Poseidon Archives - Green Market Report

StaffNovember 17, 2021

Poseidon Investment Management announced the launch of the AdvisorShares Poseidon Dynamic Cannabis ETF (Ticker: PSDN). The PSDN ETF began trading on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, is sponsored by AdvisorShares. It will be sub-advised and managed by the Poseidon team, including co-founders and Managing Directors Emily Paxhia and Morgan Paxhia and Managing Director Tyler Greif. Poseidon is one of the earliest cannabis investing teams that has $196 million in assets under management as of August 2021.

“Poseidon was one of the first investment firms dedicated to cannabis investments, navigating this complex and evolving industry to help companies grow and thrive from startups to public companies,” said Emily Paxhia, co-founder and Managing Director of Poseidon, and Portfolio Manager of PSDN. “Our track record speaks to our deep knowledge of the space and our commitment to understanding the needs of the companies we invest in. PSDN broadens the reach of our unique investment philosophy and provides simple, secure, accessible investing into one of the world’s most exciting asset classes.”

ETF’s Have Underperformed

Poseidon will have their work cut out for them. Cannabis ETF’s have mostly underperformed this year as the underlying stocks have been wallowing in a seeming never ending bear market. AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (Ticker: MSOS) reached a year high of $55 but was lately selling shares at $30, while AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (Ticker: YOLO) hit a year’s high of $31 and was recently selling its shares at $16. The Cannabis ETF (THCX) also topped out this year at $30 and was lately selling at $12 a share.

Poseidon said that the fund will try to identify companies strategically positioned to benefit from the cannabis industry and its supporting infrastructure in the U.S. and emerging global cannabis markets. PSDN’s portfolio is diversified across subsectors of the cannabis industry and dynamically managed to tactically overweight or underweight specific countries, subsectors, or individual companies. PSDN said it may seek to take advantage of specific market opportunities by intelligently using leverage to maximize potential returns. If the values of the underlying stocks start to recover, the PSDN’s timing could be quite good.

“We are excited to partner with an established and experienced team like Poseidon to bring their institutional portfolio management approach into the mainstream investment infrastructure,” said Noah Hamman, chief executive officer of AdvisorShares. “Active ETFs in the cannabis space continue to gain traction with investors seeking to access managers with proven success records in the fast-growing, dynamic industry.”

StaffOctober 12, 2021

Cannabis retail point-of-sale company Flowhub, has raised $19 million with some help from Headline, Poseidon, and a personal investment from world-renowned rapper, entrepreneur, and entertainment mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. The company has so far raised to nearly $50 million and is currently valued at over $200 million.

“We are thrilled to announce this capital raise. Headline is an incredible Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Poseidon is a pioneer investor in the cannabis industry and Jay-Z is a cultural and creative global force no matter the industry he is involved in,” said Kyle Sherman, founder, and CEO of Flowhub. “I couldn’t think of a better group to be working with as we take this company to the next stage. This funding not only underscores the significant value that Flowhub provides to our customers, but also the maturation of the cannabis industry at large. We remain committed to developing innovative products that help our retail customers run better businesses.”

Flowhub said the additional money will speed up its expansion into emerging markets, develop its product line and grow its social equity program. Launched in June 2021, Flowhub’s social equity program invests in those who have been adversely impacted by the War on Drugs. Per the program, eligible social equity business owners receive Flowhub’s POS software discounted at $4.20 for up to three years, the mobile Stash and Greet apps, the View app, and free implementation. So far, Flowhub has awarded over $1 million worth of software products to eligible cannabis entrepreneurs via this program.

Flowhub processes more than $3 billion in cannabis sales annually and is trusted by over 1,000 dispensaries. Built specifically to serve the highly regulated cannabis industry, Flowhub helps dispensaries operate compliantly, effortlessly expand, and deliver exceptional guest experiences. By automating the compliance process that cannabis retailers have to deal with on a daily basis and helping dispensaries sell smarter, Flowhub is working to enable a future where cannabis is accessible to every adult on planet Earth.

Recently, Flowhub appointed Leandre Johns as Chief Operating Officer. The former Uber executive was brought in to help shape the business for the next stage of growth. The company also announced a recent integration by Weedmaps (NASDAQ: MAPS) to streamline online ordering for consumers and Flowhub-powered cannabis retailers.

StaffMay 3, 2021

Cannabis data firm Headset has raised $1.825M in a round led by Silverleaf Venture Partners, a private equity investment manager. the company said that this additional funding will accelerate expansion into legal markets and support new opportunities across the growing cannabis industry. Headset said it will deploy capital which will allow the company to quickly expand its market intelligence platform.

“The cannabis industry continues to expand at a significant rate, with new markets legalizing faster than ever before,” said Cy Scott, CEO, and Co-Founder of Headset. “With this new round of capital, Headset can better support these emerging markets while continuing to deliver the innovative analytics Headset is known for.”

Since its launch in 2015, Headset has been the leader in powering advanced and unparalleled analytics services for growing customer bases within cannabis, supporting retailers and dispensaries in over thirty territories, with market projections in the U.S. and Canada. They continue to elevate the caliber of the cannabis industry providing precise data-driven insights to brands, dispensaries, retailers, and organizations in the financial services and consumer packaged goods sector.

Other participating investors are WGD Capital, L.P., a cannabis-focused venture fund, and Poseidon, a leading investor in the legal cannabis and hemp industries. Poseidon was founded by Emily & Morgan Paxhia in 2013, making their first fund one of the longest-running dedicated cannabis investment funds.

“We are thrilled to be investing with the industry’s leading market intelligence platform,” said Douglas Hannah, Co-Founder of Silverleaf Venture Partners. “Silverleaf’s brand and dispensary partners consistently advised us that Headset’s information was clear and accurate, which gave managers confidence in making key business decisions.”

“As a former Chief Technology Officer, I can confidently say that Headset’s platform is unrivaled in any industry,” said Andre Haroche, Co-Founder of Silverleaf Venture Partners. “What CTO Scott Vickers and the Headset team have achieved is truly remarkable; they have created usable, actionable information from an entire industry’s data-set in real time.”

Debra BorchardtFebruary 4, 2019

Treehouse Global Ventures has added two accomplished women in the cannabis industry to its Senior Advisory Board. Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management and Tahira Rehmatullah of MTech join TGV founders Lindy Snider, Gaynell Rogers and Lori Ferrara who were named “Women to Watch in 2019” by the leading industry publication trade MJ Business Daily.

Treehouse Global Ventures investment fund is the capital partner of choice for companies led by women and minorities. There is no other funding vehicle focused primarily on women, minorities, and innovative business models across multiple industries.

Emily Paxhia is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Poseidon Asset Management. Barclay Hedge awarded Poseidon as the #1 Sector-Based Performing Fund (2016-2018). Paxhia has also been named as one of the most powerful women in the cannabis industry by Fortune Magazine, she has reviewed thousands of companies in the cannabis industry and worked with a number of founders in a multitude of capacities including consult for founders’ pitch preparations, go-to-market strategies, product launches, and day-to-day business operations. Emily has dedicated time and energy to supporting policy groups, serving previously on the Board of Directors for the Marijuana Policy Project, presently for Athletes for CARE. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for The Initiative accelerator program.

Tahira Rehmatullah is the CFO of MTech Acquisition Corp. and Managing Director of Hypur Ventures, where she is responsible for investment sourcing and portfolio company management. Also named by Fortune as one of the most powerful women in the industry, Tahira is dedicated to developing female and minority leadership in cannabis and serves as an advisor to numerous businesses and entrepreneurs in the space.

Most recently, Rehmatullah was instrumental in bringing together MTech and cannabis seed-to-sale tracking company MJ Freeway, which has filed to be listed on the NASDAQ exchange in the U.S. If MJ Freeway is approved to list on the exchange, it will be the first cannabis company to list on a major U.S. exchange that is le by a female CEO – Jessica Billingsley.

“We are delighted to add Emily and Tahira to our senior advisory board and look forward to many collaborations around the country and the globe with these two gifted women leaders,” said, Founder Lindy Snider.

Debra BorchardtJanuary 8, 2019

Cannabis data company Headset secured $12.1 million in funding in a Series A round of financing. The company, launched in 2015 by the trio that co-founded Leafly, was able to raise the capital from another equally top-notch group of cannabis investors that included Poseidon Asset Management and AFI Capital Partners and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSXV: RIV).

“Each one of our investors brings invaluable industry knowledge and a strong network of portfolio companies that enable us to collaborate in all new ways,” said Cy Scott, CEO, and Co-founder of Headset. “The new capital will fuel future growth, new market expansion, and enhanced product development, continuing to ensure our leadership position within the cannabis industry.”

Headset said that the money would be used to improve current products and services; expanding the company’s offerings to additional U.S. states and international markets, and support Headset’s partnerships and strategic alliances. It will also help the company serve new customers from the consumer packaged goods, beverage/alcohol, and financial industries, who are taking an increased interest in cannabis.

As a result of the investment, Emily Paxhia of Poseidon and Nico Richardson of AFI will be joining Headset’s board of directors. “As investors, we see the need for data to inform investment and M&A strategies,” said Emily Paxhia, Managing Director of Poseidon. “Headset is already tracking billions of dollars of transactions both in the US and Canada. This successful Series A raise will drive market penetration and depth of technological development.”

Headset is one of the few companies in the cannabis industry that can turn retail sales data into real-time market insights, and helping illuminate emerging trends in this fast rapidly developing industry. For example, producers can quickly learn which specific products are the top-selling ones in a market. The brands can then either brag about their leadership in sales or if they aren’t leaders, take notes from the companies that are.

The data from Headset has shown that in different locations cannabis consumers tend to have different preferences. Mr. Moxie’s Mints may be big sellers in Seattle, while Wana Brands Gummies might be the edible of choice in Colorado.

Narbe Alexandrian, VP Business Development of Canopy Rivers, concurred: “We believe that Headset’s retail intelligence platform will revolutionize the way data is used in the cannabis industry. As the cannabis market matures, data is becoming central to competitive success. It is increasingly important to understand key trends, competition, buying shifts and target demographics in real-time.”

Nico Richardson, Managing Director of AFI, noted that data is key to success in any industry, and praised Headset for delivering the most dynamic and comprehensive analytics to the cannabis industry. “We are excited to invest in a team that has built the industry’s leading data analytics and business insights platform. We look forward to supporting Headset as they expand into new markets with evolving products.”

Debra BorchardtOctober 31, 2017

Poseidon Investment Management has launched its second fund and plans to raise $100 to $150 million. As a result, the company made two new key hires to assist in the effort.

Tad Henderson is coming on board as a Managing Director and will be responsible for raising capital and management of the portfolio companies. Henderson was previously Chief Operating Officer at CALSTAR, an air ambulance operator and prior to that a Debt Transaction specialist. He will also help Emily and Morgan Paxhia, the founders of Poseidon Investment Management with selecting the investments for the new fund.

In addition to Henderson, Andrew Roche will be joining the company as an Investment Analyst. His role will be in due diligence using the skills he brings from being an auditor with Deloitte. There he audited large public companies and multi-billion portfolios. He will assist companies with their financial controls.

“These two new hires reflect our company culture and the desire to continue to build an industry, this is a critical moment for our team. Both Tad and Andrew’s experience are a strong addition to Poseidon – we feel the investors and portfolio companies will benefit greatly from the contributions of both,” said Poseidon’s co-founder and Managing Director, Emily Paxhia.

The company’s first fund was started in January 2014 and established the pair as some of the first investment professionals willing to take on the risk of cannabis investing. The team coined the phrase “harness the greenwave” and made it their trademark as they became pioneers in cannabis investing. Fund I will continue as Fund II ramps up.

“For the last four years, we have been focused on capitalizing a legal and compliant cannabis industry, launching first with a broad-based and mostly early-stage strategy. Leveraging this experience, we have a great understanding of the investable landscape and where the industry is heading,” said co-founder and Managing Director Morgan Paxhia. “Growing our team is essential to properly service future investment needs of cannabis and hemp. We are well positioned to capture significant opportunities along the growth and maturity curve of cannabis and hemp with the addition of Tad and Andy.”