Quick hits on the most interesting stuff going on in cannabis startups.
Brooklyn, NY
Joined July 2021
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Daily reminder that we are still in the first leg of the #cannabis race.
Recreational adult use only legal in 42% of States.
🚀🌳
Did you know the former CEO of Wrigley Guy invested $65m into a Cannabis Retailer in 2018.
By 2022, it was on pace for $600m+ in total sales.
Then, a SPAC in partnership with Scooter Braun imploded.
And now … he’s getting suit by investors for fraud.
#cannabis
Kore Compliance uses a contemporary payment alternative to cash or cashless ATMs to modernize retail cannabis.
This is the kind of NECESSARY cannabis infrastructure benefiting the industry.
Who are the best, most innovative cannabis startups out there?
(Looking for companies building the infrastructure / tools - not the growers or brands.)
There were 15,605 applications for cannabis retail licenses in CT.
The state will be issuing 12 licenses, half reserved for social equity applications.
Does this feel adequate?
#CannabisCommunity #cannabisnews
The energy of #cannabis startup founders is just different.
There is a drive toward a more equitable future that simply doesn’t exist in other sectors.
The mainstream still doesn't associate cannabis use with socializing the same way we do with alcohol consumption.
The arrival of consumption sites (i.e. weed cafes) in places like New York City will QUICKLY change this perception.
Some #cannabis stats
The alcohol industry is projected to hit annual sales of $735B in 2025 (CAGR of 8%) & the cannabis sector is projected to hit $160B in the same timeframe.
Meanwhile, 63% of Gen Z say they use cannabis more than alcohol and 19% say they never drink.
How much will we see non-cannabis startups break into the space via acquisitions in 2022?
@CovaSoftware, a POS for cannabis dispensaries, had raised $29m and was just acquired by @Waitrapp, a NON-cannabis, restaurant delivery app.
Shockingly few startups are focused on hiring across the cannabis industry.
The big player in the space is @vangsttalent
Who else?
What are the critical pieces of #cannabis infrastructure still needed?
The startup ecosystem has exploded over the last couple years with improvements in POS, delivery, supply chain management, and more.
Still a lot of opportunity out there!
Botany Report 🌳 retweeted
I love the US cannabis industry. What a wonderful grassroots community we’ve built over all these years. We need to step back and celebrate our progress together.
Alaska has more cannabis retail shops per capita than any other State in the US.
This is driven by the fact that there is NO cap on licenses in the State with a total of 140-150 locations total.
#cannabis #CannabisCommunity #CannabisLegal
Cannabis Startup #4
Company: LeafLink
HQ Location: New York, NY
Date Founded: 2015
Growth Stage: Series C ($89m Equity, $250m Debt)
What they do: LeafLink is a wholesale management platform that connects cannabis brands and retailers.
In fragmented markets, B2B purchasing & supply chain management can be hard and time consuming - LeafLink offers a platforms making it simple for Cannabis Retailers to identify brands, learn about new products, place order, process payments, and manage customer analytics.
In the broader commerce markets, platforms like ShopKeep (acquired by @LightspeedHQ for $400m in 2020) offer similar solutions.
In the cannabis, LeafLink is the go-to.