In the new “Green Rush”, virtually everyone is a startup. And many of tomorrow’s biggest players in the marijuana market are currently looking for the right partner who will make for a successful business. There’s no shortage of people with skills and ideas in the newly legal cannabis world, and monetary investment in ganjapreneurs is rapidly picking up the pace. Whereas only a handful of private equity investment firms for cannabis existed five years ago, MJBiz Daily maintains a current catalog which now lists dozens of investment groups operating nationwide.
According to ArcView Market Research, revenues from the U.S. marijuana industry are expected to grow from $6.7 billion in 2016 to over $21 billion by 2021, a phenomenal increase of 30%. Troy Dayton, CEO of Arcview Group, reports that more than $100 million has been invested in cannabis-related startups since 2010.
In 2016, Steve Gormley, CEO of Seventh Point, told Business Insider how busy his investment company is keeping:
“While most of the money in the industry is still coming from family offices and people’s personal bank accounts, 18% of entrepreneurs who have started cannabis companies in the past year have landed funding from venture-capital and private-equity investors, according to the fact book.
“‘We’re getting more excitement than we can handle,’ Gormley continued. ‘I cut my teeth in the dot-com era. I lived through the housing bubble. This is something completely unto itself.'”
While this is certainly encouraging for those interested in cannabis business, the key to success will be education and keeping up with current changes in legislation and market performance. From the Huffington Post:
“There is money to be made in the marijuana industry, but individuals need to be very careful when considering these investments. Other than comparing it to alcohol prohibition, there is no real model to follow, or past performance to analyze. There is no one we can turn to that has been in the industry for decades and can pass their experience and knowledge onto us.”
So what can an individual do who is looking to become a serious player in the new market? Learn from current cannabis industry leaders about what is working best in established markets and how to avoid unseen pitfalls of this unique commercial enterprise. Come participate in the International Cannabis Business Conference this December 1st-4th at the Grand Hyatt Kauai in Hawaii where attendees will learn all the latest about private equity, venture capital and angel investment in the cannabis industry.
