The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Jan 2021

The Blinc Group is a New York City–headquartered designer and provider of premium, customized and bespoke vaporizer technologies and hardware. The company offers a “Powered By Blinc” certified manufacturing process with China-based production that provides full quality control and traceability across the supply chain. Blinc complements hardware with R&D, testing, standard operating procedures, training, and go-to-market and brand consulting for multi-state operators and licensed producers. The company played an advisory role during the 2019 vape crisis and worked with regulators and Colorado’s Science & Policy Committee on new testing standards. In 2020 Blinc more than tripled its orders, posting over 330% year-over-year growth and its best quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Clients include Canadian customers that require Health Canada–level standards, a capability the company cites as differentiating. The Blinc Group is a distribution-centric incubator focused on launching and scaling vapor and cannabis products. It delivers full-cycle support to startups through tailored branding, marketing, sales and engagement programs rooted in data and proprietary research. The group leverages collective expertise and its network to position member companies as thought leaders in their industry segments. It develops foundations for scaling through the largest distribution channels across the American, European and Asian markets. Led by Chief Strategy Officer Arnaud Dumas de Rauly, the company aims to build quality brands that reshape retailers, dispensaries, head shops and vape shops globally. The Blinc Group recently closed its first financing round and plans to deploy the funds into day-to-day operations including operations, marketing, business development and lobbying.

Led · Seed · Sep 2020

Trym offers commercial cannabis growers a software platform to track and forecast crops from seed to sale, with features including integration with the regulatory platform Metrc and environmental sensors. The system provides comprehensive analytics and operations-management tools to help growers increase yield and reduce the bookkeeping needed to stay current with regulations. Trym says it is expanding its software offering and announced a $3.1 million seed round to support that growth. Of the $3.1 million, $1 million came from friends and family and $2.1 million was a preferred round co-led by 7thirty Capital and Delta Emerald Ventures. Welcan Capital, Arcview Collective Fund and others also participated, and the company said the round was oversubscribed. CEO and co-founder Matt Mayberry said the investors understand that connectivity is the future of cannabis agriculture and that Trym is helping drive a market disruption.

Led · Equity · Oct 2019

Apex Trading operates an online wholesale platform offering order, inventory and client management tools, custom storefronts and data-rich dashboards for state-licensed cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Led by CEO and founder John Manlove, the company provides tools and services to help buyers and sellers operate more efficiently. Apex has established product-market fit since its first round in 2018 and has created a scalable model serving more than 1,000 companies. It is on track to facilitate over $100,000,000 in transactions in 2020. The company will use the new funding to accelerate its current traction in cannabis and to expand beyond its operations in five states. Apex is also preparing to launch Bushel44, a hemp-centric platform intended to streamline workflows, flatten the supply chain and deliver actionable data for hemp businesses. Apex Trading is a Boulder, CO-based technology company focused on wholesale transactions for the cannabis industry. Led by CEO and founder John Manlove, the company provides state-licensed cultivators, product manufacturers, distributors and retailers with an online wholesale platform. The platform features marketplaces, custom storefronts and data-rich dashboards to allow buyers and sellers to operate efficiently. The company nearly completed a Friends and Family funding round that was undisclosed and led by Sand Hill Angels, with participation from TL Partners and members of Tech Coast Angels. Apex intends to use the funds to accelerate development and build out the software to scale to a national level.

Led · Equity · Aug 2019

BDS Analytics, founded in 2015 and based in Boulder, Colorado, provides cannabinoid market intelligence and consumer research through its GreenEdge platform. GreenEdge integrates up-to-date dispensary sales data, industry intelligence and detailed consumer research, tracking and categorizing millions of individual consumer transactions to produce market-wide financial projections. The company held an initial $7m closing of a new $10m financing to fund growth. It will use the capital to expand coverage of emerging cannabis markets with a focus on providing a holistic view of the global cannabinoid market (cannabis and CBD). BDS also plans to strengthen its operating infrastructure via investments in machine learning, marketing and sales, and strategic partnerships. The company recently updated its board, with Pete Karabas of KEY Investment Partners joining the board and Micah Tapman of 7thirty appointed chairman. BDS Analytics provides businesses with comprehensive, actionable, and accurate cannabis market intelligence and consumer research. The company aggregates dispensary point-of-sale data through its GreenEdgeTM platform, conducts consumer research via its Cannabis Insights Group, and produces market-wide cannabis industry financial projections. Led by CEO Roy Bingham, BDS positions itself as a holistic source of market and consumer insights for the legal cannabis supply chain. The company intends to use new funding to expand its business reach. The article reports a $750k Series B raise to support that expansion. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. BDS Analytics builds an insight-rich platform that collects, processes, and presents point-of-sale market-share data for the cannabis industry. The company provides actionable insights derived from millions of transactions to help dispensaries, brands, and growers make decisions on product development, inventory, and branding. Co-founders Roy Bingham and Liz Stahura bring extensive market-research and point-of-sale analytics experience; Bingham is a Harvard MBA and former McKinsey consultant, and Stahura spent a decade at a leading market research firm. Leadership says the platform gives clients a competitive edge as the cannabis market becomes more complex. Financially, BDS closed its first funding round, which will support continued platform development and client services. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado.