Cal Poly CIE SBDCServing San Luis Obispo County
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Cal Poly CIE SBDC
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"“Since working with the SBDC, Whalebird Kombucha has been able to grow as a business with confidence. At each fork in the road, we’ve been able to trust them to provide intelligent and thoughtful guidance, allowing us to make the best decisions possible. We look forward to a long and continuing relationship and would encourage other entrepreneurs to look to them as well.” –Jake Pritzlaff, Whalebird Kombucha
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Whalebird Kombucha

From humble garage beginnings in 2013, Whalebird Kombucha is the Kombucha of the central coast. Co-founders Mike Durighello, Jake Pritzlaff, and Lee Wilkerson set out to create and provide a healthy beverage for the Central Coast community. As the team created, the community responded, and Whalebird Kombucha was born and began to grow. Having a passion for building a vibrant business and lots to learn along the way, they turned to the SBDC for advice on how to scale their lightning in a bottle. From that relationship, Whalebird Kombucha was able to connect with Slow Money SLO, an organization that assists with startup financing for local food businesses, become bankable with a traditional SBA financing, and complete a round of Angel Investment financing

SBDC Assistance
Funding Assistance
Projections
QuickBooks
HR Assistance

Economic Impact
$350K Angel Investment
$150K EIDL
$111K PPP

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Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Grant with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA or the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the California SBDC closest to you.