CANNAINVESTOR Magazine March / April 2017 | Page 125

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One of the most popular trend that’s transpiring in the millennial generation is the exponential growth of entrepreneurship. Thanks to influencers such as

Evan Spiegel, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Elizabeth Holmes for being a role model and leader in their generation. But what’s even cooler is being an entrepreneur in an industry that started as a cartel driven market, and now it’s becoming a nationwide epidemic that will improve our country’s economic status. How great would it be for a Millennial entrepreneur to become a part of the American history, and at the same time have the potential to make a “Bill” from it?

Hemp Educate America had a chance to sit down with Nilo Tabrizy of VICE News, and we had an opportunity to exchange notes from our collected interviews of industry pioneers in the cannabis space.

The cannabis market has expanded much faster than anyone expected. In the past three years multi-millions of dollars have been invested in the industry, with most outside funding coming from Private Equity (P/E). The players in the private sector are needed because otherwise the industry will not be able to grow properly, and the good news is that Private Equity firms are indeed interested in America’s fastest growing market, much more than anyone anticipated.

The Limitations of Cannabis Funding.

Why do we need Private Equity firms? The reason is simple – almost every industry runs on loans and investments from commercial banks or financial institutions. Most entrepreneurs present their deck plans to commercial banks first, and once they provide the proper documentations with 24 to 36 months profit and loss statements, then there’s a probability for funding. Banks play a crucial role in helping entrepreneurs. But, this is where the problems come in – banks have to follow federal laws, and Cannabis is still restricted under the federal guidelines. It won’t be soon, that is a clear sign just by looking at the way society is moving, but it isn’t now. This means that cannabis entrepreneurs couldn’t depend on securing funding from commercial banks or financial institutions for their startups or businesses.