#Morgan Paxhia | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

desertcbdoilforrunner · 4 years

Text

Marijuana's big moment

Marijuana's big moment: Pot stores are now essential businesses. Will legal weed go mainstream? - USA TODAY

DENVER — The marijuana industry is clutch change.

Edible products and pre-rolled joints are out. Vape concentrates and loosen "flower," which can be jam-pawncked into bongs or pipes or rolled into joints and qualify additional sustain it off for the buck, are in.buy rainbow kush online in usa

Stores are in effect winking . Instead, customers order online and call forth up pavement , a major shimmy from when apiece buyer had to be in person substantiated by a commissioned put in worker. In California , stores sustain mostly switched to an all-delivery model.

The country's burgeoning marijuana manufacture is working swiftly to adjust to its customers' needs as the coronavirus irruption wreaks mayhem on the United States of America government government economy. With byplay owners unable to regain Union soldier bailouts because the have remains illicitly nationally and popular 4/20 events cancelled because of provincial orders, vender are ambitious for new selection to reach customers and act upon lawmakers that legal weed has turn a life-and-death manufacture for more or less a Americans.

"This is cannabis's second to learn its determination and its voice," aforesaid Julie Armstrong, CEO of Montana-based shrub analytics job concern Emperor of Rome Data. "It was the possibleness we never saw coming."

Get regular coronavirus updates in your inbox: Sign up for our newsletter now.

The irruption has brought new challenges for learned profession weed vender . ethnic distancing has required retailers to essentially abandon their cautiously configured stores and switch to pavement and livery services. wide shutdowns sustain as well unvoluntary the cancellation of 4/20 celebrations, which are ordinarily the highest-sales periods of the year, and the calendar day approximately which very much of the industry's planting, gather and production is scheduled.

And it as well appears to sustain at small temporarily halted New star sign of star sign of York state's ganja reform efforts, which was wide seen as a major provide in the road toward national legalization. Officials at that place appear to sustain set subject matter legalization efforts patch they move with irruption , which has hit New star sign of star sign of York harder than any other.

But it's as well spurred more or less a consumers to go on purchase sprees to header with the longish bovine unit of time at beginning and mental state over the nation's accumulation layoffs and ontogenesis change toll, and prompted regulators in more or less a states to tell shrub shops primary byplay on par with groceries, gas and liquor.

It's the "critical service" portion that has more or less a shrub advocates rosy that the outbreak has turn a once-in-a-lifetime possibleness to travel further into the mainstream.

"It's a really all important significance that we were deemed essential: In a sea of chaos, this was one of the walloping moments in our industry's history," aforesaid Morgan Paxhia, managing partner at California-based Poseidon quality management, which invests in shrub businesses.

Consider this:Drinking alcoholic beverage may heighten risk of acquiring coronavirus, WHO suggests

Store operators say it's all but adjust regulators began treating ganja stores on par with parallel retailers. In Colorado, regulators are even holding shrub put in workers get their receiver regime licenses remotely, or else of having to demonstration up in person at the licensing office.

"It would sustain normally taken two to quintet instance period for lobbyists and legislation to check up to wherever California is today," aforesaid Christian Schenk, CEO of livery keep company Driven Deliveries Inc.

Industry experts say this could as well be the necessary draw near to act upon sexual activity to accept ganja businesses to ingest airplane maneuver same any other byplay , because change could possibly be a vector for wide coronavirus. Airplane maneuver are loosely reluctant to let ganja businesses get accounts for fear they'll be targeted by prosecutors chasing have traffickers.

The trounce administration has so far remained tacit on the role of ganja during the national emergency, achievement aside states to let how to proceed, so nigh sustain either kept up or even broadened regain , via livery and pavement service. Eleven states sustain legalized recreational ganja , on with the govern of Columbia, and 33 states accept more or less spatiality of checkup ingest .

Massachusetts stand solo as the merely regime now grammatical relation legalized pot shops to merely checkup users, motility out recreational buyers. Gov. Charlie Baker argued — and a hold united — that guardianship the shops winking to recreational buyers would resource assist world well-being , a decision applauded by the anti-legalization separate raffish Approaches to Marijuana. More or less well-being experts say overwhelming ganja and smoke it in particular could put the user at a greater risk from an coronavirus infection, since it attacks the lungs.

"While other industries are acceptive closures as a separate of what essential be through with to assist unprotected populations, the ganja manufacture has chosen to motion and call at the person of even a short transferred possession of profit," aforesaid Kevin Sabet, the administration director of SAM, and who worked for respective presidents in the soul star sign Union soldier agency of status Suffer restrain Policy. “The actions taken by the manufacture should go as a monitory to other states considering ganja commercialization: This manufacture gift do everything in its power to try and crouch mortal to do its wishes."

Who's at risk:Coronavirus could hit hoi polloi with inexplicit waste issues harder

An calculable 243,000 full-time-equivalent employees worked in the learned profession ganja manufacture over the United States of America government government as of January 2020, accordant to Leafly, an online listing of shrub retailers. That's up 15% in a lonesome year.

In comparison, the politically popular char defense manufacture employs sporting all but 50,000, accordant to Union soldier statistics.

Consumers, of course, are steering that growth.

Paul Hartje, the consumer change director for Denver clinic inspiration & Smith, aforesaid byplay rocketed 15-20% as the provincial orders rolled out, but has relocated down to be all but 5% higher up normal.

"People are however stockpiling," he aforesaid .

Part of that may be in preparation for 4/20 celebrations. Denver has historically been the post of the walloping 4/20 apiece year, but territorial division officials are interrogative celebrants to remain beginning . In response, dispensaries are organizing whizz broadcasting conferences make out with live in punishment to resource bell ringer the occasion.

That doesn't mean shrub vender solely sustain a wrestling hold on the shop .

One manufacture adept aforesaid he's nearly look marketing over adjust because price-conscious consumers may shimmy aside from learned profession stores and line purchase cheaper shrub from illegal dealers who don't sustain to pay taxes or get their products reliable as a regime lab. They strength as well , he aforesaid , line ontogenesis their own.

"People are achievement to carry on to be tired but that doesn't mean they're achievement to be buying from the learned profession shop if the value is lower elsewhere," aforesaid flatness Karnes with GreenWave Advisors, a shrub the calculus job concern . "It really comes down to value and how agonistic it all is. As state rises and moment turn tougher for everybody, if hoi polloi aren't working, they may will it's adjust to farm my own stuff, and peradventure I'll be it on the side."

0 notes

savvyherb · 5 years

Text

CULTIVATED: Recruiters share their 3 best tips for landing a job in cannabis, Headset CEO walks us through his pitch deck, and vape-related illnesses

Introducing Cultivated, our new weekly newsletter where we’re bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom. Sign up here.

Happy Friday everyone,

September is officially upon us, which thankfully means cooler weather and the oft-cited “Fall Sprint” in media circles.

A bit of bad news, however: I was really excited for some big, quality hurricane-fueled surf out at Rockaway Beach this weekend — forecasts like this are once in a blue moon for the East Coast. Unfortunately, Mayor De Blasio’s office has other ideas and has closed all New York City beaches to surfing this weekend over concerns about rip currents.

Your friendly cannabis industry reporter is pretty bummed about that.

Anyway, let’s get to it:

On Thursday, we held our inaugural cannabis industry webinar with Headset CEO Cy Scott, joined by Poseidon Asset Management Partners Emily and Morgan Paxhia.

In the webinar, Scott walked us through his tips for crafting the perfect pitch deck to hook potential investors. Headset raised a $12 million Series A earlier this year, led by Poseidon.

You can watch the webinar in its entirety here.

In other news, vaping related illnesses and deaths continued to climb over the week. Regulators and doctors are still unsure of the root cause of these, but it appears that the illnesses stem from both nicotine-containing vapes, as well as THC-containing vapes.

And it’s not yet clear whether illicit vapes are solely to blame, as state health officials in Oregon confirmed that a middle-aged man had died after purchasing cannabis oil from a regulated dispensary. Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb has an editorial in The Washington Post going over the dangers of vaping both nicotine and THC.

On the Canadian cannabis front, CannTrust’s woes continue. A recent report from BNN Bloomberg found that senior staff at CannTrust brought illicit cannabis seeds into their licensed production facilities, resulting in illegally-grown pot entering the regulated market.

The company has since laid off 20% of its staff— or 180 people — as it restructures in light of all the recent turmoil

In (slightly) more upbeat news, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brendan Kennedy, Tilray’s CEO, in BI’s Manhattan offices on Wednesday where he laid out his view of the cannabis landscape. Cowen analyst Vivien Azer slashed her price target on Tilray by 60% but still maintained her outperform rating on the stock.

More stories from around the BI newsroom:

Cannabis companies are growing rapidly. They’re a great place to look for jobs, from entry-level retail positions all the way up to senior management.

To get a sense of how to best land a job in the booming industry, Business Insider spoke with some of the top recruiters in the cannabis world.

They told us their best tips — and explained why being passionate about cannabis isn’t enough to land a new role.

The CEO of Headset, a data-analytics provider for the cannabis industry, revealed his key advice for making a successful pitch to potential investors.

Scott emphasized the importance of having a clear and concise mission statement that “aligns everyone to the organization” and hooks investors.

The company recently brought in $12 million from its series A funding round.

This one is from my colleague Hilary Brueck on Insider’s science and health team, who has been doggedly covering the vape illness story all week.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said more than 450 “possible cases” of vaping-related lung illnesses have been tallied so far. At least four people have died after vaping.

Many of the cases involve vaping THC and other cannabinoids, but some happened after vapers inhaled only nicotine.

The safest thing to do, the CDC says, is “consider not using e-cigarettes.”

It’s worth revisiting this chart in light of the vape-related illnesses, from a story we published back in April. In the story, we obtained exclusive results from one of California’s top cannabis testing labs, CannaSafe.

The lab found in a blind analysis that less than 15% of CBD products actually contained what the labels said. On top of that, some of the tested products had high levels of solvents and dangerous gases like ethylene oxide and ethanol that are particularly dangerous when vaporized and inhaled.

Check out the results of the study:

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Psychedelic drugs draw some investor attention — and much skepticism (Wall Street Journal)

Black market pot entered CannTrust facility, flowed into legal market last year: Sources (BNN)

CEO of cannabis giant Canopy is on a media blitz to ease concerns (CNN Business)

Cases of vaping-related lung illness surge, health officials say (New York Times)

The baffling legal gray zone of marijuana at the airport (Wall Street Journal)

Vape pen lung disease has insiders eyeing misuse of new additives (Leafly)

The post CULTIVATED: Recruiters share their 3 best tips for landing a job in cannabis, Headset CEO walks us through his pitch deck, and vape-related illnesses appeared first on Savvy Herb Mobile Cannabis Platform.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/302xVva via IFTTT

#cannabis #marijuana #thc #cbd

0 notes

bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years

Text

This longtime hashish investor has funded Pax and Juul, amongst others; right here’s her method – TechCrunch

http://tinyurl.com/yy68mfyk If you happen to’re a hashish investor or a founder engaged on a cannabis-related startup, you’ve in all probability heard of Poseidon Asset Management. The San Francisco-based funding agency is one among only a few that’s targeted narrowly on the business, which stays pretty insular for now. Poseidon has additionally been at it longer than most outfits, having begun making bets on cannabis-related corporations six years in the past. Extra, Poseidon has managed to stuff checks into among the quickest rising corporations within the sector, together with the hashish vaporizer firm Pax Labs and the e-cigarette firm Juul, whose founders created the Pax vaporizer earlier than peeling off to win over people who smoke. Certainly, as a result of Poseidon has largely invested the cash of high-net price people and household workplaces, it hasn’t been constrained by the identical vice clauses — or restrictions by backers like pension funds and different establishments — that may usually hamper the place enterprise capitalists make investments. Poseidon is notable for but another excuse, too. It was based by siblings Emily and Morgan Paxhia, whose mother and father each died of various cancers on the ages of 46 and 52, respectively. Actually, regardless of — or due to — being a younger teenager on the time, Emily Paxhia says she will nonetheless very a lot keep in mind the hospice nurse who really useful to her father that he smoke pot to ease his ache. Little did Paxhia know then that the hashish — then a stunning and unique idea — would later inform the profession she now enjoys. We talked about it earlier this week, in addition to how Paxhia and her brother determined again in 2013 that hashish was going to be the subsequent large factor. If you happen to’re interested by their path, and the place they’re procuring now, learn on. TC: You grew up in Buffalo and also you say your mother and father have been entrepreneurial. EP: Our dad restored houses in an economically depressed a part of Buffalo, and our mother labored for an actual property company. When started operating his books, voila, we had a household enterprise. TC: Then he grew to become sick once you and your siblings have been younger. How did that impression you? EP: He was a dyed-in-the-wool hippy. We had Woodstock tickets in our dwelling. He by no means actually accepted the established order, which I believe informs the way in which we view the world. However sure, he grew to become aggressively sick with most cancers in 1994 and handed away in 1996, and it was this non-virtuous cycle, the place they might put him on this or that treatment and every had its personal horrible unwanted side effects. Lastly, a hospice nurse who got here to our dwelling mentioned, ‘John, possibly you some smoke some pot.’ She informed us it will assist together with his urge for food and scale back his anxiousness and assist him sleep. It was this palliative care factor that had been stigmatized however she believed was helpful. I don’t know if he tried it or not, however then he handed away, and 5 years later, our mom, who was very wholesome and ran and took care of herself, additionally died of most cancers. I’ve usually appeared again and thought that if my mother and father had [used cannabis at the end of their lives], they might not have suffered so enormously. TC: How did you get from Buffalo to beginning a fund in San Francisco, seemingly out of the blue? EP: After faculty, I used to be spending time in New York and in San Francisco, working in market analysis, together with on behalf of Amex and Viacom and Comedy Central — all corporations competing in markets that have been very saturated. It was onerous to search out white house. Once I moved to California [full time], I began to see individuals lining up outdoors the doorways of dispensaries and I believed, ‘Listed below are individuals who ordinarily wouldn’t break a regulation, however they’re doing one thing that’s federally unlawful as a result of they need hashish. Brick-and-mortar is dying elsewhere and it’s thriving right here. That is what product-market match seems like.’ TC: At what level did you resolve to associate along with your brother and why? EP: He labored for UBS in the course of the downturn [of 2008] after which he landed in Rhode Island, working for a personal registered funding advisor. And I known as him, and I mentioned, “Dude. I believe the ‘factor’ of our technology is hashish.” I really keep in mind the place I used to be standing in San Francisco. We’d at all times although we’d be in enterprise collectively, and he took me 100 % critically, after which we couldn’t flip it off. From that time on, we have been determining how will we take part on this. It was Morgan who recognized {that a} fund made probably the most sense, that the business was occurring and it was very underserved from a tech and investor perspective. He knew the business was going to want funding and that traders would want an actively managed technique. TC: How did you get began? EP: It was onerous. It was very onerous to search out attorneys to work with us, however we did. The identical was true of auditors and again workplace administration. Every thing that’s usually a check-the-box sort of course of was onerous. TC: What about traders? How did you start lining these up with out a monitor document? EP: I had that qualitative consulting expertise, working with manufacturers and serving to them scale; Morgan had conventional funding expertise. However there have been no information units on the time. All we may do was be ‘in market’ on a regular basis. We traveled to be with corporations. We traveled to completely different geographies as a result of every has such sophisticated regulatory nuances to it. Elevating cash was actually troublesome. We bought laughed at fairly a bit. It’s humorous, lots of our earliest traders have been attorneys as a result of I believe they understood the true, versus the perceived, danger concerned in what we have been doing. TC: Ultimately, you started to assemble this evergreen-type fund and also you started investing whereas fundraising. The place you procuring at on the outset? EP: We targeted initially on the tech side of the business. To us, that was the place we noticed the most important hole and the most important alternative to doubtlessly scale shortly. Additionally, these corporations tended to be began by tech founders who have been [secondarily] eager about hashish. TC: How have been you drumming up deal circulation? EP: It was going into shops, seeing what they have been utilizing when it comes to tech, speaking with retail associates about what individuals have been shopping for, going to business occasions and to hashish job festivals to see was hiring, then beginning to construct relationships with these corporations. We knew as entrepreneurs ourselves that being as founder pleasant as attainable could be the important thing to our deal circulation. And we begin having founders bringing us different founders. We’ve now led 20 rounds at this level, and our greatest deal circulation has come from the founders themselves. However it’s additionally been a matter of getting on the market and strolling as much as individuals and saying, “Have you considered elevating capital? In that case, let’s hold speaking.” TC: Do you are feeling such as you now acknowledge founders who you shouldn’t again? EP: What 100 % doesn’t work on this business is hubris. In different areas of enterprise, a sure stage of confidence bodes properly for founders. However this isn’t a move-fast-and-break-things business. There are such a lot of regulatory challenges that you really want to know the lay of the land. I’ve seen individuals are available and bounce proper out once more due to their perspective. Founders additionally want to grasp the additional prices in money and time that include operating these enterprise and to mannequin accordingly; in any other case, projections are off and valuations are off and also you’re going through a doubtlessly down spherical later in time. TC: You have been in a position to return cash to traders in January, after Juul distributed a particular dividend. Is that your greatest exit thus far? EP: That was an enormous one, however we’ve had different large exits out of [an earlier] pair of funds by [several investments in Canadian companies], together with [medical marijuana company] Aphria [which went public last October] and Cover Progress [which went public in 2014, is Canada’s second-largest grower, and is currently valued at roughly $15 billion]. Canada is a really completely different market. You’ll be able to order hashish from the federal government and it’ll arrive within the postal mail. It’s very top-down in contrast to within the U.S., the place the market may be very bottom-up and state by state. There’s loads of funding happening [across U.S. and Canada]. It’s very permeable at this level. I used to be in Toronto final week, and licensed producers there need to make investments extra in California. We’re in the meantime Latin America and Europe– TC: That’s attention-grabbing. The place in Latin America and why? EP: The fee to supply hashish in Colombia is extraordinarily low. Hashish grows on a 12-hour cycle very properly and the equator runs by the nation’s southern sector [making its warm climate conducive to the plant’s growth]. Native corporations can export the merchandise at a decrease price than in Canada and Europe. [Operators there] even have distribution relationships with European markets [that are buying medical marijuana]. Mexico can also be anticipated to roll out its medical program within the fourth quarter of this yr, which is thrilling. TC: Clearly these locations have been dwelling to drug cartels for years. Do you are concerned that these similar organizations will take an curiosity in what’s being constructed legally of their backyards? EP: We’ve gotten comfy with each locations. I believe the cartels have begun to pivot to different locations, like meth. I additionally don’t assume it’s price it to the cartels to get entangled with authorized authorities channels. And the teams that we deal with are themselves targeted on medical hashish and distribution to different medical contact factors globally [and not the same places into which cartels are trying to move goods]. TC: I’ve learn that Poseidon is attempting to boost a new, $75 fund. How far alongside are you? EP: We’ve capital commitments for half the fund and hope to shut it this summer season. We would like to have the ability to deploy [more capital] earlier than legalization is [more widespread] and we now have to compete with greater funds. TC: What’s your pacing like? Relatedly, how briskly do you need to transfer on this investments, or do you could have on a regular basis on the planet proper now? EP: We anticipate to speculate this new fund in 15 corporations over two years. We’ve funded 5 startups with it since November, however we have been in diligence on a type of for months. I’d say the common deal takes 60 to 90 days to tug collectively proper now. We begin our personal diligence earlier than the corporate is contemplating a Sequence A, which is the place we make investments. We need to assist construction the spherical, to guide it, to have a board seat — to exhibit our worth add. TC: Are you seeing many, or any, significantly frothy offers? EP: Valuations should not going loopy however the extra well-liked a deal will get, the tougher it turns into, as with every funding. We’re wrestling over a time period sheet proper now, as a result of different teams bought a take a look at it and need us to guide it, however we’re additionally getting negotiated in opposition to a bit of bit. TC: Any parting phrases for traders who need to leap into the business? Any recommendation? EP: I’d say to go to occasions and stroll the ground to see who and what stands out. I went to MJBizCon [the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo] that occurs yearly each winter. The primary few years that we went, there have been a number of hundred schlubby guys strolling the ground. The yr earlier than final, there have been 3,000 individuals in attendance, wanting loads much less schlubby. Final yr, I believe there have been 27,000 individuals, which I took as an indicator that there’s some curiosity on this house. [Laughs.] Source link

0 notes

mikemortgage · 6 years

Text

Big money tests cannabis waters, with hedge funds leading the charge

Navy Capital’s one-room office in midtown Manhattan could probably fit in the coat closets of many of its competitors. But the hedge fund’s digs belie the firm’s success in betting on something few of its peers will touch: cannabis.

Since the Navy Capital Green Fund launched in May 2017 the company said it’s increased assets under management to almost US$100 million from US$10 million and returned more than 100 per cent net of fees last year.

As for 2018, “we’re having a good year so far,” Sean Stiefel, Navy Capital’s 30-year-old founder said in an interview at the company’s office on Lexington Avenue, where the only adornment is a white board labeled “prospects.”

“How a handful of hedge funds cornered cannabis financing — and made a killing in the process” is locked How a handful of hedge funds cornered cannabis financing — and made a killing in the process

Cannabis grower Tilray valued at up to US$1.5 billion for Nasdaq IPO

New cannabis regulations could put spotlight on ‘key’ investors of private companies

As Canada moves toward legalization of recreational marijuana on Oct. 17 and the U.S. shows signs of growing leniency, hedge funds such as Navy are leading the advance of institutional money into a sector that’s so far been dominated by retail investors.

Uruguay, Really?

Currently, institutions account for only a fraction of shares held in many pot companies: big firms hold 6.5 per cent of Aphria Inc. and just 5.2 per cent of Aurora Cannabis Inc., both members of the Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. By comparison, 76 per cent of portfolio stalwart Rogers Communications Inc. is held by institutions.

For the few cannabis companies that are cross-listed on U.S. exchanges, institutional ownership is higher. About 18 per cent of Canopy Growth Corp., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, is held by institutions, while Cronos Group Inc., listed on the Nasdaq, is at 22 per cent.

Canadian pot stocks have had a wild ride in the past year with the BI Canada Cannabis Competitive Peers Index surging about 250 per cent from October to December as the road to legalization became clearer in Canada, before dropping by about 50 per cent this year.

Navy Capital’s foray into cannabis investing started in 2016 when it got a call from a Canadian broker urging them to look at ICC Labs Inc., chosen by Uruguay to produce recreational marijuana after it passed a law legalizing the drug in 2013.

Chief Investment Officer John Kaden, 44, said they almost didn’t take the call. “I mean, cannabis in Uruguay?”

But the growth projections couldn’t be ignored and Navy bought in at a $40 million (US$30 million) valuation before Vancouver-based ICC listed on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange through a reverse takeover. Four months later when it had reached a market value of $160 million, they sold. It’s worth about $206 million now.

“After that we were like, ‘How do we learn as much as we can?”‘ said Stiefel. “I went to Israel, Australia, Europe, Canada and we really tried to spend the latter half of 2016 understanding the landscape.”

Rollercoaster Ride

Today, about half of Navy’s portfolio is invested in Canadian companies that it considers “properly valued,” including CannTrust Holdings Inc., Hydropothecary Corp. and Organigram Holdings Inc. The remainder is split between the U.S. and Europe, Israel and Australia. The fund invests in both public and private companies and sees the best investment opportunities shifting from Canada to the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

“We’re staying at the bleeding edge in the newer markets that are just legalizing,” Kaden said.

Still Leery

While hedge funds like Navy are embracing the pot space, pension and mutual funds are still reluctant, said Chris Barry, a Seattle-based lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney LLP who works with cannabis firms. That’s not because they don’t see a compelling investment opportunity.

“I know personally of a number of occasions where a company has walked into a major mutual fund, an everyday name that you would know, and said, ‘How about it?”‘ Barry said in a phone interview. “And people around the table have said, ‘Oh, our fund couldn’t possibly consider doing that,’ and then they pulled out their chequebooks and invested personally.”

Many U.S. funds don’t want to run afoul of investors and regulators in a country where marijuana is illegal at the federal level. That’s less of an issue for specialty hedge funds and family offices that fly under the radar. “It’s much easier for them to decide to assume the legal risk that Jeff Sessions is going to show up at the door someday than it is for a publicly listed mutual fund or a union pension fund,” Barry said, referring to the U.S. attorney general.

Family Office

Pension giants the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said they have steered clear of the sector, while The Vanguard Group Inc. said it only invests in the stocks through its indexed products. BlackRock Inc. declined to comment.

Some cannabis firms are taking matters into their own hands, hiring people with capital markets experience to help lure institutional investors to their stocks. Last month, Khiron Life Sciences Corp. appointed Chris Naprawa, formerly a partner at Sprott Capital Partners and head of equity sales at Macquarie Canada, as its president with the goal of boosting the Vancouver-based company’s visibility to institutions. Naprawa said he hasn’t seen much appetite from large Canadian investors, but U.S. family offices and hedge funds are starting to buy into the space.

Gaining Legitimacy

Investors say the industry has received three stamps of legitimacy in the past 12 months: Tiger Global Management, the US$35 billion hedge fund company, bought a stake in San Jose, California-based cannabis software startup Green Bits Inc.; alcohol giant Constellation Brands Inc. bought a 9.9 percent stake in Canopy Growth; and GW Pharmaceuticals Plc received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a cannabis-based epilepsy treatment, the first marijuana-derived medicine to get the green light in the U.S.

“Those types of breakthroughs are breaking down stigmas,” said Charles Taerk, chief executive officer of Toronto-based Faircourt Asset Management Inc., which runs the pot-focused UIT Alternative Health Fund. UIT, with about $20 million in assets, caters primarily to retail investors.

Like Prohibition

San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management LLC, one of the longest-running hedge funds in the cannabis space, said it’s seeing tentative interest from bigger institutions but they may not take the plunge until U.S. federal laws change.

“They’re all interested in getting educated but they don’t feel necessarily compelled to jump in yet,” said Morgan Paxhia, who co-founded and co-manages Poseidon with his sister Emily. “We’re just trying to build those relationships for when they do.”

Poseidon launched in January 2014 and has assets under management of more than US$60 million. The fund has invested primarily in private companies for high-net-worth individuals and family offices, but plans to gradually increase its public exposure to as much as half its assets.

Another factor keeping the biggest investors away from the space is that most cannabis companies are still relatively small, said Kaden at Navy Capital.

“The reality is the Blackstones of the world can’t make this a core part of their business because it’s not going to move the needle for them,” he said. “They have to be able to deploy US$1 billion to move the needle and right now it’s hard to deploy a couple hundred million.”

It may only be a matter of time. There are at least 91 publicly traded companies in Canada with a combined market value of more than $30 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The largest of those, Canopy, has a market value of $7.8 billion.

“I find this space so exciting, it’s like getting involved in liquor right before prohibition’s about to be eliminated,” said Navy Capital’s chief financial officer, Kevin Gahwyler.

Bloomberg.com

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2zu0I3q via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

#IFTTT #Financial Post

0 notes

gigglesndimples · 6 years

Text

Cannabis at SXSW: Pot Panels, Movies and More

Back when I was an Austin resident from 1994-1996, SXSW celebrated the weirdness of Austin. Local bands played up and down 6th St., hoping for national recognition from industry types who descended on the Texas capitol every March. Twenty-four years later, it’s grown into a 10-day celebration of film, music, technology and progressive thought.

Texas is flirting with medical cannabis and attracting some young, vibrant political figures that want to bring legalization to the Lone Star State. SXSW is the perfect vehicle for furthering this goal. The thousands of attendees are smart and not afraid of taking risks (although most of their risks focus on coding and instrumental harmonies). At the same time, the world of sensory enhancement is one they generally embrace.

There were several chances to engage in cannabis discussions and education at SXSW 2018. I participated in a panel on professional sports with Jim McAlpine, founder of the 420 Games, and Eben Britton, a former NFL player who formed Athletes for Care, We all advocated for the use of cannabis as a substitute for the prescription drugs that athletes are fed in the name of winning.

Other canna-panels featured Ardent Cannabis’ Shanel Lindsay, Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Kaplan, futurist Faith Popcorn and Morgan Paxhia from Poseidon Asset Management. There was a “clean cannabis” meet-up, a talk about marijuana as the next superfood and the Grasslands fundraiser for Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who’s running against Sen. Ted Cruz for his Senate seat, hosted by Ricardo Baca. The world premiere of Weed the People—directed by Abby Epstein, produced by Ricki Lake and featuring this cannabis blogger—was also a highlight.

Yes, cannabis was definitely a part of SXSW, but this is only the beginning. Prohibition still has a hold on states like Texas, and as fabulous as it is to imagine the festival including cannabis lounges and edible-making demonstrations, that will only happen if we keep pushing and don’t become complacent in the face of legal victories and public support.

This was my first SXSW experience, and there’s no way it will be my last.

CBD Helps Musician Recover from Brain Cancer

Texas Rep. Pete Sessions Rants About Pot at Opioid Summit

Colorado Cannabis Activist Busted in Oklahoma

If you enjoyed this Freedom Leaf article, subscribe to the magazine today!

The post Cannabis at SXSW: Pot Panels, Movies and More appeared first on Freedom Leaf.

Source: https://www.freedomleaf.com/cannabis-panels-sxsw/

The blog post Cannabis at SXSW: Pot Panels, Movies and More is courtesy of GigglesNDimples.com

from Giggles N Dimples - Feed https://gigglesndimples.com/2018/03/21/cannabis-at-sxsw-pot-panels-movies-and-more/

0 notes

cannabisbusinessexecutive · 5 years

Text

Confident Cannabis Raises $12M Series A Led By Poseidon Asset Management To Expand Wholesale Platform Nationwide

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, California, April 30, 2019 — Confident Cannabis, the only cannabis wholesale platform powered by verified lab data, raised $12 million in Series A funding, bringing their total to over $18 million since inception. The new Series A funding will help accelerate growth at Confident Cannabis and expand Wholesale to new markets. The round was led by San Francisco-based…

View On WordPress

#Confident Cannabis #Emily Paxhia and Morgan Paxhia #Poseidon Asset Management

0 notes

un-enfant-immature · 4 years

Text

Where these 6 top VCs are investing in cannabis

The cannabis market was in the midst of a correction when the COVID-19 crisis hit and could emerge stronger than ever.

After a breakthrough period of growth, cannabis startups entered 2020 with depressed values and an uncertain future. Now, with millions sheltering in place, many companies are seeing unprecedented demand and growth opportunities as many states classified the industry as an essential business.

TechCrunch surveyed top investors focused on the cannabis market to gather their thoughts on current trends and opportunities. The results paint a stunning picture of an industry on the verge of breaking away from a market correction. Our six respondents described numerous opportunities for startups and investors, but cautioned that this atmosphere will not last long.

Sean Stiefel, CEO, Navy Capital

Matt Hawkings, Founder/Managing Partner, Entourage Effect Capital

Karan Wadhera, Managing Partner, Casa Verde Capital LLC

Larry Schnurmacher, Managing Partner, Phyto Partners

Mitch Baruchowitz, Managing Partner, Merida Capital Partners

Morgan Paxhia, Managing Director, Poseidon Investment Management

Three key takeaways

Cannabis is an essential business

Per the investors in our survey, most see the the pandemic as a turning point for cannabis thanks to increased demand and the industry’s designation as an essential business. Sean Stiefel, CEO of Navy Capital, notes that states will look to cannabis to help resolve budget deficits and said his firm is especially excited for legalization in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

“Cannabis went from illegal to essential in about two weeks flat,” said Matt Hawkins of Entourage Effect Capital. “Cannabis is now listed right alongside hospitals, doctors, grocery stores, gas stations and fire departments as an essential service.”

#TechCrunch

0 notes

ramialkarmi · 7 years

Text

The 'Salesforce of Pot' just announced the latest takeover in the legal cannabis industry

Baker, a top cannabis tech platform, is acquiring Grassworks, one of it's largest competitors.

The move puts Baker's product in 850 dispensaries in valuable markets.

It's a sign of M&A activity heating up in the industry.

Baker, a Denver-based customer engagement platform sometimes called the 'Salesforce of Pot', acquired smaller rival Grassworks, in the latest merger in the maturing legal cannabis industry. Both companies are so-called customer relationship management platforms, that help businesses track sales and customer relationships. The move adds 150 dispensary clients to Baker's roster of 700 in US states with legal cannabis as well as a handful of Canadian provinces and firms up Baker's foothold in the Pacific Northwest market.

Morgan Paxhia, a managing director at Poseidon Asset Management, a cannabis-focused investment firm that led Baker's $3.5 million Series A round in May, told Business Insider in an email that M&A activity is a "longer and larger trend," in the cannabis industry, and consolidation is a "likely path for well-positioned companies."

"We see the Baker deal as a significant and historic step in the industry as this could mark the start of well constructed ancillary deals," Paxhia added. The ancillary space — namely, companies that serve the industry but don't actually sell the plant — in cannabis is the hottest area of investment, as it bypasses the often byzantine patchwork of local, state, and federal regulations in the industry.

Cannabis is legal in a number of states, but it's still illegal under federal law, making some investors nervous.

Constellation Brands, the third-largest beer company in the US, in October said it paid $191 million for a 9.9% stake in Canopy Growth, which is the largest legal grower of marijuana in the world. And, Springbig, a loyalty marketing platform for cannabis dispensaries, last week announced a partnership to integrate its technology with Green Bits, a compliance platform, putting the company in over 1000 dispensaries in states with legal cannabis.

"Frankly, it’s exciting that there are companies worth buying," Baker CEO Joel Milton told Business Insider. Baker declined to disclose the deal value.

Milton added that the acquisition puts "substantial space," between Baker and its competition. "Right now, we have 50 full-time employees and we just bought our biggest competitor," he said.

Grassworks' senior management will join Baker in its new Seattle office.

As for the competition, Paxhia said that newer entrants in the cannabis tech space have a "big hill to climb."

"In the end, competition is going to happen as it is a natural part of the business and validating for our industry," Paxhia said. "It's going to be exciting to be front row and watching this industry continue to scale and mature."

SEE ALSO: A startup that bills itself as the 'Salesforce of pot' has raised $3.5 million

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What 2,000 calories of your favorite foods looks like

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

0 notes

tortuga-aak · 7 years

Text

The 'Salesforce of Pot' just announced the latest takeover in the legal cannabis industry

REUTERS/Jason Redmond

Baker, a top cannabis tech platform, is acquiring Grassworks, one of it's largest competitors.

The move puts Baker's product in 850 dispensaries in valuable markets.

It's a sign of M&A activity heating up in the industry.

Cannabis is legal in a number of states, but it's still illegal under federal law, making some investors nervous.

"Frankly, it’s exciting that there are companies worth buying," Baker CEO Joel Milton told Business Insider. Baker declined to disclose the deal value.

Milton added that the acquisition puts "substantial space," between Baker and its competition. "Right now, we have 50 full-time employees and we just bought our biggest competitor," he said.

Grassworks' senior management will join Baker in its new Seattle office.

As for the competition, Paxhia said that newer entrants in the cannabis tech space have a "big hill to climb."

NOW WATCH: A gluten scientist explains why gluten-free diets are terrible for you

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2iUkHgg

#Feedburner

0 notes

nancy-astorga · 7 years

Text

The Trump Administration doesn’t appear to be slowing investment in the marijuana industry

As the new head of the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will have sweeping power over how the federal government approaches marijuana under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Marijuana currently exists in a legal gray area at the federal level.

The federal government classifies marijuana, which is illegal nationally, as a schedule I drug, meaning that it considers the plant to have no acceptable medical use and a high potential for abuse.

In 2013, however, the Department of Justice issued the “Cole Memorandum,” which moved federal resources away from prosecuting individuals operating legally in states that have legalized marijuana.

While it remains to be seen how Trump and Sessions will handle marijuana, some marijuana industry executives who spoke to Business Insider said they are hopeful that Sessions, who has spoken out against legalizing marijuana, will focus his attention on Trump’s priorities, like overhauling immigration, rather than picking a fight with legal marijuana.

A number of states voted to legalize recreational and medical marijuana on Election Day and 60% of Americans favor outright legalization, according to a recent Gallup poll.

“While it’s difficult to get excited about an attorney general such as Jeff Sessions, who is outspokenly against marijuana, it’s tough to deny the fact that the American people want marijuana legalization,” Serge Christov, an advisor to Honest Marijuana, a Colorado-based organic marijuana producer, told Business Insider.

‘The hidden benefit’

Since marijuana was first legalized in Colorado and Washington in 2012, the legal marijuana industry has existed in a federal gray area. The industry is regulated on a state-by-state basis.

That gray area has made the industry vulnerable to political risk, according to Christov. Without clearly established rules or regulations, a new administration like Trump’s could encroach on state-regulated marijuana enterprises.

However, marijuana advocates and policy experts say they expect the Trump Administration, and the Sessions-led Justice Department, to respect states’ rights to legalize and regulate marijuana without federal interference.

“Picking a fight with the growing number of states that are enacting popularly supported marijuana laws would be a huge distraction that the White House just does not need right now,” Tom Angell, of the pro-legalization group Marijuana Majority, told Business Insider.

Robert Capecchi, the director of federal policy for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement that he’s “cautiously optimistic” the Trump Administration will refrain from interfering.

President Trump hasn’t taken a firm position on the issue yet, though he indicated in past statements that he’d let states lead the charge on regulating marijuana.

Micah Tapman, a partner and managing director at the Colorado-based marijuana incubator and venture capital firm Canopy Boulder, said that there is one “hidden benefit” to the continuation of the federal gray area. Until the federal government clarifies its position, he said it’s an opportunity for “smaller and more agile” companies to develop businesses on a state-by-state basis.

“It’s not often that a multi-billion dollar industry is dominated by small and mid-size companies but that’s exactly what’s happening with cannabis,” Tapman added.

In Colorado, California, and other legal marijuana states, Sessions’ confirmation doesn’t appear to be slowing investment in the industry.

Neil Demers, the CEO of Diego Pellicer, a network of retail dispensaries, said that he’s “so confident” in the future of the marijuana industry that his company plans to open a flagship outlet in Denver next week.

“I believe the Trump Administration and attorney general Sessions understands that shutting down or consolidating the industry will end up sending jobs back to Mexico’s cartels, and I don’t believe that Mr. Sessions, nor President Trump, wants that to happen,” Demers said.

Morgan Paxhia, a partner at Poseidon Asset Management, told Business Insider that, in his view, the percentage of investors concerned about Sessions is relatively small when considering other reasons to get into the marijuana industry.

“We have talked with numerous cannabis companies this year, and most have noted Sessions as one of the least common reasons for a new investor to hold off,” Paxhia added.

Aaron Herzberg, an attorney and a partner at CalCann Holdings, a medical marijuana holding company based in California, said that the marijuana industry has grown too large to “put the cat back in the bag.”

Shauntel Ludwig, the vice president of operations at DaVinci, a vaporizer company, said that it would be “difficult to unravel the progression” in states that have chosen to legalize. Ludwig pointed to factors such as tax revenue increases, jobs created by the industry, and decreases in incarceration that would make criminalizing the industry politically unpalatable.

However, Kevin Sabet, of the anti-legalization group Smarter Approaches to Marijuana, told Business Insider that he “wouldn’t invest in the marijuana industry right now” pointing to the uncertainty around how the new administration will approach the industry.

SEE ALSO: Here’s where attorney general Jeff Sessions stands on legal marijuana

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Trump’s Attorney General pick wants access to everyone’s phones — here’s why that’s a problem

0 notes

un-enfant-immature · 5 years

Text

This longtime cannabis investor has funded Pax and Juul, among others; here’s her approach

If you’re a cannabis investor or a founder working on a cannabis-related startup, you’ve probably heard of Poseidon Asset Management.

The San Francisco-based investment firm is one of very few that is focused narrowly on the industry, which remains fairly insular for now. Poseidon has also been at it longer than most outfits, having begun making bets on cannabis-related companies six years ago. More, Poseidon has managed to stuff checks into some of the fastest growing companies in the sector, including the cannabis vaporizer company Pax Labs and the e-cigarette company Juul, whose founders created the Pax vaporizer before peeling off to win over smokers. Indeed, because Poseidon has largely invested the money of high-net worth individuals and family offices, it hasn’t been constrained by the same vice clauses — or restrictions by backers like pension funds and other institutions — that can often hamper where venture capitalists invest.

Poseidon is notable for yet another reason, too. It was founded by siblings Emily and Morgan Paxhia, whose parents both died of different cancers at the ages of 46 and 52, respectively. In fact, despite — or because of — being a young teenager at the time, Emily Paxhia says she can still very much remember the hospice nurse who recommended to her father that he smoke pot to ease his pain. Little did Paxhia know then that the cannabis — then a surprising and exotic concept — would later inform the career she now enjoys.

We talked about it earlier this week, as well as how Paxhia and her brother decided back in 2013 that cannabis was going to be the next big thing. If you’re curious about their path, and where they’re shopping now, read on.

TC: You grew up in Buffalo and you say your parents were entrepreneurial.

EP: Our dad restored homes in an economically depressed part of Buffalo, and our mom worked for a real estate agency. When began running his books, voila, we had a family business.

TC: Then he became sick when you and your siblings were very young. How did that impact you?

EP: He was a dyed-in-the-wool hippy. We had Woodstock tickets in our home. He never really accepted the status quo, which I think informs the way we view the world. But yes, he became aggressively sick with cancer in 1994 and passed away in 1996, and it was this non-virtuous cycle, where they would put him on this or that medication and each had its own terrible side effects. Finally, a hospice nurse who came to our home said, ‘John, maybe you some smoke some pot.’ She told us it would help with his appetite and reduce his anxiety and help him sleep. It was this palliative care thing that had been stigmatized but she believed was useful. I don’t know if he tried it or not, but then he passed away, and five years later, our mother, who was very healthy and ran and took care of herself, also died of cancer.

I’ve often looked back and thought that if my parents had [used cannabis at the end of their lives], they would not have suffered so greatly.

TC: How did you get from Buffalo to starting a fund in San Francisco, seemingly out of the blue?

EP: After college, I was spending time in New York and in San Francisco, working in market research, including on behalf of Amex and Viacom and Comedy Central — all companies competing in markets that were very saturated. It was hard to find white space. When I moved to California [full time], I started to see people lining up outside the doors of dispensaries and I thought, ‘Here are people who ordinarily wouldn’t break a law, but they’re doing something that’s federally illegal because they want cannabis. Brick-and-mortar is dying elsewhere and it’s thriving here. This is what product-market fit looks like.’

TC: At what point did you decide to partner with your brother and why?

EP: He worked for UBS during the downturn [of 2008] and then he landed in Rhode Island, working for a private registered investment advisor. And I called him, and I said, “Dude. I think the ‘thing’ of our generation is cannabis.” I actually remember where I was standing in San Francisco. We’d always though we’d be in business together, and he took me 100 percent seriously, and then we couldn’t turn it off. From that point on, we were figuring out how do we participate in this.

It was Morgan who identified that doing a fund made the most sense, that the industry was happening and it was very underserved from a tech and investor perspective. He knew the industry was going to need funding and that investors would need an actively managed strategy.

TC: How did you get started?

EP: It was hard. It was very hard to find attorneys to work with us, but we did. The same was true of auditors and back office administration. Everything that’s normally a check-the-box type of process was hard.

TC: What about investors? How did you begin lining these up with out a track record?

EP: I had that qualitative consulting experience, working with brands and helping them scale; Morgan had traditional investment experience. But there were no data sets at the time. All we could do was be ‘in market’ all the time. We traveled to be with companies. We traveled to different geographies because each has such complicated regulatory nuances to it.

Raising money was really difficult. We got laughed at quite a bit. It’s funny, many of our earliest investors were lawyers because I think they understood the real, versus the perceived, risk involved in what we were doing.

TC: Eventually, you began to assemble this evergreen-type fund and you began investing while fundraising. Where you shopping at at the outset?

EP: We focused initially on the tech aspect of the industry. To us, that was where we saw the biggest gap and the biggest opportunity to potentially scale quickly. Also, those companies tended to be started by tech founders who were [secondarily] interested in cannabis.

TC: How were you drumming up deal flow?

EP: It was going into stores, seeing what they were using in terms of tech, talking with retail associates about what people were buying, going to industry events and to cannabis job fairs to see was hiring, then starting to build relationships with those companies. We knew as entrepreneurs ourselves that being as founder friendly as possible would be the key to our deal flow. And we start having founders bringing us other founders. We’ve now led 20 rounds at this point, and our best deal flow has come from the founders themselves.

But it’s also been a matter of getting out there and walking up to people and saying, “Have you thought about raising capital? If so, let’s keep talking.”

TC: Do you feel like you now recognize founders who you shouldn’t back?

EP: What 100 percent does not work in this industry is hubris. In other areas of business, a certain level of confidence bodes well for founders. But this is not a move-fast-and-break-things industry. There are so many regulatory challenges that you really need to know the lay of the land. I’ve seen people come in and bounce right out again because of their attitude.

Founders also need to understand the extra costs in time and money that come with running these business and to model accordingly; otherwise, projections are off and valuations are off and you’re facing a potentially down round later in time.

TC: You were able to return money to investors in January, after Juul distributed a special dividend. Is that your biggest exit to date?

EP: That was a big one, but we’ve had other big exits out of [an earlier] pair of funds through [several investments in Canadian companies], including [medical marijuana company] Aphria [which went public last October] and Canopy Growth [which went public in 2014, is Canada’s second-largest grower, and is currently valued at roughly $15 billion]. Canada is a very different market. You can order cannabis from the government and it will arrive in the postal mail. It’s very top-down unlike in the U.S., where the market is very bottom-up and state by state.

There’s a lot of investment going on [across U.S. and Canada]. It’s very permeable at this point. I was in Toronto last week, and licensed producers there want to invest more in California. We’re meanwhile looking at Latin America and Europe–

TC: That’s interesting. Where in Latin America and why?

EP: The cost to produce cannabis in Colombia is extremely low. Cannabis grows on a 12-hour cycle very well and the equator runs through the country’s southern sector [making its warm climate conducive to the plant’s growth]. Local companies can export the products at a lower cost than in Canada and Europe. [Operators there] also have distribution relationships with European markets [that are buying medical marijuana].

Mexico is also expected to roll out its medical program in the fourth quarter of this year, which is exciting.

TC: Obviously these places have been home to drug cartels for years. Do you worry that these same organizations will take an interest in what’s being built legally in their backyards?

EP: We’ve gotten comfortable with both places. I think the cartels have begun to pivot to other places, like meth. I also don’t think it’s worth it to the cartels to get involved with legal government channels. And the groups that we focus on are themselves focused on medical cannabis and distribution to other medical touch points globally [and not the same places into which cartels are trying to move goods].

TC: I’ve read that Poseidon is trying to raise a new, $75 fund. How far along are you?

EP: We have capital commitments for half the fund and hope to close it this summer. We want to be able to deploy [more capital] before legalization is [more widespread] and we have to compete with bigger funds.

TC: What is your pacing like? Relatedly, how fast do you have to move on this investments, or do you have all the time in the world right now?

EP: We expect to invest this new fund in 15 companies over two years. We’ve funded five startups with it since November, but we were in diligence on one of those for months. I’d say the average deal takes 60 to 90 days to pull together right now. We start our own diligence before the company is considering a Series A, which is where we invest. We want to help structure the round, to lead it, to have a board seat — to demonstrate our value add.

TC: Are you seeing many, or any, particularly frothy deals?

EP: Valuations are not going crazy but the more popular a deal gets, the harder it becomes, as with any investment. We’re wrestling over a term sheet right now, because other groups got a look at it and want us to lead it, but we’re also getting negotiated against a little bit.

TC: Any parting words for investors who want to jump into the industry? Any advice?

EP: I’d say to go to events and walk the floor to see who and what stands out.

I went to MJBizCon [the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo] that happens annually every winter. The first few years that we went, there were a few hundred schlubby guys walking the floor. The year before last, there were 3,000 people in attendance, looking a lot less schlubby. Last year, I think there were 27,000 people, which I took as an indicator that there’s some interest in this space. [Laughs.]

#TechCrunch

0 notes

tortuga-aak · 7 years

Text

A company just inked the first ever deal to supply US-grown hemp fiber to an apparel company

Recreator

A Nebraska-based company signed Thursday the first contract to supply US-grown hemp fiber to a sustainable apparel company, according to an investor close to the deal.

Bastcore, LLC, purchases raw hemp grown by US farmers and has a proprietary process for converting hemp stalks into commercial materials, for textiles, composites, and energy production.

"This fiber supply contract marks a historic milestone in the U.S. Hemp Industry, and particularly for American-made hemp textiles, since the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill," Bastcore CEO John Lupien said in an announcement obtained by Business Insider.

The hemp is sourced from farms in Colorado, Kentucky, and Minnesota, and Bastcore plans to work with farmers in North Carolina and New York also as those states develop the legal framework for growing hemp.

The hemp will be used by Recreator, a Los Angeles-based apparel company that focuses on "bringing regenerative agricultural practices to the American fashion industry," the company said. Recreator will use Bastcore's hemp to make t-shirts and other garments in LA.

"This partnership should encourage rural communities to re-invest in natural fibers and textile production. We are excited to show the pull-through capacity of Recreator by implementing Bastcore’s American-grown and processed hemp fiber into our premium apparel line," Recreator CEO Matt McClain said.

Morgan Paxhia, a co-founder of Poseidon Asset Management, a cannabis-focused hedge fund that invested in Bastcore, told Business Insider in an email that "Bastcore's innovative technology is a cornerstone to revitalizing the US hemp economy."

AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda

"We have been working with Bastcore for almost two years now," Paxhia added. "We have witnessed their technology evolve from concept/R&D to today where we are now entering commercialization."

Growing industrial hemp was outlawed in the US prior to Colorado becoming the first state to legalize cannabis in 2014. Both hemp and marijuana are variants of the same cannabis plant, though hemp, unlike marijuana, doesn't contain any psychoactive chemicals.

The Farm Bill, signed into law by the Obama Administration in 2014, allows states that have legalized cannabis to develop regulations around growing hemp for industrial or research purposes.

Marijuana is considered an illegal drug by the federal government, though 29 states have legalized the plant for commercial, recreational or medicinal uses in various forms.

NOW WATCH: We talked to a UBS behavioral finance specialist about how emotions get the best of even the most experienced investors

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2wUkCiA

#Feedburner

0 notes

ramialkarmi · 7 years

Text

A startup that bills itself as the 'Salesforce of pot' has raised $3.5 million

A startup that's being called the "Salesforce of pot" has just raised $3.5 million to expand into new markets that have recently legalized recreational marijuana.

The company, Baker, raised an additional $1.6 million on top of its initial seed round in August for a total haul of $3.5 million.

Baker is a software platform that helps dispensaries generate more revenue, optimize sales, and increase customer retention in the burgeoning industry.

"This extension, specifically the fact that it closed so quickly on the heels of our initial round, validates our position that the cannabis industry needs industry-specific tools," Baker CEO Joel Milton said. "While parallels can be drawn to other industries, cannabis growers, manufacturers and dispensaries need solutions that cater to the legal and logistical demands of our industry."

Baker works with 250 dispensaries in 10 states where marijuana is legal, with plans to expand as more states, and Canada, introduce ballot measures to legalize recreational use. The company says it has generated $3.1 million in revenue for the dispensaries it serves.

Poseidon Asset Management, a cannabis-focused fund, led the round along with some individuals who made their first investments in the marijuana industry.

"Poseidon has been investing in the cannabis industry for over three years and Baker has proven to be one of the fastest growing, most scalable businesses we have seen," Morgan Paxhia, the Managing Director of Poseidon said. "Coupled with the recent successful ballot initiatives, which virtually tripled the size of the industry overnight, Baker is definitely a company to watch as it continues to mature."

Investors also noted similarities between the craft beer industry, and the marijuana industry.

"I noticed a big opportunity in the cannabis industry, which draws many parallels to the craft beer business with which I’m very familiar. Due to federal regulations, investments in the industry have seemed too risky,"John Green, Executive Chairman and Partner for Founder’s Brewing Co said. "However, following the November ballot initiatives (where recreational cannabis was legalized in four states that tripled the industry size), the opportunity became a lot more attractive."

Though venture capital dollars are still flowing into the industry, Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, has vowed to crack down — as marijuana is illegal at the federal level — and that's made some investors nervous.

Baker isn't a "plant-touching" business, but rather a software platform, meaning that it may be sheltered from a federal crackdown.

SEE ALSO: The marijuana industry's first unicorn is being added to an influential stock index

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What happens when you eat too much protein

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

0 notes