When the CEO of Asarasi, Adam Lazar, approached me in late 2019 about kicking off an equity crowdfunding round, I was genuinely excited. If you haven't checked out their water from maple trees, I highly suggest spending some time on their website! A popular consumer brand, a great natural resource like maple syrup, and utilizing a securities exemption (Reg CF) that I philosophically believe in, put this right in my wheelhouse.

Asarasi had all of the elements for a successful Reg CF raise. "What could go wrong?", I thought.

Well for starters, a global pandemic (COVID-19), followed shortly by quarantines, lock-downs, disruption of supply chains and logistics, and oh yeah, the worst economic downturn in nearly 100 years. It might seem obvious, but I don't want to understate the incredible challenge this climate presented for Asarasi's Reg CF raise with Republic.

Reg CF, or equity crowdfunding is an exemption on the sale of securities that allows a business to sell equity through an online portal subject to certain restrictions. It allows every day people, many of which are not accredited investors, to invest in high-growth startups. This of course does not come without risk, and can be a challenge for companies under the best of circumstances.

Asarasi was apparently set on proving that epic challenges were no match for them. Today I was pleased to read that Asarasi has so far raised over $350,000 in total funding in the last 120 days (with about a month to go). This includes over $175,000 through Republic and $100,000 from Anheuser-Busch InBev through 100+ Accelerator.

Asarasi has shown that perseverance, a great team, and executing a careful plan, are key to success even under the most challenging of circumstances. Cheers!