Marijuana Business Magazine - April 2018

Q Terra Tech’s revenue more than tripled from $7 million to $25 million between 2014 and 2016, and you were at nearly $25 million during the first nine months of 2017. What do you attrib- ute that solid growth to? A It was the opening of Nevada. That was a huge opportunity for us, the migration from medical to adult use. We saw that thing go from 10 mph to 100 mph. Business went up 200%-300% with the adap- tation and early implementation of adult use. Q Which states or countries are you targeting for expansion? A The original idea was, let’s just maximize California and Nevada – they’re close to each other, we can share a corporate headquarters, so there were a lot of economies of scale working in those two markets. We were really avoiding all the other states, because every new state, it’s a new attorney, a new lobbyist, new headquarters, new staff, new accounting. But in New Jersey … we’ve got 250,000 square feet of engineered greenhouse (where we grow Edible Gardens produce), plus a bunch of office space and a big staff. Now Gov. (Phil) Murphy is expanding medical and fast- tracking adult use at some point this year, so by default we’re going to go to Jersey, because we’re there already. We’re not really focused on jumping into any other major markets right now. Q What are your ambitions for Terra Tech? A We want to get up on the (New York Stock Exchange) or the Nasdaq, and we want to really fund the company at that point. We’ve raised $80 million over the last few years, and that’s great. But our longer-term aspiration is to get to $100 million in revenue, get up on the Nas- daq, really fund the company and truly grow (by raising significantly more capital to fund expansion). Longer term, we’ll probably spin off retail into its own entity and keep wholesale with its suite of brands as a separate entity. But I want to build a nice portfolio and a nice suite of brands – from concentrates to vape products to edibles to bever- ages. A lot of our focus is on increasing our footprint in cultivation and extraction so we could bring a breadth of products and brands to the table. That’s where the real long-term value is. Q What do you think Terra Tech may have to do to compete long term on an international scale, given that Canadian companies are expanding their foot- prints so quickly and taking the lead globally? A Its access to capital. We’ve built out an amazing footprint just nickel-and-diming our way through small-cap financing. So real institutional support will change that paradigm drastically for us. If I had a bankroll of $300 million, I could go on an acquisition tear and really consolidate the areas and businesses right now that I think are ripe for consolidation. ◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. A lot of our focus is on increasing our footprint in cultiva- tion and extraction so we could bring a breadth of products and brands to the table. That’s where the real long-term value is.