Waku Shares the Impact of the Business Equity Initiative
Amiel Vargas, CEO & President at Labor On Site and BEI Cohort V participant shares in a personal message the accomplishments the advisory services through the COVID-19 Response Support Team has made to his family business during these difficult period.
John Brzezenski, Strategic Advisor, Juan Giraldo, CEO of Waku, and Steve Ladd, Experience Manager
Childhood friends, Juan Giraldo, Chief Executive Officer, and Nico Estrella, Chief Operating Officer, founded Waku in 2018, a prebiotic herbal tea company based on recipes from their home country Ecuador. Their inspiration to start their company was an opportunity to have a positive impact for their homeland and to unlock further demand for innovative products in the growing gut-health industry. According to Market.us, the global digestive health market is estimated at $104.4 billion by 2023. Therefore, Juan and Nico were ready for their next stage of growth when they enrolled in the Business Equity Initiative (BEI) program in 2022.
Challenges:
A couple of months after enrollment, a “perfect storm” of events occurred that required the BEI and Waku team to pivot from their original strategic goals and to focus on the following:
Unexpected withdrawal of investors
Delays with a major retail distributor
Supply chain issues with contract packer in Ecuador
Solutions:
The BEI team shifted their attention to helping Juan and Nico to use their limited resources to focus on actions to advance sales and go-to-market goals and to have enough funding to be able to continue to operate. The BEI team supported Waku with the following solutions:
Reworked cash flow model and financial projections.
Provided guidance on opportunities to recapitalize and conserve cash.
Managed communications with a lending partner, Business Equity Fund (BEF) at the Boston Foundation; and collaborated to secure short-term funding and a revised list of potential investors.
Helped develop key short-term metrics to advance toward growth goals.
Conducted interviews with peer companies that confirmed that the short-term hiring strategy and plans best fit Waku’s short-term growth goals.
Results and Impact:
Waku was able to successfully work through their challenges and meet the following accomplishments:
Retired over $200K debt and restructured $140K to lessen cash impact.
Obtained $400k in loans through “BEF” and individual investors with more. company-friendly terms to support short-term working capital requirements.
Secured Wholefoods distribution contract for 22 northeast stores, then expanded into the entire region (55 stores) with near-term visibility to expand to over 60 stores.
Increased revenues by 100% vs. the previous year.
“The Business Equity Initiative (BEI) made a world of a difference to my company because it was customized to support Waku’s needs. Prior, I had enrolled in other classroom-type programs, but nothing came close to the level of guidance that I received from my BEI strategist.”
Massachusetts businesses and donors could benefit from $375,000 in state tax credits recently awarded to Nectar Community Investments.
The credits give donors a 50% break on their state taxes for contributions to Nectar, a community development financial institution that assists small-business owners and homeowners with guidance and capital.
The nonprofit works in Massachusetts communities where there’s usually not much access to either.
In a news release Tuesday, Nectar said it received the maximum award under the Community Investment Tax Credit Program of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
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Small Business Loan Officer Kristin Wallace recently served on a panel at the City of Lawrence’s Capital Access event, where she connected with local small business owners, startups and aspiring entrepreneurs about how Nectar’s products can support their growth. We caught up with Kristin after the event to hear her perspective on the challenges that small businesses face in accessing capital and what resources are available to them here in Massachusetts.
For small businesses looking to grow, what are some of the biggest barriers in accessing capital?
Many of the entrepreneurs we serve face systemic barriers that go far beyond credit history or collateral. Racism, language access challenges, immigration status, gender bias, and limited access to fair and affordable financial products all contribute to persistent funding gaps. Capable, experienced business owners in historically disinvested communities are often denied capital because traditional financial systems were not designed with their experiences or realities in mind. As a result, entrepreneurs of color, women business owners, and low-income entrepreneurs are frequently underfunded — not because they are underprepared, but because the system itself is not equitable.
What is Nectar doing to overcome those barriers?
Nectar is committed to reimagining how capital flows to historically disinvested communities. We …
Nectar Community Investments, a community development financial institution (CDFI) and community development corporation (CDC), has received $375,000 in tax credits from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program. Nectar received the maximum award, which incentivizes donors with a 50 percent refundable state tax credit to support the organization’s work of providing capital, advisory services and other assistance to small business owners and homeowners.
“We’re grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for this impactful award, which recognizes the integral role that CDCs like Nectar play in building generational wealth in Massachusetts,” said Nectar Executive Director Glynn Lloyd. “As we continue in our mission to grow the assets and wealth of underserved communities, we encourage donors across the Commonwealth to take advantage of this win-win opportunity: earning state tax credits while investing in economic mobility, climate resilience and more.”
Since its launch in 2012, the CITC program has been a flexible, unrestricted and integral source of funding for CDCs and civil society organizations (CSO), promoting local innovation and long-term impact. At Nectar, CITC contributions seed new programs and drive innovations, support ongoing programs and operations, fill funding gaps, and leverage other resources. Donors receive a 50 percent …