THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING

PUBLISHER & EDITORScott Frager

frager@bowlingindustry.comSkype: scottfrager

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERDavid Garber

garber@bowlingindustry.com

OFFICE MANAGERPatty Heath

heath@bowlingindustry.com

CONTRIBUTORSDavid GarberJim GoodwinPatty Heath

Evan HenersonSean KrainertMark Miller

CONTRIBUTING EDITORFred Groh

fredgroh@bowlingindustry.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTORJackie Fisher

fisher@bowlingindustry.com

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTIONDesignworks

www.dzynwrx.com(818) 735-9424

FOUNDERAllen Crown (1933-2002)

12655 Ventura BoulevardStudio City, CA 91604(818) 789-2695(BOWL)

Fax (818) 789-2812info@bowlingindustry.com

www.BowlingIndustry.com

HOTLINE: 818-789-2695SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy ofInternational Bowling Industry is sent free toevery bowling center, independently ownedpro shop and collegiate bowling center inthe U.S., and every military bowling centerand pro shop worldwide. Publisher reservesthe right to provide free subscriptions tothose individuals who meet publicationqualifications. Additional subscriptions maybe purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50per year. Subscriptions for Canada andMexico are $65 per year, all other foreignsubscriptions are $80 per year. All foreignsubscriptions should be paid in U.S. fundsusing International Money Orders.POSTMASTER: Please send new as well asold address to International Bowling Industry,12655 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA91604 USA. If possible, please furnishaddress mailing label.Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2015, B2B Media,Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprintedwithout the publisher’s permission.

MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:

6ISSUE AT HAND

Do You RememberWhen?

By Scott Frager

8SHORTS

• Sandy Finkelsteinof Jupiter

Lanes passes.• Brunswick reworks

worldwidesales team.

• Helix Leisure tapsMirry Glavan for

managing directorat LAI Games.

• Is Duckpinbecoming ‘in’?

By Patty Heath

12FEATURE

A Gathering PlaceGuests pow-wow at

Wamesit Lanes forbowling, food and fun.

By Evan Henerson

18PROFILE

Enjoying Every DayA life in the bowlingbusiness has made

Bill Supper acontented man.By Jim Goodwin

CONTENTS VOL 24.12

12

38

IBI December 20164

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22COVER STORYPower In NumbersCould crowdfunding beyour perfect score? By Sean Krainert

32CELEBRATIONA Century ofGreat TimesIconic Saratoga Lanes inSt. Louis celebrates itscentennial.By Mark Miller

38TOURNAMENTSChampions in ThePearl of the SeaThe 52nd QubicaAMFWorld Cup was a successon every level.By David Garber

46REMEMBER WHEN1994Meet Santa ClausBy Patty Heath

37 Showcase

41 Classifieds

COVER STORY

22 IBI December 2016

COVER STORY

23IBI December 2016

Donation-based crowdfunding is becoming a go-to for businesses needing a financial boost, a commonpractice for individuals wanting to be a part ofsomething bigger. It allows FECs to source funds fora business-associated project by asking a large numberof contributors to donate a small amount to it. Fundersdo not obtain any ownership or rights to the project,nor do they become creditors to the project. Instead,backers may receive token rewards that increase inprestige as the size of the donation increases. ForFECs, donations are typically matched in dollar valuewith a redeemable certificate for services from thecenter such as food, bowling or drink credits.

Crowdfunding in Action

The solely digital platform of crowdfunding is gainingpopularity from masses of investors. According toCrowdExpert.com: Crowdfunding Industry Statistics,the total global crowdfunding industry fundraisingvolume in 2015 was $34 billion. $5.5 billion of whichwas directly raised from donation and rewardcrowdfunding, half of which was generated in NorthAmerica.

Crowdfunding is no longer linked to being a trend.The power in the soaring number of investors gettinginvolved is making crowdfunding a mainstreamavenue. Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tankthat conducts public opinion polling, content analysisand other data-driven social science research in orderto inform the public about the issues, attitudes andtrends shaping America and the world. When theyrecently reached out to America about theirconnection with donation-based crowdfunding, theyfound that roughly one in five Americans (22%) reportthat they have contributed to an online fundraisingproject on a website like Kickstarter, a platform thatMission Bowling Club in San Francisco was able tosuccessfully tap into to support their venture.

By Sean Krainert

arching forward in cadence with technology hasbecome an essential part of every business planacross every sector. As FECs have been challengedto keep up with the evolution of sports and

entertainment, the most successful have answered that call, and, inresponse, have soared in unprecedented ways, physically andfinancially.

All businesses, FECs included, are rooted in and upheld by theirability to secure funds for building, developing, renovating,upgrading, and maintaining their businesses. It isn’t hard tounderstand why business owners are sticking to traditional, familiar,and conservative financial avenues such as using local banks thatthey already do regular banking with or connecting with specializedSBA loan banks. Another familiar option is angel investing, involvingfamily or friends that help the FEC propel forward or provideongoing supplements of money to support the business.

These traditional routes for securing funds have proven towork well, and, no doubt, will continue to do so for businesses.But now businesses can supplement these avenues with one of themost innovative ways for sourcing funds. Crowdfunding is changingthe world of investing and funding and is on its way to influencingthe world of finance, mimicking the same unprecedented effectthat technological advances have had on the world.

The big question is, why switch? Why fix something that isn’tbroken? The answer to that is simple: to secure the future of thebusiness. The idea is similar to how one would want to diversifypersonal financial portfolio with a variety of investments across aspectrum of risk levels. By diversifying a business’ funding stream,they are adding a level of stability to the infrastructure. And,unlike any other source of money, crowdfunding comes completewith the bonus of generating awareness for the business, creatingnew customers, and forging relationships with the communitythat supports the center.

What is Crowdfunding?Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a business or project

by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.It allows businesses to increase their funds outside of the traditionalcircle of friends, family, banks and big venture capitalists, whileoffering investors the option of interest or rewards, in return.

The two main types of crowdfunding are donation-based andinvestment-based. Investment crowdfunding allows businesses to seeka number of small investments from a large group of backers throughboth debt and equity options. In return, backers receive equityshares of the company commensurate with the amount invested,similar to how common stock is bought and sold on the stockmarket. Lenders receive an interest rate on the loan higher than otherdebt instruments due to the risk associated. This type of crowdfundingbenefits new FECs looking to raise funds quickly, bypassing thehassle and time involved with applying for a business loan.

M

COVER STORY

26 IBI December 2016

In May 2012, IBI connected with the owners ofMission Bowling Club as they were on the brink ofopening their new 10,000-square-foot FEC. Oncethey found their ideal location in the Mission District,one of the city’s busiest and most diverseneighborhoods with just the right balance between gritand glamour, they realized that by diversifying theirfunding strategies, they could overcome building

roadblocks, while forgingrelationships with their newcommunity at the same time.

Instead of turning to theircurrent network of investors foradditional support, ownersSommer Peterson and MollyBradshaw decided to connectdirectly with their new neighborsand potential customers. Theirfirst stop was to Kickstarter.com,where they built a webpage toset a foundation of credibilityfor their campaign. The platformgave them the ability tointroduce themselves and tellthe neighborhood they were

excited about the new business while also being an outlet for friendsand family to directly partake in the building of the venue.

“It felt good because we were building a relationship. Essentially, wewere coming into a neighborhood as a new business, and we reallywanted to engage the community and be open and transparent,” saidSommer, as she looked back on how crowdfunding helped them getthe business open, while making lasting relationships in the community.

One of the projects that they used donation and reward crowdfunding

COVER STORY

28 IBI December 2016

for was their patio area, initially a small parking lot. A driving force to start the journeywas for the business to be as green as possible. They wanted to encourage peopleto walk or bike to visit their establishment. In order to convey their intentions, ratherthan just say them, they decided to convert the parking stalls into a patio spaceincluding an area for bike parking. “We wanted to make sure we were transparentabout the money we asked for, what it was for, and what they get in return.”

When they asked for donations for the project, directly tying the new business to thecommunity, they offered rewards including food and drink tokens that matched the valueof their donations. They not only raised funds, but they interactively involved the

neighborhood and invited them in withopen arms to enjoy the establishmentwhen the business opened. Backers notonly received the token rewards fromMission Bowling Club, but they gained amutual sense of pride in helping build apatio and bike parking area that was fortheir use and enjoyment.

“We tried to match what the donationdollar amount was so that could matchwith the value of what they got back inreturn. We really felt like this was the waypeople were going to get somethingback, and it was a cool way for them to bepart of us,” Sommer said.

How to GetInvolved withCrowdfunding

While Kickstarter was one of the firstdonation-based crowdfunding platforms,today there are hundreds to choosefrom. The first step is to find a platformthat specializes in the type of projectyou are funding. With a little bit ofresearch, you will be able to see whichcategories seem to do the best on eachsite and which resource tools you can useto make your campaign go smoothly.Making sure to understand the fees ofeach site will also help to choose theright one for the project.

Crowdfunding is a mainstream way forFECs to diversify their funding strategiesfor building new centers, makingrenovations, upgrading features, andgaining ongoing support. Whether you areopening a business or adding value to acurrent one, crowdfunding can be afunctional and profitable part of financialplanning. And, the added bonus ofrelationship building with new partners,customers, and supporters is somethingthat traditional banking can’t match. ❖

Sean Krainert is a freelance copywriter

living in the San Francisco Bay Area

specializing in real estate, hospitality

and mental health writing. He is also

an alumni of the Wichita State Shocker

bowling program.