People's Community Market is a planned full-service grocery store in West Oakland.
They've raised over $1mn through a direct public offering (DPO) which is considered an innovative way to finance a new venture. The goal of using a DPO was to have a locally-owned grocery store by encouraging investment from smaller investors (making investment more accessible to Oakland residents who are less likely to have a lot of money and be accredited investors). They were covered in the New York Times in 2013 for being one of a handful of new businesses using DPOs to raise startup funding.
Related stuff
News & External Links
- Official Site: http://peoplescommunitymarket.com/
- NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/business/smallbusiness/seeking-capital-some-companies-turn-to-do-it-yourself-ipos.html
- San Francisco Business Times: Why this crowd-funded grocery store is still struggling to land in gentrifying West Oakland
