Investing In Cannabis

Well guys this is it for iC!  I tried to think of something intelligent or witty or thought provoking to leave you all with, but it didn’t come. Words can’t really express the gratitude I feel for everyone who gave me their ears over the last 7 years. If you let me into to you workout session, your commute to work, your bathroom time, thank you!  I had no idea what to expect from starting a podcast. It truly was just an excuse for me to meet awesome people like Hua, Ben Larson, Seibo, Doug Leighton, Emily and Morgan Paxhia. I had no idea it would turn into such a meaningful part of life. It still amazes me that all of you smart people took interest in what a chubby stoner entrepreneur had to say about startups and investing. I never went to school for business and did my best to hang with the big dogs of cannabis investing. A couple groups I want to address directly: To the founders - keep going. Keep learning. You don’t know what opportunity is going to pop. Whether it be in cannabis or another industry, k

Just one more after this! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad ;( Next ep we will have a special guest to wrap up the show; me! Everyone in the cannabis industry right now seems to be focusing on big markets like CA, NY, NJ and others with huge potential market value. Greenlight and John Mueller have taken a different approach. They have targeted medical dispensaries in "fly over states" with a focus on operations and profitability. With states on the brink of recreational like Missouri, Arkansas, and West Virginia, Greenlight is well positioned to take advantage. It's a great episode and one of the few success stories in this industry. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mueller-6a3749a/ https://greenlightdispensary.com/about/

The rumors are true . . . there are only 2 episodes remaining of Investing in Cannabis. More on why in the coming weeks. This week we have Nick of Claybourne. Nick describes their process as breed to brand as he heavily values their genetics and cultivation techniques. In a personal favorite move, Claybourne was one of the first to offer half ounce smalls . . . brilliant. We also talk marketing, distribution, expanding to new states and much more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-ortega-22926791/ https://www.claybourneco.com/

Only 3 episodes of Investing in Cannabis left! Yes the rumors are true, after 7 years iC podcast is coming to an end. I need new challenges and nobody makes money in the cannabis industry. Over the next few weeks, I'll be talking more about the decision, what I learned, and my predictions for where the industry is headed. For now, enjoy the final remaining eps! This week we take a look at #Oklahoma . Although still only a medical market, a large percentage of the population hold medical cards and tax revenues have been substantial for an otherwise slow state economy. It is a tiny but mighty case for cannabis across the country. I had the chance to connect with Arshad Lasi of the The Nirvana Group. At only 23, Arshad is wise beyond his years. He has successfully grown the family business into one of the major players in OK. We talk: - vertical integration - genetics - licensing vs building brands - Taxes and what most states are doing wrong - The price of top shelf is shockingly low.

In a rare iC episode, Matt Hawkins of Entourage Effect Capital joins the show for the 2nd time! Matt has been very busy since we last chatted. Through 3 funds, the firm has invested in 60+ companies since 2014. He is truly one of the best and most experience minds we have in our industry.

5 years ago, Helene of JourneyOne Ventures reached out to ask me how to become a cannabis VC. What a goal! Several very long cannabis years later, she has launched a pre-seed to series-A fund focused on cannabis technology startups. She is very interested in compliance, ecommerce, marketing tech, d2d and more. On a personal note, it warms my heart to hear Helene share how much she learned from my little old podcast. I'm so happy to have played a tiny role in her success :) We go deep on: How to build a investment thesis Attracting deal flow Raising capital Evening the playfield for minorities What kind of weed we like. https://www.journeyone.vc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hservillon/

We've talked many times on this show about the pros and cons of being vertically integrated. Increasingly we are seeing successful brands that are asset light and benefit from the infrastructure others have built. At the same time, as values rise in the future, having those hard assets will certainly be much more valuable than they are today! Germany in an interesting move has decided it will not allow cultivation when it fully legalizes next year. The ramifications of this could be numerous but most immediately it requires international trade to get product into the country. This is nothing new for Nik of the Bloomwell group. He was responsible for a lot of firsts in German cannabis including ecommerce, same day delivery, and most recently the first major plans for large scale imports. The world is a changing . . . Nik and I get into the process of legalization in Germany, where in the world has the best weed, where he will expand to next, and why Germany will be the biggest legal market come 2023.

The California cannabis knife fight continues! In a deep field of competitors, Falcon Brands has managed to rise to the top. Their brands CRU, Jetpacks, and others are in the top 3 for their categories. CEO Steve Gutterman attributes this success to a blended team of traditional CPG execs and legacy cannabis talent. Maintaining cool at scale is just HARD! The future will not be simple for Falcon either, as their focus shifts to maintaining and expanding into new markets. Steve is a seasoned executive and former head of Harvest and General Cannabis Corp. Steve and I go deep on capital raising, acquisitions, marketing, branding, illicit market, and much more. https://falconbrands.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-gutterman-38970738/

Do you like edibles? What do you like about them? People who don't tend to have the same complaints; it takes too long to hit, it lasts too long, it makes me tired. What if we could solve some of these complaints? Kim of Azuca and their "precursor" product have started to chip away at the edibles gap for new consumers. For those who like to smoke, the effects of new emulsion technologies may hit you differently than you expect. Kim and I chatted from MJ Unpacked about onset time, offset time, the downsides of distillate, and whether it was worth it to sponsor the conference. https://azuca.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-sanchez-rael-49379/

Does the east coast want California cannabis brands? While most California cannabis brands struggle to find relevancy (and profitability), Big Pete's is bringing its #1 selling cookies to New York and beyond. Licensing and a franchise-like-model looks to be very profitable for them in AZ, NV, CO vs the asset heavy MSOs. Little Pete joins me live from MJ Unpacked and dives deep into: *cannabutter *distribution / d2c *what makes a good brand *quality control *what its like to be a legacy brand https://bigpetestreats.com/

Should companies de-verticalize? How do CA brands win on the east coast? Do billboards work? How much does Jay Z actually do? These questions and more with my friend and former Caliva CEO Dennis O'Malley. https://www.linkedin.com/in/domalley/

Did you go to MJ Unpacked in Vegas last year? The new event was talk of the town and created a more intimate, focused environment that was refreshing after the madness and party that MJBiz and Hall of Flowers have become. Founder and my guest this week George Jage says that different, more professional vibe was very much intentional. He is the former president of MJBiz and Dope magazine and wanted to focus on productivity for MJ Unpacked. The conference will bring together brands, retailers, and investors, as well as an unprecedented level of diversity for a business conference. George and I also discuss what makes a good brand, illicit market, dtc, beverages, and why virtual events suck so much. Join George, myself, and many more May 18th-20th in NYC. https://mjunpacked.com/

Lots of news last week! My good friend Judson and I sat down to chop it up and share our takes on all the happenings from last week: Leaf Trade b2b marketplace raises $12.5M Backbone supply chain software raises $14M Bespoke Financial expands to East coast and beyond 420, Benzinga, and "green wednesday" ====== This episode is brought to you by MJ Unpacked: May 18-20 - NYC. Brands, Investors, and Retail come together to shape the future of east coast cannabis. https://mjunpacked.com/

Celebrity brands have taken over the cannabis industry. Everywhere you look brands are slapping celebrity endorsements on the packaging and hoping someone picks it up and tries it. Real connoisseurs should be wary, as most of these brands are more focused on marketing than on quality. I was skeptical before my interview with Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau of SeaWeed Naturals. Of course the legacy of Jacques Cousteau speaks for itself in the oceanography world, but what did they know about cannabis? As I pressed them on why and how they developed their product line, I was impressed with their knowledge and intentionality around ingredients, packaging, and formulations. It is clear they could have created any number of products in the world, but they chose cannabis. I think that speaks volumes about how this industry has evolved. https://www.seaweednaturals.com/ ==== This episode is brought to you by MJ Unpacked: May 18-20 in NYC. MJ Unpacked provides an exclusive forum for qualified brand and retail decision

In this Throwback episode we bring back Michael Piermont of Leaf Trade. This week Leaf Trade raised a fresh 12.5M round to propel its marketplace and technology platform for wholesale cannabis. We recorded this back in 2020 and the episode has aged really well. Fascinating discussion of why this technology is necessary for buyers and brands. What does this mean for vertical integration and Limited Licences MSOs? Can they catch LeafLink? https://www.newcannabisventures.com/cannabis-technology-company-leaf-trade-raises-12-5-million/ https://leaf.trade/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-piermont-049839a/

Do you like vapes? Yeah, me neither. Except Friendly Farms. The best live resin cart on the market has quickly spread across California. This is high level cannabis nerdery at its finest. Chaz breaks down what is the actual difference between live resin, live rosin, and how you make them. Fascinating. Friendly Farms is a legacy brand that heroically traversed the transition from medical to rec. Not an easy feat and a tremendous success story from a fully founder owned cannabis company. Novel. https://friendlyfarmsca.com/ ---------- Friendly Farms is a client of our sponsor, Bespoke Financial. Friendly has raised millions of dollars without diluting their equity. You can too. https://bespokefinancial.com/

200. It has a nice ring to it. I started the Investing in Cannabis podcast in 2015 with some friends and one goal; Meet some cool people in the new cannabis industry. It worked! 200 episodes later I am overcome with gratitude. Gratitude for the team, @Jacob @Erik. Thankful for every guest that took valuable time out of building their company to take a chance on a guy with no experience. Especially in the beginning when literally zero people were listening. Most of all im grateful to the listeners. The core 1000 that listen to the entire episode on the day it comes out and the other 30,000 that listen to the first 10 min. I love you equally. Your messages and questions, feedback and endless passion for your newest ventures have kept me going. It is an honor that so many people want my feedback and advice. It's an honor that people put me in their ears every week. They literally put my voice in their brain! THANK YOU! There is no iC without this smart motivated, creative, rebel audience. For 200, I am lau

In an iC exclusive, Grassdoor founder Zack Ein does his first ever public interview. In the backyard of his LA home, Zack opens up about the ins and outs of starting and scaling a last mile delivery business. If you aren't familiar with the name, it's because Grassdoor seemingly came from nowhere during the pandemic, and quickly became one of the biggest players in CA. Zack goes deep on his view on competitors both inside of cannabis and out and what the future of cannabis delivery looks like. Fascinating discussion and a Brandon instant favorite. https://grassdoor.com/ === This episode of iC is sponsored by Bespoke Financial, the leader in non-dilutive financing for the cannabis industry. https://bespokefinancial.com/

Cannabis and video games have long since been a perfect match on a Saturday afternoon, but how much do the customer basis overlap? If you like cannabis or just nascent industries, you probably are interested in gaming and esports. It's one of the few industries that has grown faster than cannabis over the last few years. This week's guest represents one of the first real brands capitalizing on the marriage. Pine Park is the brainchild of Opennest Venture Studio and Hector Rodriguez aka gaming influencer HECZ. https://pineparkgear.com/ ==== This ep is brought to you by Bespoke Financial - The leader in debt and non-dilutive funding for the cannabis industry. https://bespokefinancial.com/

Sunderstorm is a family of cannabis brands best known for its legacy and true OG gummy brand, Kanha. Keith explains the full playbook for scaling from a small mom and pop to a national brand including; manufacturing, licensing, marketing, and fundraising. Sunderstorm is one of the biggest edible companies in the world, and it shows. ==== iC is brought to you by Bespoke Financial - Raise money without giving up equity. Bespoke's complete fintech platform now includes seamless integration with METRC. https://bespokefinancial.com/