Busy Bee Play Cafe: Generating Buzz
The Busy Bee Play Cafe, founded by Kristina and Kevin Lai, offers an innovative indoor play space designed for children and a relaxing cafe area for parents. Located in Indianapolis, the cafe aims to provide a community haven that promotes play, learning, and social interaction in a safe and welcoming environment.
Busy Bee Play Cafe raised $31,000 on Mainvest in late 2022.
“Mainvest is a fabulous way to not only raise funds for a business idea but also grow your customer base before the business is born. Our early investors are our best customers now that we're open and thriving. The Play Cafe industry is really growing lately and we've been telling them all about Mainvest!”
Why Mainvest?
Seeking a platform that could help raise funds while cultivating a local investor community, Mainvest's unique approach to crowdfunding appealed to her because it not only provided the necessary capital to kickstart the business but also aligned with her vision of community engagement and support. Their local area had seen consistent population growth, but given the lack of fresh and fun family-friendly activities, she knew that the community would be excited about her concept, and raising on Mainvest would provide that market validation as well as open up additional funding options.
Market validation
Referred by another business
Main Street mission alignment
The Fundraising Process
"It was socially exhausting putting ourselves out there but the reward and payoff was well worth it, in both finances and the experience. In a way, it was a great way to get us in front of our target audience from the beginning of our business. It forced us to get out of our shells and be confident in our business idea. After we pitched the idea to a few people, it became pretty easy and our confidence exploded.”
Starting as a pre-revenue venture, The Busy Bee Play Cafe faced the challenge of proving its potential to investors. Kristina crafted a compelling campaign on Mainvest, highlighting the unique aspects of her business model, the market opportunity in her community, and the projected financial returns for investors. A key technique the team used was holding an investor event and meet-and-greet, allowing potential investors to see the unfinished space and meet the team face-to-face.
Methods used:
Digital advertising
Organic social media
Email marketing
Investor event/ meet and greet
Direct pitching
Tangible Results
“We knew we wanted to crowdfund in some way but also wanted to give something back to people who wanted to invest in us. Not only were we able to raise the money we needed for the business but the campaign also served as a fantastic marketing strategy. Plus, between the play structures and the physical space, we could physically show our investors what they invested in! We have a huge loyal fan base that engages in our social media and are our biggest cheerleaders, and we found a lot of them through our Mainvest advertising.”
Funds raised on Mainvest were utilized for interior renovations, purchasing play equipment, and marketing efforts to attract its first customers. Within months of opening, the cafe saw a steady increase in foot traffic, membership sign-ups, and event bookings, validating the business concept and demonstrating the viability and impact of community-funded projects.
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