Highlights from the 3rd Annual Cannabis Private Investment Summit Fort Lauderdale 2020
February 11 2020
Mia A. Shark, CEO, XKaliber
Peter R. Classen, Chair, Board of Advisors, XKaliber
Investors and entrepreneurs came together on Tuesday, February 11th 2020 in sunny Fort Lauderdale Florida for the 3rd annual Cannabis Private Investment Summit at the Greenspoon Marder Law Offices.
The conference kicked off with the State of the Industry moderated by Jacques Habra of Noospheric with panelist Matt Ginder, Partner at Greenspoon Marder.
The day started positively with a forward look into the state of regulatory cannabis and the legalization of two new states. The conversation turned to a state by state discussion and flowed freely with questions from the audience primarily around cannabis licenses. In regards to Florida, attendees questioned if limited licensing was constitutional. Matt Ginder suggested that “This is the cloud hanging over the program.” The question of who is going to write and regulate these licenses goes without an answer as the industry evolves. “This industry is like designing, and building an airplane while in flight” he states. Another significant milestone discussed in the legalization of cannabis was the entire country of Mexico being expected to go legal this year, which is a significant event for the cannabis space.
Jaques then turned the conversation over to what are the emerging trends and likely keys to success in 2020, with some great advice for entrepreneurs and investors:
Emerging Trend in 2020:
“It’s the Operators who are being rewarded. Aggregators are not.”
Entrepreneurs should take into consideration:
In an environment showing at least 16% annual market growth, having 12 - 18 months “cash” runway to be able to answer emerging cash needs is necessary.
Management of financials are increasingly important; companies need a sound CFO to track and manage expenses, to stay on top of evolving taxation issues, and to ensure the path to profitability is being followed.
Having a tight timetable for implementation and execution is pivotal in a nascent industry.
For Investors especially, due diligence and portfolio company management should focus on:
How are their companies going to get profitable?
How are they going to capture their market opportunities?
How are they planning to manage the details, in an increasingly complex market setting?
What are the resources required to become a 20% market stakeholder?
Emerging Trend in 2020:
“CBD is becoming the gateway drug to Cannabis.” This year we may fully expect to see more professional, more substantial new entrants coming into the industry via the CBD route.
Paul King, CEO of Cannaforniaca lead the next discussion: 2020: Which State Holds the Biggest Cannabiz Opportunity? Paul asked the audience: What state do you think has the biggest upside? Florida was the popular shoutout. Paul agreed that Florida has the largest opportunity. TrueLeaf & Curaleaf are profitable because of Florida. Paul predicts that Florida will be legal by 2022 if we get another 350K more signatures on the petition as Florida did not validate the signatures from the first round petition. This should be an easy task to accomplish leading to the legalization of Florida.