B2B Cannabis E-Commerce Platform LeafLink
Raises $3 Million Seed Round Led by Lerer Hippeau
Other Strategic Investors Including Casa
Verde Capital Participate to Advance the "Amazon" for Dispensaries
NEW YORK - April 3, 2017 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The B2B
cannabis e-commerce platform LeafLink today announces it has closed a $3
Million seed round led by New York's Lerer Hippeau Ventures, a tech-focused
venture fund with early investments in companies such as Oscar Health, Casper,
Warby Parker, Venmo, and Buzzfeed. Additional participants include strategic
investors from both inside and outside the cannabis space, including Casa Verde
Capital, Phyto Partners, Wisdom VC, and Wan Li Zhu and Paul Ciriello of
Fairhaven Capital. LeafLink, which is currently live in Colorado and
Washington, will use the funds to expand its marketplace for cannabis brands
and dispensaries into newly legal markets.
Cannabis retailers previously managed their ordering process
through emails, texts, and phone calls with a decentralized web of cannabis
flower, edible, concentrate, and topical vendors. With LeafLink, they can place
all of their orders in one legally compliant shopping experience. The vendors
then manage their incoming orders using the platform's suite of business tools,
including a CRM, data reporting, order status tracking, and fulfillment queue.
"As the legal cannabis space is new and growing rapidly, we
are not disrupting an industry, but defining it," Ryan G. Smith,
co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, said. "At LeafLink, our goal is to empower
cannabis business owners with a B2B marketplace and supporting tools that will
give them the efficiency they need to grow."
Since launching in Colorado in March and in Washington in
October, 800 dispensaries have joined LeafLink and placed orders for over 100
cannabis product brands, including Incredibles, CannaPunch, Dixie Elixirs, Wana
Brands, ZOOTS, Apothecanna, and Keef Cola. At present, the company is doing $65
Million in orders through the platform on an annual basis.
With the seed funding, the company plans to launch in additional
states with legal recreational and medical cannabis programs, including
California, Nevada, and Oregon, beginning this spring. Smith said, "LeafLink's
entry into these markets is an enormous opportunity to build a tech-first
industry that will serve as a model for other states, and for other industries
outside cannabis."
LeafLink's seed round marks the first investment in the cannabis
space for Lerer Hippeau. "Legal cannabis is creating a massive new market
from scratch," Eric Hippeau, Managing Partner of Lerer Hippeau Ventures,
said. "LeafLink's platform links brands and retailers in a seamless
marketplace that is vital to the growth of the industry's try. We are impressed
by the vision of LeafLink's founders and look forward to supporting their
growth."
Karan Wadhera of Casa Verde Capital said, "the cannabis
industry is in its infancy and our mission is to support those businesses that
will set the standard for how the community operates. We believe LeafLink is
doing just that in establishing itself as a critical component for brands and
retailers across the country."
About
LeafLink:
LeafLink is the leading B2B platform for orders, sales and relationship
management for cannabis product brands and retailers. It is an ancillary
technology business that does not touch, buy or sell cannabis. With offices in
New York, Denver and Seattle, the company launched in March 2016 and is
currently live in Colorado and Washington. To date, the company has raised over
$4M in capital, including a previous angel round of $1M closed in December
2015.
Media
Contact:
Claire Moloney
153178@email4pr.com
5162368382
153178@email4pr.com
5162368382
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