Public entrepreneur, Issue 2, 2018

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Letter from the CSE

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elcome to the second edition of the CSE’s flagship publication, Public Entrepreneur. As guest editor, I am excited to offer readers an incredible vantage point into one of the most dynamic sectors in capital markets: the cannabis sector.

From profiling entrepreneurs who have helped to advocate for and build this nascent industry, to the variety of new products that legalized cannabis is introducing into economies, to the shift in attitudes, not just about marijuana, but also about the leading role that women entrepreneurs and influencers are playing, this edition reflects the truly interesting and inspiring times we’re witnessing as the cannabis industry continues to grow.

One of the important themes in all the stories covered in this issue is just how far the industry has come in such a short space of time.

From the CSE’s experience, for example, in 2015 there were 32 cannabis-focused issuers with a combined market capitalization of $310 million. By the end of 2017, ANNA SERIN there were 52 issuers in the cannabis space with a combined market capitalization Guest Editor of over $7.5 billion.

Public Entrepreneur The growth in the number of companies reflects the diversity of services and cannabis-derived products coming to market. In this issue that diversity is also apparent, with Phivida Holdings, for example, exploring cannabis-infused beverages while Canntab Therapeutics discusses why they’re pursuing tablet delivery of medical marijuana.

Having been a part the public cannabis story from the very early days, the CSE has seen the industry as a whole make great strides towards acceptance of cannabis medically and recreationally. The journey to where we are today, however, hasn’t been without its bumps and there are still challenges, risks and uncertainty ahead.

Legislative delays in Canada have pushed back the official roll out of full legalization. In the US, marijuana remains federally illegal despite nine states and Washington, DC having legalized it for recreational use and another 29 states approving it for medicinal purposes.

And yet, despite the uncertainty, entrepreneurs and investors continue to see promise and the opportunity to build a new industry from the ground up. Certainly the forecast for $24.5 billion in sales by 2021 in North America also helps.

For the industry to grow, Canada can certainly serve as a model and key conduit to public capital.The CSE’s proven approach to providing the appropriate listing and disclosure model as well as access to low-cost public capital bodes well for US and international cannabis entrepreneurs focused on scaling their businesses.

There’s no question that the cannabis sector has dramatically changed over the past five years. It could very well be the most dynamic sector of my generation, and I, like the CSE and entrepreneurs profiled in this issue, am excited to be a part of where this new industry heads next.

Anna Serin Guest Editor Public Entrepreneur

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Rosy Mondin, Yasmin Gordon, and Meris Kott

Weed

By Katie Lewis

WOMEN

IN

Meet four women helping to shape Canada’s cannabis industry

I

t’s a common story thread: women entrepreneurs blazing the way for cannabis, taking over the sector and inserting themselves into a market that is booming, complicated and fast-evolving.

Stop. Back it up. Wait a moment. This is not one of those stories.

It’s an easy—perhaps a bit lazy—trend to latch onto, one that weaves itself through the cannabis daily news cycle.“Women in weed: charting change for male-dominated cannabis culture,”blared a CBC headline earlier this year.

This is not to say that women aren’t powerhouses in the world of cannabis. They are: just like they are in each and every other sector, when put in positions of power to do so.

In order to survive in this sector, you have to have strong chops, a killer resolve and the tenacity to do whatever it takes. It’s that entrepreneurial spirit that is key. Being a woman just happens to be one part of the equation.

Public Entrepreneur spoke to four women who touch different corners of the cannabis industry. From financiers to investment bankers, from equipment manufacturing to recreational advocates, we chatted about their past, predictions and what might roll out ahead.

Interviewees MERIS KOTT

CEO at Redfund Capital Corp.

Redfund Capital (RFND:future symbol) is a cannabis merchant bank that provides an alternative source of capital through a debt facility to bridge finance and helps revenue producing cannabis related companies build their valuation, and grow their company without diluting their equity prematurely, while helping move them toward being publicly listed.

YASMIN GORDON

Senior Investment Advisor at Canaccord Genuity Yasmin Gordon is co-founder of the Gordon Group, as part of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, and advises private clients, corporate entities and institutional investors.

ROSY MONDIN

CEO at Quadron Cannatech Corporation (CSE:QCC) Quadron Cannatech (QCC) is a market and technology leader in end-to-end automated processing and extraction laboratory solutions for the international cannabis industry. QCC also provides a range of innovative value added services including custom ancillary products and cannabis accessories.

RIA KITSCH

VP Human Resources at Hiku Brands Company Ltd. (CSE:HIKU) Hiku is a cannabis house brand. Hiku’s subsidiaries include Tokyo Smoke, DOJA, Van der Pop and Maïtri.

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Q: Tell me about how you got into this industry.

What led you here?

MK: I come from an investment banking family, which funded emerging market growth companies. About 12 years ago, we started looking at the cannabis industry, and we didn’t touch it, figured it wasn’t ever going to happen.

We got into the industry in 2012, after Amendment 64 passed in Colorado. We’re now launching the first debt facility merchant bank, Redfund Capital Corp., focused on funding cannabis related revenue producing companies.

YG: I am a Senior Investment Advisor with Canaccord Financial, specializing in non-traditional wealth management strategies with a niche in providing financing opportunities. I came into the cannabis sector, quite honestly, out of necessity—I could see there was a shift occurring as we got more clarity with regard to full out legalization in Canada. I saw the opportunity and decided to add exposure in a more significant way. It’s been an exciting ride.

YASMIN GORDON

RM: As CEO of Quadron Cannatech, and a leading advocate for the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, I’m thrilled to be at the forefront of this emerging industry. I’m the director for the Cannabis Trade Alliance of Canada (CTAC) and I also serve as a Special Advisor to the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD). In my role with CTAC, I work with industry leaders, government legislators and educators to develop an inclusive, safe, and ethical cannabis industry.

RK: I’m the vice president of HR at Hiku. Back in 2013, we saw an opportunity in getting into commercial cultivation, so we put in our application. We received our license to sell just this year. It’s been a long road but here we are.

We merged with Tokyo Smoke in January. We then just recently merged with WeedMD in a pretty transformational transaction: combining a premium cannabis brand house and retail-focused operator.

Q: For some women, this might not be a sector that immediately comes to mind as a place to be. What advice would you give others who may not have considered this sector as a career path?

ROSY MONDIN

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MK: Jump in! Because right now we’re creating a whole new industry. That said, it has changed and it’s become harder to break into the industry as a woman because it’s becoming more mainstream. Women are generally the chief medical officer in their family and looking at cannabis products more closely. I also think because it’s

such a new industry people don’t consider it as a career path and it is still a risky avenue for work to some women.

RM: We are building a new industry—we currently have just over 100 Licensed Producers across Canada. If you think about most industries, 104 commercial licensees nationally in the sector is not a true industry. We are slowly seeing more ancillary businesses coming into the fold: legal, accounting, marketing, government relations, business development, branding, packaging—and banking (slowly). In addition, the cannabis industry has been operating in an under-regulated space (as there was no other option). Now there’s a lot of opportunity during this transition into the regulated market. There’s just so many areas that you can jump into as we build a whole industry so it’s really up to your own imagination as to which way you want to go and how to get your feet wet.

Q: What trends do you expect to see when recreational comes online later this year?

RM: I think the biggest shift will be the consumption of cannabis moving away from smoking traditional flower to products that are extract-based. Extracts form the basis for the majority of cannabis products outside of smoking: vapor-oils, capsules, tinctures, sublinguals, transdermal patches, edibles, topicals, suppositories, infused beverages. I have no doubt that we’ll see different consumption methods and further product innovation. I think the sky’s the limit.

MK: I’m going to wear my American hat here. I think we’re going to see a huge influx of American companies that have already been working with Canadian companies on many of their products, move more into the market. I think the Americans are going to flood our market with new brands, technologies and licensing agreements, as well as other countries who have approved recreational cannabis already. It can only help create a successful global marketplace.

“

Jump in! Because right now we’re creating a whole new industry.

MERIS KOTT

MERIS KOTT YG: I see a shifting consciousness as to what legalization means for cannabis as many people will be forced to redefine what they know about the potential benefits of cannabis as a therapy option. You know I find it very interesting with my clients. There’s a divide in my book of clients: there are those that are for investment and those that still believe it’s a gateway drug. I believe perceptions will swing more positively as the public receives further education about the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

RK: It’s interesting when we talk about recreational. It’s a national movement that’s going to have so many ripples of effect. I’ve always believed that vaping and very clean, efficient methods are going to be preferred. However, we also believe that there’s a segment of the market, maybe 10% or so, that wants a curated strain and they want it in its entirety. It’s similar to going to a winery. You want to talk to a winemaker about how it’s grown, what it looks like, feels, tastes, etc.

Q: We’re seeing a lot more mergers and consolidations in the space. How do you differentiate yourself in a crowded market?

MK: In Canada, the companies are much smaller than other global players, although they are financed with plenty of capital. That said, you will see more consolidation between U.S. and Canadian companies. It is going to be about a recognized branded product first off.

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RM: Like any industry, we’ll see consolidation, mergers, acquisitions and we’re going to see some businesses that will not make it—it’s the nature of any business. Look at the restaurant industry. It’s one thing to have a good idea: it’s another thing to actually execute it, using the restaurant example, understanding how to run a kitchen, avoid food-waste, or manage front-of-the-house. There will be consolidation, as licenses get scooped up through mergers. It’s just the normal course of a new and growing industry which continues to shift and evolve.

RK: There’s room for a range of different products in the competitive landscape. At the end of it, it’ll be key to have a really quality product, and maybe do fewer things but do them really well.

Q: If there’s one lesson you’ve learned in the industry, that you think other women should know, what would it be?

YG: Being aware of trends as an investor in the industry. It’s shifting so quickly. It’s almost mind-blowing. Retail investors need to be aware of how quickly the industry is transforming and the trends that are coming out that make a buy and hold strategy not likely the most effective way to play this market given the volatility we are witnessing.

RIA KITSCH

“

I’ve always believed that vaping and very clean, efficient methods are going to be preferred.

RIA KITSCH

RM: This is a 21st-century industry and women can play a leadership role from day one. For example, as a business leader in a new industry, I don’t think sitting back and just accepting the regulations at the government tables is acceptable. We’re getting out there and helping define the rules as the country moves forward. I think this kind of thing is really important.

How do we encourage business investment and faith into the industry? I think having strong leadership, especially more women, can help.

MK: When I started in the industry it was two camps: medical marijuana and marijuana. Then we started talking about cannabis. It’s an industry now, a true marketplace. I think that from an entrepreneur’s point of view it’s become a cannabis investing haven. Just the fact that there are so many people involved, and that you can go on the CSE website and find a company directory in cannabis is exciting. There’s a mining sector, and now there’s a focused cannabis sector. Welcome to the industry. It’s not going anywhere.

RK: Don’t be afraid to be visionary. The industry is moving so quickly. Look to something you think you understand or that you can replicate with confidence. Another country, another model, don’t be afraid to try unique things. Don’t feel that you have to do what everyone else is already doing. The future is ours to create.

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Read more at proactiveinvestors.com

VP Finance, George Kovalyov

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Packaged Goods) companies includes his former role as Business Unit Director for Red Bull.

The most recent addition to the executive team is another top Red Bull alumni, former Red Bull USA Director of Sales Doug Campbell. Campbell joined the team in early May in the role of Chief Commercial Officer, now overseeing international distribution and sales.

Clearly, Bailey and his new teammates qualify as star power for a company of virtually any size but for one at Phivida’s growth stage their leadership is truly remarkable. Their decision to join was based on a clear potential to grow the company into a leading brand in a product category in which they all share a common passion: functional foods, beverages and natural health products infused with CBD from medicinal hemp.

The Phivida product line currently encompasses CBD capsules and tinctures both for consumer and clinical markets, as well an appealing selection of CBD-infused beverage innovations. Phivida’s CBD beverages use encapsulation technologies which make the CBD oils faster acting, longer lasting, and soluble in a fluid format. Perfect for CBD beverages, higher than average consumption rates, and a USA health and wellness market that tends to place a premium on price and convenience.

The company is continuing to innovate on new CBD-infused beverage brands and formulations, and the finer details of its marketing strategy, ahead of a USA roll out.

As a first order from the new chief executive, the creative vision for the future of the brand is now led by award-winning creative agency Sid Lee. This is the same creative agency that assisted Red Bull’s launch

duction will start in the first quarter of 2019. And similarly, it would take eight or nine months to get to full scale. My estimate is that Canada reaches full production in 2020.

DR. ANTHONY HOLLER

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Shareholders see that we are invested and that we need to make this a success for ourselves as well, and then we can all succeed together.

DR. ANTHONY HOLLER

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Take us back to your initial decision to produce in the United States and how you first recognized the opportunity. What has been required to develop the business to its current status?

In California we saw a very large opportunity and we travelled throughout the state looking at lots of facilities. Our conclusion was that California was about five years behind Canada. It is a very fragmented industry with many small growers, lots of dispensaries, and, at that time, no regulation.

We realized that regulation would be coming, both legalization for adult use as well as medicinal cannabis.

This meant a couple of things. The first is that quality of product would become important, and the second was that there would be a scarcity of safe products that would meet California laws once they were enacted. That is why we decided to build this 500,000 square foot high-technology facility for growing cannabis.

Things have been moving along quite quickly. We now have all of our temporary licenses in California that allow us to be compliant with California law. And recently you saw that the Trump administration is basically saying that they will let the states regulate their use of cannabis and the federal government will not interfere with that as long as they are not breaking federal laws through such activities as exporting across state lines.

Looking ahead we are preparing for what is called annual licensing. At the end of the day you need annual licensing to be compliant in California. The state decided it would be a two-step process. It would start with temporary licensing so they could get compliant production and sales going. A lot of people have not done that, so they are going to be offside with California laws.

You are going big into production in both the US and Canada, and the countries have two very different operating environments. Can you give us some insight into those differences?

In the US, everything has to be done within the state—you cannot ship product out of state, you cannot export it to other countries.You have to grow and sell everything right in California, in our case, and the other states are like that as well.

In Canada, you can ship your product across the country, and if it is GMP-compliant you can ship it to the European Union. The other difference is that in Canada there is clear delineation between medical use and adult use. Licensed producers can deal directly with medical patients, whereas adult-use will go through provincial authorities and they will regulate provincially.

Can you walk us through the business components generating your revenue right now?

Currently, our revenue comes from two areas. One is our device company, FSD. They produce vaporizers and cartridges. Smoking of cannabis is becoming less common and use of vaporizers and other devices is becoming more common.

And our entry into this business was strategic, as we saw it being more valuable once we are producing cannabis ourselves.

The business currently sells empty devices to a variety of brands across the US. It is a relatively low-margin business, but it is profitable and brings us significant revenue.

The real opportunity for us is that once we are producing our own oils and other products, we can go to the customer and offer not only to sell the cartridge

Sunniva’s initial California greenhouse, currently under construction

and pens, but a loaded cartridge with the component of oil you want. If someone wants a high-THC oil we can do that, or if they want pure-CBD oil we can do that. The high value part of the business is filling the device, packaging it and then giving it to the brand.

That was our strategy right from the start. What’s happening in California is that a lot of the brands just want to be marketers and sellers, but they need a reliable source of flower, oils and devices. We fit that niche for them.

The other component of our cash flows are natural health services, which have seven clinics across Canada. We have doctors, nurses and highly educated helpers who take care of patients when they come to our clinics. The doctor will make recommendations, we educate the patient, and then we connect with a licensed producer from which they can buy their cannabis.

The business generates healthy revenue already, and we generate revenue through licensed producers—we have 25 signed up to our software package. We get paid based on their use of the software. It allows the doctor and our clinic to communicate directly to the producer, so patients can literally get their delivery a day later. It automates the whole ordering system.

And when we are in production, some of those patients will be using Sunniva-branded products.

Let’s look at the financial market side of things. How are investors and financial professionals reacting to your story?

What we hear from analysts is they like the approach of de-risking the business by forward-selling the product. The question in investors’eyes is that it is great companies can produce cannabis and dry product and oil, but can they sell it? Where is the market going in terms of pricing?

Our view is that if we can lock in some pricing on the sale of a majority of our production, it safeguards the whole business strategy.

The fact we are selling pharmaceutical-grade product also means we can sell it in Canada, or we can sell it internationally.

Read more at proactiveinvestors.com

And the fact that we are a grower at scale of high-quality cannabis, that’s what people like.

Can you tell us what your competitive advantages are beyond the strategy you have laid out so far?

Sophisticated management. My background is from the pharmaceutical industry. I was a founder of a company called ID Biomedical and that was purchased by Glaxo Smith Kline for a total of about $2 billion.

We built one of the largest flu vaccine manufacturing facilities in Quebec City. We produced at low cost, high quality and at scale. We could then go to the big distributors and ask them how much they wanted. We pre-sold about 40 million doses in the US and supplied about 75% of the Canadian marketplace.

We have those types of people in our company who went through that. Similarly, our CFO was the finance person for Lululemon as it went from $150 million in sales to $1.5 billion in sales and became a $12 billion market cap company.

One of our big advantages is that people look at our team and see that we have executed on a number of very significant companies, and expect that we should be able to do it again.

Are there any closing thoughts you would like to offer?

We have been judicious with raising capital. We have been able to finance our facility in California through a large developer out of Los Angeles, Barker Pacific Group. And that has enabled us to not have to raise that $50 million to build that facility.

Fully diluted we only have about 40 million shares outstanding, and I think our shareholders appreciate that we are very careful about issuing shares. At some point we will issue more, but we are going to be careful because we don’t want to dilute our shareholders.

I also believe our shareholders appreciate that management and board members are significant owners in the company, too. Shareholders see that we are invested and that we need to make this a success for ourselves as well, and then we can all succeed together.

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More recently we have acquired Spire Secure Logistics, a Canadian company focused on due diligence and security in the cannabis sector. That branches us into exposure to Canada and once again a growing trend—there is a major lack of discussion around infiltration of organized crime, diversion of product, internal theft of product, products making it into stores when they should not be there, and many, many other issues. It gives us a magnifying glass into the operators we are considering and the ones we have in terms of ensuring we are only working with top-notch business people who put shareholders first—and as important, don’t bring with them any negative history.

What are some of the unique aspects of operating in the US market and how do you make the most of them?

One big one is the opportunity today. With Canada, everyone took at face value Prime Minister Trudeau’s promise of legalization by July, which will not happen. It remains to be seen if it will even happen this year.

If you go south of the border, however, you’ve still got many federal catalysts to come. I would argue that Canada has had its primary growth in the space already from 2013 through 2017 as far as investment is concerned. Now it’s all about market share and who will ultimately shake out as the “Big 5” to serve a recreational market and a much less fragmented medical market.

It is much like when people buy a stock on the rumour and sell when the news comes out. In Canada, I feel if cannabis were to become legal tomorrow a lot of people would sell on that catalyst and look for the next big thing. That’s the nature of venture capital; it gets bored easily and needs new opportunities and to blaze new trails.

Just recently there was a conversation between President Trump and the Governor of Colorado, which sent US cannabis stocks higher. There is so much to look forward to and I really see America today much like Canada was in 2013 in terms of the financial opportunity that exists right now. It has years of accelerated growth ahead, and as people wonder if they have seen the peak, it just continues to get bigger, as it did in Canada for the last five years.

As far as operating in the US, I have enjoyed it and our partners municipally and locally are far better to deal with than Health Canada in every way. There is much more of an entrepreneurial mindset in the US. It’s just a lot more enjoyable of an environment, and people seem to be more accommodating to this business, be it construction companies or bankers, they all seem to be happier to have the business. My experience in Canada was people were more hesitant and unsure of the muddy legal landscape. In Nevada, it’s black and white.

Observers are aware of the conflicting positions of US state governments and the federal government. How does that environment get reflected in your corporate strategy?

What if the United States suddenly voted on a rescheduling of cannabis this year or next? Something to consider. Big Pharma spends more money lobbying than any other industry in the US, by far. Big Pharma has an interest in not missing the boat.

Just take Merck, Ely Lilly and Pfizer as examples. Think of the money they are losing every day because this drug is Schedule 1 (no currently accepted medical use in treatment) and not Schedule 2 (has a currently accepted 2018 • PUBLICENTREPRENEUR | 21

medical use). There is going to be a major push from them and it is already happening behind the scenes. I continue to be of the opinion that we may see more federal catalysts in the US before we do in Canada and for that reason as a company we are very much focused on Nevada and we are fairly confident in an overall softening on the Federal stance, allowing the sector to mature further.

So to answer your question, on a state versus federal level we very much enjoy where we are and are perfectly happy to paint within the lines of the state. One thing I admire very much about the US is the Tenth Amendment and individual states’ rights, and with that we are very confident in our strategy that we will be able to take full advantage federally, once able to do so.

Brayden Sutton

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I’ve always been one to go where the puck is going to be, not to follow others.

BRAYDEN SUTTON

What is the difference between doing business in the various states? Why would you choose one jurisdiction over another?

Nevada has been extraordinarily regulated for decades, and it has to be for things like gambling. Compare Nevada to other states; Washington has thousands of cultivation licenses, as does California, as does Oregon, as does Colorado. Nevada has less than 200.

Colorado legalized the plant in 2014 and the cartels involved in trafficking cannabis moved back into the state because there was an economic point at which they could still be in business. So the state was forced to lower taxation by a couple of dollars per gram and immediately the economics shifted for organized crime and they left.

Nevada was forward-looking in saying they want to ensure illegal players are pushed out and that their new licensees are not going to be underwater in 12 months. I would point to Canada again, where we have over $15 billion of market cap making up the public companies in the space, never mind the private ones, and they are fighting over a total market share of only about $200 million a year in business right now. To me, that represents a bubble in the truest sense.Yes, legalization will launch that number to more like $5 billion-plus, but legalization is not guaranteed.

Look at Nevada versus Canada, Canada probably has 50 times the square footage in terms of canopy space and it has perhaps a fifth of the user base. It is just back of the napkin math. If Canada flicked a switch tomorrow and said it was legal tomorrow, what are they going to do with the surplus product? Export to Europe? In one or two years Germany, Australia and other countries will be caught up and won’t want or need imported weed. Canada will not be important at that point from a global supply standpoint.

I still scratch my head and wonder why there are millions of square feet of canopy on the way for a country as small as ours. Particularly when THC will more than likely eventually come from a petri dish, not a flower pot as the trend moves further and further from the combustion of flower to get THC in your body.

From an investor standpoint, anyone owning US assets in any form needs to have a far greater risk profile than one owning only assets in Canada. The general consensus could be said that Canada is safer, but has far more downside than upside, whereas the US is far riskier, but brings much higher upside potential.

Tell us about the feedback you get from investors and financial professionals on the cannabis sector and Friday Night in particular.

Investors are always hungry for the next thing to get excited about—the next catalyst.

We have always been focused on revenue and profit. We are currently at a run rate of well over $10 million a year, which I think is notable in less than 12 months of being in business. Shareholders are very picky nowadays and they demand perfection, as

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they should. But there is no such thing as a perfect company, so all we can do is our best. And right now I would say we are extremely pleased at our progress to date as well as our trajectory and future prospects.

We are always looking to improve. We are looking at vertical integration, and right now we are looking at owning a strong retail presence, so that is taking a lot of my time, to determine what the best course of action is regarding final sale of the product. Once we are fully vertically integrated we can be exposed to that seed-to-sale margin that so many others enjoy.

There are certain things that are hard to invest in. I am not going to spend CDN$25 million on 20,000 square feet which is the going rate on a Canadian ACMPR grow, when I could spend US$5 million and buy something that is already doing a million dollars a month in sales.

On the banking side and institutional side, they are more pragmatic and see things on a numbers basis. What is our maximum funded capacity, what is the maximum money we can make relative to our current market cap if everything goes as planned, and where would we be in the worst-case scenario?

Shareholders tend to be younger, more astute and better educated, but since there is so much misinformation out there, they are looking at it as more of a land grab, which is not the way to look at it. You want to consider if a company is sustainable and profitable many years out, and what they are spending today to get there.

We are generating a million a month and moving towards Read more at proactiveinvestors.com

profitability. All we can do is block out the noise, build value and continue to do what we’re doing. I see a lot of companies buying smaller companies for the sake of owning more companies, mostly due to investors and I think that’s a dangerous strategy long-term.

Any other thoughts you want to leave us with?

I have been an investor for 14 years. When you hold a stock, if you hold XYZ company, you should ask yourself every night when you go to bed if the state or country I am in goes legal, how will I do? If it does not go legal, how will I do? If there is an influx of competitors, how will I do? If key management leaves, how will I do? Just make sure you check all those boxes. If 30 months from now nobody is buying flower, will this company survive?

When Merck and Eli Lilly and Pfizer step into the scene, they could literally make this plant obsolete within decades. What I mean by that is that a tiny fraction of the world rolls cannabis and smokes it. But, for example, if and when a 50mg THC/CBD capsule is made for 10 cents in a lab and sold for $5, good luck to the company growing $2 grams and selling it at $6.

So, just make sure that whatever stock you hold does not have any one lynchpin. Know what will happen to that share price in any environment. If someone came along who was stronger and better than me, I would be gone in a heartbeat. I am not a lynchpin for this company. If I ceased to exist tomorrow, the company would still flourish. Those are the type of companies you want to own.

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CANNEX CAPITAL HOLDINGS Funding and expertise to help young cannabis businesses realize their potential

By Tom Howard

Anthony Dutton

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W

ith hundreds of cannabis companies popping up over the past few years, it is perhaps unsurprising to see some consolidation in what, right now, is a very hot sector.

Cannabis—or weed or pot or whatever you want to call it—was, for a long time, looked down upon by many members of society who thought of it as a drug for slackers and spotty teenagers.

That image has certainly started to change as an increasing bank of research suggests cannabis—or more specifically the stuff in it—has a number of positive uses, including as a treatment for things like stress and chronic pain.

Lots of companies have emerged to try to get a piece of this lucrative pie—some analysts think it will be worth US$180 billion within just a few decades—which has created a very fragmented market made up of small firms which don’t always have the experience or the resources to thrive.

That’s where Cannex Capital Holdings (CSE:CNNX) comes in. The company joined the Canadian Securities Exchange in March, raising US$48 million from investors, including some “blue-chip institutions”, in the process.

Cannex accelerates business growth for small, revenue-generating companies by acquiring them and giving them the support, both financially and managerially, to grow into sustainable, large-scale businesses.

“There are lots of companies in the cannabis sector that are just starting off and many of them are going to fail because they don’t know how to operate a business at scale,”says Chief Executive Officer Anthony Dutton.

“We’ve already proven that we know how to do that, we’ve been successful at that which means we’re going to be successful at it going forward.”

The ‘we’ Dutton refers to is himself and his two main operating partners from Washington State; Cannex Chief Operating Officer and Director Leo Gontmakher and Director Jerry Derevyanny, who is also Cannex’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Development.

Having worked in the corporate finance business for the better part of 25 years, Dutton brings solid financial experience to the operation, but as he openly admits, wherever he has been he has always had a solid operating team—in this case Gontmakher and Derevyanny.

The duo formed the top brass at BrightLeaf, a cannabis holding company which was acquired by Cannex for US$36 million as part of Cannex’s initial public offering in March and is the firm’s foundation asset.

BrightLeaf’s strategic operating tenant is Northwest Cannabis Solutions—the biggest grower and processor of cannabis in Washington State.

If the structure sounds a little weird, don’t be alarmed. As Dutton explains: “The reason we’ve done it this way is for licensing requirements. There’s nothing nefarious, it’s just the way the deal had to be structured to follow Washington law to the letter.”

NWCS has a couple of manufacturing facilities where it grows“premium”cannabis, some of which it uses for its own derivative products (more on those later) and the rest it sells on to retailers under the ‘Private Reserve,’‘Legends,’ and ‘Funky Monkey’ brand names.

While NWCS is the largest cultivator in Washington, it also purchases significant quantities of trim and full flower cannabis from third-party growers, which, along with some of its own trim, it extracts and processes into two types of extract: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the active substance to create the “high” feeling of

“

Ultimately in the cannabis business, brands are going to be the dominant element of value and we want to make sure we own, manufacture, and distribute some of the best brands.

ANTHONY DUTTON

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Cannex’s facility in Washington State

marijuana, and cannabidiol (CBD) distillate.

“We [then] refine it and infuse it into what are called derivative products—so everything from creams to vape pens to chocolates to candies,”says Dutton.

That’s the main arm of NWCS’s operations: extracting the oils from the plant and then using it to create a range of infused products.

NWCS has a host of brands including Magic Kitchen (edibles) and Evergreen (vaping cartridges), in addition to its aforementioned cannabis flower labels.

“We’re very focused on quality, so we have to focus on brand; brands are very important,”said Dutton.

“There’s a reason why people buy Coca-Cola and not some generic cola. Ultimately in the cannabis business, brands are going to be the dominant element of value and we want to make sure we own, manufacture, and distribute some of the best brands.”

It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the second company to join the Cannex stable—Jetty Extracts, which was acquired in April for US$22.5 million—is also home to some popular brands in California that have a loyal following.

Like BrightLeaf, Jetty, which specializes in extracts and vaping products, also boasts a strong management team who aren’t newbies to this nascent industry. As Dutton highlights,“that’s the kind of leadership we’re interested in.”

Jetty is significant because it takes Cannex into the Californian market—comfortably the biggest in the US. By 2020, it is 26 | PUBLICENTREPRENEUR • Issue 2

estimated that the state will be raking in more than US$1 billion a year in cannabis taxes alone.

That isn’t enough to satisfy the ambitious Dutton though, who has grand plans to take Cannex across the United States and around the globe in the not-too-distant future.

“We’re already in two states and by the end of this year I want to be in two more US states and one foreign country,” he proclaims.

“Within five years I’d like to be in every legal US state, I’d like to be a coast-to-coast consumer-branded company and I’d like to be in three to five international jurisdictions.”

Acquisitions in the booming cannabis industry are unlikely to come cheap, but Dutton isn’t too concerned about this for now. Cannex has US$15 million in the bank and is already cash-generative, so he says there is no need to raise money in the immediate future.

He is acutely aware that at some point, though, he will have to go back to the markets to fund the kind of rapid growth he wants, but he doesn’t expect it will be a challenge to find people willing to back him with their cash.

“The thing that has really impressed upon me in the past couple of months is that investors now want to invest in this sector. They don’t want to start investing in a company that might start generating revenue next year [though], they want a company that’s doing it now. So, for that reason, we’re getting a huge amount of interest.”

Read more at proactiveinvestors.com

T

THE INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS BUSINESS CONFERENCE

he International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) is returning to Vancouver, British Columbia, this June 24th25th at a very important time for the Canadian cannabis industry as the federal and provincial governments are developing and finalizing commercial regulations. The ICBC is coming to Vancouver after it held its biggest conference ever this past April in Berlin, Germany, where over 1,000 people from over 50 countries attended the event.

The Berlin ICBC showcased both how far Germany’s cannabis community has progressed over the past year as well as well as the growth that is expected. The medical cannabis patient community has grown rapidly after changes to the law have allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis the same as they would any other medicine. Germany, and many other countries, are playing catch-up with Canada in many regards, but Germany has demonstrated that its taking its own path by mandating that insurers reimburse patients for the cannabis they pick up from the pharmacy. Canadian companies were well-represented at the Berlin ICBC, and the Vancouver event will provide an excellent opportunity for those in the cannabis industry, or those thinking of joining, to learn the latest about the Canadian market and network with top entrepreneurs, investors, and advocates from around the world.

Canadian companies, which supply a majority of the medical cannabis in Germany, have secured a large portion of the international market due to Canada’s federal medical law mainstreaming the industry, including allowing exportation and securing the capital needed by going

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public, including getting listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Many public cannabis companies have shown both tremendous growth and potential, especially now that cannabis commerce is about to be legalized all across the Great White North.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) provides an excellent venue for cannabis companies, with simplified reporting requirements and sensible barriers for listing.

Partially thanks to the growth of the cannabis industry, the CSE experienced an all-time high in trading with a record $7.81 billion last year in 2017. The CSE provides an updated listing of cannabis companies on the exchange, providing a user-friendly tool for investors. Grocery giant Loblaws joining the cannabis industry is clear evidence that business executives in the know expect the cannabis market to be a very lucrative one.

The Vancouver International Cannabis Business Conference will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the Canadian Securities Exchange, and how public companies and investors benefit from the CSE. The ICBC will features experts across the cannabis industry, including renowned attorneys Kirk Tousaw and Robert Laurie, and experienced consultant and activist Jamie Shaw. Rock icon and outspoken activist Henry Rollins will deliver the keynote address and Del the Funky Homosapien will perform at the after party. With cannabis commerce about to go live across Canada, this will be the cannabis event to attend.You might want to get your tickets soon before the event sells out.

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JOIN US AT THE INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS BUSINESS CONFERENCE June 24-25 Sheraton Wall Centre Vancouver, BC

CANNABIS IN THE CAPITAL MARKETS. The CSE—Canadian Securities Exchange— will be providing insight into the process of going public and raising capital in the ever-evolving Cannabis sector. Anna Serin, Director of Listing Development for the CSE, will be moderating a panel discussion with industry professionals who will share their knowledge and experience.

This panel will address many of the common questions asked during the process of going public, and will speak to the complex nature, jurisdictional issues and industry specific challenges facing today’s Canadian—and U.S.—Cannabis companies in the capital markets.

REGISTRATION & INFORMATION AT INTERNATIONALCBC.COM

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VANCOUVER • SAN FRANCISCO • BERLIN