David Drake, the CEO of Cannabis Reports (formerly Smoke Reports), presented at the Seed Series in San Francisco on March 2nd.  The company, which provides data analytics and has now created special software codes covering 25K separate items, has 13 employees in 4 states and has raised $1.2mm. Drake began with a lot of personal information that helps understand his passion for cannabis. His evolution from President of his 6th grade D.A.R.E chapter to cannabis industry entrepreneur is fascinating. The talk is helpful for entrepreneurs who want to enter the industry or for potential investors who would like to better understand the DNA of Cannabis Reports.

• Fill a void if others aren’t going far enough
• Watch Shark Tank
• Don’t operate in a vacuum – talk to people
• Constantly reiterate
• Start small
• Shared office spaces are great
• Say no to investors who don’t get your mission
• You don’t have to have a pitch deck
• 3-5 years is way too short for an exit in the cannabis industry
• There is so much more to learn about cannabis than what we know now

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email