How Ian raised $43,000+ to open his dream Cleveland bakery

As the Head Baker of On The Rise Artisan Bread—Cleveland's highest rated bakery, Ian Herrington was no stranger to going against the grain.

For the past two years, Ian had been carefully planning his vision to open his own bakery concept. He dreamed of creating a community gathering space for artisanal baked goods made from scratch, exquisite pastries, and locally-sourced espresso.

He had mapped out the entire menu, saved up some money to start his business, and scoped out a location in Cleveland’s trendy Tremont neighborhood for the bakery.

Rising to the occasion

Yet even with his careful planning, Ian could not have predicted that a global pandemic would happen.

While many people would find the idea of starting a business during COVID daunting, Ian was confident that he had the recipe for success. He decided that it was time to make some strategic bets and open the bakery—it was now or never.

He just kneaded some more dough to launch the bakery.

At this time, Ian discovered Honeycomb and realized that getting community investments in his business was exactly what he was looking for.

By crowdfunding on Honeycomb, Ian would be able to start building meaningful relationships with his first customers and build excitement around his bakery before he even opened.

“Honeycomb was really attractive to me because I liked the idea of paying back people who believe in my business and have my back. It feels better from a community point of view,” he shares.

Within two days of launching his Honeycomb campaign, Ian had already raised $10,000!