Cannabis Unlocked

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, David Culver (VP of Global Government Affairs at Canopy Growth) and Tiby Erdely (KEY Founding Partner) discuss the breath of Canopy Growths operations, the current and future state of the cannabis industry, and some meaningful actions Congress could take to support the cannabis industry. This conversation starts with David's journey into cannabis governme...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Brandon Johnson (CEO of TRP) sits down with Jordan Youkilis (KEY Investment Partners Founding Partner) to discuss how TRP has evolved into a retail powerhouse through working with legacy brands and championing social equity efforts. This conversation starts with Brandons path towards cannabis and how he got the inspiration for TRP's business model of part...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Jason Brett (CEO and Co-Founder of Katalys) sits down with Tiby Erdely (KEY Investment Partners Founding Partner) to discuss the ever evolving importance of accurate and effective marketing tools and how Katalys' affiliate attribution tool is prepared for the future of marketing. This conversation begins with Jason's passion of marketing and that passion...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Chris Yetter (Founder and Portfolio Manager of Dumont Global ) sits down with Jordan Youkilis ( KEY Investment Partners Founding Partner) to discuss what to look for in sound cannabis investments, the hurdles of investing in US cannabis businesses and things to look for when shorting selling. This conversation starts with Chris' path from short selling fr...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Owen Bennett (SVP of Equity Research for Global Tobacco & Cannabis at Jefferies ) sits down with Jordan Youkilis ( KEY Founding Partner) to discuss the intricacies of international cannabis markets, the range in their success, and the variance in addressable markets. This conversation starts with Owens career path towards Jefferies and follows Jefferi...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Zack Ein (Founder and CEO of Grassdoor ) and Tiby Erdely (Founding Partner of KEY Investment Partners ) discuss Grassdoor's transition out of a software development agency which built complicated mobile apps into the most reliable cannabis delivery platform in the California market. This conversation begins with an overview of the early days of Grassdoor...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Dave Neundorfer (CEO of Open Book Extracts) and Tiby Erdely (KEY Founding Partner) discuss Open Book Extracts (OBX) journey and focus on creating consistency and repeatability in cannabinoid products. This conversation starts with Dave's journey from the automotive industry to the software industry and finally into the cannabis industry. From there, Dave...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Josh Rubin (CEO of Day Three Labs) and Tiby Erdely (KEY Founding Partner) discuss the needed evolution of cannabis products to increase consumer and patient outcomes. This conversation starts with an overview of Josh's journey into cannabis, the story behind Day Three Labs and their groundbreaking technology Unlokt. From there, Josh and Tiby speak to the...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Natalie Papillion, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Last Prisoner Project and Jordan Youkilis (KEY Founding Partner) discuss Natalie's journey leading up to Last Prisoner Project followed by the impact Last Prisoner Project has on criminal justice reform. From here the conversation turns to the historical and current regulatory environments of cannabis pol...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Erich Maelzer and David Miller from Flow Gardens sit down with Jordan Youkilis (KEY Founding Partner) to discuss the beginnings of Flow Gardens, their hunt for ever varying hemp genetics and the hurdles they face as a hemp company in America. This conversation starts with Erich and David's journey into the hemp space followed by a discussion around Flow G...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Alvaro Torres (Co-Founder, CEO & Director of Khiron Life Sciences Corp.) and Jordan Youkilis (KEY Founding Partner) discuss the growth of Colombian cannabis and it's competitive advantages on other international medical cannabis producers. Today's conversation starts with Alvaro's company, Khiron's, creation story and journey to its current internatio...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Chris Walsh (CEO of MJ Biz Daily) and Jordan Youkilis (KEY Founding Partner) discuss the past and future of the legal cannabis industry. This conversation starts with a dive into the creation story behind Marijuana Business Daily and the journey towards their recent acquisition by Emerald X. From there, Chris and Jordan speak to the evolving sophisticatio...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Julia Germaine (Operating Partner at KreditForce) and KEY Founding Partner Jordan Youkilis discuss cannabis delivery and the legal, cashless payment platform developed by Julia and the team at KreditForce.  The two discuss evolving consumer purchasing trends as more states permit delivery of cannabis. From there, we discuss payment processing restrictions...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Courtney Davis (Executive Director of Marijuana Matters) and KEY Founding Partner Jordan Youkilis discuss social equity legislation in the cannabis industry.  The two discuss Courtney's career background and how she got involved in cannabis social equity. From there, we discuss the history of the War on Drugs (which Courtney explains was truly a War on Pe...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, join Cathy Iannuzzelli as she discusses the payments industry in cannabis. In the episode, Cathy and Jordan discuss Cathy's career path and how the massive opportunity in cannabis convinced her to leave consulting. Cathy discusses the issues facing payment processing in cannabis today, and why the dispensaries running cashless ATM models currently may ne...

In this episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Jeff Harris and KEY Founding Partner Jordan Youkilis discuss marketing software & services in the cannabis industry.  The two discuss the challenges faced by retailers and brands in marketing to end customers today. From there, we discuss the recently announced SPAC acquisition of Springbig by TCAC. Jeff and Jordan then discuss Springbig's 2022 growth...

In this special episode of Cannabis Unlocked, Ben Ross and KEY Founding Partner Jordan Youkilis discuss the past, present & future of psychedelics. Ben shares his story - from successfully exiting his software startup to focusing on plant medicine. They further discuss the different types of psychedelic substances and where each stands within the regulatory approval process. They further discu...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview Andrew Lobo, CEO of Kin Slips. In this conversation, we discuss the Andrew's career background and how he decided to move from institutional finance into cannabis operations. We further dive into the evolving landscape for cannabis brands, and why the Kin Slips team saw an opportunity in sublingual strips. Please enjoy!

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview Tim Seymour of CNBC's Fast Money. Tim is also founder and Chief Investment Officer of Seymour Asset Management (SAM). SAM provides both asset management and wealth management services for its clients. Tim is also the Portfolio Manager of the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF ticker: $CNBS. In this episode, we discuss the capital markets landscape...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview Ross Bevevino - the Co-Founder of Mollitiam Capital. In this conversation, we discuss the capital markets landscape and how FDIC coverage and SAFE Banking will impact access to capital in the future. We further dive into sectors of focus for Mollitiam's investment strategy. From there, we discuss the cannabis SPAC markets and expectations fo...

Kelly Nielsen, Vice President of Insights & Analytics at leading cannabinoid market intelligence firm BDSA joins Pete Karabas of KEY Investment Partners to discuss BDSA's recent update of their global cannabis market forecast, a five-year rolling global forecast by country, state, province, channel, and category. Cannabis sales for 2021 were near $31 billion, an increase of 41% over 2020 sales...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview David Kivitz - the Chief Executive Officer of XS Financial. This conversation comes a few weeks after KEY Investment Partners and other investors participated in a $43.5mn financing round for the business. In this conversation, we discuss the financing gap for equipment in cannabis. We further dive into the recent financing round and how the...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview Joe Hodas - the Chief Marketing Officer of Wana Brands. This conversation comes a few weeks after the landmark announcement in which Canopy Growth purchased the option to buy Wana Brands following US federal legalization.  In this conversation, we discuss brand loyalty in cannabis as it relates to form factors like edibles, flower and v...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interview Scott Jordan - the Founder of Alternative Finance Network. In this conversation, we discuss the evolution of direct lending to cannabis borrowers over the past eight years. We further dive into the capital markets evolution for direct lenders and how the cost of capital for borrowers has evolved over time. From there, we discuss the target b...

In the latest episode of Cannabis Unlocked, we interviewed attorneys Bob Hoban and Brent Johnson of Clark Hill (recently acquired their firm Hoban Law Group). In this conversation, we discuss the evolution of the regulatory landscape in cannabis over the past 13 years. We further dive into the transaction process by which Hoban Law Group was acquired by Clark Hill, and what this means for future M...