Arcview, incubator for cannabis companies

The Arcview Group was founded in 2010 by Steve deAngelo, a well-known American activist. He has appointed Troy Dayton to lead this future industry giant. Arcview’s mission is to identify legal cannabis entrepreneurs in need of funding and resources and then connect them with investors. Currently, the Arcview Group finances 137 companies in the legal cannabis sector. These companies have been able to get off the ground thanks to the $103 million provided by 625 investors since 2010.

The primary source of cannabis statistics

ArcView stands out from other cannabis investment firms thanks to its annual «State of the Legal Marijuana Market» report. Every year, ArcView Market Research publishes a forecast of cannabis industry figures for the coming year. With the help of BDS Analytics, the industry leader estimates sales, cash flows, capital gains, and risks in the cannabis industry.

This unique positioning allows the Arcview Group to establish its reputation in a nascent industry that remains difficult to quantify due to numerous gray areas. The company is virtually alone in this market, which has earned it coverage in prestigious media outlets such as Forbes, ABC, Fortune, The New York Times, and even Newsweed. The group had projected that legal cannabis sales would reach $7.1 billion in the United States in 2016. In early 2017, ArcView finally reported $6.8 billion in legal sales for North America. Specifically, the U.S. market accounted for only $5.8 billion. An estimate that was a bit too ambitious by $1.3 billion, as pointed out by yours truly on January 5.

The recipe, the butter, and the profits: a sprawling giant

The company combines several complementary business activities, being the only one in the «cannabis market analyst» segment that also operates as an investment firm.

To expand its scope of operations, Arcview has diversified into healthcare, social services, and business support. The company funds startups and helps them grow through Canopy Boulder, a cannabis startup incubator. Through its subsidiary Cannasure, Arcview secures future businesses that sign with them and even offers them domain names via CannaDomains. Basically, the company has secured certain domain names that may be of interest to entrepreneurs, who will have to purchase their domain from ArcView for between $420 and $710.

Behind ArcView’s numbers lies another giant, one that is directly involved in cannabis products. Steve DeAngelo was a pro-cannabis activist who managed to come out on top. He heads Harborside, the largest medical cannabis dispensary in the country. Located in Oakland, CA, this dispensary reportedly supplies medical cannabis to over 200,000 patients.

Théo Caillart