Snoop Dogg’s cannabis firm raises $45 million
He's laid back with his mind on his money and his money on his mind.
Snoop is the co-founder of Casa Verde Capital, an ancillary cannabis industry venture firm that was started in 2015, but just recently closed its debut fund with $45 million.
Snoop Dogg has his hands in so many projects that we can barely keep up.
The legendary rapper is doing more than just music. He’s a father, a husband, a cooking show host, an actor, a singer, a little league football coach, and entrepreneur. Perhaps the most interesting addition to this always growing list is that he’s co-founder of Casa Verde Capital, an ancillary cannabis industry venture firm that was started in 2015 but just recently closed its debut fund with $45 million.
The fund was created to invest in cannabis startups like the “Green House” company, which was co-founded by Ted Chung and Evan Eneman, two executives from the talent agency Stampede Management.
Investing 101
Snoop’s introduction to investing was reported by Forbes in 2015, when he invested in the free stock trading platform, Robinhood. A month later, the two invested in the social media powerhouse Reddit, which has become a huge media asset.
Although he is largely seen as the public face of the firm, Snoop looks to his partners to create the important next moves. Tech Crunch spoke with his managing partner Karan Wadhera about their $45 million accomplishment and what they’re planning to do now.
“We’ve made eight [investments so far],” said Wadhera about the investment firm, “with a couple of new investments to be announced in the next few weeks. We’re very active. If we aren’t leading a deal, then we’re co-leading and taking board seats or board advisory roles. We have a lot of access and touch points into this industry.”
Part of the solution
While they’re focus is on cannabis, it is not necessarily on the actual plants and dispensaries. They’re primarily investment is in the “picks and shovels.”
“Our biggest investment to date is LeafLink, a marketplace for retailers and brands,” he said. “If you were Walmart and logging onto a platform to order from vendors, that’s what LeafLink has created for the cannabis space. A dispensary can log in and order from vendors on one consolidated platform.”
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As far as Snoop’s involvement, Wadhera revealed that his most hand-on activity is with Merry Jane, a lifestyle media website focused around cannabis, that has puffed up (pun intended) in recent years.
“That’s content. That’s media. That’s Snoop’s bread and butter,” said Wadhera.
“He mainly handles the financial modeling,” he continued. “He’s among the most important cultural figures in this industry, which is incredibly important. His involvement lends a lot of credibility and excitement to our portfolio companies. He’s also there for input whenever we need it.”
