking about. The one that decided it was more important to trade its identity for corporate comfort.

They’re playing in the NFL.

Right now, Aerial Resupply Coffee® is grinding it out in low-tier D1, trying to earn a spot on that same field.

Which means I’ve got a lot of work to do.

That’s where you come in.

Building ARC in Public

Many of you have seen the growth of ARC over the past 4 years. Hell, I've been showcasing it on LinkedIn almost every day. I've tried my damndest to showcase the wins, the losses, the struggles, and the life behind the scenes as a small CPG business grows into a monster.

I've led primarily with humor - but also with this idea that there doesn't have to be this overblown persona and overhyped marketing strategy to do this.

You don't need 1 million subscribers on YouTube to be successful. There are multiple paths to success.

And on some level, my hope has always been that the community around Aerial Resupply Coffee also wants to see the brand win. After all, that's what this is at the end of the day: A community.

Why Trust Matters in Investing

Investing in companies can be a scary proposition. Many of them are faceless entities. You might have heard of them because of an ad, or someone you know purchased their product, or just out of pure chance.

But you don't KNOW their owner. Or you have never heard from the people who built the business.

Instead, you rely solely on what others tell you, your gut, or you dig deep into the posted financials.

I've tried to be transparent, available, honest, and engaging on all forms of social media so that if you decide to invest in ARC, you are investing in me as much as you are investing in the company.

And for that, I'm forever grateful.

Why We Are Continuing to Push Forward

I didn't set out to write this newsletter to pitch you on investing in Aerial Resupply Coffee. Rather, my intent was to provide an update as to where the current raise was, and to remind myself why I'm doing this in the first place. The truth though is that ARC is raising money, and it's important that we continue to push forward.

Coffee and Tea build connections. And in this space, the veteran-owned space, it KEEPS connections built over the past 20 years of service.

I want these connections to work for you.

Aerial Resupply Coffee is already doing the hard work of building connections without you even knowing it. Your friends are drinking it. Your coworkers are finding it.

Every day I have someone message me that they saw the brand somewhere, or tried it in a place that is out of the blue.

That means the brand is growing.

Now it’s about building the team, expanding distribution, and executing at a level that matches the opportunity in front of us.

If you’ve been following along and watching this build in real time, this is your chance to actually be part of it.

You can check out the full campaign here:

View the Aerial Resupply Coffee Wefunder campaign

Let’s see how far we can take this.

Important Regulation Crowdfunding Disclosure

We are “testing the waters” to gauge investor interest in an offering under Regulation Crowdfunding. No money or other consideration is being solicited. If sent, it will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities will be accepted. No part of the purchase price will be received until a Form C is filed and only through Wefunder’s platform. Any indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.

To learn more about Aerial Resupply Coffee, visit Aerial Resupply Coffee.