TECH
MERRY MAKING IN THE MEADOW HOW MEADOW CARE IS NOR M A L IZING CA NNA B I S
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he legalization of medical and recreational cannabis opened the doors for the development of new technology specific to the industry. All that new technology hasn’t just helped the industry advance in leaps and bounds: it has a secondary side effect: normalization. Meadow Care, a cannabis software company, perfectly exemplifies how the development of new technology helps to normalize the industry. The idea for the software company was born in February 2014 while David Hua was attending Oaksterdam University. It was there that he learned about the difficulties dispensaries face trying to manage day-to-day operations. The price of software was exorbitant and the technology was archaic.
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Hua, who had been in the business of software and technology since 2006, approached a few of his colleagues at Sincerely with an innovative idea. In June 2014, Hua, Scott Garman, Rick Harrison, and Harrison Lee began writing the first lines of code. Meadow launched in October 2014 and was hailed as the Uber of the cannabis market. By working closely with local medical dispensaries, this San Francisco-based startup allowed medical card users to browse local dispensaries. After uploading identification and doctor recommendation, a customer could place an order for home delivery and receive their purchase in under an hour. And for those who don’t have a medical card, Meadow will assist in scheduling an in-home
FEBRUARY 2016 THE ENTERTAINMENT ISSUE dopemagazine.com
consultation. In November 2014, Hua and the team applied to work with Y Combinator, a sort of boot camp for entrepreneurs. YC assists startups with everything from developing business plans, obtaining seed funding, and meeting potential investors. Those chosen receive funding of $120,000 and three months to spend with top developers in Silicon Valley. Meadow was accepted into the YC in January 2015 and graduated in April. They were officially the first cannabis company to graduate. Meadow recently announced the launch of a whole new seed-to-sale platform. With this new enterprisefocused software suite, dispensaries will be able to manage online and