Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I I N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 2 6 16 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F O C U S From self-funded bootstrapping to equity investment and debt, early-stage financing looks different for every entrepreneur and business venture. Mainebiz checked in with four startups for insights into their approaches, along with their advice for others based on what they've learned so far. Farm-to-table caterer steers clear of loans Dylan and Tessa Boepple started 3B's Catering Co., in the Sagadahoc County town of Bowdoinham in 2023. e farm-to-table business offers everything from wood-fired pizza parties to oysters and caviar. Mainebiz: How did the business roll out? Dylan Boepple: We founded our parent company, Villager LLC, in 2017, bought land in Bowdoinham in 2019 and started a small farm. In 2020, we took over the Osprey Restaurant in Georgetown — our first foray into restaurant ownership. In 2023, we sold our shares to our busi- ness partners and started our catering business adjacent to our farm. MB: What does the operation consist of? DB: We rent space at Fork Food Lab in South Portland and we have a mobile trailer kitchen on the farm. e employees are me, my wife and a rotating crew of six people. e season is generally spring through fall, plus winter private parties. We'll do two- to 10-person dinners in the winter, wed- dings in the summer — 25 to 30 events in a year. MB: What types of financing have you deployed for the startup? DB: We took out a mortgage of $70,000 for our land and paid that off in about five years. at's the only traditional financing we've had. Everything else has been self-funded. We tend to grind pretty hard, so it's all been personal sav- ings and building up cash for whatever project is next. We've applied for a few grants but haven't received a ton. We got two small grants last year centered around the catering company, for $1,000 and $1,500, for marketing and things like tents, tablecloths and logos. We have large magnetic logos to stick to the pizza oven and truck. MB: Why have you avoided loans? DB: In the restaurant and food service models, your profit margins are rarely above 10%. We run a pretty tight ship, so we generally clear above 15%. When you're paying back a loan, you're basi- cally flushing your profit margin down the toilet. So we've focused on what's feasible, in a way where we can gener- ate enough profit to go back into the business. We'll probably continue that way for the next three to five years. We purchased our wood oven as owners at the Osprey and received a business equipment loan to do so. When we decided to part ways in 2023, instead of burdening our busi- ness partners with a financial buy- out, we took full ownership of the oven trailer, which was paid off in full, while they retained full owner- ship of the restaurant. Last year was quite lucrative, but we're still in the slow-building phase, so everything we made was reinvested. All of our profit went to purchase another mobile kitchen for $14,000. at's how we structure things — each year, we do what we need to grow. MB: What's next? DB: is is the first year we're project- ing we'll grow a significantly larger profit. e goal is to start a brick-and- mortar restaurant, with year-round staff, that can dovetail with how our catering company works. We love being an employer in the community. As a seasonal employer, that's hard to do. With brick-and-mortar, we can provide stable jobs. MB: Any advice for budding entrepreneurs? DB: If you can self-finance and then slow-roll start your business, you give yourself stability over the long term and the ability to be agile. We didn't have to take every catering event; that gave us time to consider how we would grow. We were able to step back and get perspective on the best moves — doing that slowly, without having a big loan hanging over us. Follow the money Four Maine startups discuss the ins and outs of early-stage financing B Y L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Dylan and Tessa Boepple self-funded their farm-to-table startup 3B's Catering. Here on their Bowdoinham farm, they hold a Silver Fox rabbit and a month-old turkey.

• Cover