The nine graduating companies of Canopy’s Fall 2017 CanopyBoulder cohort are presenting their ventures at four demo days that began in San Francisco on October 12th, and being followed in Boulder, Colorado on the 18th, Denver on the 19th, and Las Vegas, Nevada on November 13th. Canopy additionally announced that registration for its 2nd JumpStart Conference for entrepreneurs and startups is open.
Canopy, a venture fund and business accelerator for ancillary products and services companies in the legal cannabis industry, runs a 16-week mentor-driven program that trains startups and also includes connecting them with alumni, mentors, industry professionals, and investor networks. They offer $30,000 in seed funding with the opportunity for an additional $50,000.
“Our fall cohort of computer vision, IoT, online education, quality management, industrial services, and software companies are focused on solving the pressing business problems of the legal cannabis industry. There is no better time to launch an innovative company in the cannabis industry,” stated Patrick Rea, the Managing Director and co-founder of Canopy, in a recent press release.
The JumpStart Conference also focuses on entrepreneurs and startups working with cannabis, offering advice on raising capital, avoiding common startup mistakes, and locating the best opportunities in the industry. Registration for the event is free and open through October 19th, the day of the conference.
The nine companies giving presentations at the demo days are:
- 420 Klean, founded by John Jelly, Trever Boothby, Greg Pace, and Colin Wells from Steamboat Springs, CO, which distributes industry-specific cleaning services and products to dispensaries, extractors, and cultivators.
- GreenScreens, founded by Ryan Sterling and Martin DeFrance from Aspen, CO, and Jeremy Klammer from Denver, CO, which manages digital flat-screens in retailers that educate, advertise, and rotate menu information for target customers.
- DeepGreen, founded by Maxime Clauss and Maximilian Unfried from France and Germany, which uses computer vision and AI to identify problems in crops sooner to increase profit margins and decrease cost.
- Dispenserly, founded by Matt Cooke from Ann Arbor, MI, and Kevin Smithwick from Storrs, CT, which helps collect, monetize, analyze, and monitor online customer and consumer reviews.
- Redfield Proctor, founded by Stephen Martin from Quechee, VT, which monetizes commercial grow waste and helps solve efficiency problems in the industry.
- Serene, founded by Ed Mcllory and Adam Bray from London, England, tracks corporate wellness by recording user’s health and wellness activities for rewards.
- Cannabis Quality Group, founded by Donavan Bennet from Roswell, GA, and Joe Novalany of Edison, NJ, which gives cannabis companies more control and transparency in their supply chains while streamlining quality processes and reducing risk.
- co, founded by Ebony Costain from Richmond, VA, a leaning management system focused on brands that helps budtenders become experts on new industry products.
- Virtugro, founded by Mark Stratton from Silverthorne, CO, Russ Baker from Black Hawk, CO, and Leland Sindy from Kansas City, KS, an indoor agriculture monitoring system based on cloud technology that cuts waste and optimizes yield.
With the demo days wrapping up the current cohort, Canopy is now accepting applications for the next accelerator class in spring 2018.
