Introducing Cannabis Capital
Less than 1 in 300 business plans ever receive funding. Yet all 300 of those companies believe they are a good investment opportunity. This disconnect is even more evident in the world of cannabis investing where there are very few explicit sources of investment and a massive wave of entrepreneurial startups.
I wrote Cannabis Capital to help increase the fidelity in the conversions between entrepreneurs and investors, and bridge the gap that exists today. In order to unlock the opportunity in financing private cannabis companies, both entrepreneurs and investors need an alignment of perspectives to increase the probability of a successful investment.
The project become much more expansive than I initially anticipated as I interviewed dozens of leading investors, entrepreneurs, conducted extensive research including our own surveys and data collection, built interactive tools and leveraged applied methodologies.
I also wanted to write the book that I wish I had available to me when I started my first business when I was 19. Being stricken with the affliction of entrepreneurship, I have started and failed at countless businesses. I had to learn through trial and error, and largely without guidance, what it takes to build and secure financing for, a private company.
After another failed venture in my late 20s I found myself living in New York City looking for a clear direction. I realized that I had built a network of other entrepreneurs, and every one of them had the same problem; raising money. It was during that transition time that I decided that I would commit my career to solving this problem. I went back to school to get my MBA, started working in investment banking and sat for my securities licenses. I believed that my experiences starting and running companies would give me a deeply operational lens in my role as an investor. I have been told now that I have developed the ability to go deeper into the operations of a company and truly understand what an entrepreneur is facing.
So, I set a goal for my career to be directly responsible for creating 100 millionaires. This may seem like an odd goal, but I believe that my role as an investor and supporter of multiple entrepreneurs and business will be judged by how those teams perform, and the ultimate articulation of value will be demonstrated through the success of others.
We have adapted this mission through our focus as Cannabis Venture Capital investors to create $1 billion in value and positively impact 1 billion lives.
Launching Bonaventure Equity and writing the book Cannabis Capital are explicit continuations of this mission. And I hope everyone who is impacted by our efforts is better prepared to reach the full potential of their success (and count as one of the millionaires!). I hope all of you will participate and help to extend the conversation here around these 4 core concepts:
1. The Cannabis Economy – in the book I establish that cannabis is not an industry but it is a global economy with sectors and industries within those sectors. I will challenge you to identify any existing industry today that won’t be impacted by cannabis legalization in the future.
2. Cannabis Venture Capital (“CVC”) – we need to redefine the role of venture capital for the cannabis economy. Traditional venture investing was designed to finance disruption in mature markets. Investing in private cannabis companies is about supporting entrepreneurs with iterative and foundational businesses.
3. Cannabis Entrepreneurship vs. Entrepreneurship in Cannabis – entrepreneurship is a lifelong discipline and building companies in any sector is incredibly difficult. If we accept that there are best principles and entrepreneurial disciplines, then the adaptation of these best practices to align with the nuances of operating in cannabis will build a foundation for success.
4. Raising Capital – all of these concepts are to highlight the ways to bridge the communication between investors and entrepreneurs. Raising capital in any sector is extremely difficult at the best of times but we can change the world through entrepreneurship so financing your company is the most important thing you can do. There are best practices, tools and disciplines that can be applied to help elevate your business to the ranks of those few who successfully raise capital.