Jason Davies always dreamed of owning a ski hill. But as a small business owner the investment was always out of reach, until August 23 when BC’s Red Mountain Resort launched the first equity crowdfunding campaign (also called crowd investing) in ski industry history. Now Davies, and you too, can own a piece of a ski hill for as little at $1,000—or less than a high-end pair of planks.
“This is an opportunity for me to live my dream at an entry level,” says Davies. “The best part is, I love Red.”
The crowdfunding campaign was launched just two week after the biggest ski resort conglomerate, Vail Resorts, gobbled up the biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb. The $1.4 billion deal is part of a consolidation trend in the industry. Red’s campaign notes that nearly 40 resorts are owned by three companies and about 75 percent of those acquisitions happened in the last 14 years. Howard Katkov, the owner of Red, thinks crowdfunding may be a way for independent resorts to resist the homogenization of skiing and continue to improve while retaining independence from big shareholders and institutions.
“Independent ski areas are an endangered species, but they’re super important to the ski industry,” says Katkov. “They’re the soul of skiing. If you suck the soul out of the industry you lose a big part of what makes skiing special.”
Read more at http://www.powder.com/stories/news/become-an-owner-at-red-mountain-for-1000/#vH8Edi4ltJ28FVzf.99
British Columbia’s Red Mountain Resort launches a crowdfunding campaign to support growth and maintain independence.
The Crowd Funding Times™ 