Entrepreneurs and investors in Washington and Colorado are
excited about a market full of opportunities stemming from the legalization of
recreational marijuana in those states. In Seattle, on November 5, thirteen
companies pitched business ideas to more than sixty investors from the ArcView
Investor Network, a firm that connects entrepreneurs with those interested in
financially backing legal marijuana business ideas. Some of the local companies
that pitched include, Mellow Mood, a Portland-based art glass pipe chain, and
Rainier Wholesale, a Seattle-based company looking to build an efficient and
carbon-free marijuana production plant.
ArcView held a similar meeting in Denver this past September
where investors handed out more than $1.7 million for a social networking app
for cannabis users, a leading Colorado cannabis retailer, and a security company
for legal cannabis businesses, among other business ideas.
Being the first states to legalize marijuana sales, Washington
and Colorado are expected to be a test case for other states considering
legalization. Washington has recently adopted rules governing marijuana sales
into law, and Colorado could see regulated stores open as soon as January 1,
2014.
ArcView believes that the legal marijuana industry could
surpass the smartphone market in terms of growth and recently released a market
research report expressing the optimistic view. At least one Seattle-based
startup is already seeing a positive change in their cash flow. Leafly, a
crowd-sourced review platform for marijuana strains, said that people thought
they were crazy when they started, but now they just sit back and wait for the
investors to come to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment