A core founding principal was to use our business to raise £1m for charity, so before launching our first drink we split our ownership in half and invented a new type of company share. We called these Commercially Compassionate (CC) shares.
As a result we've donated a majority stake in our business to non-profit initiatives we care about. If we ever sell our company, they will receive 51% of the proceeds. They also share 5% of our total sales.
The inspiration for our drinks came from a desire to reduce our own alcohol consumption. This made Alcohol Change an obvious choice given they are the UK’s leading charity in this area.
We particularly admire the work they have done in establishing and growing the Dry January® phenomenon, plus their pragmatic position of not “anti-alcohol” per se, but against the harm caused by alcohol.
Number of CC shares: 12,500
Percentage of company: 25.5%
We were familiar with the BillyChip brand around Bristol in support of the homeless. There was an eloquence in their concept plus we could relate to their fusion of charitable and commercial objectives.
But after learning the history, how Billy tragically died in an accident aged 20, with BillyChip being his family and those closest to him delivering on Billy’s idea for the BillyChip, we were genuinely blown away by their fortitude, courage and ambition. We wanted to help shine a light on what they were doing and do our small bit towards Billy’s legacy.
Number of CC shares: 12,500
Percentage of company: 25.5%
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