click to enlarge Wellness Sushi serves plant-based renditions of Japanese favorites. Abigail Bliss
“We found that SMBX is a really good platform for our customers,” says Steven Lee, who co-founded Wellness Sushi with his wife, Phoebe, in 2019. The city’s first vegan sushi and Japanese eatery recently launched a $500,000 crowdfunding campaign on SMBX to open a second location in Boulder.Lee explains that he and his wife selected SMBX because “it’s a really good platform for small investors.” Anyone can invest as little as $10 into Wellness Sushi’s small business bond, then receive monthly principal payments plus 10.75 percent interest. Wellness Sushi investors can also receive a tiered structure of benefits, including gift cards and lifetime discounts.Lee views this as a method of giving back to Wellness Sushi customers. One investor comments, “I appreciate you all using SMBX instead of [a] bank so people like me can invest directly in businesses we believe in.”This is the second time the Lees have instituted a crowdfunding campaign through SMBX. After outgrowing their 166-square-foot pilot restaurant, they raised $60,000 and moved Wellness Sushi to its current location at 2504 East Colfax Avenue. Seventy-five percent of those funds was allocated to staffing, 20.5 percent was reserved for working capital, and 4.5 percent went to SMBX, covering its capital raise fee.With this current campaign, SMBX will earn a 5 percent commission. Lee explains that the remaining $475,000 will cover six months of employee costs, six months of rent and equipment.He has his eye on two locations in Boulder, and both will require renovations, though the construction scope is yet to be determined. One site is turnkey, while the other is simply a concrete frame. Regardless of what the Lees ultimately choose, they plan to adopt a more elevated aesthetic and will introduce plated service, something that the Colfax location does not offer, given its limited footprint.
Wellness Sushi in Denver Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Boulder Location
