Pot Entrepreneurs Court Texas Investors In Cannabis 'Green Rush'

Ron Strider

Well-Known Member
It was California-based Arcview Group's 24th cannabis industry investor pitch forum, and the business plans promised dazzling returns investing in everything from seed and soil to smoke, vapor, edibles and oils.

Mason Levy of WeGrow, a Boulder, Colorado-based startup aimed at the home and community-garden cannabis grower, was trying to sell investors on Elle, a "conversational grow bot."

Michael Bologna of Denver-based Green Lion Partners was hawking a "dipper" with atomizer attachments for inhaling cannabis vapor. "Dipstick Vapes is dedicated to raising the standard of excellence for the consumer experience in the cannabis industry," Bologna told investors. "We saw an opportunity in the dipper for a device that we could dab with, but also could leave it on our counters or our coffee table, put it in our laptop bags and not feel like you're setting up an elaborate lab experiment or huddled over a crack pipe."

Matt Wilson, of the Seattle-based founder of Altopa, unveiled the Oblend, "the first consumer device that allows you to precisely blend botanical oils at home."

It was California-based Arcview Group's 24th cannabis industry investor pitch forum, and the business plans promised dazzling returns investing in everything from seed and soil to smoke, vapor, edibles and oils.

Mason Levy of WeGrow, a Boulder, Colorado-based startup aimed at the home and community-garden cannabis grower, was trying to sell investors on Elle, a "conversational grow bot."

Michael Bologna of Denver-based Green Lion Partners was hawking a "dipper" with atomizer attachments for inhaling cannabis vapor. "Dipstick Vapes is dedicated to raising the standard of excellence for the consumer experience in the cannabis industry," Bologna told investors. "We saw an opportunity in the dipper for a device that we could dab with, but also could leave it on our counters or our coffee table, put it in our laptop bags and not feel like you're setting up an elaborate lab experiment or huddled over a crack pipe."

Matt Wilson, of the Seattle-based founder of Altopa, unveiled the Oblend, "the first consumer device that allows you to precisely blend botanical oils at home."

"I wish could tell you I built the Oblend machine in a garage but the truth is I had a world class team of scientists, engineers and executives from the consumer products, health care and medical device industries," he told the group.

Among the mix of suited and sandal-wearing executives at the AT&T Convention Center on the south end of the University of Texas' flagship campus, it was hard to distinguish the investors from the investees. The lights were dimmed and a sound crew played thumping, upbeat music as the parade of industry analysts and entrepreneurs – some with Ivy League and Silicon Valley pedigrees – took to the stage in early May.

With slogans and power point slides, they outlined how startups in cultivating, dispensing, marketing and distributing cannabis could get Texans in on what is being touted as the fastest growing industry in America. Cowen & Co., a New York-based investment firm, estimates the legal cannabis industry will grow to $50 billion within the next 10 years.

More than one offering was built on digital market access and described as the "Amazon of Cannabis."

Troy Dayton, Arcview's CEO, opened the two-day forum with a look out at the ballroom full of current and would-be investors and an introduction that marked a sense of history and place.

"We're in Texas," he said. "Wow."

Conservative-leaning Texas might seem an odd place to rent convention space and rally sponsors from some of the nation's leading cannabis companies. Its compassionate use program is so narrow, industry experts don't even count the state among the 29 states that have legalized medical marijuana. But the Lone Star State is known for having some deep pocketed and adventurous investors, Dayton said, and Texas is second only to California in the number of Arcview investors.

The "green rush" is seen as a national and international phenomenon. According to John Kagia of the industry analytics firm New Frontier Data, support for legalization now stands at 57 percent, up 10 percentage points from 47 percent four years ago. More than 60 percent of Americans now live in a state with legalized marijuana.

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