Restaurant owners often wrestle with the idea of taking venture capital in order to grow their business. Maria Empanada, owner of Studio Candela, an Argentinian restaurant in Denver, decided to take the plunge. With the help of a consultant, she secured approximately 3.5 million dollars in Series A funding from a well-known venture capital firm in Colorado. With the additional funding, Empanada plans on growing from three locations to seven. Without this level of funding, she would never have been able to grow the business this aggressively on her own. According to Dennis Monroe, Chairman of a premier Minneapolis law firm that specializes in financing multi-unit franchises, there’s currently an increased interest in “greener” restaurants by venture capitalist firms.

Key Takeaways:

• Research gathered from the financial data company, Pitchbook, shows that while capital investment dollars have skyrocketed, the actual volume of investments has taken a dive.
• Because venture capital investors expect speedy growth, more cautious entrepreneurs may wish to seek other avenues of funding.
• Venture capital firms are interested in proven businesses that have their legs under them, which is why new businesses often need to start their funding with friends and family.

“Monroe also sees renewed interest in the restaurant space from nontraditional investors.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/finance/venture-capital-right-your-restaurant-concept