In episode 29 of Investing in Cannabis, Brandon David interviews Matt Chapdelaine, CEO of Chicago-based HerbFront, which offers a predictive mapping and zoning platform focused on the cannabis industry.

• 140 cities mapped out since launch 14 months ago
• 69K compliant properties across the country represent just 0.01% of all commercial property in those markets
• HerbFront saves time searching zoning, land-use, school distance and other variables
• Matt’s background is in commercial real estate and in technology
• Company was late in Illinois but helped companies find new locations when necessary
• Software is offered on subscription, with a low-end offering of a three-month duration for a single location for $750 to a full offering covering all markets for national players
• Data comes from public sources through data portals, self-built sources and purchased data (parcel maps)
• Client demand dictates addition of cities
• Matt has been surprised that customer base is different from his original expectations, as his intended audience was commercial brokers.  In fact, they are behind consultants, like attorneys, who represent 30%, and end users, who also like the CRM embedded and its user-friendliness, make up the majority
• Company employs mainly technical personnel, like data scientists and city planners, with Masters degrees in their fields, with a total of 9 employees
• Company is funded and is close to profitability
• Rapid changes, like what is happening in Detroit, drive demand for software
• No competitors have emerged, but companies like Zillow, Trulia and Redfin .  HerbFront is using the software in other industries. A well-known (undisclosed) company has turned to HerbFront to license its software rather than compete.

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