Leeds based entrepreneur invests in Las Vegas Dessert chain
Leeds based entrepreneur, Matt Haycox, has invested in Las Vegas Dessert chain, Sticks and Shakes. Matt Haycox, a consultant to Access Commercial Funding, which provides businesses funding for growth, decided to invest in the chain after a chance meeting with the founder at the end of last year.
“It was the old story of ‘I like the product so much I bought the business!'” says Matt. “I was out for the afternoon with my daughter and we popped in to the store to buy a couple of milkshakes. I got talking with the owner who had aspirations to grow the business from its current 3 locations and 20 minutes later we had scribbled a deal on the back of a napkin for me to finance a national rollout and become partners!”
Sticks and Shakes was started by Mark Glassman in 2014, when having left the UK to live in America. He quickly realised that unlike the UK where there are many Milkshake bars, there were very few dedicated ones in the USA.
The Sticks and Shakes dessert & milkshake bars tag line is “If we can mix it, we’ll make it”. The brand serves milkshakes in the flavour of any chocolate bar or sweet, including Snickers, M&Ms, Skittles and Oreos. They also produce delicious desserts on sticks including; Gelato, Sorbet, Fruit and Cheesecake.
Now with three stores in the USA and over a million dollars a year in turnover, the duo are hoping to turn Sticks and Shakes into a household name.
Matt Haycox says: “I love scalable business models and strong brands. And we sell a product that I genuinely love and believe in too. There is huge ‘roll out’ potential for the company and the potential size on food ‘chain’ businesses in the USA is unmatched anywhere else in the world. The opportunity here excites me more than anything i have been involved with for quite a while.”
Mark Glassman says: ‘The road map for Sticks and Shakes in the next eighteen months will be to establish a stronger position in the Las Vegas Market with a couple more corporate stores. Then to roll out across other states in the USA via corporate and franchised stores.
I partnered with Matt because he has the same passion as me for the products we sell and the brand as a concept. His energy and business acumen should help steer this company forward in the right direction.’
The investment comes weeks after Matt helped raise money for 9 year old Alfie Smith, who has cerebral palsy. Unfortunately the surgery Alfie needs is not available on the NHS, so Alfie needed help to raise around £50k to pay for this treatment (and 2 years aftercare). Matt pledged to match all donations towards Alfie’s surgery, pound for pound, to fund his life-changing operation, in a generous act of kindness and donated £16k to Alfie’s fund just after Christmas.
