Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Brings Small Business Speed Coaching to Detroit for the First Time

DETROIT, April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Samuel Adams announced it will host its signature small business Speed Coaching event in Detroit for the first time on Wednesday, April 13^th. Designed to provide expert, personalized business advice, this dynamic event is part of Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a coaching and micro-lending program for small business owners working in food, beverage and craft brewing. The event will be hosted in partnership with Build Institute, affiliate of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, which provides a variety of tools, resources and support for entrepreneurs in Detroit and the surrounding area.

The Speed Coaching event will take place from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ET at Build Institute (2701 Bagley Ave., Detroit, MI 48216), and is structured so that small craft business owners can partner with various experts to generate new ideas and strategies that will help their businesses succeed. Each entrepreneur can participate in up to six 20-minute personalized, high-impact sessions with some of the area's best small business specialists, as well as subject experts from Samuel Adams.

Held in cities across the country, Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching events have supported thousands of food/beverage craft businesses with practical and real-world business advice. From sales and distribution to packaging, finance, e-commerce and more, no small business subject is off-limits. While the event is free, small business owners should register online at http://bit.ly/BTAD-Detroit-SC. Participants are encouraged to bring samples of their products and packaging, and should also come prepared with questions regarding specific challenges and problems their businesses are facing.

"We're excited to bring our Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching to Detroit, given the number of up-and-coming local craft food and beverage businesses and breweries," said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. "We're looking forward to supporting the passionate entrepreneurs behind these businesses by providing nuts-and-bolts business advice –basic stuff like how to setup a payroll, negotiate a lease or price a product – that I wished I had when starting Sam Adams 32 years ago. We're looking forward to a dynamic and fun evening with a lot of great interaction and learning."

Koch noted that, in addition to supporting small food and beverage businesses through coaching and mentoring, the program also provides microloans through its partnership with Accion, the nation's leading nonprofit provider of small business capital and coaching. These loans, typically ranging from $500-$25,000, often help small business owners who've been turned down by traditional lenders due to lack of credit, the small size of the loan request or the volatile nature of the food and beverage industry.  

Brewing the American Dream History & Impact
As Samuel Adams' core philanthropic program, Brewing the American Dream, in partnership with Accion, provides small craft food and beverage businesses with a unique combination of the two things Jim Koch wished he had when starting Sam Adams 32 years ago: access to capital and expert business advice.

Through the support of national partner and non-profit microfinance organization, Accion, Brewing the American Dream has lent more than $9.6 million to over 885 small food and beverage businesses since it was launched in 2008. Just as important, the program has coached or mentored over 6,000 businesses and created or saved more than 3,500 jobs. It has also been recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative and the White House Summit on the Future of Corporate Service. 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.

About Samuel Adams and The Boston Beer Company
The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen. Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America. That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager, in recognition of one of our nation's great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit. Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager would soon become a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 60 styles of beer. It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients. Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the 'extreme beer' movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker's perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and is one of world's most awarded breweries at international beer competitions. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its primary focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America's leading craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market. The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

About Build Institute
Build Institute helps people turn their business ideas into reality by providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and support network in Detroit. To date, Build has graduated over 700 aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs from its classes, many of whom have gone on to start successful businesses in the city. In addition to classes, Build offers networking events, mentorship, connections to resources and a nurturing community that allows ideas to develop and flourish over time. With a little support, a lot of hard work, and a friendly nudge, you'll be ready to hit the ground running.

Build was started in January 2012 as a program of D:hive, a welcome center and resource hub located downtown. The classes, called Build Basics, are based on national standards for entrepreneurship education. The first class in Detroit was offered in the spring of 2012 and since then demand has grown tremendously. Classes are now offered every season and have expanded beyond the core curriculum to include Build Social, a class focused solely on social entrepreneurship, as well as satellite classes offered in Hamtramck, Livernois, and Grandmont Rosedale.

SOURCE The Boston Beer Company

Related Links

http://www.samueladams.com