Last time we talked about equity crowdfunding on the show, many of you let me know that you wanted more equity crowdfunding content. When I saw that Ghost Town Oats had launched their second Wefunder campaign, I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to talk more about equity crowdfunding and to introduce you to Ghost Town Oats if you aren’t familiar. Ghost Town Oats is the first Black-owned, queer-owned, barista-owned oat milk company. Ghost Town Oats was developed by three baristas, Michelle R. Johnson, Eric Grimm, and Ezra Baker, who were a part of oat milk’s initial rise to fame in some of the first shops to carry it. Having been unpaid ambassadors while also seeing its marketability skew towards the upper economic class of society, it was time to flip the script: make a premium oat milk of their own and create a brand that appealed to a broader audience. They formulated Ghost Town Oats for incredible taste, steaming capability, and versatility, and the reviews are in: it’s a hit! They reached $1 million in revenue 10 months after launch, they’ve already produced over 1 million units of oat milk, and they are already carried in over 500 coffee shops. Our guest today is Ghost Town’s Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder Ezra Baker.

Listen in as Ezra shares about:

• How Ghost Town Oats got started during the pandemic
• Their first Wefunder equity crowdfunding campaign in 2022 where they raised over $210,000 from almost 500 investors in less than a week and NBA all-star Jimmy Butler was a lead investor
• Their second and currently ongoing Wefunder campaign, from what they learned from the first campaign to how it works to set up a campaign
• How they distribute to 500+ coffee shops and what’s next for Ghost Town in the foodservice channel
• First hires for Ghost Town and how they plan ahead for their next hires
• Press opportunities like Good Morning America
• And more

Get your ticket to the Expo East Mic Drop party for a chance to win a spot on the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/4nafz284

This episode was sponsored by Settle. Go to https://www.settle.com/startupcpg
This episode was sponsored by Graphite Financial. Go to graphitefinancial.com/cpg

Episode Links:

• Ghost Town Oats website
• Current Ghost Town Oats Wefunder campaign
• Order Ghost Town Oats on Dayglow
• No Free Refills Podcast
• Ezra’s LinkedIn
• Mentions: Tetra Pak, Shoreline, Go Get Em Tiger, CBC Specialty Beverage, Stan’s Donuts, Dom's Kitchen & Market, Cafe Grumpy, Saveur, Prosperity Market, Black Market Flea

Mic Drop Party at Expo East Giveaway:

• Enter the giveaway to win a spot on this podcast and The Dish by buying your ticket to the Mic Drop party in Philadelphia on September 21, 2023 here
• Note: Giveaway only available to CPG brands and must be present at party in-person to win. If you already bought a ticket, you’ve automatically been entered!

Settle Links:

• Settle website
• Find out your Settle financing power here

Graphite Financial Links

• Graphite Financial website
• Download a free financial model template, chart of accounts template, and more here
• Listen to our episode with Graphite founder, Paul Bianco, episode #96 here.

Show Links:

• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (14K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Jessi Freitag's Linkedin or website
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at podcast@startupcpg.com
• Episode music by Super Fantastics