After living abroad in Spain, Austin Allan launched his bottled soup company Tio Gazpacho in 2013. In June 2015, having supported the company through personal funds and friends and family up that point, Allan decided to seek out an investor.

A year later, Allan was able to secure $1.25 million in funding from General Mills’ 301 INC by using the online investment marketplace CircleUp. He recently shared his experience in a New Hope Network webinar for entrepreneurs.

Being new to the fundraising world, Allan sought suggestions from colleagues who all recommended using CircleUp, which is specifically built to help early-stage consumer brands raise capital (and has successfully helped 185 companies do so). “I was impressed by the platform they put together and the success stories of natural food companies,” Allan said. CircleUp is great for entrepreneurs, he explained, because it consolidates fundraising durations by providing a vast network of different kinds of investors, which helps companies get the capital and resources needed to thrive.

In the webinar, Allan shared:

Watch the replay to hear Allan describe lessons learned and his suggestions for embarking on a smooth and successful fundraising campaign.