12/12 Ventures, a leading cannabis venture capital firm, announced today that it has recently made investments in three of the fastest-growing companies in the cannabis vertical. Terms were not disclosed.
The three separate investments, detailed below, reflect 12/12's recent momentum in raising a fund, as well as the fund managers' belief that despite current disruptions in both the economy and society, it is an excellent moment to invest in cannabis companies.
"Warren Buffett famously said 'Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.' We believe the current environment will bring forth dramatic shifts in the cannabis industry, and by 2022 a handful of industry leaders will have broken away from the pack. We intend to invest in those leaders," commented Charles Finnie, Co-Managing Partner of 12/12.
Matthew Barron, Co-Managing Partner, added, "We are hyper-focused on globally scalable cannabis brands, businesses, and technologies. These first three investments for 12/12 represent three of the strongest management teams in the cannabis industry and all three have impressive track records going back many years; more importantly, their businesses are currently powering through the COVID-19 headwinds with remarkable momentum."
While economic uncertainty lies ahead for the cannabis industry, these investments help ensure continued job growth for those potentially affected by COVID-19. The three companies mentioned above are likely to generate and sustain over 300 jobs in 2020 and beyond. These include employees of the entire Cookies supply chain, including the Emerald Triangle, the diverse legacy brands within the Cookies Inc portfolio, social equity applicants and others impacted by COVID-19.
Details below regarding the three companies that received capital from 12/12 Ventures.
Cookies Inc.
Many observers believe Cookies has established itself as the leading brand in cannabis. The company, led by Berner (co-founder) and Parker Berling (President), currently has 7 dispensaries in California (up from 2 just six months ago), an 8th in Detroit (on 8 Mile), and expects 30+ by the end of this year. The company achieved record revenues in the first quarter of 2020 and remains on track to quadruple its system-wide revenues in 2020. Cookies strains are legendary in the industry and command premium prices wherever they are sold.
Cookies Retail Enterprises (CRE)
Cookies Retail (CRE), a separate company from Cookies, is a retail development company (think REIT) that is purpose-built to rapidly identify and secure premium retail locations for Cookies stores, in both the U.S. and internationally. CRE is led by a team of world-class developers (including a founding member of the Apple Retail division). In addition to accelerating Cookies' growth into a truly national company offering a market-leading retail experience, we believe CRE will build extraordinary cash flows and shareholder value.
Backbone Software
Backbone Software is rapidly emerging as the leading supply chain solution provider in the cannabis industry. Led by CEO/founder Rajesh Chandran (who sold his prior two companies to Oracle and Microsoft), Backbone enables cannabis companies to intelligently manage all aspects of supply -- including cultivation, manufacturing, inventory, packaging, shipping, pricing, billing, purchasing, and logistics on an intuitive, easy to use platform. Chandran and his team are particularly skilled at real-time data analytics that enable companies to vastly improve productivity and efficiency. We believe the company's offerings already exceed the performance of well-known supply chain solutions in non-cannabis industries.
About 12/12 Ventures
12/12 Ventures is a cannabis-focused venture capital firm based in Sausalito CA. Its strategic partner, Cookies Inc., is a global cannabis leader. After a strong start in the first quarter of 2020, 12/12 Ventures continues to raise its fund, whose target is $100 million.
