It turned out that a major upfront cost for opening a brewery was the hefty cost of purchasing kegs, a cost that is often overlooked and generally incurred each year as your brewery expands. The two went back to the same brewers they had previously talked to and asked if they would be interested in leasing kegs. “We shifted from starting a brewery to potentially starting a leasing company.” The idea was a hit. Wowchuk found himself fielding 10 to 15 calls over the course of a week from brewers interested in leasing kegs. “At this point, it was really just us asking if they’re inter - ested in leasing kegs. The next thing you know, I’m getting these phone calls from people saying ‘I hear you’re leasing kegs. Can we sign on for some kegs?’ My answer to them was ‘Listen, we’re not leasing kegs, but if you give me six months, we will be.” Wowchuk and his partner spent the next two months developing a business plan, finding investors and raising capital. “Fast forward two months and I left my full-time job to pursue the leasing company that is now North Keg.” The fledgling company faced challenges early on, first needing to secure upfront capital. It was quite a challenge for two 24-year-olds, only a year out of university, with little cash on hand and no assets. Fortunately, two investors were interest - ed, and business got underway. The second hurdle was getting bank financing. “We were going into banks and asking them for lines of credit, they really couldn’t wrap their head around the concept as to why two 24-year-old guys were trying to start this leasing business. Since then, we’ve been able to secure great financing but it’s something that took us a while to do. At one point, we had to halt selling lease contracts, because we just didn’t have the capital to support it. We didn’t anticipate how hard it was going to be to actually go and raise that capital or that financing.”
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SEPTEMBER 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2020
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