The First Green Market Summit Is Huge Success

The sun shone bright in New York City as Green Market Report hosted the inaugural Green Market Summit.

The event was such a success that TheStreet’s Jim Cramer said on Twitter, “One of the most important conferences I have participated in…learned so much.”

Taking place at the One World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan, the event brought together some of the cannabis industry’s leading voices in branding, banking, data, and investment.

Starting off the event with a catered breakfast, the event quickly moved towards a discussion panel on cannabis banking moderated by Tahira Rehmatullah, Chief Financial Officer of MTech Acquisition Corp, and featuring Matt Karnes, Founder and Managing Partner of GreenWave Advisors, LLC; Tyler Beuerlein, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Hypur Inc.; and Andre Herrera Vice President of Banking & Compliance at Hypur Inc.

Taking attendees through the complicated world of cannabis banking and compliance, the panel dispelled many of the myths surrounding the relationship between cannabis businesses and financial institutions.

“If you’re operating in this space prior to a transparent banking relationship, keep crystal clear books and get a third-party forensic audit for the money coming into your operation,” advised Beuerlein. “If you don’t, you’re never going to get that cash into an institution.”

Following the panel was a discussion on the economics of international cannabis companies. The discussion was moderated by Sean McNulty, Principal and Co-Founder of XIB Financial Inc., and featured Peter Miller of Slang Worldwide; Daniel Pearlstein, Vice President of Strategy at Canopy Rivers Corporation; Jason Wild, Chairman of the Board of Directors at TerrAscend; and Jonathan Rubin, the CEO of New Leaf Data Services.

Focusing on the need for fine-tuned regulation and the infrastructure needed to support the growing international cannabis trade, the panelists shared their insights and personal experiences in operating on a global scale.

“More markets are going to continue to open up,” Miller told attendees. “So you have to look five years from now and ask what does this look like?”

In the keynote event, legendary financial analyst and founder of TheStreet, Jim Cramer, went one on one with The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) CEO Brian Athaide in an exclusive interview where they discussed market trends, TGOD’s successful IPO, and how the company plans to position itself in the highly competitive cannabis industry.

After enjoying a catered lunch provided by Acreage Holdings, attendees learned about the surprising relationship between the adult-use and medical cannabis market. Led by Marijuana Policy Group co-founder Adam Orens, the discussion included Emily Paxhia, Founding Partner & Managing Director at Poseidon Asset Management; Jeannette Ward Horton, Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications at MJ Freeway; and Jessica Billingsley, CEO, and Co-Founder of MJ Freeway.

Utilizing data collected from four U.S. states, the panel demonstrated and discussed the complementary effect of adult-use cannabis market on medical cannabis sales and what that means for cannabis businesses going forward.

Mike Brown, Assignments Editor at TheStreet.com, then led an in-depth examination of cannabis consumer market trends with Bethany Gomez, Director of Research at Brightfield Group; Jeff Stein, Vice President at Consumer Research Around Cannabis; and David H. Dancer, MedMen Enterprises’ Chief Marketing Officer. Diving into how cannabis consumers relate to retail, the discussion examined how market trends can influence business decisions and investment in the cannabis industry.

“It is very interesting to watch the profile of the average [cannabis] consumer evolving,” remarked Gomez. “There’s a lot of discussion about new consumer groups that are coming out, and that’s really what is making the industry more polished.”

Dovetailing off of the previous panel, Vivien Azer, Managing Director of Cowen and Company, LLC, moderated a dialogue on cannabis e-commerce which featured Scott Boyes, CEO of MPX Bioceuticals; Peter Gigante, Head of Policy Research at Eaze; and Sean Dollinger CEO of Namaste Technologies.

Using consumer data provided by Eaze, the discussion panel examined the myriad of rules for cannabis e-commerce, how companies can make the most of it, and what it all means for the future of the cannabis industry.

Rounding out the event was a one on one discussion between Lewis Goldberg, Managing Partner at KCSA Strategic Communications, and Wall Street Veteran Danny Moses, who was most famously featured in the best-selling book and film “The Big Short.” From cannabis stocks to Elon Musk, Moses and Goldberg’s discussion covered a litany of topics; illuminated by both speaker’s knowledge and experience.

 

 

As the Green Market Summit came to a close, attendees and speakers were invited to an exclusive reception sponsored by MPX Bioceuticals at Trinity Place Restaurant and Bar in downtown Manhattan to celebrate the one-year anniversary Green Market Report.

Throughout the week, Green Market Report will take you deeper into the Green Market Summit. Stay tuned as we provide you with a more detailed breakdown of all the events and panel discussions from the summit.

William Sumner

William Sumner is a freelance writer specializing in the legal cannabis industry. You can follow William on Twitter @W_Sumner or on Medium.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the latest cannabis news delivered right to your inbox

The Morning Rise

Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.

 Sign up


About Us

The Green Market Report focuses on the financial news of the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Our target approach filters out the daily noise and does a deep dive into the financial, business and economic side of the cannabis industry. Our team is cultivating the industry’s critical news into one source and providing open source insights and data analysis


READ MORE



Recent Tweets

Get the latest cannabis news delivered right to your inbox

The Morning Rise

Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.