The cannabis industry is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Growing at a rate of 30% annually, BDS Analytics estimates it to be worth $22B by 2020, just 6 short years after the first state fully legalized.
Topics: Entrepreneurship, cannabis companies, cannabis business, marijuana, canopy alumni, cannabis science, cannabis investing, startup, frontier markets
There’s a story that gets told around the Canopy offices from time to time about one of our alumni’s mothers and her first trip to a dispensary. The story goes that the mom arrived in Denver, had some time to kill and so stopped into a dispensary. Mom was not an experienced cannabis user and so, of course, asked the budtender what she should get. The budtender recommended edibles. Lots of edibles. Too many edibles.
Topics: Entrepreneurship, cannabis companies, cannabis business, marijuana, canopy alumni, accelerator, startup, frontier markets
One of the things we hear around here from time to time is the appeal of the cannabis industry because it is not yet set in decades of tradition. This reality opens up opportunities to build something with the state of our world in mind. Ron Basak-Smith and James Eichner of Sana Packaging are two of the visionaries bringing a more sustainable future to this nascent industry.
Topics: Entrepreneurship, cannabis companies, cannabis business, canopy alumni, startup, sustainability
Fall is just around the corner in Colorado and, with that, the graduation of our summer accelerator class. As the teams start wrapping up their CanopyBoulder curriculum, we’ve been reflecting on what the accelerator truly adds to these businesses. How is it that teams can come into the accelerator in May with an idea and leave in August with a fully formed business model, business plan and, in many cases, follow-on investment.
Topics: Entrepreneurship, cannabis companies, canopy alumni, accelerator, startup
The Marine Corps has a saying that goes something like this – it’s more important to make a decision at the right time than it is to make the right decision. The reason for this is simply that the pace of military operations requires decisions to be made quickly despite uncertainty. Delaying, even for what seems like a good reason, is more problematic than making an incorrect decision. Investing decisions are also more sensitive to time than to being right or wrong. In other words, it’s better to be in a bull market than to miss it because you couldn’t make a decision on where to invest.
Topics: Investing, cannabis business, cannabis investing, frontier markets
Alumni Spotlight: Front Range Biosciences brings science to weed
Cannabis is quickly becoming one of the most high-value crops in the United States. However, as more states come online, the price per pound of cannabis continues to drop. This trend is normal - just a symptom of supply and demand - but is obviously concerning for cultivators. While there’s not much a cultivator can do to change supply and demand, they can ensure a high quality product (and thus, more profits) that is both disease free and pesticide free.
Topics: Entrepreneurship, cannabis companies, cannabis business, marijuana, canopy alumni, cannabis science, front range biosciences, tissue culture