PALO ALTO, California, April 30, 2019 — Confident Cannabis, the only cannabis wholesale platform powered by verified lab data, raised $12 million in Series A funding, bringing their total to over $18 million since inception. The new Series A funding will help accelerate growth at Confident Cannabis and expand Wholesale to new markets. The round was led by San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management, one of the most well-respected cannabis venture funds. The round included follow-on participation from Bullpen Capital, Y Combinator, Greenfield Global Opportunities Fund and Base Ventures, and new investment from FJLabs, a leading marketplace venture investment fund.
We are thrilled to partner with Poseidon because they completely align with our vision to foster a sustainable and vibrant ecosystem in which every ethical business thrives. Emily and Morgan have been fantastic partners and mentors with deep industry knowledge and reach, adding real value during every interaction. They understand what it takes to solve the biggest problem in cannabis: wholesale trade is just too hard.
Steve Albarran, Co-CEO of Confident Cannabis
Confident Cannabis empowers all verticals in the supply chain—and ultimately consumers—to know what is made, who makes it, and what it’s made of in real-time. It’s the only place where cannabis producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers showcase and discover products from verified businesses with test results directly from licensed labs. In October 2018, the company launched Wholesale in Oregon, a first-of-its-kind wholesale platform where all members of the cannabis supply chain can engage with one another, assured in knowing all the products have gone through a verified lab test with a licensed vendor.
Emily Paxhia and Morgan Paxhia, co-founders of Poseidon, had been tracking the software company’s progress since first meeting Confident Cannabis founders in 2015.
“In every lab diligence meeting, the operators raved about their Confident Cannabis software solutions,” said Emily Paxhia. “Almost no one raves about their tech solutions, so this stood out to us. Poseidon knew a wholesale solution that easily integrates into the workflow of the growers, processors and manufacturers would be critical to this industry and believe in the way that Confident Cannabis approaches this solution. Wholesale solutions are not easy to execute well, but we believe this team has the strategy, acumen and drive to optimize the way cannabis flows through the supply chain.”
Today, over 40% of the legal cannabis produced in the United States across 20 states passes through Confident Cannabis’ Lab Testing platform. As Confident Cannabis expands its Wholesale platform beyond Oregon and into each of its markets, this deep inventory supply will be made available to licensed wholesalers and retailers, simplifying every step of wholesale trade.
“We’re honored to receive continued support from many of our existing investors, including Bullpen Capital, Y Combinator, Greenfield Global and Base Ventures, who have believed in us and our mission since the early days. We’re also excited to work with FJ Labs, one of the world’s smartest marketplace investors,” said Albarran.
“We’ve been following the company’s journey for some time as they built a world-class product to facilitate compliance in the cannabis industry,” mentions Kelly Anne Tully, Head of Platform at FJ Labs. “FJ Labs invests and builds online marketplaces, so we are excited to join this round to support Confident Cannabis’ transition in an exciting and growing industry.”
“We’re all about investing in companies that are outside of the box and finding innovative ways to solve emerging needs,” said Paul Martino of Bullpen Capital. “Confident Cannabis fit the bill. The cannabis industry needed wholesale pricing and software to connect producers and sellers. They’re on top of the disruption this industry is bringing, and on top of the solution to one of its first problems.”
About Confident Cannabis
Founded on instilling trust and transparency in the cannabis industry, Confident Cannabis empowers all verticals in the supply chain—and ultimately consumers—to know what is made, who makes it, and what it’s made of in real-time. It’s the only place where cannabis producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers showcase and discover products from verified businesses with test results directly from licensed labs.
http://www.confidentcannabis.com
About Poseidon Asset Management
Founded in 2013 by Emily & Morgan Paxhia (siblings) – Poseidon oversees one of the longest running dedicated cannabis investment funds, with over $105MM Assets Under Management in the first fund and targeting $75-100m for their second cannabis fund. With 35+ active portfolio companies and nearly 100 transactions in the industry, the team is truly one of the most prolific investors in the space. Poseidon’s portfolio covers the US, Canada, Colombia, and Europe and is expanding globally.
https://www.poseidonassetmanagement.com
About FJ Labs
FJ Labs is an investment firm that invests in and builds online marketplaces and e-commerce companies. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Jose Marin, FJ Labs has more than 350 active portfolio companies including Boxed, Delivery Hero, FanDuel, Flexport and LendingHome, and has been directly engaged in building companies such as AdoreMe, Instacarro, Letgo, OLX and Rebag.
https://www.fjlabs.com
About Bullpen Capital
Bullpen Capital is a venture firm that invests in startups between their Seed and Series A rounds. Their differentiated “Post-Seed” strategy catapults startups to Super-Size Series A rounds while giving founders more control over their future. Since 2010, Bullpen has been on a mission to find the leaders of fast-growing companies in non-traditional locations and industries struggling to raise capital – even if they had achieved product-market fit. Their portfolio has nearly 80 companies spanning industries from medical cannabis to sports betting that have collectively generated over $5 billion in annual revenue and over 70 percent of their portfolio companies have graduated to their next round, raising more than $1.8 billion in downstream capital.
https://www.bullpencap.com
