The Arcview Group, with CEO Troy Dayton

Member Since:
December 2010

Industry Sector:
Professional Services and Consulting, Investment and Asset Management

Tell me a bit about your background and why you launched your company?

Steve DeAngelo and I started Arcview in 2010 because we believed that business would ultimately become the single biggest factor in leading the end of marijuana prohibition — but there was a lack of leadership, professionalism, and scaling knowledge in the sector. We didn’t have all the answers, but we both knew a lot of the right people, so we surmised that if we structured a way for these parties to come together in a curated community around facilitating investment in the sector, we could ignite the power of free enterprise and aim its tremendous power towards political progress and the development of a new kind of industry.

I got my start in cannabis when I was a freshman in college at American University where I was one of the Marijuana Policy Project’s first volunteers in 1995, the year it was founded. I went on to intern for the Drug Reform Coordination Network at the dawn of the internet age where I helped start a project called U-net, which was a list-serve of college drug reform activists. Obvious thing to do now, but then it was revolutionary because it was the first time college activists could find each other and communicate easily. We rallied hundreds of activists behind a fellow student who was being kicked out of college for starting a marijuana policy chapter. It wasn’t long before we realized that it was time to start a more robust student drug policy organization. That began Students For Sensible Drug Policy which is now on hundreds of campuses nationwide and is a major force for political change.

Over the years, I helped start a digital video media company that was a cross between Youtube and Facebook. We raised millions of dollars but ultimately went “dot bust” because we were about 7 years too early with exactly the right idea. Then a few of us from that endeavor started a renewable energy company called Renewable Choice Energy, which was recently acquired by Schneider Energy 15 years later. I spent 3 years working with religious leaders and religious denominations helping them advocate for various drug policy reforms where I could. I spent two years as the Director of Development for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Just before I started Arcview I was the lead fundraiser for the Marijuana Policy Project.

I always felt like I had to choose between being part of the next business boom or fighting for what I believed in and remaining poor. I never in a million years believed that my work to end marijuana prohibition would have led to the next business boom. It didn’t occur to me until 2009.

What unique value does your company offer to the cannabis industry?

Arcview is the largest source of investment deal flow in the sector, and the publishers of the most trusted and best-selling market information. Our 600+ high net worth investor members have placed north of $150 million into 160+ cannabis related companies. We are the launch pad for companies seeking capital and mentorship, and for investors figuring out their investment thesis and developing relationships with the people they will need to make the most of this rare economic opportunity. As more investment conferences and pitch contests develop for the sector, and as more traditional investment gatherings start looking at cannabis, I think our biggest differentiator is our incredibly generous community. I’m astounded everyday buy the blood, sweat, and tears that our members put in to help each other and help these companies succeed. Unlike most investment conferences where almost everyone is there pretty much for their own self interest, at Arcview we’ve created a unique environment where people are also there for the benefit of the community, and for the love of the game. And we have a ton of fun.

Cannabis companies have a unique responsibility to shape this growing industry to be socially responsible and advocate for it to be treated fairly. How does your company help work toward that goal for the greater good of the cannabis industry?

At every event we have a non-profit working to change the laws give a pitch to the members, and then I ask people to make commitments on the spot. We’ve raised more than $3 million for the cause during these efforts. And when people make their commitments they often say a few words about why. We make it clear at Arcview that if you are investing in this industry, you also need to be donating to the cause. It’s not just good for the soul, but it also make great business sense.

We are also a key place for organizations like NCIA and others that are advocating for good business practices and diversity in the industry. Steve DeAngelo and I both serve on the board of NCIA, and I serve on the board of the Marijuana Policy Project.

I also think that our unique community culture at Arcview helps create a new kind of industry, where people hug instead of shake hands, where they look into each others eyes instead of each others pockets, and where people get to bring their whole selves to their business and not just this plastic old school version of “professionalism.”

What kind of challenges do you face in the industry and what solutions would you like to see?

The very rapid reduction in the wholesale price of cannabis is both a huge opportunity and a huge challenge depending on where you sit and how you look at it. It’s going to be great for consumers, agricultural product creators, landlords and for the legal markets competing with the illicit markets. It will not be kind to small boutique growers and to the amazingly rich culture that has been built around small scale cultivation. There are some great companies helping people transition and coming up with cooperative models that will help boutique farmers compete. There are also efforts to brand those growers and maintain consumer support for more expensive cannabis where they feel connected to the cultivator.

Another big challenge we face is severely limited licensing that only benefits a few. This is particularly a problem in the Northeast, but also in some countries as legalization spreads. Limiting licenses is not a terrible idea if it’s within reason, but there are a few examples where it’s way too lopsided into just a few operators controlling a market. Many people think this is temporary, and that after federal prohibition ends these regulatory structures will loosen up. I’m not as optimistic. When only a very few benefit hugely, they are incentivized to hold on to that structure for dear life, particularly if it is helping to uphold unnaturally high pricing. We could see the federal government leave it up to the states and those states maintain those oligopolies. In fact, I think that is most likely.

But the biggest challenge we face is that people think we have already won and so they are not donating to change laws and they are forgetting that they are right now committing actual civil disobedience and are subject to arrest and imprisonment. Wake UP! If you are already “woke” on this point, then please go “woke” some other people. An industry with a 27% Compound Annual Growth Rate and a ton of enemies needs to be building a powerful and well-funded lobbying effort on the order of the gun, tobacco, alcohol, gaming, and pharmaceutical industries. But we aren’t even close. The fact that we have made so much progress with the tiniest fraction of those industries lobbying budgets is testament to just how right we are and what amazing advocates we have. But we are in the big leagues now and we need to swing like we are in the big leagues.

If you are not donating at least a percent or two of your revenue or amount invested, then you are riding coat tails and you are the reason we have not made additional progress. As the Beastie Boys said so eloquently, “You’ve gotta fight for your right to paaarrrrtaay!”

Why did you join NCIA? What’s the best part about being a member?

I was a founding board member of the NCIA because I believe we need a strong lobby advocating for our interests. I also wanted to make sure that we set the tone that this is not just an industry, but a political movement with social justice aims. NCIA is the perfect expression of those ideals. My favorite part of being a member is being on the board and getting to marvel at the amazing, quirky, fun, and incredibly accomplished women and men that lead this world-changing industry. It’s a true honor to serve along side them as we create jobs, wealth, tax money, health, and freedom.

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