Highly Objective

Mario Naric is the Founder & CEO of Motif Labs, a leading brand house in Canada’s including Boxhot (#1 vape brand in Canada), Rizzlers, DEBUNK and Boondocks. The company did C$90M of Revenue in 2013 and double-digit EBITDA.

Mark is CEO and Co-Founder of The Bettering Company. Previously, he had a 35-year career in the finance sector, primarily focused on growth companies and startups. After spending 14 years on Wall Street in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney / Citigroup Global Markets, he joined a client, Thomas Kaplan, as the first employee and co-founder of Leor Energy.

He helped build Leor Energy into one of the fastest growing privately held energy companies, eventually being sold for $2.55 billion cash, turning Mr. Kaplan’s $22 million founder’s investment into a $2.2 billion exit.

The Bettering Company (TBCo.) is a new luxury cannabis edibles brand offering chef-curated edibles that use real fruits, herbs, teas, spices, and jams and are consistently infused. Obsessed with precision, the company diligently focuses on production techniques that will result in consistent THC levels. TBCo.’s products are being made in a 10,000-square-foot facility designed state-of-the-art kitchen.  The Bettering Company seeks to solve a historical problem in the cannabis sector of inconsistently infused edibles, leaving consumers with hesitancy to consume cannabis in edible form.

Eaze is a delivery focused multi-state cannabis operator. Eaze have over 1,500 employees nationwide, we’re the largest cannabis retailer in CA with over 1,000 employees, #3 retailer in colorado with full vertical integration and a growing presence in Michigan and Florida.

• Background on Eaze’s founding in 2014 as a technology company in California before acquiring Green Dragon and expanding into Colorado, Michigan, and Florida, with plans to focus on retail growth and delivery services in these regions

• Expansion plans for the retail stores in California, building more dispensaries in Florida, balancing capital allocations decision but keeping an eye on going deeper in Colorado and Michigan

• Importance of private label brands and shift from 40-50% down to 15-20% given purchasing power

• Key metrics for delivery and retail

• Potential catalysts (Schedule 3 and the Florida ballot initiative) for a future Exchange listing

• Impact of payment processing whac-a-mole

Marc Beginin is the founder and CEO of Prodigy Processing Solutions, a cannabis extraction equipment and technology industry. Before starting Prodigy, Beginin led Precision Extraction Solutions, a cutting-edge extraction equipment company he established in 2014, which was acquired by Agrify Corporation (NASDAQ: AGFY) in October 2021.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beginin/

Re-launched as its own standalone company in 2020, the AlphaRoot story actually started early on in the growth of its now sister company, Founder Shield. Around the same time Founder Shield began to really gain a foothold in emerging industries, the legal cannabis industry began to take off. Given the Founder Shield team’s expertise in working in emerging markets that most traditional insurance companies could not understand, they launched the AlphaRoot brand as a way to market to these new legally operating companies.

While the cannabis book of business did grow moderately over the next few years, there was a need for a team dedicated solely to the space to really understand not only the insurance needs of these companies but what the cannabis industry as a whole was experiencing. At this juncture, our management team of Isaac Bock and Eric Schneider put together a strategy of how to make AlphaRoot its own standalone entity.

The plan was to leverage Isaac’s knowledge of the cannabis industry in general as well as his experience of handling 90% of the Founder Shield cannabis book of business with Eric’s network of business development partners he had made in the industry to create a unique insurance buying experience for our clients. The way to achieve this was to become members of the cannabis community first and foremost and use this expertise to help create insurance programs that actually meet our clients’ needs.

The team has a passion for what they do on a day-to-day basis and view themselves not as an insurance brokerage who happens to do cannabis, but as an operator who just happens to be in insurance.

https://alpharoot.com/

Curio Wellness is the leading wholesaler in most recent adult-use market in Maryland. They're also one of the only cannabis operators with FDA approved safety certifications for manufacturing. Focused on product innovation to introduce first to market cutting edge brands like terpene chews. The company also has a franchising program and fund aimed at helping minority entrepreneurs with its Far & Dotter retail banner.

Hemper launched in 2015 as a curator of monthly, limited-run cannabis accessory boxes and now has ~33,000 monthly subscribers (different packaing and products) with more than 500,000 boxes shipped to date. The company's limited-run boxes include celebrity-designed and curated editions with original artwork that have become collectors' items. The company also designs and manufactures its own smoking accessories, selling them through its online store and in more than 1,000 retail stores nationwide. The company self distributes to over 2,000 stores but wholesale to 200+ distributor and probably 3,000 additional retailers (smoke shops). Self distributing to over 7,000 stores (Cormark, EB Brown opens them up to 5,000+ retailers).

HARA Supply started in 2018, given a pre-roll cone shortage, one of their pre-roll partners offered a chance for them to enter a new product category. The Company directly operates 14 manufacturing sites, spanning over 250,000 square feet of the highest-quality pre-rolled cone production using the world’s finest European rolling paper. Hara Supply currently has over 4,000 personnel based in India, along with HQ office and warehouse located in Las Vegas, Nevada. HARA Supply currently produces over a billion pre-rolled cones per year for the cannabis industry’s largest entities.

As of June 30th, 2023, Naturae has 3 brands and ~30 SKUs selling at 15 of the 16 opened adult-use dispensaries in New York. We discuss Challenges and evolution of the company from CBD to Cannabis; Development of in-house brands while also running a vertically integrated company (excluding retail); Strategy to defend their brands in the market as more brands and MSOs enter. Naturae is focused on providing excellent service, offering quality products at competitive prices, and forming partnerships with dispensaries; How they met their largest investor Brian Hinchcliffe (Kirkland Lake Gold), who has been a significant figure in the company's growth and success; Self-distribution as a necessity for now but were open to exploring third-party distribution options if they could maintain control and meet their delivery requirements; Maintaining a 5% market share in the near term; Why the Company will have a brand in every category but flower.

David Goubert is President and CEO of Ayr Wellness and is responsible for overseeing the Company’s operational and commercial functions, including production, supply chain, retail, wholesale and marketing. Mr. Goubert joined Ayr from Neiman Marcus Group, one of the largest multi-brand retailers in the United States, where he helped lead the company through a transformation into one of the strongest retailers in the country. Most recently, he served as NMG’s President and Chief Customer Officer, where he was responsible for the full P&L of the Neiman Marcus brand as well as all customer touchpoints. Prior to joining Neiman Marcus, Mr. Goubert spent 20 years at LVMH, the world’s leading luxury consumer-products company. At LVMH, David served in a variety of capacities, including Senior Vice President of LVMH’s Starboard Cruise Services subsidiary and 15 years leading manufacturing, supply chain, retail and general management at the company’s flagship Louis Vuitton brand.

Jason Desentz is a HR leader with over 20+ years of progressive human resources experience working for start-up cannabis companies & Fortune 100 companies. He has developed an innovative framework to help companies build resilient and sustainable organizations.

Mike Siebold is a strategic advisor and investor to several cannabis teams domestically. His exposure to the hiring demand and movement of people within the cannabis industry gives him a unique perspective on the prospects and viability of players across the entire ecosystem.

Founded in 2017, FlowerHire is a team of experienced talent and recruiting professionals dedicated to helping companies build, scale, and retain world-class teams. The Company partners with cannabis companies to provide high-touch services including retained and embedded search, strategic talent management, and comprehensive HR advisory. The Company's Senior Advisors practice guides cannabis companies to strategically improve their human capital processes for compliance, performance management, retention, compensation design, and other specific needs of each company.

Summary. Advanced Vapor Devices (AVD) has quietly built the second-largest vape company by market share, just behind CCELL. In my conversations with CEO, Alex Kwon, it's clear that the company prefers to be heads down on execution, while letting the product, technology, and customers (such as Trulieve, Jeeter, Gold Drop, Blue River, Jetty, to name a few) speak for itself. Despite maintaining a low profile, AVD was thrust into the spotlight following a significant intellectual property (IP) lawsuit filed by Smoore/CCELL in 2021 in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). As the legal proceedings unfolded, it became apparent that AVD was the primary target of CCELL. However, just last month, the ITC delivered a definitive ruling in favor of AVD, finding no violation of their products. The ITC decision inadvertently fortified AVD's global IP strategy, charting a new path in the battle for IP dominance in the still nascent cannabis vape industry. In the months ahead, expect increased visibility from AVD as they launch new products in collaboration with some recognizable companies in the Cannabis industry.

Alex Kwon, CEO and Co-Founder. Alex leverages two decades of experience leading cannabis companies to strategically guide AVD’s growth and success. His extensive cannabis industry knowledge encompasses plant biology, cannabinoid science and leading-edge extraction and vape technologies. AVD operates on fundamental values that guide its daily operations propelling it to make impactful change as a force for good. Alex excels at building teams and architecting how businesses work, as he strives to inspire and influence how other entrepreneurs can think differently and challenge the status quo. 

His industry background includes founding the Humboldt Consulting Group, where he directed land acquisition and development in Northern California, and founding Sungrown in Washington State. As Sungrown’s CEO, he oversaw a targeted resin farming approach, that when coupled with best-in-class extraction and formulation, produced the premier cannabis oils found in top product brands in the state. Alex enjoys spending as much time as possible with his wife and three children.

Company Background and Overview. After extensive experience in cultivation and extracts, Alex realized that he should focus on value-added products like vapes and concentrates as they would continue to gain market share against flowers. Having experienced many reliability and consistency issues in vape hardware firsthand, Alex co-founded AVD in 2018 and delved into studying the entire supply chain to find ways to produce vape hardware at a fair cost while ensuring improved reliability, consistency and flavor. AVD embarked on a mission to assist companies and extractors in tackling the additional complexities of vape hardware, which added to the already challenging process of extraction and formulation. Furthermore, given the dissatisfaction caused by subpar customer service and products from incumbents like CCELL, there was a clear and urgent demand for a solution that could genuinely fulfill customer requirements and earn their loyalty. AVD had found a big product and customer service issue to solve in a multi-billion-dollar segment of the Cannabis industry.

Benjamin Ballinger is a cofounder of Shryne Group, California’s largest vertically-integrated operator—with retail, manufacturing, cultivation and distribution operations across the state, and the parent company of STIIIZY—the biggest vape brand in the US. As one of Shryne’s top executive, Benjamin oversaw the massive scaling of the company through California’s initial legalization period from 2017 to 2020—with a 10x increase in company revenues between the years of 2018 and 2020 alone. More recently, Benjamin was COO of Left Coast Holdings—a Michigan-based vertically-integrated cannabis company with a successful portfolio of brands—before founding Diamond Miners Consulting—a cannabis consulting firm specializing in helping operators in the areas of business development, product development and operational excellence.

Link to notes and transcript: https://www.highlyobjective.com/p/benjamin-ballinger-fouder-diamond?sd=pf

Recorded on March 22, 2023.

Topics discussed:

– M&A

– Verticalization

– Revenue Mix – Net Debt, Chicago Atlantic Financing – Branded Portfolio vs. Licensing – What are the ways in which MariMed is trying to drum up investor attention MariMed Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator, is dedicated to improving lives every day through its high-quality products, its actions, and its values. The Company develops, owns, and manages seed to sale state-licensed cannabis facilities, which are models of excellence in horticultural principles, cannabis cultivation, cannabis-infused products, and dispensary operations. MariMed has an experienced management team that has produced consistent growth and success for the Company and its managed business units. Proprietary formulations created by the Company’s technicians are embedded in its top-selling and award-winning products and brands, including Betty's Eddies, Nature’s Heritage, InHouse, Bubby’s Baked, K Fusion, Kalm Fusion, and Vibations: High + Energy.

Petalfast is the first-of-its-kind route-through-market platform for the cannabis industry. Petalfast helps cannabis brands thrive via its go-to-market accelerator program and through its full spectrum of agency services available to brands nationally. Notable cannabis brands already engaged in the Petalfast platform include Space Coyote, Emerald Sky, Bloom Brands, and Yada Yada. The Company, through its incubator program Pilot by Petalfast, also provides new and recently launched brands with direct access to leading retailers and opportunities to gain first-hand market analysis while also offering select retailers the opportunity to see future brands before they formally hit the market. Petalfast is taking its business model and expanding into newer, competitive markets.

Rainbow Realty Group and its affiliates are real estate companies focused on retail, industrial and greenhouse properties with cannabis companies in the United States. Rainbow offers sale-leaseback and mortgage financing with a portfolio consisting of 50+ properties across 9 states in the U.S. Rainbow’s parent, Gould Investors L.P., has been in the real estate industry for over 60 years. Gould is a significant shareholder of NYSE:BRT and NYSE:OLP. 

Kyle Shenfeld serves as President of Rainbow Realty Group, having served as Associate General Counsel of Gould Investors L.P. since 2016. Prior to that, he was an Associate in the Real Estate Department of Herrick Feinstein LLP from 2012 to 2016.

Cansortium Inc. is a vertically-integrated cannabis company with licenses and operations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. The Company operates under the Fluent™ brand and is dedicated to being one of the highest quality cannabis companies for the communities it serves. This is driven by Cansortium's unrelenting commitment to operational excellence in cultivation, production, distribution and retail. The Company is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Cansortium Inc.'s common shares trade on the CSE under the symbol "TIUM.U" and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol "CNTMF".

Hirsh Jain is the Founder of Ananda Strategy, a consultancy that advises leading cannabis brands, retailers, ancillary technology businesses and venture capital funds across North America and Western Europe. Ananda represents many of California’s leading retailers, and has helped them open many of the top-performing dispensaries in the state.

Hirsh serves as Vice Chair of the California Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, which aims to promote the common interests of cannabis businesses in California by advocating for sound public policy and facilitating collaborations between cannabis operators.

Hirsh is also on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in California, which for fifty years has been working to reform California's cannabis laws, led the opposition to the War on Drugs in California, and co-sponsored the nation's first medical cannabis law, Prop 215, in 1996.

In addition, Hirsh serves on the Board of Directors of SC Labs, one of the largest cannabis testing labs in the United States. SC Labs provides potency, pesticide, terpene, and microbiological testing services to many of the leading cannabis operators in the country.

Hirsh was previously the Director of Government Affairs at Caliva, a vertically-integrated California cannabis operator. Prior to Caliva, Hirsh was the West Coast Director of Government Affairs at MedMen, a leading cannabis retailer.

Before working in cannabis, Hirsh was the Global Policy Lead at Airbnb in San Francisco, working closely with government officials to develop legal and regulatory frameworks that enabled Airbnb to operate legally and successfully throughout the world. Before that, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in New York, working in the company's Public Sector Practice.

Hirsh has a B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley, where he worked as the Cannabis Lead in the Campus Public Defender’s Office, defending students that were accused of cannabis violations by the University. He also has a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he worked for the Human Rights Clinic and published research on the racially disparate impacts of The War on Drugs.

LeafLink, the cannabis industry's leading B2B technology platform, is standardizing how thousands of brands, distributors, and retailers manage their operations. The Company's industry-defining tools streamline the way legal cannabis businesses create, manage, pay for, and ship their orders. LeafLink's marketplace currently processes approximately $5 billion in annual transactions, representing an estimated 50% of legal U.S. wholesale cannabis commerce.

LeafLink is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Casa Verde Capital, CPMG, Founders Fund, Interplay, L2 Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Nosara Capital and Thrive Capital. LeafLink has raised more than $230 million of equity to date as well as a $250 million credit facility to provide liquidity to the cannabis supply chain.

POSaBIT is a FinTech company providing Point-of-Sale solution and cashless payment for cannabis retailers. 

Kai Kirk is a serial cannabis industry entrepreneur and executive leader with a wealth of experience operating in different roles across several industries. His time working in project management, engineering, information technology, private equity and venture capital give him the elevated base of knowledge necessary to understand and anticipate the needs of BLAZE customers. And his many years in the cannabis sector—as a founder and advisor for cultivation, distribution and manufacturing companies—also guide his work as he analyzes customer feedback, workflows and particular compliance parameters in an on-site capacity.

Kai’s skill in synthesizing different user perspectives is essential to BLAZE’s success and status as the industry’s leading supply-chain management and dispensary & delivery POS cannabis software. His expert oversight of the design, compliance and product management teams ensures that the company works as one to constantly advance its technology and user experience.

Aaron Miles serves as Chief Investment Officer of Verano Holdings (CSE: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF), a leading cannabis company with active operations in the U.S. Over the course of his more than 19 years of financial and capital markets experience, Miles has served in leadership roles across a variety of Fortune 500 companies and industries. His background and expertise spans investor relations, corporate development, treasury and communication roles in large and diversified corporations that include Abbott Laboratories, CME Group, Navigant, Tribune Publishing Company, the New York Stock Exchange, and most recently, Cresco Labs.

Link to 12/21/22 Investor Presentation: https://s27.q4cdn.com/702412356/files/doc_presentation/2022/12/Verano-2022-Investor-Deck_12.21.22.pdf

Leaf Trade is a wholesale cannabis buying and selling platform that streamlines and simplifies the industry’s supply chain and business operations. The Company supports cultivators throughout the entire wholesale selling process through their cannabis marketplace—connecting cultivators and dispensaries via flexible integrations, amplifying brands through bespoke advertising opportunities, supporting inventory management, and robust advanced analytics.

Michael Piermont is the President and Chief Revenue Officer of Leaf Trade. In his role, Michael oversees company strategy, sales, customer success, and marketing. Prior to joining Leaf Trade, Michael held leadership roles at CareerBuilder, Fooda, ECOFIT, Fanchest, and amSTATZ, the latter two of which he co-founded and helped exit.

Grön (pronounced Grewn) is one of North America’s largest producers of adult-use cannabis-infused edibles. The Company uses ingredients are organic, single-origin, Fair Trade Certified, and locally sourced whenever possible. Product offerings include cannabis-infused chocolate, sugar-coated Pearls, Mega Pearls, and Candy-Coated Pips. Grön cannabis edibles are available in Arizona, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and across Canada, with multiple new markets that will be added in 2023.

Soc is back for a second time to provide updates on Jane, including the recently launched iOS app and how the company thinks about building adjacent products to create a win-win-win for retailers, brands, and consumers.

If you're interested in Soc's first appearance, check it out here: https://www.highlyobjective.com/p/-podcast-jane-technologies-ceo-socrates

Dai speaks with Jason on the NY and MA and Brandon on What's happening in Germany and Europe more broadly as it relates to regulation, licensing, and M&A.

Jason Adelstone is an associate attorney in Vicente Sederberg’s Denver office, where he focuses his practice on federal and international policy, impact litigation, corporate and business law, and cannabis regulatory compliance. From advising clients on international policy reforms—especially as it relates to obligations under the three international drug treaties—to drafting contracts and performing market analyses, Jason is a valuable resource for his clients.

Brandon Kurtzman is a partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP, focusing his practice on regulatory and licensing matters in Massachusetts and New York. Clients turn to Brandon for representation and assistance with navigating medical and adult-use application processes, preparation and submission of national merit-based license applications, ongoing compliance and regulatory matters with the Cannabis Control Commission, and regulatory due diligence in connection with M&A deals. Brandon is also a member of VS's national merit licensing team, where he served as the lead attorney for competitive marijuana licensing projects in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, and Virginia.

Paul leads the lending strategy, investor relations, and investment opportunities as well as assist with M&A strategy for Safe Harbor. Penney was previously CIO  of KreditForce Capital, a merchant bank focused on emerging growth industries including cannabis, where he managed a portfolio of both public and private equity positions as well as senior secured debt investments. He also served as a strategic advisor and board member to some of the nation's notable cannabis brands and vertically integrated public and private companies including Sunday Goods, Humboldt Farms, Stiiizy, Kikoko, TapRoot, and Kush Co. Prior to KreditForce, Paul became the first U.S.-based analyst to provide official research coverage on the legalized cannabis sector as a Senior Research Analyst and Managing Director at Northland Capital Markets. 

In 2010, Scott Palmer and Kristi Palmer were inspired by a visit to a local chocolatier and soon started crafting the first Kiva Bars in their home kitchen. They didn’t realize it at the time, but they weren’t just creating a premium edible product, and soon after, a top 3 CA Distributor in Kiva Sales & Services. Dai chats to Kristi about starting Kiva, Why Distribution in addition to Brands, AR, Geographic Footprint, Innovation, Competition, New York, and the current Capital Markets.

Zach Lipson is Co-Founder and CPO at dutchie, the leading e-commerce and point of sale provider for the cannabis space. As a Product Designer and Product Manager by trade, Zach is driven by beautiful design and solving complex problems in innovative and elegant ways, using technology and design. 

We talk through buy vs. build with regards to Dutchie POS and Dutchie Pay, Data, How dutchie thinks about aligning itself with cannabis retailers, and more.

Dubbed 'The World's Strongest Pre-Rolls', Presidential is renowned and loved as the producer of the #1 ranked Infused Moonrock Blunt and is one of the top-selling brands in California. We speak to Everett on his background, Presidential's suite of products, collaborations, growth, and funding.

The recently launched product aims to take the cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic spirit market "to the moon" with three SKUs (Jalisco Agave, London Dry, Kentucky Oak).

Darnell Smith is a CPG and alcohol industry veteran and cannabis entrepreneur, innovator and advocate. Smith is the founder and CEO of MXXN, a non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused spirits brand that is evolving today’s cocktail culture and disrupting the alcohol and cannabis industry. MXXN is the first product launch of MOJO Ventures, which is part of the digital + creative consultancy MOJO he founded that has done extensive work for Procter & Gamble Ventures, Barcardi’s Incubation group, PepsiCo and more. Prior to founding MXXN and MOJO, Smith was a Senior Digital Transformation Lead at Infosys Consulting working with the likes of Adidas, Ralph Lauren, AB InBev, Novartis, GSK, Pfizer, AMEX and more. Prior to that, Smith worked for over a decade in various agency and client side roles focused on innovation and commercialization for the likes of Diageo and Pernod Ricard.

Founded in 2013, Jetty is one of the true originals in the California cannabis market. Jetty began its operations in San Diego with a focus on craft and innovation while applying a strict adherence to compliance, fiscal responsibility, environmental concerns, and community commitment. Today, Jetty’s 65-plus employees work at the company’s 14,000 sq. ft. Oakland headquarters and various other locations throughout California. The company continues to focus on its state-of-the-art production facility, utilizing the latest technology to create industry-leading extracts including award-winning Solventless Vape, Live Resin Vape, and other products.

Gary Santo brings more than 25 years of experience in Consumer Credit, Financial Services, Gaming and Technology, Higher Education and Pharma. He has held a variety of senior-level positions at The First Marblehead Corporation, Fitch Ratings, International Game Technology (IGT), Lantheus Medical Imaging and, most recently, Columbia Care.

Abner Kurtin is the Founder and CEO of Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) and the Portfolio Manager for JM10 Partners Fund. Established in 2018, JM10 Partners operates two private equity funds that invest growth capital into the cannabis industry. Kurtin has been managing opportunity capital for over 20 years. Prior to AWH, he was the founder of K Capital Partners, a multibillion dollar hedge fund and Ca2 Group a high end real estate development firm in Massachusetts. He started his career at The Baupost Group and served as a member of the Presidents Council of Massachusetts General Hospital and Chairman of the Hill House.

AeroPay provides alternative payment processing solutions to state legal cannabis businesses, offering a convenient and contactless digital payment option.

Prior to launching Pilgrim Soul, Founder and CEO Shawn Gold started his career as CMO, Head of Marketing & Content for MySpace, where he spearheaded the development and implementation of marketing initiatives and campaigns for MySpace during its growth from 25 to 110 million users worldwide. Following MySpace, Shawn then became the CMO of Lowell Herb Co. Shawn was additionally the CMO at TechStyle Fashion Group which launched the subscription fashion category with Fabletics, JustFab, ShoeDazzle, FabKids, and Rihanna’s SavageXFenty.