Cannabis Private Equity Investor Mandate: Interview with Mitch
Publicly Traded Cannabis & CBD Cultivation & Retail Investor Mandate Interview
Founders, deal sponsors and investors who want to understand how an operator-led cannabis private equity fund picks deals and runs diligence.
The short version
Mitch runs a cannabis private equity fund that invests across the full spectrum, from plant touching operators to ancillary companies. His team won one of the first medical limited licenses in Connecticut and later moved to Minnesota. That operating history feeds the fund's investment mandate. The firm also operates medical licenses in Virginia, Maryland and other states, and runs retail and cultivation in Michigan.
Recently the fund has leaned toward what Mitch calls orphan public companies on the OTC that perform well but are underappreciated. He also sponsors a SPAC with $130 million of cash in trust and wants targets with 30 to 100 million dollars of revenue. His main diligence advice is to gather a large amount of information and to speak with vendors, partners and investors rather than only the company.
5 key takeaways
- Operating experience shapes the mandate. Mitch's fund started as an operator. It won one of the first medical limited licenses in Connecticut and then moved to Minnesota. That background now guides how it invests.
- Full spectrum, flexible on size. The fund is agnostic to location, size and structure. It will look at anything that fits the cannabis ecosystem, including plant touching businesses, ancillary companies and retail.
- Orphan OTC companies are a focus. The fund has started to favor public companies on the OTC that are performing but underappreciated. Mitch believes the market does not fully understand the natural growth of their cannabis businesses.
- Diligence should go around the company. Mitch advises doing much of the diligence with a company's vendors, partners and investors. He says this avoids the shiny object chasing that can come from asking the company directly.
- Read widely and cross reference. Cannabis is a new space where information is hard to find. Mitch says a good investor must consume a large amount of data and cross reference it. Reputational risk is high in the industry.
Said on the call
"We are original operators in the space, having won one of the first medical limited licenses in the country, in Connecticut."
"Don't do a lot of your diligence directly with the company. Do it with their vendors, their partners, their investors."
"In cannabis, if you're not fast growing, then you're really not in the game."
Facts and figures
- Mitch's SPAC has $130 million of cash in trust.
- The SPAC is looking for fast growing companies with 30 to 100 million dollars of revenue.
- The firm won one of the first medical limited licenses in Connecticut and later moved on to Minnesota.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Publicly Traded Cannabis & CBD Cultivation & Retail Investor Mandate Interview. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around cannabis licensing rules, SPAC structures and public company compliance. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
What does Mitch's fund invest in?
The fund invests across the full spectrum of cannabis. That includes plant touching operators, retail, cultivation and ancillary companies. Mitch says it is agnostic to location, size and structure.
What kind of deal is the fund leaning toward now?
Mitch says the fund has started to turn toward orphan public companies on the OTC. These companies have been performing but are underappreciated by the market.
What diligence advice does Mitch give?
He says to consume a lot of information and cross reference it. He also says to do diligence with a company's vendors, partners and investors, not only with the company itself.
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