UPDATE: CHECK OUT PART 2 HERE
The marijuana industry is ripe with businesses that are trying to make a name for themselves. Since the inception of this blog, I’ve taken the stance that marijuana will become legal at the federal level and these startups are definitely at the forefront of the industry to take advantage when it happens.
Lets get together and talk Cannabis
MassRoots is a “semi-anonymous” social networking app for cannabis lovers world wide. MassRoots is available on iOS and Android devices and is currently valued at $1.1 million. MassRoots is probably the most popular startup among the ones mentioned in this post. They are currently in the running to be the first Tech Disrupt marijuana company. You can help MassRoots make history by voting for them here. Currently, MassRoots is one of the largest and most active social networks for the cannabis community with over 275,000 users. Download the app now and meet other marijuana enthusiasts near you!
Making waves in the tourism industry
By being the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, Colorado Tourism has increased significantly and businesses are taking advantage of it. When visiting Colorado, there are several marijuana tour businesses to choose from. However, Colorado Cannabis Tours stands above other marijuana tourism businesses. Colorado Cannabis Tours offer a wide variety of tours starting at just $99. You can cruise Colorado with other marijuana enthusiasts in a “420 Friendly Limousine,” and have lunch at Cheba Hut; a marijuana-themed restaurant. You can also visit several dispensaries, attend a glass blowing demo, visit a live cannabis grow facility, and try out various marijuana samples. I perused their site for several minutes and found their site to be comprehensive and easy to navigate. Colorado Cannabis Tours seems to be the one stop site if you’re looking to visit Colorado in the near future.
Kiosks every where, even in the dispensaries, but wait..
This next startup is one that I feel is destined to really progress the marijuana industry by providing banking services to marijuana dispensaries. In my Marijuana and the Banking Industry post, I mentioned how the banking industry is the real reason why the marijuana industry is not developing at a faster rate. JaneFour20 provides a solution to this problem by offering marijuana dispensaries a suite of financial service products. Their ultimate end state is credit card transactions via their highly secure kiosk.
JaneFour20 kiosk are compliant with the banking industry and HIPAA. They are partnered with the industry’s most trusted and reliable armored car security firm for complete delivery and pick up management. Their kiosk exudes efficiency which will be heaven sent to all dispensaries. Jane’s Kiosks can produce a multitude of reports such as real-time cash inventory, account history, and transaction reports. If their kiosk and banking services isn’t enough, JaneFour20 is also creating an app that will make the buying experience even easier for repeat business! Check out this video of JaneFour20’s CEO, Jeff Foster talking about their Kiosk and services.
All about the Vape
Vaping seems to be the latest crave in the marijuana industry and Loto Labs will deliver “The World’s First Smart Vaporizer Powered by Induction” named Evoke. Loto Labs claim induction technology allow for their product to produce a cleaner vapor with no hot spots, no burning and no bad taste. It also has a coil that will not wear out or break and has a wick that is easy to remove, clean, and reuse. Evoke has a brain…yes a brain. A tiny circuit board enabled with bluetooth that regulates it’s temperature, manage firmware updates, AND communicate with your smartphone; wait what? Loto Labs is packing a lot tech into a medium sized vaporizer and you can pre-order the Evoke through Loto Labs Indiegogo Campaign for $299.
Its all about the grow house data
Years of marijuana cultivation knowledge, over time, will fade away and be forgotten. Everyone knows at least one grower who is an expert in some way on growing marijuana. Well, how does a grower impart his (or her) knowledge out to the marijuana community? Grow Buddy is the ultimate cannabis grow journal app that helps record plant life cycle and empowers growers with historical data to make informed decisions. Ultimately better decisions produce better results.
Grow Buddy app boast triple strong security, the ability to sync across multiple devices, and offer an offline mode when wi-fi isn’t available. Furthermore, Grow Buddy allows growers to manage their grow as well as quickly record waterings with just a few clicks. Grow Buddy is available on iOS, Android, and Window mobile devices. Go download the app and start managing your grows more efficiently today.
The Ubers of Weed
San Francisco based startup Meadow “connects medical marijuana patients with reliable dispensaries to get quality cannabis-based medicine delivered right to your door.” Currently, Meadows only deliver to certain parts of San Francisco and is looking to expand from there.
Nestdrop is another marijuana delivery startup that delivers marijuana AND alcohol to your doorstep. Thats right, you can order a 1/2 oz of your favorite marijuana and a bottle of Dreaming Tree Crush; i’m sold!
If two marijuana delivery startups aren’t enough, Eaze is another startup that delivers medical marijuana to your doorstep. The way Eaze works is you browse through a hi-res menu of their partners’ cannabis products, complete with in-depth descriptions and lab results to help you find the perfect medicine. You place your orders and Eaze will dispatch the nearest driver to hand deliver your medicine in minutes. You can also see how long until your order arrives and receive messages as it approaches. Once you are finish medicating, you can rate your driver and products after each delivery. Eaze will use this information to recommend future products and improve the customer experience.
Marijuana Brands
This last startup has received the largest capital investment of all the startups mentioned here and has received much publicity. Privateer Holdings are invested in three well established marijuana businesses.
Tilray is a premium medical cannabis company, offering unparalleled quality and consistency for Canadian patients. A market leader, Tilray is operated by Lafitte Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Privateer Holdings incorporated in British Columbia.
Leafly is the very popular online cannabis information resource. Millions of patients and consumers use Leafly to explore cannabis strains & products, find dispensaries, retail stores, and doctors, and access cannabis news, research, and culture.
The final, and most recent business under Privateer Holdings is Marley Natural. Privateer partnered with the family of the great Bob Marley, a 30 year licensing deal to offer hemp infused products and Jamaican marijuana strains.
Which startup will stand the test of time?
As the marijuana industry continues to develop, which startups will still be standing? Privateer Holdings is looking for the next wave of trusted major brands and with so many marijuana startups, it’s currently hard (and early) to tell which companies have the infrastructure and determination to go the distance.
Leave a comment below on your thoughts of the startups mentioned in this post. Furthermore, feel free to share what you believe a federally legalized marijuana industry will look like. If there are any startups I missed, please let me know and i’ll be sure to write about them in my next post. Lastly, if you liked this article, I would greatly appreciate it if you follow AsaTera on Twitter and like us on Facebook and Google+.
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