CANNAINVESTOR Magazine October / November 2016 | Page 58

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Golden Eagle Partners:

Getting Deals Done in

Cannabis

David Traylor is bullish on the future investment climate for the cannabis industry. Traylor, founder and principal of Denver-based Golden Eagle Partners (GEP) www.goldeneaglepartners.com, understands too well the challenges of raising money for high-risk companies with large capital needs. He spent over 15 years working in the biotech sector on both the science and business sides, in addition over ten years working in investment banking at firms in San Francisco and Denver.

His background in Life sciences is what drew him to the cannabis sector, after Colorado opened up the markets for recreational sales of cannabis in 2014. After evaluating the sector, he started advising companies on strategy and fundraising. One of his initial engagements was with Boulder-based Surna, a climate control technology provider for cannabis grow operations. In December 2014, he jumped in with both feet to serve as Surna’s Chief Business Officer. After serving in that role for just under a year and realizing the need for his services across most of the sector, he went back full-time to GEP, an investment bank that he started in 2012.

GEP is unique in its business model, bridging its expertise and experience between Life sciences and cannabis clients and across technical and financial disciplines. Golden Eagle Partners, today consisting of Traylor and his partner Staci Sanford, who holds a PhD in neuroscience along with an M.A in Finance, helps companies across the cannabis sector. Those include “high-tech” companies, such as those developing software to run operations or sequence the genome of plants, as well as “low-tech” companies that are service providers to companies that bridge the two such as growers and facility providers. So far this year, GEP has completed four value-added financial transactions. GEP provides advisory services for national and international cannabis companies, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, corporate financing strategy, reverse mergers and technology positioning. named as an inventor on two patents,” Traylor modestly admitted. The industry will continue to move toward GMP and the successful enterprises will master operational efficiencies.

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