“People should be focused on the business, not hanging out and getting high”insists Carter Laren, co-founder of marijuana startup funder and incubatorGateway, which launches today in Oakland, CA. But even if you’re stoned, you should be able to see the opportunity that is in place.
This year Gateway will support two classes of 10 marijuana startups with $30,000 each plus five months of office space in exchange for 6% of their equity.
The financing comes from LA’s Marijuana Investment Corporation, and will finance further rounds for top performers after Gateway’s demo days.
Gateway won’t stray away from companies that actually handle the plant itself.
Why would startups give up 6% of their equity to Gateway? For general startup training but also access to industry-specific help like navigating regulation and securing permits.
Gateway will be handing out 1% of its 6% stake in each company to mentors,ranging from experienced marijuana entrepreneurs to successful tech founders like the CEOs of Rotten Tomatoes and Prism Skylabs.
Laren and fellow Gateway founder Ben Larson will bring their knowledge from starting the 100-city Founder Institute.
Along with competing for startups with top-tier programs like Y Combinator and500 Startups, Gateway will have to battle other fledgling marijuana accelerators like Canopy.
Gateway hopes to differentiate by accepting very early stage companies including single founders, and connecting graduates to MJIC’s network of industry investors.
While the name might be funny, the connection to the negative perception of marijuana as a gateway drug could rub some the wrong way.
If Gateway can offer enough unique value, it could cut out a niche similar to how PCH’s Highway1 built a business as a hardware startup accelerator.
As medicinal and recreational marijuana become legal in more states, Gateway wants to have the first money in the future kingpins of pot.
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