Full-scale support and insight for market players and entrants As one of the cannabis industry's first organizations to provide a platform for cannabis companies seeking investments to connect with investors, The Arcview Group helped accelerate the growth of the cannabis industry. Jeffrey Finkle joins Dan Humiston to explain how the company has evolved into an extensive ecosystem which enables companies, investors, partners and leaders to leverage opportunities, address business challenges, and mitigate risk. Produced by PodConx MJBulls - https://podconx.com/podcasts/raising-cannabis-capital Dan Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/dan-humiston The Arcview Group - https://arcviewgroup.com/ Jeffrey Finkle - https://podconx.com/guests/jeffrey-finkle
Full-scale support and insight for market players and entrants
As one of the cannabis industry's first organizations to provide a platform for cannabis companies seeking investments to connect with investors, The Arcview Group helped accelerate the growth of the cannabis industry. Jeffrey Finkle joins Dan Humiston to explain how the company has evolved into an extensive ecosystem which enables companies, investors, partners and leaders to leverage opportunities, address business challenges, and mitigate risk.
MJBulls - https://podconx.com/podcasts/raising-cannabis-capital
Dan Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/dan-humiston
The Arcview Group - https://arcviewgroup.com/
Jeffrey Finkle - https://podconx.com/guests/jeffrey-finkle
Dan Humiston: [00:00:00] Today at MJ bulls, we are joined by Jeffrey Finkel, the CEO of the Arcview group. Jeffrey. Welcome to the.
Jeffrey Finkle: Hey, Dan. Thanks.
Dan Humiston: Well, I'm really happy that we were able to make it work today for our listeners who aren't aware the RQ group really blazed the trail for cannabis investments long before cannabis was cool. They provided a platform for investors to meet and invest in cannabis companies. In fact, many people believe that those early investments really sparked the growth of our industry.
And over the years, the RQ group. Evolved into an expansive ecosystem that delivers a broad spectrum of programs and services to the industry. And I, and I hope to touch on just about everything if I can, but before we do Jeffrey, I thought I'd turned the tables on you a little bit today. And can you give us the RQ group's elevator pitch?
Jeffrey Finkle: Wow, elevator
[00:01:00] mystery. It's a little hard to condense it. I would say that the art view group is a collection of integrated financial services and event production. Companies that all benefit each other through their sort of connection to the RQ ECOS.
Dan Humiston: it's a really symbiotic, arrangement that you have , in the company. And I know, like I said, we're going to touch on a lot of the services that you provide, but everything seems to work together, which is really interesting as you dig deeper and deeper into the Arcview group.
I thought maybe we'd start off today and look at it from an investor perspective. Maybe we that's where we get it kicked off. And if I was an investor that was thinking about making some cannabis investments, just give us an overview and some of the services that you would provide to an investor.
Jeffrey Finkle: An investor can connect with us a number of ways. Right? First I would say our broker dealer, our FINRA registered broker [00:02:00] dealer, RQ capital. If you want to place dollars in the cannabis industry, you could look at. They're banking through a mandate. They do reg D offerings, right? So traditional capital raises.
They do reggae offerings and they recently have launched a crowdfunding site for cannabis companies, such that investors that wanted that a smaller amount of money can, can look at what's on the crowdfunding side and make smaller commitments. So that's the first area where investors can connect with.
Secondly, our venture fund, we have actually two pockets of money that we invest out of the Oxford collective fund, which is a member managed venture fund and the Arcview entourage seed fund, which is our seed and early growth effort that we do in partnership with entourage effect. Those two vehicles when they fund companies often aggregate special purpose vehicles, SPDs for investors to come [00:03:00] alongside in those investments with us.
So those are two obvious ways that investors can interact with us. The third way that they can interact with us is to attend our events. So we produce two to three thought leadership webinars. And, Dan early on, we were very prolific in-person event producers course, since COVID, we haven't done one we're back in that business, we're doing our first large event in New York.
In October, we're doing a smaller event for our women's inclusion now. In LA in January, but investors that want to get a sense for the industry, see compelling companies learn about the industry and network should come to those events. They're terrific. They're educational. And they're just great for now.
Dan Humiston: And it's really great for companies when the companies get an opportunity to get in front of, a lot of people. And I I've been to a few of those events in. It's a really good [00:04:00] opportunity before I jump off this topic, though, talk to me a little bit about the arc view marketing market research pillar, arm of your organization.
.
Jeffrey Finkle: So our marketing research lives in our consulting company and we used to be a fairly prolific producer of marketing research to sort of do market forecasts. We're doing less of that today, but we do collaborate on a research piece around the vape industry and we're producing fairly regular reports on.
We're about to do a few more things in research that I'm not really ready to talk about, but we're going to play again. I think a more substantial role in that in the New York.
Dan Humiston: Well, and you have so much data I think I read over 300 investments , or maybe more through the RQE group that I'm sure you have so much data available to investors. You take for granted, but it would have invested in it. Doesn't have that much experience.
This stuff is So, valuable. before I forget this, you [00:05:00] said something about women investors. , is that a separate arm or was that within the group
Jeffrey Finkle: so, it's funny, used to be called the women's investor network. We changed it to be called the women's inclusion now. Because what we realize is that women in the industry needed a safe place in which that they could collaborate with one another and learn whether the purpose was to invest or to start a company or to get a job in the industry.
So the women's inclusion network, I think we're close to 300. It's a membership organization where we host mentorship events, educational events, and we're doing our first large in-person event, as I said in LA, in June. But that actually lives in our arc view events and experiences, joint venture that we have with the McVeigh group, which is a private equity funded event production company that we're doing all our events with.
But the win program is underneath that.
Dan Humiston: [00:06:00] I'm glad you clarified that for us. Let's switch gears. Let's talk about companies that are interested in raising money. You briefly touched on , I think there were two distinct vehicles that.
you use to invest in companies. There may be more maybe explain , if I were a company that was intended to raise capital, what opportunities are there for me within the Arcview.
Jeffrey Finkle: Yeah. So in our ventures group, our few ventures, we have the art collective fund. The RQ collective fund is a member managed venture comb. So I don't want to get all wonky on structure, but , investors in venture funds are usually silent.
They're called limited partners and they just kind of sit there and give a check and read a report at the end of the year in the collective fund, they're substantially more active. And so we have 78 investors in that pocket that all lend their roller door. Their experience and their guidance to the portfolio companies.[00:07:00]
And they're part of the decision-making process to decide how the fund is run into which companies the fund invests. So it's a true collective, it's kind of a unique model. It's not an individual network where it's a pass the hat. Hey Dan, are you in? Well now I've decided I'm out. Everybody votes, but they vote on behalf of the treasury of the fund.
And when the vote is affirmed, the treasury funds the.
Dan Humiston: Oh,
Jeffrey Finkle: So that's one place. And the benefit of pitching to the collective fund is again for one point of contact going forward as the relationship manager in your company, you can access the 78 seasoned Rolodexes people. Who've had CMO jobs at large CPG companies, angel investors, ex hedge fund guys, X private equity guys, ex venture people.
Individually angel investors in the cannabis industry. So a great collection of people that bring not only their capital through the fund, but their [00:08:00] guidance and their Rolodexes externally and individually. So that's the best place then alongside of that, that RQ on seat. That fund is writing slightly larger checks.
It's a fund that I run with Jeanne Sullivan and partnership with on trashy pick capital. And that's an opportunity to the way to learn about that is get ahold of Jean or I, and we can see if , your opportunity to qualifies. And then again, investors should just come to our conferences, come to our conferences, meet investors, meet other companies, see how they pitch and become better at what.
Dan Humiston: Yeah. I think. get the best education from watching other people's pitches in an event like your V your events, there's enough of them that you can see a lot of different styles and, and find something that really works well for you now, between those two funds , is one more designed, like you mentioned the early stage or seed stage fund.
Are they separated [00:09:00] by. Or what.
stage the company is in, is that how you determine , which place to best fit them?
Jeffrey Finkle: Both of those funds have a seed and early growth stage thesis. Okay. The collective fund is a smaller check writer. It's writing about 150 K checks in deals. And quite frankly, that pocket can even invest , in a growth capital deal. If it just loves the team and there's 150 K of room in the deal, it has a more eclectic stage thesis, but primarily.
We look for seed and early growth. The RQ entourage seed fund that is much more sort of religious to seed an early growth. That's not going to do anything participatory in a growth stage deal. That's the job of entourage effect, capital our partner. They have a growth capital fund we serve sort of as the little brother or the search fund for that larger [00:10:00] effort.
Dan Humiston: Yeah, like , almost like your minor league feeder program. It's.
Jeffrey Finkle: Yeah, we're a feeder fund or a feeder fund. We're a search fund. And they get visibility into how the management teams work and how these companies progressed to decide if it makes sense for them to invest, a year and a half, two years down the road, when they're raising their growth capital around.
Dan Humiston: That's great. Well, we're going to have links to the Arcview group in the show notes. So whether you're a company. Considering raising capital or you're an investor that wants to learn more about investing in the cannabis industry, or you want to attend one of the events. It could just click the links to get started.
Jeffrey, it's always great to catch up on for really appreciate you being on the show today.
Jeffrey Finkle: Thanks Dan. It was fun.