Investing In Cannabis

In this awesome episode, Brandon learns how Lexaria and founder Chris Bunka are changing the world of edibles. With a wide patent portfolio and the ability to make edibles taste better and feel more like smoking, this public cannabis company is attempting to change the narrative on how we experience edibles. Their technology uses enhanced bio-absorption and bypasses the liver, giving it the potential to change the way we socially consume edibles. Additionally, Chris dives into his past life of angel investing, the process of getting a patent, and why the licensing model works for Lexaria and their investors. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted!

In this week’s episode, Brandon welcomes vaping expert Arnaud Dumas de Rauly of the Blinc Group to the show. Arnaud and his team have extensive experience in the world of cannabis and nicotine vaping. They started the Blinc Group to help cannabis vaporizer companies build innovative products, test them through real distribution channels, and then help them fundraise to scale their businesses. The current class, including VapeXhale and the RYAH, spend 6 months with the Blinc Group testing and refining their products while building out their distribution channels. This fascinating discussion also dives deep into C Cells v 510 threads, the paradigm shift of pod vapes like the PAX, and why the dual tank system may change the way everyone vapes. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with the world of vaping!

In this week's episode, Brandon welcomes founder Mark Breen of Leafbuyer to the show to discuss the fascinating world of online cannabis deals. As Groupon has shown, this concept has value. But in cannabis, issues like legality of selling THC products online, driving traffic using traditional marketing challenges, and lack of customer trackability are rampant. Learn how Mark and his team have navigated these challenges and raised capital in the public markets for Leafbuyer. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted!

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Claudio Miranda of Guild Enterprises to learn how they built a family of craft cannabis brands. Featuring a top 5 concentrates brand, genetics, seeds, flowers, and retail stores, the Guild brand is a staple of California cannabis. Learn how Claudio thinks about distribution, the coming industry shift to lower potency/higher flavor, raising capital/going public in Canada, and the common red flags he sees from cannabis brands currently. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

In this special episode, Brandon sat down with partner Christian Groh of Privateer Holdings. Privateer is a PE (private equity) firm that just raised a $100 million Series C and is the biggest investor in the cannabis industry! With an early investment from Peter Thiel, Privateer has become the gold standard of investing in cannabis. They own 4 entities, Leafly, Tilray, the Marley Brand, and The Goodship and have hit some incredible milestones with these brands. Learn about Christian's investment process, why control is important for cannabis investments, and why the US is losing globally to Canada, Europe, and South America. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted!

In this episode, Brandon learns about the future of home infusion of oils from founder Chrissy Bellman of LEVO Oil. Chrissy and her team have created a beautiful new device and experience for people who enjoy infusing and cooking edibles at home. Like most founders, Chrissy had a vision. She saw this new device category in her mind and relentlessly pursued it with passion until it worked. She traveled to China and learned how to source hardware, masterfully capped her pre-orders at 1,000 units, and built her a new device category against all odds. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with Chrissy, LEVO, and the future of home infusion!

On this episode, Brandon welcomes Jody Hall of The Goodship to the show. Jody has created one of the premier edibles brands in the cannabis industry, and her company was recently acquired by Privateer! With deep roots in the world of Starbucks, and experience starting/building Cupcake Royale, Jody had a vision and brought a world-class food experience to the cannabis edibles market. Learn how Jody and her team built this amazing brand, created the "TED talk for cannabis", and how they plan to rule the market in California. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with Jody and The Goodship!

In this episode, Brandon welcome CEO Kyle Sherman of Flowhub to the show to discuss compliance, METRC, API’s, seed to sale, delivery, crypto, and how his role as CEO has changed over time. Flowhub is one of the premier compliance companies focused on the cannabis supply chain. With total investment of $3.8 million from Poseidon, Phyto Partners, and others, Flowhub is ready to tackle it’s next challenge: the California market. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with Flowhub and the new world of cannabis compliance!

In this episode, Brandon welcomes CEO Nick Kovacevich of Kush Bottles to the show. Since 2010, Nick and his team have built Kush Bottles into a publicly traded powerhouse of the cannabis industry. KSHB provides everything from vape carts to packaging and labels for cannabis businesses. Since retaking the reins as CEO in 2014, Nick and his team have raised over $10 million in equity and executed almost $30 million in stock acquisitions. While politics aren’t his passion, Nick believes that 2018 will be the year that cannabis becomes a core wedge issue in American politics. Lastly, Nick prefers flower and if you want to join his awesome team check out https://careers.kushbottles.com/. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

Have you ever wanted to invest in cannabis? Larry of Phyto Partners is a former Wall Street wealth manager who became one of the top VC's in the cannabis industry with investments in Leaf, Baker, Flowhub, Steep Hill, Front Range Biosciences, Leaflink and many more. Learn how he evaluates founders, companies, and decide where to deploy capital. He and his team are raising their 2nd fund now, so if you're a founder out there looking to raise capital from an experienced VC make sure you reach out to Larry. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

Does cannabis cure cancer? Maybe. To better understand the real medical power of cannabis, Brandon sat down to speak with Dr. Donald Abrams of UCSF. Dr. Abrams has been researching the cannabis plant for 2 decades, and shared some fascinating info regarding cannabis studies and clinical trials. From studying how cannabis impacts HIV to how cannabis effects opioid use, Dr. Abrams and his colleagues have been at the forefront of cannabis research since the late 1990's. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with the research behind your favorite plant!

In this episode, Brandon learns about the world of machine learning and how it's being applied to cannabis growing by companies like Grownetics. Their founder, Eli Duffy, dives into how they built a fully automated smart garden that uses AI, machine learning, and other tech software to improve the quality and consistency of harvests for growers. Their early results are backed by studies from the University of Colorado. Tune in, listen up, and learn about the future of cannabis growing!

Happy 2018! To start off the year, Brandon sat down with CEO Christopher Galvin of Hypur to discuss the problems with current banking solutions in cannabis and how Hypur helps solve them. They dive deep into the Cole Memo, compliance requirements for banks, and how cannabis businesses can navigate the legal and regulatory requirements. It's high time that cannabis companies were allowed to bank and transact like other businesses, and Christopher and his team have built a solution to help. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted!

In this episode, Brandon welcomes CEO/Dr. Jon Vaught to the show. Jon and Brandon dive deep into the clone world of cannabis and how proper breeding and genetics can mitigate disease and pesticides issues. Jon also discusses raising capital ($4.5 million to date) and how he tackles all the different challenges of being a founder. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with the science of cannabis!

In this episode, Brandon welcomes founder Ryan Smith of LeafLink to the show. Ryan was the first cannabis founder on the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016. He also just raised $10 million to expand LeafLink to California. LeafLink helps brands and retailers streamline their processes, and in November 2017 they handled $16 million in transactions on their platform. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with one of the most impressive founders in the cannabis industry.

In this extra special throwback episode, Brandon moderates the exciting and highly contentious "Weed on Wheels" Delivery Panel at New West Summit 2017. Panelists include: CEO of Eaze - Jim Patterson, CEO of Meadow - David Hua, CEO of Speedweed - AJ Gentile, and Zachary Brown, President of Operations at Pot Valet. This hour long panel dives deep into delivery marketing, operations, and CA regulations. In addition, a green room skirmish bled out onto the panel as fake online reviews were a trending topic. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted!

In this episode, Brandon welcomes founder Keegan Peterson of Wurk to the show. Keegan and his team have built the best product suite of compliance, payroll, and scheduling in the cannabis industry. With a seed round raise of $3 million and experience in Canopy Boulder, Keegan and his team are ready to crush it as we approach legalization in California for 2018. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

In this episode, Brandon interviews Ryan Sterling, one of the founders of GreenScreens. GreenScreens is a Canopy Boulder company that has created a unique cannabis retail experience via an in-store display network. This marketing channel really helps brands and sales inside the dispensary grow. They are actively raising capital right now and just pitched at The Arcview Group. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with one of the best new startups in the cannabis industry!

In this episode, Brandon welcomes CEO Cassandra Farrington of Marijuana Business Daily to the show. Cassandra not only runs the Wall Street Journal of the cannabis industry in MJ Biz Daily, but she also runs the premier cannabis conference in MJ Biz Con every year. Brandon and Cassandra dive deep into how MJ Biz has evolved, the economics of the conference business, and why they continue to produce the best conference in the industry. The next one is from November 15th-17th in Las Vegas and we have a discount code for you! Use code "InvestingInCannabis50" for $50 off your MJ Biz Con ticket. We will see you at MJ Biz in 2 weeks! Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

In this special episode, Brandon interviews Pamela Johnston, formerly an executive at Electrum Partners. Electrum is a top cannabis advisory firm located in Las Vegas. Earlier this year, Pamela was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. In this very sad story, Pamela was then fired from her job after this diagnosis. She's now suing Electrum Partners and their CEO Leslie Bocskor for wrongful termination and sexual misconduct. This is Pamela's side of the story. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!