DealMakers: Entrepreneur | Startups | Venture Capital
Description
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.
In this episode you will learn:
Operating in highly regulated markets
Ryan’s forecast for the cannabis market
His top advice on hiring for new entrepreneurs
Going through unexpected acquisitions
SUBSCRIBE ON:
For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) that I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash.
Moreover, I also provided a commentary on a pitch deck from an Uber competitor that has raised over $400 million (see it here).
Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.
About Ryan Smith:
Prior to co-founding LeafLink, Ryan Smith successfully started and exited two companies, one of which he sold to an NYSE public firm. Ryan Smith brings his experience creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investment in highly-regulated spaces to cannabis as LeafLink’s Chief Executive Officer.
LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s wholesale marketplace, is defining the way that thousands of cannabis brands and retailers manage and track their orders and relationships, so they can focus on growing their businesses.
Backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors such as Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital, and Lerer Hippeau, LeafLink has raised more than US$51 million to date, and has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. In 2016, Ryan Smith 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 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise.
Connect with Ryan Smith:
* Linkedin
* Crunchbase
* Twitter
* * *
FULL TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INTERVIEW:
Alejandro: Alrighty.
In this episode you will learn:
Operating in highly regulated markets
Ryan’s forecast for the cannabis market
His top advice on hiring for new entrepreneurs
Going through unexpected acquisitions
SUBSCRIBE ON:
For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) that I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash.
Moreover, I also provided a commentary on a pitch deck from an Uber competitor that has raised over $400 million (see it here).
Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.
About Ryan Smith:
Prior to co-founding LeafLink, Ryan Smith successfully started and exited two companies, one of which he sold to an NYSE public firm. Ryan Smith brings his experience creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investment in highly-regulated spaces to cannabis as LeafLink’s Chief Executive Officer.
LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s wholesale marketplace, is defining the way that thousands of cannabis brands and retailers manage and track their orders and relationships, so they can focus on growing their businesses.
Backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors such as Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital, and Lerer Hippeau, LeafLink has raised more than US$51 million to date, and has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. In 2016, Ryan Smith 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 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise.
Connect with Ryan Smith:
* Crunchbase
* * *
FULL TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INTERVIEW:
Alejandro: Alrighty.