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Artie Minson, President and CEO of LeafLink, takes center stage, sharing his journey from New York to the forefront of the cannabis tech industry. As a leader in B2B technology, Artie guides us through LeafLink's innovative ecosystem, connecting licensed cannabis brands and retailers with groundbreaking solutions to industry challenges. Discover how LeafLink is transforming the commerce landscape through its unique "pay on sell-through" tool, easing working capital pressures and ensuring secure payments. Artie's insights into LeafLink's strategic banking innovations reveal a commitment to tackling the underbanked nature of cannabis businesses, promising streamlined operations and efficiency gains in key states like Michigan, Colorado, and Mississippi.Setting the stage for a revolution in cannabis payments, we explore the complexities and cash-dependent nature of this emerging market against the backdrop of federal legalization. Our conversation with Artie highlights LeafLink's all-in-one technology strategy, designed to integrate payment systems and deliver an e-commerce experience tailored for cannabis providers. Artie's career trajectory, from media and tech CFO roles to leadership at WeWork and LeafLink, reflects a passionate drive to redefine commerce in this dynamic space.
Matt Hutchinson discussed LeafLink's new payment on sell-through model, which addresses the $3.8 billion in unpaid bills in the cannabis industry. This model guarantees payment for sold products and provides real-time insights to brands and retailers. It aims to alleviate cash flow issues by aligning cash inflows with outflows. The system is currently available in Michigan, Mississippi, and Colorado, with plans to expand. Hutchinson emphasized the importance of accurate inventory management and the benefits of this model for both retailers and brands. He also touched on the broader industry challenges, including the impact of delinquent payments and the need for legislative changes. LeafLink's new payment model aims to solve the pervasive problem of unpaid bills in the cannabis industry by guaranteeing payment for sold products and providing real-time insights to brands and retailers. This innovative approach aligns cash inflows with outflows, improves inventory management, and offers greater financial transparency. While the industry faces ongoing challenges like regulatory hurdles and banking limitations, LeafLink is committed to providing solutions that support the growth and stability of the cannabis market.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
This week, Matt Hutchinson, chief product officer at LeafLink, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he is creating a healthier ecosystem for cannabis buyers and sellers. Subscribe to our newsletter. Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Cannabis sentiment is not positive enough. Given the challenges and fatigue, it's easy to lose sight of what's happening.Cannabis is being built from the ground up. Regulations and capital may currently hinder some aspects, but what's happening in the industry is undeniable.This week, we sit down with Ben Burstein, who reveals the actual situation in cannabis, focusing solely on information that tells the story through data.We discuss the following:Hemp BeveragesUnderstanding Market MaturityHow Upcoming Catalysts Influence the Next StepsAnd So Much MoreGuest Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminburstein/https://www.leaflink.com/https://www.instagram.com/leaflink_/https://x.com/LeafLinkUS Follow us: Our Links.At Eighth Revolution (8th Rev), we provide services from capital to cannabinoid and everything in between in the cannabinoid industry.8th Revolution Cannabinoid Playbook is an Industry-leading report covering the entire cannabis supply chain The Dime is a top 5% most shared global podcast The Dime is a top 50 Cannabis Podcast Sign up for our playbook here:
Cannabis sentiment is not positive enough. Given the challenges and fatigue, it's easy to lose sight of what's happening.Cannabis is being built from the ground up. Regulations and capital may currently hinder some aspects, but what's happening in the industry is undeniable.This week, we sit down with Ben Burstein, who reveals the actual situation in cannabis, focusing solely on information that tells the story through data.We discuss the following:Hemp BeveragesUnderstanding Market MaturityHow Upcoming Catalysts Influence the Next StepsAnd So Much MoreGuest Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminburstein/https://www.leaflink.com/https://www.instagram.com/leaflink_/https://x.com/LeafLinkUS Follow us: Our Links.At Eighth Revolution (8th Rev), we provide services from capital to cannabinoid and everything in between in the cannabinoid industry.8th Revolution Cannabinoid Playbook is an Industry-leading report covering the entire cannabis supply chain The Dime is a top 5% most shared global podcast The Dime is a top 50 Cannabis Podcast Sign up for our playbook here:
Today, we're thrilled to have a special guest from LeafLink, one of the most talked-about companies in the cannabis industry. We had a fascinating conversation about their operations, the role of technology in their success, and their impact on the industry. The video discusses the critical role of LeafLink, a leading wholesale cannabis marketplace, in the cannabis industry's supply chain. It highlights LeafLink's origins, growth, and the services it provides to connect manufacturers, brands, and distributors with retail dispensaries. The video also delves into LeafLink's financial services offerings, such as direct pay and flexible payment solutions, which help streamline the payment process for cannabis businesses.
Kate Biggs, Senior Director of Ad Sales at LeafLink dissects the marketing strategies driving growth in the cannabis industry. Gain insights into effective advertising campaigns, compliance issues, and the role of technology in enhancing sales.
Ben Burstein is LeafLink's Sr. Corporate Development Associate, helping manage industry research, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnerships for the company. He's been featured as an industry expert both on-air (ABC, FOX, NPR) and through digital channels (Forbes, Cannabis Business Times, MJBizDaily, St. Louis Business Journal). Prior to LeafLink, he worked at Citi Equity Research and Tuatara Capital. Ben is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. =================== About Cannabinoid Connect Thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and captivating stories shaping the future of this transformative industry. Subscribe and follow via the following platforms: Website Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube X Instagram Facebook TikTok
Lessons learned while working for a startup. Meet Claire Moloney, the first woman to work in cannabis tech and the first employee at LeafLink. Claire joins Karson Humiston to share her story and discuss her journey as LeafLink's first hire and all of the lessons she has learned along the way. Claire shares advice for other women looking to break into the cannabis industry and shares tips for how to be successful in a rapidly growing startup. Produced by PodConxProud To Work In Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/proud-to-work-in-cannabisKarson Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/karson-humistonVangst - https://vangst.com/Claire Moloney - https://podconx.com/guests/claire-moloneyLeaflLnk - https://www.leaflink.com/
Ben Burstein is LeafLink's Sr. Corporate Development Associate, helping manage industry research, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnerships for the company. He's been featured as an industry expert both on-air (ABC, FOX, NPR) and through digital channels (Forbes, Cannabis Business Times, MJBizDaily, St. Louis Business Journal). Prior to LeafLink, he worked at Citi Equity Research and Tuatara Capital. Ben is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. =================== LeafLink is the wholesale cannabis industry's leading technology provider, offering commerce, financial, and logistics services that help improve the operations of brands, retailers and distributors. LeafLink is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors and has raised more than $330 million of equity and equity-linked securities since its launch in 2016. Learn more at www.leaflink.com. =================== About Cannabinoid Connect Thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and captivating stories shaping the future of this transformative industry. Subscribe and follow via the following platforms: Website Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube X Instagram Facebook
Ben Burstein, Strategist, LeafLinkBen Burstein is LeafLink's Strategist, helping manage industry research, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnerships for the company. He's been featured as an industry expert both on-air (ABC, FOX, NPR) and through digital channels (Cannabis Business Times, MJBizDaily, St. Louis Business Journal, Santa Fe Reporter). Prior to LeafLink, he worked at Citi Equity Research and Tuatara Capital. Ben is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminburstein/https://www.instagram.com/leaflink_/?hl=enhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/leaflink/https://twitter.com/LeafLinkUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Ben Burstein is LeafLink's Strategist, helping manage industry research, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnerships for the company. He's been featured as an industry expert both on-air (ABC, FOX, NPR) and through digital channels (Cannabis Business Times, MJBizDaily, St. Louis Business Journal, Santa Fe Reporter). Prior to LeafLink, Ben worked at Citi Equity Research and Tuatara Capital. Ben is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Join Vangst's Proud to Work in Cannabis podcast as host Karson Humiston chats with LeafLink's Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Ryan Smith, and the company's President and CEO, Artie Minson, on how they achieved 50% market share in the cannabis industry. Discover how LeafLink's innovative marketplace technology replaced outdated transaction methods (i.e. text messages and google sheets), and how they recently raised $100 million in their series D round. Gain insights from their journey, challenges, successes, and future plans in this inspiring and informative episode. Don't miss out on this week's must-listen episode! Produce By PodConxKarson Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karson-humiston-64572b97/Vangst - https://vangst.com/Ryan Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-g-smith/Artie Minson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/artie-minson/Leaflink - https://leaflink.com/ Recorded on Squadcast
During his twenties, Ryan Smith had already started and sold two companies before he broke into cannabis in 2015 with the launch of his B2B technology platform Leaflink. One year later, he made Forbes' 30 Under 30 list highlighting software technology entrepreneurs, buttressing his wunderkind reputation. Seven years on, Leaflink operates in some 30 markets and has some 12,000 business customers. In this episode of "Seed to CEO," you'll hear what Smith did to get this far, including: Spotting opportunity in the cannabis industry landscape Conducting market research Picking winning markets in which to operate Keeping a fresh perspective Who is Ryan Smith? Ryan G. Smith is the CEO and co-founder of LeafLink, a B2P platform catering to the wholesale cannabis supply chain for brands, distributors, and retailers in 30 markets. In 2011 Smith founded his first business, a green office supply company named EcoCampus. And in 2013 he founded Trupoly, ant investor management relationship software business. Smith and his partner Zach Silverman founded LeafLink in 2015. Smith was listed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2016 and LeafLink was named on Fast Company's 2018 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise. In 2021, LeafLink was named one of Inc's Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America.
During his twenties, Ryan Smith had already started and sold two companies before he broke into cannabis in 2015 with the launch of his B2B technology platform Leaflink. One year later, he made Forbes' 30 Under 30 list highlighting software technology entrepreneurs, buttressing his wunderkind reputation. Seven years on, Leaflink operates in some 30 markets and has some 12,000 business customers. In this episode of "Seed to CEO," you'll hear what Smith did to get this far, including: Spotting opportunity in the cannabis industry landscape Conducting market research Picking winning markets in which to operate Keeping a fresh perspective Who is Ryan Smith? Ryan G. Smith is the CEO and co-founder of LeafLink, a B2P platform catering to the wholesale cannabis supply chain for brands, distributors, and retailers in 30 markets. In 2011 Smith founded his first business, a green office supply company named EcoCampus. And in 2013 he founded Trupoly, ant investor management relationship software business. Smith and his partner Zach Silverman founded LeafLink in 2015. Smith was listed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2016 and LeafLink was named on Fast Company's 2018 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise. In 2021, LeafLink was named one of Inc's Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America.
Jesse Barnes, Software Engineer at InMoment and Women Who Code NYC Lead, and Stevie Palmateer, Sr. Director of Engineering at LeafLink, sit down for a fireside chat. They discuss engineering at LeafLink and current projects that Stevie's team is responsible for. Stevie also shares their commitment to DEI being a priority in any company they work for.
How does momentum factor into product management? In this episode of Product Chats, Erik Dawson, Senior Director of Product Management at LeafLink, answers that question. We dive into how product teams can build internal momentum to support product growth, as well as external momentum, which helps customers move through the customer journey. Time Stamped Show NotesGetting into product [01:19]Building products for enterprise vs startups [02:59]How to structure product teams [06:58]Building customer experience focused products [08:44]Product momentum [11:24]Getting quick wins and setting OKRs [13:41]Product strategy and the three Cs [14:37]Leading gracefully at a product led organization [16:41]Measurement and attribution [18:52]Advice for aspiring product leaders [23:14] Product Chats is brought to you by Canny. Over 1,000 teams trust Canny to help them build better products. Capture, organize, and analyze product feedback in one place to inform your product decisions.Get your free Canny account today. Stay Connected!TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
Ryan G. Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of LeafLink and Harish Mukhami is the Chief Product Officer at LeafLink. LeafLink is the cannabis industry's B2B platform and has revolutionized how thousands of brands, distributors, and retailers manage their operations. Ryan brings experience in creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investment in highly-regulated spaces as LeafLink's Chief Executive Officer. In 2016, Smith was the first technology CEO in the cannabis industry to be listed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. Harish is responsible for product management, design, data, operations, and more. Before joining LeafLink, Harish served as the Head of Product at Apple and Microsoft, focusing on metrics and discoverability, including overseeing the growth of Apple's Siri software.
Tune in to E.163 featuring Skip Motsenbocker, CEO of Pacific Stone in Santa Barbara, California. Skip shares with us his journey into the cannabis industry including his past professional experience with asset management and CPG that helped him in his early days in the industry scaling Urbn Leaf Dispensary. Skip also has a personal connection and passion for the plant after losing his mother to opioids. As a result he spent a lot of time an advocate for cannabis' medicinal properties working on the 2018 New Approach Amendment in Missouri. Today Skip is the CEO of Pacific Stone, a family-owned-and-operated business, focused on selling high quality cannabis at an affordable price. We learn more about the 6th Generation Dutch Greenhouse Growing practices at the cultivation and more about what sets this brand apart from others on the market. Pacific Stone is currently a leader in the California market having been recognized by Weedmaps, LeafLink and Treez as a best selling flower brand in the state. We also learn about the latest collaboration with Time Machine Brand, that has a trippy alien vibe you sure don't want to miss. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lit-and-lucid/support
In this Throwback episode we bring back Michael Piermont of Leaf Trade. This week Leaf Trade raised a fresh 12.5M round to propel its marketplace and technology platform for wholesale cannabis. We recorded this back in 2020 and the episode has aged really well. Fascinating discussion of why this technology is necessary for buyers and brands. What does this mean for vertical integration and Limited Licences MSOs? Can they catch LeafLink? https://www.newcannabisventures.com/cannabis-technology-company-leaf-trade-raises-12-5-million/ https://leaf.trade/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-piermont-049839a/
Lessons learned while working for a startup. Meet Claire Moloney, the first woman to work in cannabis tech and the first employee at LeafLink. Claire joins Karson Humiston to share her story and discuss her journey as LeafLink's first hire and all of the lessons she has learned along the way. Claire shares advice for other women looking to break into the cannabis industry and shares tips for how to be successful in a rapidly growing startup. Produced by PodConxProud To Work In Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/proud-to-work-in-cannabisKarson Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/karson-humistonVangst - https://vangst.com/Claire Moloney - https://podconx.com/guests/claire-moloneyLeaflLnk - https://www.leaflink.com/
Cannabis Daily is a cannabis news and interview program from Business of Cannabis. We highlight the companies, brands, people and trends driving the cannabis industry. Business of Cannabis is a cannabis industry platform marrying cannabis news, video and podcast content, newsletters and online and real-world cannabis events. Following today's run-down of today's top story, we will be joined for a BofC Live conversation with Matthew Hutchinson, Vice President of Logistics for Leaflink - a leading logistics provider and marketplace for both brands and retailers throughout legal markets in North America.On March 10th, we hosted Business of Cannabis: New York Sessions at The William Vale in Brooklyn. You can catch a photo recap of the event here: https://businessofcannabis.com/2022/03/20/the-latest-from-business-of-cannabis-new-york/March 30 | Our monthly Retail Series will reconvene online to talk about how to prepare your cannabis retail store or dispensary for the 4/20 holiday. Learn more and register:https://hopin.com/events/retail-series-preparing-for-4-20/registrationSeptember 21 22 | Join us for Business of Cannabis: New York - a two-day expo and event highlighting cannabis retail tech, design and data as well as the emerging, new capital of cannabis: New York.https://bofc.me/bofcny2022Tune in on YouTube everyday at 10 am Eastern: https://bofc.me/youtubeVisit Business of Cannabis online:http://businessofcannabis.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/bofc_mediaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/businessofcannabisInstagram: https://instagram.com/businessofcannabisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/bofcmediaSpotify: http://bofc.me/spotifyApple: http://bofc.me/applepodPodcasts Online: https://bofc.me/bofclive
The cannabis retail ecosystem is nearly unrecognizable compared to its earliest iterations, and much of the sector's growth can be attributed to LeafLink, the industry's largest B2B wholesale platform. In this episode, Ryan G. Smith, co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, discusses his early days as an entrepreneur, why cannabis was a thrilling prospect for his next venture and how the company has successfully scaled and matured alongside the industry. Touching on the importance of building the strongest team possible and how social equity standards can be achieved in the industry, Ryan shares key insights as a pioneer in cannabis tech.
The show starts off with an interview of Harsh Khurana, the CEO of Cultivate, a browser extension and shopping app with a mission to help businesses that are manufacturing goods locally. Next, a look at Leaflink's expansion of its logistics offerings and a highlighting of the macro trend in which B2B marketplaces broaden via key value added services around logistics and/or financing. Also covered, Macy's partnering with Mirakl to open a digital marketplace, and a look at the various approaches B2B players are taking to offering eCommerce tools to customers. 00:00 - Subscribe and Fight Big Tech 00:20 - Interview w/ Cultivate CEO Harsh Khurana 14:08 - A Big Cannabis B2B Op 20:52 - Macy's Marketplace Finally? 26:35 - B2B eCommerce Offerings Originally Aired: 11/23/21 #B2B #Logistics #B2BPodcast
Business of Cannabis with David Matt with - Jame Yi - LeafTrade - Matt Holden and Sylvan Gerish - LeafLink - Jay Benge and Bill Van Den Acre - Your CBD Store
Business of Cannabis with David Matt with - Jame Yi - LeafTrade - Matt Holden and Sylvan Gerish - LeafLink - Jay Benge and Bill Van Den Acre - Your CBD Store
In this episode, we interview Ryan Smith, the founder of LeafLink -- a unified B2B Cannabis Platform that connects 7,200+ retailers with 2,800+ brands and distributors for streamlined cannabis commerce. We find out if entrepreneurs are born or bred, the difficulties he's faced in building a billion-dollar business, and some of the lessons he's learned in the process.
In this episode, guest Nikhil Goyal sits down with TDS to discuss which specializations are key to building an effective data team. Prior to LeafLink, Nikhil led the data science function for Gartner's Marketing practice, gaining deep expertise in building scaled data products for large consumer brands. He has extensive experience in generating insights from e-commerce, search and transactional data leveraging experimentation, machine learning, and implementing business intelligence solutions. Nikhil has also held positions managing data science teams at and consulting F500 clients on marketing and advertising. Currently, Nikhil is responsible for continuing to evolve the data platform that powers the LeafLink marketplace. Nikhil Goyal https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilgoyal/ The Data Standard is a community of data scientists, architects, engineers, and enthusiasts. In addition to regular podcasts, we host monthly events, publish through leadership pieces, and offer a stimulating ecosystem for networking and collaboration. https://datastandard.io https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-data-standard https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTuolowXD05RY9DkIWqRT6Q
In this episode, guest Nikhil Goyal sits down with TDS to discuss which specializations are key to building an effective data team. Prior to LeafLink, Nikhil led the data science function for Gartner's Marketing practice, gaining deep expertise in building scaled data products for large consumer brands. He has extensive experience in generating insights from e-commerce, search and transactional data leveraging experimentation, machine learning, and implementing business intelligence solutions. Nikhil has also held positions managing data science teams at and consulting F500 clients on marketing and advertising. Currently, Nikhil is responsible for continuing to evolve the data platform that powers the LeafLink marketplace.Nikhil Goyalhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilgoyal/The Data Standard is a community of data scientists, architects, engineers, and enthusiasts. In addition to regular podcasts, we host monthly events, publish through leadership pieces, and offer a stimulating ecosystem for networking and collaboration. https://datastandard.iohttps://www.linkedin.com/company/the-data-standardhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTuolowXD05RY9DkIWqRT6Q
You can't place a Google ad. You can't rely on SEO. You can't rely on a single regulation being the same from state to state. Basically, RevOps in the cannabis industry has to run on chutzpah. In this episode, we interview James McArthur, Director of Revenue Planning and Operations at LeafLink, about industry trends (and gossip), as well as the need for unconventional RevOps strategies. In this episode we discuss: Applying entrepreneurial strategies to RevOps How James positions his RevOps teams to be customer-first Ways the martech industry is like a clown car The elevated science of today's edibles (and flavor recs) Meet us here every other week, and we promise to keep it spicy for you. Find Revenue Innovators on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Revenue Innovators in your favorite podcast player.
You can't place a Google ad. You can't rely on SEO. You can't rely on a single regulation being the same from state to state. Basically, RevOps in the cannabis industry has to run on chutzpah.In this episode, we interview James McArthur, Director of Revenue Planning and Operations at LeafLink, about industry trends (and gossip), as well as the need for unconventional RevOps strategies.In this episode we discuss:Applying entrepreneurial strategies to RevOpsHow James positions his RevOps teams to be customer-firstWays the martech industry is like a clown carThe elevated science of today's edibles (and flavor recs)Meet us here every other week, and we promise to keep it spicy for you. Find Revenue Innovators on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Revenue Innovators in your favorite podcast player.
Rosie Mattio is a strategic powerhouse, industry connector and influencer running the #1 ranked cannabis PR firm by Greenmarket Report. Based in New York City, her firm serves over 50 marquee cannabis clients, including Headset, Green Thumb Industries, Papa & Barkley, LeafLink, Greenlane and Curaleaf.Rosie has helped usher in the New Cannabis Age. She garners global media coverage in mainstream publications for clients, including the first cannabis article ever published in Oprah Magazine. Over the past year, her firm has grown alongside the industry, adding several marketing and communications services for clients, including IR, social media marketing, SEO, event planning and influencer marketing. Rosie Mattio has been recognized with several career achievements: Marijuana Venture 40 under 40; High Times Female 50; Forbes 15 Powerful and Innovative Women in Cannabis.
CannaInsider - Interviews with the Business Leaders of The Legal Cannabis, Marijuana, CBD Industry
We hear a lot about what’s going on in the west coast cannabis market, but what about the midwest? Here to fill us in is Tim Schuler of Cannalicious and Detroit Edible Company. Learn more at: www.cannaliciouslabs.com www.detroitediblecompany.com Key Takeaways: [1:09] An inside look at Cannalicious and Detroit Edible Company, two of Michigan’s most successful cannabis businesses [2:00] Tim’s background working for Anheuser Busch and how he got into the cannabis space [3:42] How the cannabis market in Michigan has evolved over the last ten years [8:35] How Tim and his team decide the best cannabis extracts to produce at Cannalicious [11:23] The types of products sold at Detroit Edible Company, from gummies to brownies [17:44] Detroit Edible’s latest partnership with Eaze and why the California-based delivery app is expanding into Michigan [21:31] How Tim manages his inventory using LeafLink, cannabis’ largest wholesale management platform [25:51] Where Tim sees the cannabis market in Michigan heading over the next 3-5 years
Doug discusses building SaaS-enabled tools to streamline wholesale cannabis, managing $4 billion in annual orders via the LeafLink marketplace, and some of the most innovative cannabis products to come out of the category so far.
LeafLink, the go-to wholesale marketplace for retailers, brands and distributors, has played an integral role in the maturation of the industry. In this episode, we talk to the company’s first hire, Claire Moloney about the greatest shifts in the wholesale market and how retail insights are being leveraged by policymakers. As LeafLink’s current Senior East Coast Regional Director, Claire also shares what consumers may expect in this emerging market and how regulators can set up these future businesses for success.
The full legalization of cannabis is approaching FAST and with it a multi-billion dollar industry looms. Ryan G. Smith is a serial entrepreneur who’s current venture - LeafLink - is a B2B e-commerce platform servicing the cannabis industry. Ryan, who at 30 years old has built/exited multiple successful startups and is a member of Forbes 30 Under 30, breaks down the current state of the cannabis industry. We discuss how without federal support each state is essentially operating in its own bubble, when the federal government will legalize marijuana, and which sectors within the industry (retail, growers, brands, etc.) will have the most success. Follow us on Twitter @LeafLinkUS @mpd Guest Links: https://twitter.com/leaflinkus (Twitter), http://leaflink.com (LeafLink) Podcast Links: http://mpd.me (Website), https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCua7T3uyg6IQeSbYyNKT_Iw (YouTube), https://twitter.com/mpd (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/innovationwithmpd (Facebook), https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovationwithmpd (LinkedIn)
On this week's episode of The Data Stack Show, Eric and Kostas are joined by Mike Luby, director of engineering at LeafLink. LeafLink is a cannabis industries B2B wholesale marketplace where thousands of brands can manage and track their orders and relationships.Highlights from this week's episode include:The infrastructure LeafLink provides for the cannabis supply chain and how it deals with compliance issues. (2:03)Structuring product management organization to launch high-velocity teams (8:08)How it started vs. How it's going (12:00)Containerization and leveraging AWS tools for LeafLink's stack (13:19)Shifting to an event-driven architecture (24:46)Using APIs to provide critical integrations for customers to automate and optimize their businesses (32:47)Keeping an eye for the future but building for today (36:56)The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack. Each week we'll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.
On this episode: Ryan G. Smith is the co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, a wholesale cannabis marketplace and technology platform. Ryan talks about growing a technology business in a highly regulated space and his focus on creating diversified business solutions that tackle hair on fire problems for cannabis brands and retailers. We discuss his navigation of raising capital, including his plans for the $40 million his company just raised from Founders Fund, and examine the biggest challenges LeafLink has faced during its product-market fit and growth stages. Finally, Ryan tells us about his experiences maintaining company culture during rapid hiring as well as his expectations for the cannabis industry moving forward.
Despite his peers and family's hesitation, Larry Schnurmacher didn't look back when he made the jump from Morgan Stanley into cannabis in 2015. The industry was uncharted territory for the 25-year career investor. Fast-forward to today: Schnurmacher's cannabis investment firm Phyto Partners is seeing a 100% return on their first fund and is currently rolling out a second. They've witnessed plenty of opportunities, notably staking their claim early on in stalwart brands like Leaflink. How did they do it? Larry and Jonathan Rubin join the podcast to break it down. Connect with Phyto Partners:InstagramFacebookLinkedInwww.phytopartners.comConnect with us:imwithrj.comInstagramTwitter
Mixergy - Startup Stories with 1000+ entrepreneurs and businesses
I’ve been so excited about marketplaces as businesses that I’ve done interviews with the founders who created them for over 10 years. It started out being such a hard thing to do. Now, with no-code solutions, it’s so easy. That’s why I wanted to talk to today’s guest. Ryan Smith is the founder of Leaflink, a wholesale Cannabis marketplace. This is such a brilliant idea and at the same time, this is such a daunting space to be in. I want understand how he did it. Ryan Smith is the founder of Leaflink, a wholesale Cannabis marketplace. Sponsored byHostGator – Ready to take your website to the next level? Whether you’re a first-time blogger or an experienced web pro, HostGator has all the tools you need to create a great-looking website or online store. A wide range of options includes cloud-based web hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers. Founded in 2002, HostGator is the perfect web partner for business owners and individuals seeking hands-on support. Visit www.hostgator.com/mixergy to see what HostGator can do for your website. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint
Doug Gordon is the EVP and Head of LeafLink Financial, the cannabis industry's wholesale B2B marketplace.
Meet: Prior to LeafLink, Nikhil led the data science function for Gartner's Marketing practice, gaining deep expertise in building scaled data products for large consumer brands. He has extensive experience in generating insights from e-commerce, search and transactional data leveraging experimentation, machine learning, and implementing business intelligence solutions. Nikhil has also held positions managing data science teams at and consulting F500 clients on marketing and advertising. Currently, Nikhil is responsible for continuing to evolve the data platform that powers the LeafLink marketplace. What you'll learn: Adjusting to a less regulated industry Building out the data infrastructure Technology choices and tradeoffs
Zach Silverman is the Co-Founder & CTO of LeafLink which is the largest wholesale cannabis marketplace today.LeafLink partners with growing cannabis brands to simplify how retailers order the products they love online. They are the industry standard platform for orders, sales, and relationship management. Visit www.cleevio.com if you're interested to build a digital product.
Ryan Smith is the cofounder and CEO of LeafLink which is a wholesale management platform for the cannabis industry. The company has raised $300 million from top tier investors including Lerer Hippeau, Thrive Capital, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Muse Capital, Casa Verde Capital, TIA Ventures, Phyto partners, Canopy Rivers, Brand New Matter, Wisdom VC, Nosara Capital, and L2 Ventures to name a few.
Ryan Smith is the cofounder and CEO of LeafLink which is a wholesale management platform for the cannabis industry. The company has raised $300 million from top tier investors including Lerer Hippeau, Thrive Capital, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Muse Capital, Casa Verde Capital, TIA Ventures, Phyto partners, Canopy Rivers, Brand New Matter, Wisdom VC, Nosara Capital, and L2 Ventures to name a few.
Leaflink is helping business when it comes to banking. Joe hits you with some quick knowledge when it comes to banking services. Curaleaf is making waves, Koala Puffs finds out where her bag came from after a year of having it Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers
CannaInsider - Interviews with the Business Leaders of The Legal Cannabis, Marijuana, CBD Industry
While hemp is a huge and growing part of the cannabis legalization story, it’s often overlooked. Here to tell us why we should be paying closer attention to hemp is John Manlove, CEO of Bushel44. Learn more at https://www.bushel44.com Key Takeaways: [00:53] An inside look at Bushel44, a wholesale hemp software platform designed for businesses across the hemp supply chain [1:51] John’s background and how he got into the hemp space [4:16] How the hemp industry has evolved over the last few years and where it is right now [5:53] How different types of businesses from farmers to retailers use Bushel44 [10:35] Key differences between Bushel44 and Leaflink [14:23] Ways in which the hemp space is developing the same way cannabis did [21:19] What buyers are looking for when purchasing hemp [25:23] How Bushel44 is advancing the hemp industry by holding companies to higher standards [28:10] Why smokable hemp is trending and where John sees it heading [33:01] Success stories John has seen at Bushel44 and his advice on how hemp companies can maximize the platform
Prior to co-founding LeafLink, Ryan successfully started and exited two companies, one of which he sold to a NYSE public firm. Ryan brings his experience creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investment in highly-regulated spaces to cannabis as LeafLink’s Chief Executive Officer. In 2016, Ryan was the first CEO of a cannabis company to be listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. In February 2018, LeafLink was the first company in the cannabis space to make Fast Company’s 2018 Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise. Ryan currently serves on the board of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation and is also an active lender through Kiva, an online community that helps fund primarily women-owned businesses in developing countries.
Thinking Outside the Bud is a business podcast devoted to driving innovation in the cannabis space. During each episode, we speak with founders, investors, thought leaders, researchers, advocates, and policy makers who are finding new and exciting ways for cannabis to positively impact business, society, and culture. Have each episode delivered to your inbox by subscribing here: http://www.thinkingoutsidethebud.com/subscribe
Cannabis VC Canopy Rivers Portfolio Includes HeadSet, Civilized, LeafLink & More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NUenUcVtMo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/support
LeafLink Gets $250 Million Debt Deal to Help Cannabis Companies via Liquidity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzm3z2NUXOY&t=11s --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/support
What does reselling used golf balls, organizing weekend trips for college students, and fundraising for alumni relations have in common? They are just some of the things Entrepreneur Karson Humiston did before founding the go-to recruiting platform in Cannabis; Vangst. Joining us from Denver in March of 2020, Karson shares her founder's journey of hustle and perseverance turning a stack of business cards made in her college dorm room into the name in Cannabis recruiting. Show Notes: What You Need To Know About Vangst's New, Free Cannabis Recruitment Platform: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/20/04/15877645/what-you-need-to-know-about-vangsts-new-free-cannabis-recruitment-platform Vangst Newsletter: https://blog.vangst.com/category/vangst-news/ St. Lawrence University, Calling All Saints: https://www.stlawu.edu/people/calling-all-saints The Tick Tock Inn: https://www.facebook.com/TickTockInn/ Galvanize: https://www.linkedin.com/school/galvanize-it/ Canna Brand: https://cannabrand.co/ Ryan G. Smith, CEO, Leaflink: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-g-smith/ Lerer Hippeau: https://www.lererhippeau.com/ Casa Verde Capital: https://www.casaverdecapital.com/ Jeremy Burke, Business Insider: https://twitter.com/jfberke Benzinga: https://www.benzinga.com/ MJBizDaily: https://mjbizdaily.com/ Vangst 2019 Salary Guide: https://info.vangst.com/vangst-2019-salary-guide Guest: Karson Humiston, CEO & Founder, Vangst https://www.linkedin.com/in/karson-humiston-64572b97/ https://twitter.com/khumiston https://vangst.com/ https://www.instagram.com/vangsttalent/ https://www.facebook.com/Vangsttalent/ https://twitter.com/vangsttalent https://www.linkedin.com/company/vangst/ Host: Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up: A Founder's Journey linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
"It's challenging for Cannabis Brands to efficiently connect with Dispensaries. This is especially true for smaller and startup brands with limited resources to spend on the traditional sales and fulfillment process. Getting the brand message and product benefits to store associates can make or break a Products, and potentially a Brands success. In turn, Brands getting product feedback, is traditionally rare and anecdotal at best. Since launching in 2016, LeafLink has helped Thousands of cannabis brands and thousands of cannabis retailers save time on wholesale ordering, so they can focus on what matters most to their business. As the largest online marketplace for wholesale cannabis, LeafLink provides a suite of products including: CRM, Ordering, Reporting, Fulfillment & Shipping Management. I’m your host, Brian Weber. On this episode we’re welcoming Zach Silverman Co-Founder & CTO of LeafLink. Prior to co-founding LeafLink, Zach was the technical co-founder at ReachLogic, which was acquired in 2014. He brings 10 years of software engineering experience at leading tech companies, including eBay and Limewire, to LeafLink as Chief Technology Officer. LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s wholesale marketplace, has raised $51 million in investor capital. The platform went live in Colorado in March 2016 and now has more than 4000 retailers placing orders from over 1300 brands across 25 territories. In February 2018, LeafLink was the first company in the cannabis space to make Fast Company’s list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise." Zach Silverman, Co-Founder & CTO www.linkedin.com/in/zisilverman/ LeafLink: https://leaflink.com/about/ www.instagram.com/leaflink_ www.facebook.com/LeafLinkUS www.twitter.com/LeafLinkUS www.linkedin.com/company/leaflink/ Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up, Big Ideas in Cannabis Technology & Innovation www.litupcannabis.com www.facebook.com/LitUpCannaTech/ www.instagram.com/LitUpCannaTech/ twitter.com/LitUpCannaTech linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ linkedin.com/company/litupmedia Listen to the episode on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Amendment 22 in Nebraska passed the congress today. It allows for retail CBD Oil according to www.amend2012.org sale in counties with population over 100 Kevin’s background in cannabis and how he came to start Hyasynth Bio An inside look at Hyasynth Bio and its work with hemp-derived CBD oil according to the cbd site www.ecnsweb.com/journal/january-09-2006/ and cannabinoids A deep dive into CBD biosynthesis and how Hyasynth Bio uses this process to grow cannabis compounds for full spectrum CBD inside yeast cells How Hyasynth Bio has successfully overcome challenges with biosynthesis The sciemtific history of biosynthesis in the process of extracting CBD oil for sleep issues and where Kevin sees this relationship evolving in the years to come The different types of end CBD products we’ll start to see for sale in dispensaries that use biosynthesis How biosynthesis will affect CBD vape oil prices Hyasynth Bio’s intellectual property strategy and how Kevin manages the company’s patents The traditional CBD oil companies that are investing in biosynthesis Where Kevin sees cannabinoid biosynthesis heading in the next 3-5 years Ryan’s background in CBD oil for kids and how he came to start LeafLink An inside look at LeafLink and the ways in which it helps CBD Oil brands and retailers streamline the ordering process A breakdown of the companies using LeafLink and the number of new brands launching each week How the CBD oil marketplace on LeafLink has evolved over the last two years A snapshot of the bestselling CBD oil products on LeafLink and Ryan’s insight on up-and-comers The data points Ryan finds most interesting about today’s cannabis and CBD marketplace Ryan’s advice to entrepreneurs interested in creating a new cannabis product Ways in which CBD oil formulas and retailers can differentiate themselves in the competitive cannabis space Products LeafLink offers cannabis brands and retailers, including streamlined ordering, CRM, reporting tools, and fulfillment and shipment queues Where LeafLink is currently at in the capital-raising process Where Ryan sees LeafLink and the CBD marketplace heading over the next few years
Best practices from leading cannabis retailers with Ryan G Smith, Leaflink's CEO and Co-Founder. Leaflink is now live in 22 territories across the United States and Canada. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. cannabis retailers and brands use LeafLink to manage over $1B+ per year in wholesale orders. Leaflink just released a new Retail Cannabis Purchasing Guide for cannabis dispensaries with best practices from leading cannabis retailers to help them take control of their purchasing process. The processes retailers use to evaluate vendors can vary a lot.
Retail Cannabis Purchasing Guide for cannabis dispensaries with Ryan Smith, the CEO & Founder of LeafLink. Since our last interview Leaflink is now live in 22 territories across the United States and Canada. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. cannabis retailers and brands use LeafLink to manage over $1B+ per year in wholesale orders. Leaflink just released a new Retail Cannabis Purchasing Guide for cannabis dispensaries with best practices from leading cannabis retailers to help them take control of their purchasing process. The processes retailers use to evaluate vendors can vary a lot. However, having a process in place, rather than talking to vendors haphazardly, makes vendor selection much more manageable.
Retail Cannabis Purchasing Guide for cannabis dispensaries with Ryan Smith, the CEO & Founder of LeafLink. Since our last interview Leaflink is now live in 22 territories across the United States and Canada. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. cannabis retailers and brands use LeafLink to manage over $1B+ per year in wholesale orders. Leaflink just released a new Retail Cannabis Purchasing Guide for cannabis dispensaries with best practices from leading cannabis retailers to help them take control of their purchasing process. The processes retailers use to evaluate vendors can vary a lot. However, having a process in place, rather than talking to vendors haphazardly, makes vendor selection much more manageable.
CannaInsider - Interviews with the Business Leaders of The Legal Cannabis, Marijuana, CBD Industry
Since launching in 2016, LeafLink has quickly become the largest e-commerce wholesale cannabis platform with $1 billion in annualized sales as of June 2019. In this episode, LeafLink CEO Ryan Smith gives us an inside look at what’s happening in the industry’s busiest marketplace. Learn more at https://leaflink.com Key Takeaways: Ryan’s background in cannabis and how he came to start LeafLink An inside look at LeafLink and the ways in which it helps brands and retailers streamline the ordering process A breakdown of the companies using LeafLink and the number of new brands launching each week How the marketplace on LeafLink has evolved over the last two years A snapshot of the bestselling products on LeafLink and Ryan’s insight on up-and-comers The data points Ryan finds most interesting about today’s cannabis marketplace Ryan’s advice to entrepreneurs interested in creating a new cannabis product Ways in which brands and retailers can differentiate themselves in the competitive cannabis space Products LeafLink offers cannabis brands and retailers, including streamlined ordering, CRM, reporting tools, and fulfillment and shipment queues Where LeafLink is currently at in the capital-raising process Where Ryan sees LeafLink and the cannabis marketplace heading over the next few years
Episode 60 of the Hacker Noon Podcast: An interview with Ryan G. Smith of LeafLink LeafLink has become a major player in the cannabis space, recently raising $35M in their series B fund raise. Discover how LeafLink provides solutions in the cannabis space by streamlining the ordering, transparency, and sales rep processes with a robust online community and order management tools. Listen to the interview on iTunes, or Google Podcast, or watch on YouTube. In this episode, Patrick Murray interviews Ryan G. Smith on how LeafLink grew to $1B in orders on their platform, making up 16% of all B2B orders in the U.S. More at http://firstbillion.leaflink.com/. Ryan also goes over how LeafLink became the first cannabis company named on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise and more! “The use case, real quick, is if you are purchasing manager at a dispensary, typically you would text, email, phone call 30-50 brands every week or so to stock your shelves, now you can go on LeafLink, create a multi-brand cart, hit submit, and then those invoices get sent out to all those brands, and then they have some SaaS tools which help them then manage the life cycle of the order internally all the way through to delivery.” “I’m confident about going through these processes but a lot of it is being comfortable, being uncomfortable knowing you don’t know. Those phrases that are too often used, but it’s true. If you think you’ve got it all figured out, nobody wants to deal with people like that. Everyone is just like an old baby, pretty much like an old child” - Ryan G. Smith Production and music by Derek Bernard - https://haberdasherband.com/production https://hackernoon.com/ https://community.hackernoon.com/ https://contribute.hackernoon.com/ https://sponsor.hackernoon.com/ https://podcast.hackernoon.com/ https://twitter.com/hackernoon/ https://facebook.com/hackernoon/ P.S. If you dig the new Hacker Noon Podcast, consider giving us a 5 star review on iTunes. Also check out this month’s top stories, all the latest stories, and today’s homepage.
Thomas Sparico is a career entrepreneur, inventor and and executive having built, led and advised several companies across a number of industries.His career has been driven by a passion for innovation and a desire to engineer the success of concepts and companies. He is the Founder of the Brand New Matter companies (Brand New Matter, Inc. and BNM Ventures). Brand New Matter provides strategic advisory and capital to early stage companies.Mr. Sparico began his career at the intellectual property think tank, Walker Digital, where he became a named inventor on over 100 US patents. While at Walker Digital, he was also part of the founding team that built and launched priceline.com. After priceline, he went on to launch several other business with a concentration in travel, lifestyle and technology including Internet Travel Enterprises and Marquee Concierge. He led the acquisition and turn around of Hickory Travel (now Hickory Global Partners). Mr. Sparico led BNM Ventures investments in Leaflink, Bizly, VenueBook, Seatboost, LYNQ, and AirportSherpa and is currently an Advisor to Rocketrip, Beachy, Curacity and Gurkha Cigars.Mr. Sparico is a long standing member of the Board of Directors of Curetivity (formerly the Eric Trump Foundation), currently serving as its President, which raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.He resides in New Canaan, CT with his wife and son.
This week, Amanda Guerrero chats with Devon Richardson of Leaflink about the expansion and development of the cannabis industry on an international scale.Seed to Sound, presented by Vangst. A podcast for cannabis professionals. Produced by Catherine DeMuro and Hannah Holmgren. Music by Tyson Weigel.For more information, visit the Vangst blog.Follow us on Twitter!Support the show (https://vangst.com/)
Welcome to Episode 58 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ryan Smith, Co-Founder & CEO of LeafLink. Ryan is a serial entrepreneur and has been recognized by Forbes as a member of their 30 Under 30 list for enterprise tech. Prior to co-founding LeafLink, he successfully founded and exited two companies. LeafLink is a venture-backed company in New York City that is setting the industry standard for how cannabis brands and retailers work together. With a robust online marketplace, CRM, and order management tools, they have created a centralized sales engine to help cannabis sellers manage and grow their business. The company was listed as one of the Most Innovative Companies in 2018 by Fast Company. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Ryan's background and the details on his first two companies. -How he met Zach Silverman, his Co-Founder at LeafLink and what led them to start the company. -The details on LeafLink and how they are building a rapidly growing business in the cannabis industry. -How he raised funding as a cannabis-focused company and other i-industry challenges. -Advice for founders on getting PR as a startup. -What he wishes people told him before starting his own company. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!
Today on Blunt Business were joined by Ryan Smith, CEO & Founder of LeafLink Claire Moloney, first hire & Growth Manager at LeafLink, managed the Leaflink list. LeafLink recently released it’s first-ever LeafLink List, honoring the best-selling and fastest-growing cannabis brands and products on its b2b e-commerce platform, which hosts over $600M per year in wholesale orders. LeafLink is the cannabis industry's standard wholesale ordering platform with over $600M in annual orders. Headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, it connects over 700+ brands and 2,500+ retailers across 12 states through its B2B marketplace.
Today on Blunt Business were joined by Ryan Smith, CEO & Founder of LeafLink Claire Moloney, first hire & Growth Manager at LeafLink, managed the Leaflink list. LeafLink recently released it’s first-ever LeafLink List, honoring the best-selling and fastest-growing cannabis brands and products on its b2b e-commerce platform, which hosts over $600M per year in wholesale orders. LeafLink is the cannabis industry's standard wholesale ordering platform with over $600M in annual orders. Headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, it connects over 700+ brands and 2,500+ retailers across 12 states through its B2B marketplace.
LeafLink, a marketplace platform for cannabis brands, distributors, and retailers was ranked as one of Outsell's 50 companies to watch for 2018. Other notable mentions include FastCompany's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise, alongside Slack and Amazon. Naturally, I wanted Ryan G. Smith, the Co-founder and CEO, to join me for an interview to learn what makes LeafLink so special. Ryan is no new player when it comes to entrepreneurship, with three ventures under his belt and a Forbes 30 under 30 award on the record, he has a knack for building and scaling companies. If you've looked at the media recently, the business of cannabis is exploding with new states legalizing the plant every couple months. The result is a flood of companies and existing technology being re-purposed, specialized, and improved upon to support this growing industry. I find LeafLink so interesting due to its positioning in the space. Marijuana is still banned by federal law, yet the LeafLink team has built a business that sits right at the center of exchange where they don't touch any of the product, and have grown into the backbone for this industry. Ryan gives us a lens on what he is seeing in the industry, the key trends to keep an eye on, and the opportunities that continue to arise. He also has fantastic insight on testing your market, navigating the funding landscape, and advice for current and future leaders. I greatly enjoyed my time with Ryan and I hope you enjoy this episode of Outsell for Startups as much as I did.
The state of travel, the explosion of travel technology, venture capital, and the future of the industry from the perspective of investors in the travel space… Thomas Sparico, Founder/Managing Partner of Brand New Matter and Gillian Morris, Founder of HitList [Episode 33] join John Matson, Bess Chapman, and guest host Brandon McKenzie for a MouthMedia Network Live event recorded in front of a live audience at Experience by Knotel, an interactive space located in the heart of Noho in New York City (666 Broadway) designed to showcase the experience of working in a flexible, adaptable, always energized environment. Sponsored by Knotel – Your agile business deserves an agile space. Knotel will find, customize, and operate your ideal office while you focus on your business. Discover more at www.knotel.com In this episode: The fundraising landscape in travel, how it feels like someone else is getting all the money A lot of investors have been burned in the travel industry Location matters such as NY vs. SF Knowing where to look, right people to talk to B-to-B, B-to-C , and is B-to-C is the graveyard? Liking people, liking business, taking data drven justifiable approach Developing strategic and meaningful relationships What Brand New Matter looks for in a company and founders Strategic vs. nonstrategic money Taking dumb money and how it affects a cap table Q and A Thomas Sparico is the Founder & Managing Partner of Brand New Matter (BNM) Ventures. BNM Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies. His current investments include Leaflink, Bizly, VenueBook, Seatboost, AirportSherpa, LYNQ, Beachy and Buster. He is an advisor to several travel industry companies including Rocketrip and Curacity. Tom is a career entrepreneur, inventor, operator and investor with 22 years of experience. He was part of the founding team at priceline.com and a named inventor on over 100 patents at Walker Digital Corp. He was the founder and CEO of Internet Travel Enterprises, led the acquisition and turnaround of Hickory Travel and the turnaround and subsequent sale of ECS to Onyx Centersource. Gillian Morris is the founder and CEO of Hitlist, named one of the 50 Best Apps of 2016 by TIME. Before entering the start-up world, Gillian worked as a consultant, journalist, and educator in Turkey, China, the Gulf states, and Syria. Her work has appeared in/on the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Buzzfeed, CNN, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Next Web, and LifeHacker. She is a proud mentor with the School of Leadership Afghanistan and Gaza Sky Geeks and serves on the board of Data4America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to bringing data and conversations to advance the understanding of policy.
Ryan Smith is the CEO and co-founder of LeafLink, a business-to-business digital marketplace for cannabis retailers, producers, and processors to trade wholesale cannabis products. Ryan recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt for an interview about LeafLink's founding, the success they have found so far, and the difficulties and goals that still lie ahead. He also shares his thoughts about the state of the industry (including which states he is eyeing for future expansion), which professional qualities he looks for when hiring for Leaflink, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/ryan-smith-creating-b2b-wholesale-cannabis-marketplace/
Have you ever wanted to invest in cannabis? Larry of Phyto Partners is a former Wall Street wealth manager who became one of the top VC's in the cannabis industry with investments in Leaf, Baker, Flowhub, Steep Hill, Front Range Biosciences, Leaflink and many more. Learn how he evaluates founders, companies, and decide where to deploy capital. He and his team are raising their 2nd fund now, so if you're a founder out there looking to raise capital from an experienced VC make sure you reach out to Larry. Tune in, listen up, get acquainted!
In this episode, Brandon welcomes founder Ryan Smith of LeafLink to the show. Ryan was the first cannabis founder on the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016. He also just raised $10 million to expand LeafLink to California. LeafLink helps brands and retailers streamline their processes, and in November 2017 they handled $16 million in transactions on their platform. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with one of the most impressive founders in the cannabis industry.
In this episode, Brandon interviews the man that Snoop Dogg trusts with his money, Evan Eneman of Casa Verde Capital. Casa Verde has invested in Eaze, Merry Jane, and Leaflink. In addition, Evan and his team have built out more services and partnerships for their portfolio companies including ELLO and Flowershop CA to help support the finance and marketing needs of their investments. Tune in, listen up, and get acquainted with one of the top investors in the cannabis industry!
RYAN G. SMITHCo-Founder & CEO ZACH SILVERMANCo-Founder LeafLink w/ RYAN ESTESPrior to cofounding LeafLink, Ryan founded two companies as a student at Colgate University. He later exited both successfully, selling one of them to a publicly traded real estate investment company. Ryan brings his experience creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investing in a highly regulated space to LeafLink as Chief Executive Officer. In 2016, Ryan was the first CEO in the cannabis industry to be listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30.Zach’s diverse technical background includes experience as a consultant, product manager, and entrepreneur with positions at companies such as Ebay Enterprise and Limewire. As LeafLink’s Chief Technology Officer, he brings expertise in building tools for growing businesses, including platforms for sales force reporting, CRM, marketing, and data management. The company he previously cofounded, ReachLogic Media, was acquired by a Seattle-based adtech firm.