Marijuana Business Magazine July 2018

MONEY MATTERS ¬nvesting & Finance ¬nsight Q&A with a general partner at Arcview Venture Fund Jeanne Sullivan L ongtime venture capitalist Jeanne Sullivan spent nearly three decades investing and raising millions for tech startups and investment funds in New York before making the switch to cannabis four years ago. “The social justice issues are what really pulled me over to the cannabis world, then it took me about five seconds for the economic opportunities to reveal themselves,” said Sullivan, who recently joined the Arcview Venture Fund as a general partner after launching her own investment and advisory firm, Sullivan Adventures, in 2014. As the marijuana industry blossoms, Sullivan said, she’s watching “history repeat itself,” with investors flocking to the growing market. “I see so many parallels between the tech industry and what’s happening in cannabis,” she said. “New investors, new entrepreneurs, lots of excitement and some unin- formed pricing models.” Q What’s the biggest mistake you see investors making in the cannabis space? A The biggest mistake is not cutting your losses when the company is failing and when the team is By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn not meeting the metrics. It is hard to stop invest- ing, to stop building – and it takes hard discipline to learn this lesson. It is also important to figure out if the company can take what they have built and morph it into something different or better. Can they scale? These decisions call for tough strategic thinking and analysis. Q What are some other most common mistakes? A Improperly thinking the company should have an over-the-top, high valuation in the early days is a big mistake. Not raising the right amount of financing early will also cost you. The company ends up strug- gling instead of thriving as a business. Q What’s one cannabis company you’re invest- ing in or currently advising that you’re excited about? A Growcentia. We’ve been working on packaging their story because it’s a great one. The company was founded by three scientists (soil microbiologists), and they’ve created an additive that makes the bud grow larger. 12 • Marijuana Business Magazine • July 2018