Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2019 i Green Entrepreneur

This issue was hard. Narrowing down the thousands of cannabis companies to the top 100 (plus 20 honorable mentions) was like choosing a favorite child. Or I guess 100 favorite children (plus 20 honorable mentions). OK, that’s a terrible analogy. But you get the point. There are so many incredible and innovative cannabusinesses out there, and because the legal industry is so new and always changing, success is difficult to measure. So how does one pick the best? You can start by doing what we did—poring through thousands of applications, reading countless data reports and spreadsheets, and even maybe sampling a few products (hey, it’s research!)—all to help make the most informed decision possible. In the end, we were pleased with the result, and we think you will be, too.…

Unless you’re a wealthy business genius who fully understands every aspect of the cannabis industry, you probably need some advice—and a little funding—to get your company off the ground. In the tech industry, this assist often comes in the form of an incubator, like Y Combinator or Techstars. These groups work with companies they believe have potential and help take them to the next level. Now incubators are starting to pop up in the cannabis industry, too. To help you decide whether to try one, here’s the lay of the land: What, exactly, is a cannabis incubator? It’s a company that gives selected cannabis startups a boost in their early stages. Generally, incubators provide expert advice on the direction a startup should take, helping it evolve from its earliest stages…

1. Tell us about your company, including a little about your history and what you see as your mission. Since the Company was founded nearly a decade ago, CV Sciences has grown into one of the most trusted names in the hemp industry. Throughout our time, our mission has been the same: to make hemp extracts available for all. In the beginning, we started as a supplier and focused predominantly on creating a new category - supplying the ingredient to other manufacturers and formulators interested in creating hemp-derived CBD products. But after recognizing there was a huge need for clean, consistent and trusted finished products that were marketed and labeled correctly, we created the PlusCBD™ Oil brand - making products that the consumers could count on. The 2014 passage of…

In less than five years, founders Marc Beginin and Nick Tennant took Detroit-based Precision Extraction Solutions from a novel idea to the worldwide leader in cannabis and hemp extraction technology. From its humble beginnings inside a 1,200 sq ft facility, the company initially designed, engineered, and built extraction equipment specialized for cannabis operations. Since then, Precision redeployed its operations to a sprawling 20,000 sq ft warehouse and international headquarters, expanding its offerings to include site planning and design services, primary and post-production extraction equipment, and turnkey solutions for a variety of commercial extraction applications. With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, legalizing hemp and CBD extracts on the federal level, Precision now engineers and manufactures mega-industrial scale hemp processing plants that can scale to process over 100,000 lbs of…

Few among us are in the market for a $950 handblown-glass bong. Or a pair of $900 Balenciaga high-top sneakers. But if you’re someone who absolutely must have both, you’ll find them within 20 feet of each other on the fifth floor of Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. The cannabis store-within-a-store is fittingly called The High End. It isn’t so much a dispensary as it is a luxury head shop offering the finest paraphernalia and CBD-infused beauty products. While The High End is exclusively in Beverly Hills for now, there are plans to expand to additional Barneys locations in legaluse states. “Our brand is really about acknowledging cultural shifts and creating dialogues,” says Barneys creative director Matt Mazzucca. “There’s a lot of controversy about cannabis, and also a growing…

Back in 2008, Stephanie Hua had a popular food blog called Lick My Spoon, which showcased mouthwatering photos and recipes of such delicacies as “Playa Jambalaya” and “Unicorn Poop.” But of the hundreds of recipes she posted, nary a one included cannabis. Jump to 2015. Hua had just graduated from culinary school, while her husband was busy cofounding a cannabis software company in the Bay Area. During their frequent visits to pot shops, Hua became frustrated by the confection offerings. “As someone who has a lower tolerance for edibles, it was really difficult for me to find a product I could consume,” she says. “I was a five-milligram kind of gal.” Although she would cut various cookies and brownies into small pieces, “it was a crapshoot as to whether or…

Cookies was founded in 2012 by Berner, the prolific Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur, and his partner Jai, Bay Area cultivator and breeder. The combination of new genetics, the internet, music and streetwear has solidified Cookies as a one of a kind brand that’s been established during a priceless time that may never come back. With the music industry backing Cookies and social media and YouTube vlogs documenting its growth and breeding projects, the community was able to take that ride with the brand which built a grassroots cult following. Today, Cookies is one of the most respected and top-selling cannabis brands in California and is globally recognized, amassing a stable of over 50 cannabis varieties and product lines including indoor, greenhouse and sungrown flower, pre-rolls, gel caps and vape…

Coming up with the right name for a new company is a big deal. It’s the message you send to the world. Like deciding what to call your child or a pet, the result is something you’ll be living with, hopefully, for a long time. And it can be critical in your success. An unremarkable label can mean an exciting brand is overlooked, while a great name can help break through the clutter and catch a consumer’s attention. When you’re naming a company in cannabis—a new industry with changing legalities and a lingering stigma—getting it right can be even trickier. Should you be clever or straightforward? Include cannabis in the name or be more subtle? And how do you even begin? The key is to hit on something that both telegraphs…

HQ ▸ San Jose, Calif. Caliva shot out of the gate this past January when it closed its first round of funding at $75 million with investors like Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo, and legendary Super Bowl–winning San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Caliva is using the funding to continue expanding its branded retail stores and wholesale distribution and open direct-to-consumer channels. gocaliva.com “There are limited vehicles for any cannabis company to actually advertise, and we truly believe that the best advertising we can do is actually from our great customers.”—Dennis O’Malley, CEO, Caliva…

Most cannabis producers are busy growing plants, but scientists at biotech companies are actively developing what they believe could be the future of the industry: It’s “synthetic” CBD, created in the lab. Because the synthetic cannabinoid could cut the massive costs of cultivating the crop and quicken the FDA approval process, the quest has taken hold especially among medical marijuana pharmaceutical companies focused on developing new drugs. Already, researchers, universities, and a handful of startups are in the early stages of synthesizing cannabis’s CBD. But the first company to actually patent a compound (or the process to make it) in a way that’s both therapeutic and scalable would command a serious edge in this fast-growing industry. What exactly is synthetic CBD? We’re not talking about so-called synthetic marijuana, a misnomer…

For someone new to cannabis, a Day Dreamers peppermint chocolate bar looks like a delicious entry point. It’s divided into six bite-size pieces, and its wrapping promises: “Improving your everyday.” What could go wrong? Maybe this: Just one of those little squares contains 60 times the THC recommended for a new consumer—and although the bar’s fine print says that it’s for people with high tolerance, that’s an easy message to miss. If a newbie eats the whole thing, they’ll take in 360 times the suggested inaugural amount. This is a classic example of why dosing—that is, matching the right THC levels to an individual user’s needs—is the cannabis business’s next frontier. As the industry matures, customers increasingly want to know exactly what they’re getting and specifically how it will make…

If you’ve ever hankered for the quick hit of smoking pot but with the discretion of edibles, Case Mandel has your answer. Mandel is the cofounder of the California-based company Cannadips, which makes a smokeless and spitless cannabis chew. We talked to him about his company’s origin story, and why he thinks his product is a better way to consume than vapes and edibles. Describe what Cannadips are. Cannadips come in a small fiber pouch that kind of looks like a chewing-tobacco pouch. But they’re much smaller and modeled after Swedish Snus. Inside the pouch is a mix of coconut fiber, essential oils, monk fruit, and the dry cannabis tincture. We have three flavors: American, Citrus, and Mint, which comes in THC and CBD. How does it work? When you…

The cannabis industry is hiring. To date, more than 211,000 people have full-time cannabis jobs in legal states, and more than 64,000 of those jobs were added in 2018, according to a special report from the resource site Leafly. This number will only continue to grow as new companies enter the industry and more states legalize. But having sold weed in high school doesn’t make you a shoo-in for a job. In fact, as the cannabis business has taken off, it’s also gotten much more competitive. If you’re heading for an interview, here are the mistakes to avoid—and the opportunities to take advantage of. MISTAKE ▸ Winging it. Surprisingly, many candidates assume they can cruise through the interview, according to Regina Rear-Connor, a talent acquisition leader at cannabis marketing agency…

HQ ▸ Las Vegas Planet 13 might just be the biggest cannabis superstore on the planet, and it’s still growing. The company opened a new, 112,000-square-foot site and plans to expand into top-tier markets across the country. Planet 13, which is fully licensed for cultivation and retail distribution in Nevada, sells a variety of brands that include Medizin, TRENDI, and Leaf & Vine. planet13holdings.com “We’re looking to redefine what’s normal. We’re not necessarily building a 7-Eleven where you go in and do a quick transaction and you leave right away. We want you to hang out, enjoy, spend some time here.”—David Farris, director of marketing, Planet 13…

HQ ▸ Dallas Cresco Capital was founded in 2014, making it among the very first investment funds specializing in cannabis. It now has more than $50 million invested in every stage of the industry, from cultivation to ancillary services. Among its most notable, if not largest, clients is Harborside Dispensary, the first legal dispensary in the country, which went public in Canada in June. Curiously, Cresco offices are in Texas, a notably cannabis-unfriendly state. crescocapitalpartners.com “There’s nothing more fun than giving the lifeblood, which is capital, to really incredible organizations. In this industry in particular, it all moves so fast, you get to see what that money does that you give these companies quickly.”—Codie Sanchez, partner, Cresco Capital Partners…

If you want a good place to see the CBD supply chain being built, go to Mile High Labs in Loveland, Colo. As little as a year ago, you could find the warehouse with your nose. The reek of newly legal hemp, which no human (and probably no drug-sniffing dog) could distinguish from its intoxicating sister plant containing THC, wafted from bins of the crop that seemed to be everywhere. Trucks loaded with “super sacks” filled with hundreds of pounds of hemp arrived frequently. Like the aroma of a busy bakery, Mile High Labs’ pungent terpenes would seem to signal the sweet smell of success for a processor riding the CBD wave. But founder and CTO Stephen Mueller didn’t smell it that way. For him, the odor emanating from the…

CJ Wallace has no memory of his larger-than-life father, Christopher Wallace—a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Biggie. He was only five months old when Biggie was murdered on a Los Angeles street in 1997. For much of CJ’s early life, the picture he carried of his enigmatic father was the same one the public did—a hardened gangster, a drug dealer, and a legendary rapper. But as CJ got older and heard stories about his dad from his mother, R&B artist Faith Evans, and grandmother, Voletta, a new portrait of Big Poppa started to emerge. “He was really a sweetheart. He cared about everyone around him. He was a loving guy,” CJ says. “I’m hearing so many stories from my mom and from my grandma about how much I’m…