US sales hit $25B in 2021, any guesses for 2022?
Fresh Funding
Your monthly recap on recent early stage funding, M&A, and exits in the cannabis market in North America.
Sonoma county based cannabis brand Garden Society raises $7MM Series A to fuel growth.
Founded by NBA Veteran Al Harrington, Viola, a leading black-owned cannabis multi-state brand, closes a $13MM bridge round to finance market expansion in key states.
SuperNet, the first payments network to service the cannabis industry, closed a Series A financing round to fund a credit card launch in 2022.
Phylos, a crop science company developing advanced cannabis and hemp genetics raises a $7.6MM growth round.
Membership model delivery startup Flower Company raises $16MM Series A to expand across CA.
Vangst, the cannabis industry’s leading hiring platform raises a $19MM Series B to fund product launches and expansion into new markets.
Cannabis beverage startup Cann raises $27MM to expand outside of the US Market. They’re currently operating in California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Nevada and Illinois.
Multi-state operator Ayr Wellness closes $20MM acquisition of Levia, a cannabis infused seltzer brand out of Massachusetts.
Leading multi-state operator Green Thumb Industries acquires LeafLine including a cultivation facility and 5 retail locations in Minnesota.
Cannabis lifestyle brand Tilray acquires Colorado’s Breckenridge Distillery to utilize synergies with portfolio company Sweetwater and expand into the beverage alcohol segment.
Cannabis banking and payments provider Dama Financial acquires B2B SaaS platform Growflow for an undisclosed amount. The joint company will aim to serve as a comprehensive solution for cannabis companies.
Multi-state operator Verano enters New York, Minnesota and New Mexico with $413MM acquisition of Goodness Growth.
Founder Spotlight
Celebrating Black History Month With Hope Wiseman.
Hope Wiseman is a talent of many and a cannabis industry trailblazer on several fronts. As the CEO of Mary and Main, a dispensary in the limited license medical market of Maryland, Hope became the youngest Black female cannabis dispensary owner in the US at the age of 25! What a powerhouse! Founded with her mother, Dr. Octavia Simkins-Wiseman and Dr. Larry Bryant, her vision is to create opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color who have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs and excluded from cannabis business ownership.
Check out our post where we dive into a fun Q&A with Hope.
Must Reads
Top news that are worth a few minutes.
10 cannabis industry trends to watch for in 2022
M&A will march on.
Brands will grow across all sectors, including cultivation, retail and infused products.
More California municipalities will opt in to cannabis.
Cannabis companies will increasingly call for lower state taxes.
Market share loss will lead to M&A action up north.
Click the link above to read more!
States Surpass $10B in Tax Revenue from Adult-Use Cannabis Sales
As of December 2021, states reported a combined total of $10.4 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales, with more than $3 billion reported in 2021.
Upcoming Events
The most important events worth tuning into.
Register for Women-led Funds Pitch Day // March 22
JourneyOne is co-hosting a pitch day for women-led fund managers who are trailblazing some of the hottest new industries in venture. We believe that diversifying venture and the founders who get VC dollars starts with fund managers. According to Women in VC’s latest report 5.6% of VC funds are women-led and only 2.1% are run by women of color. Join us to learn about investing in a fund while getting early access to these ripe investment opportunities.
Join Us In Celebrating Women’s International Day // March 8th
Calling all founders and investors! Join us in our Women's International Day community celebration on March 8th! 🥳 For the first 30 mins, we‘ll highlight resources to help empower, provide exposure and resources to women-led funds and companies. We'll do a little bit of Q&A and close out the event with a celebratory and women-led concert!
The Green Paper Summit (Los Angeles, CA) // March 24-25
The team behind Work Week curated a select group of 30 leaders in the cannabis industry to participate in thoughtful discussion on how to tackle the biggest challenges — and opportunities — in our industry. Apply to join JourneyOne and other thought leaders in cannabis for this kickass two day event in LA.
Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference (Miami, FL) // April 20-21
Join cannabis entrepreneurs and investors for a 2-Day in person event at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach. And, if you want to explore the psychedelics track, it’ll be a day before on April 19th. J1 friends can use the code JOURNEY30 for 30% off your ticket. Don’t thank us, thank the Benzinga team for hooking it up!
Fund Updates
The latest updates from our team and portfolio companies.
📰 Women in Capital In Cannabis: Helene Servillon
Read how Helene started her career in VC and why she chose to hyper focus on cannabis. She estimates there are only 20 or so women on the capital side of the cannabis industry. To her knowledge, she is one of two women of Asian descent who are women fund managers in this realm.
Recast Capital is a 100% women-owned venture capital platform that invests in and supports top-tier emerging fund managers, with a focus on diverse partnerships. The platform was built to drive returns and create substantive change in the venture industry. Founded by seasoned, institutionally-trained fund investors Courtney McCrea and Sara Zulkosky, Recast Capital leverages its deep network and exceptional track record to provide its limited partners diversified exposure to top-performing emerging managers, as well as access to a pipeline of the future’s industry-leading franchises.
🎤 PODCAST: Balancing Growth & Personal Fulfillment with WUNDER’s CEO, Alexi Chialtas
For Kicks & Giggles
A section full of fun. That’s why we work in cannabis, right?
Love cannabis and celebs?! Here’s a short list of some notable brands:
Khalifa Kush by Wiz Khalifa
Happy Dance by Kristen Bell
Houseplant by Seth Rogen
Martha Stewart CBD by Martha Stewart (very original Martha)
Monogram by Jay-Z
Mendi by Rachael and Megan Rapinoe