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, keep fucking going!

To the investors- I’m sorry this industry hasn’t worked out better so far. I’m still a believer that with time great wealth can be created from cannabis, but the obstacles and barriers are still monumental. 

To the guests - thank you for taking a chance on me! I was a kid with zero experience with either cannabis or podcasting. Thank you for everything you taught me. 

To Producer Erik and Director Jacob - without question the fondest memories of the show will be with you two just trying to figure shit out. In many ways my favorite time was when nobody listened and we did this for ourselves. Let’s start a new show! 

For the last time . . . Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!

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/