WEEDMAPS

When it comes to companies shaping the Cannabis industry, few, if any, loom larger than Weedmaps. Long known to consumers as a premier online destination for finding and ordering Cannabis products in available markets across

Over the course of 13 years, Weedmaps has drastically expanded both its workforce as well as its ambitions. Now boasting a staff of over 600, the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California is currently complemented by offices in Tucson, New York, Denver, Toronto and Barcelona. It is also the rare Cannabis-affiliated company to be publicly traded on the NASDAQ – another feather in the cap of a business that’s made a habit of leading by example.

In addition to constantly refining its offerings as a top-notch repository for consumers to find the products best suited for their needs, at a convenient location and for a reasonable price, Weedmaps has also become an indispensable resource to retailers – courtesy of its cutting-edge POS (point of sales) and ecommerce integration software.

Tasked with an ever-changing landscape of laws and regulations that vary not only by state, but sometimes by city, the mammoth task Weedmaps undertakes as its primary mission is to create technology solutions that universally lower the barrier to entry into the industry, be it a newbie consumer ready to make their first purchase or a past victim of the war on drugs now eager to start fresh with a legal Cannabis enterprise.

According to CEO Chris Beals, who started with the company as legal counsel and was promoted to his current role in 2019, the mission of Weedmaps is a twofold proposition.

“On one side,” he explained, “we’re the largest marketplace for Cannabis consumers to discover, learn about and find different Cannabis products, and to then be able to purchase and do online ordering from CEO CHRIS BEALS retailers. Then the other side of the business is what we call the ‘business in a box’ – which is this growing suite of stuff that’s like Salesforce meets Shopify for Cannabis businesses.”

The latter set of tools includes a wide array of innovations, including POS integration (like the ability for retailers to embed their menus in their websites), as well as all of the compliance requirements that come with such undertakings (think pop-up disclaimers, age verification and ID collection). The company also offers its own POS system (WM Retail) available in Oklahoma and select other states, a wholesale exchange program (WM Exchange), and in August they launched an enhanced version of their iOS app with built-in ordering functionality. >>

Continued from previous page

taying up-to-date on so many moving parts requires some serious in-house talent, which is why Beals estimates that over 40% of Weedmaps’ employees are currently focused S

Among them are principal engineer Charlie King and software engineer Warren Applebaum. While King made what he terms “a full 180°” when he pivoted from doing government contract work to joining up with Weedmaps, Applebaum has been with the company for nearly 12 of its 13-year existence.

Reflecting on Weedmaps’ evolution over his long tenure with the company, Applebaum detailed how issues with listing medical-only dispensaries back in 2008 – eight years before California would approve Prop 64 – provided an early lesson in how things in the Cannabis industry can often change on a dime.

“Before the Obama Administration decided that the federal government would not pursue cases against state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries,” Applebaum said, “it would be this run around where the DEA or state and local authorities would shut down dispensaries, only for them to come back online like weeks later. Trying to keep up with that gave us a preview of what things were going to look like down the line years later.”

Nowadays, as each new state comes online, Applebaum and his colleagues know to expect changes to these laws, and as a result, Weedmaps has heavily invested in compliance and government relations teams, so that they can be aware of what those regulations are going to look like and bake those elements into their applications to meet regulatory constraints.

Another vital element to Weedmaps’ operations concerns meeting consumer expectations when it comes to the shopping experience. That’s where King comes in. “Consumers generally expect a certain level of service,” he explained. “They expect to be able to buy things online and then pick them up in-store, for example. Well, Cannabis has had to leapfrog into meeting those consumer expectations within an industry that’s highly regulated.” Sure, it may seem simple to place an order via Weedmaps’ website or its app, but as King shared, the process behind the scenes to make such a transaction possible is actually profoundly complex. “There’s a lot to it. We have to provide a compliant ordering system, make sure that you actually

The mammoth pick up the product, task Weedmaps and then ensure that undertakes as its the data is reported to primary mission is to create technology solutions that Metrc or whatever the compliance body may be. I think an average consumer might take a universally lower lot of that for granted, the barrier to entry but the Cannabis indusinto the industry. try has been forced to mature very quickly on some of these things to give that experience to consumers.” Speaking with various members of the Weedmaps team, it’s abundantly clear that the complex minefield of compliance and geographically-specific regulations that collectively define the larger Cannabis industry in the U.S. remains one of the company’s chief areas of focus. And no one arguably knows these challenges better than Bridget Hennessey, who leads Weedmaps’ Government Relations and Policy team.

“The work that we do on this team,” “I couldn’t have been happier with Hennessey shared, “is focused both the way that came together,” CEO Chris on opening new markets, while also Beals enthused when discussing the anmaking sure that current markets are nouncement. The result of six months of reflective of the community. We want to thoughtful conversation between the two ensure that people who were negatively parties, the partnership – announced in impacted by the war on drugs have a August – also ultimately required loopstake in these markets, so we spend a ing in some of the top brass at the NBA lot of our time advocating for social before becoming official. equity programs to be included in new The result, which will align Weedmaps legislation and ballot initiatives. Then with one of basketball’s most acclaimed we continue that work by making sure and influential players in a multi-year that we’re helping to educate people agreement, is reflective of the compaas an industry or market is coming to ny’s renewed desire to lead by example fruition and being implemented.” when it comes to making the Cannabis

Given the relatively well defined industry a safer and more inclusive status of markets located on the West space. Coast, Hennessy confirmed that much “There are so many people who of her team’s focus is now directed would love to reduce KD to just being towards the East Coast and other some stoner guy who plays basketball,” emerging industries in various pockets Beals added, “but we’re talking about of the country. a generational talent here. KD is at the

With a timeline top of his game, so the for potential federal fact that he is now involved legalization still a rather WEEDMAPS.COM in this makes it very hard murky prospect, she @WEEDMAPS for people to get out their feels Weedmaps’ efforts stigma paint brushes to try to ensure states with and dismiss it.” current legal markets are diverse and Overall, this focus on normalization is easy-to-access has only become all the one shared across Weedmaps’ various more important. teams and leaders. Be it normalizing

And that goes for those interested in the process of conducting Cannabis leading the charge as well. transactions in the retail space or nor-

“We’re getting to develop the industry malizing the very concept of the plant from the ground up,” Hennessey said. for the public at large, solutions based

“And that means that everybody has on a hybrid of cutting-edge technology, an opportunity to be at the table from relentless advocacy and an internal the beginning. For women and for desire to constantly improve, have minorities, I think that makes it a really proven Weedmaps to be a vital facet interesting time to be in this industry of the push to bring Cannabis to the and I encourage people of all walks of mainstream. life to look into it and to try to see how “At the end of the day,” Beals noted, they can be involved.” “this is simply about enabling an open

Even Weedmaps itself is stepping and robust legal Cannabis system where up its efforts to reach the public with there’s an opportunity for folks of all a message of de-stigmatization in the different backgrounds – including those form of a new partnership with NBA who are arrested for Cannabis crimes superstar Kevin Durant and his startup, – to come in and have opportunity to Thirty Five Ventures. thrive.”