Have a Heart Completes $25 Million Series A Financing
Continued retail license wins attract smart capital to fuel aggressive growth
Seattle, September 12, 2018–(Business Wire)–Seattle-based cannabis retailer Have a Heart has closed the largest private financing for a pure-play U.S. retail cannabis company to date. The $25 million series A round was led by private, accredited investors with significant cannabis and technology industry experience.
Our growth outpaced our ability to organically fund our expansion. We’ve found a financial partner with significant experience in applying capital to help growth companies scale. Having the financial support and management stewardship of this team will help us execute our vision more rapidly and broadly.
Ryan Kunkel, Have a Heart’s President and Chief Executive Officer
Founded in 2011, Have a Heart started 2018 with five operating locations in Washington state.
The success of its Washington operations provided healthy expansion capital to pursue other markets, and its high application win rate – together with growth through acquisitions – generated greater capital needs for store buildout and working capital.
Have a Heart now has more than fifteen retail licenses across five states: Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, California and Iowa. The company has more than eighteen applications pending, including in five additional states. In addition, it has more than twenty sites under negotiation with potential merger partners in another four states.
“Entrepreneurs can reliably start, grow and finance their businesses in Washington,” Kunkel said. “The state has the best people, leaders, capital, and business and legislative climate for companies to start and become national and world leaders.”
About Have a Heart
Have a Heart, founded in Seattle, Wash., in 2011, owns and operates five licensed cannabis retail locations in Washington with 12 other locations in California, Iowa, Hawaii, Oregon and Ohio. The company has robust plans to expand nationally. Headquartered in Seattle, Have a Heart employs more than 400 people across the United States. The company recently established one of the industry’s first agreements with organized labor, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). Have a Heart is recognized for its support of legislation to promote the safe and compliant growth, manufacturing, distribution and consumption of cannabis in states that have made it legal.
For more information, visit http://www.HaveAHeartCC.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
