On Monday, April 29, 2013, more than 40 high-net-worth investors from around the world will gather in Seattle to hear pitches from the top entrepreneurs in the hot, new legal cannabis industry.
“Cannabis is the next great American industry,” said ArcView co-founder and CEO Troy Dayton, host of the private event.
The ArcView Investor Networks includes billionaires, technology entrepreneurs turned investors, small venture capital firms, former Microsoft executives, real estate moguls, large donors to marijuana policy causes, and owners of the biggest companies in the cannabis industry. All are looking to either find or fund the next deal in the rapidly growing “green industry.â€
The format of the event is similar to the popular television show, “Shark Tank.” Entrepreneurs will each have an exhibit table outside of the pitch room and be called in one at a time to pitch the investors who will ask them tough questions.
“Now that a majority support legalization, a geyser is about to go off. The question is: which companies will be seated on top of it? That is what’s being decided at this investor event,†says Dayton.
Companies are vying for investments to make their business dreams come true. These include cannabis packaging, a handheld vaporizer, a transdermal patch that can purportedly stop the psychoactive effects of cannabis, a machine that makes a hash oil and other cannabis concentrates, and more. High-tech companies looking for investors include companies that make better grow lights, a mobile app for retailers, and even a crowdfunding platform.
“The new legal cannabis industry represents the greatest investment opportunity since the fall of communism,” said ArcView cofounder Steve DeAngelo. “Companies are coming out of the woodwork with new product ideas. Some will become lucrative businesses, others won’t. What makes the cannabis industry different is the high level of passion and sense of purpose. Business is the most powerful platform for political change. I believe the development of a responsible, profitable, and politically engaged cannabis industry will be the biggest factor in hastening the day when not a single adult is punished for this plant.”
A news conference to announce some of the first funded deals will be held immediately after the investor meeting. The news conference is scheduled for 6 pm at The Columbia Tower Club, located at 701 Fifth Avenue in Seattle, WA.