The wave of pot legalization hasn’t just been a boon for growers. A slew of other businesses are jumping on the bandwagon as well.
“A guy calls me a few weeks ago about a domain name he owns, nugs.com [a reference to marijuana nuggets, or the bud of the plant],” said Jared Mirsky, founder of Online Marijuana Design. “It’s a great four-letter domain name, which itself is rare and valuable.”
Mirsky’s a branding firm out of Seattle, which exclusively focuses its efforts with in the marijuana industry, is helping him capitalize on it.
“The business idea is to make nugs.com a repository for stock photos of pot,” he stated .
Different firms, such as Sussex, Wisc.-based Vaportek, have changed course to work with the cannabis industry. Originally, the company developed a machine to control odors in hospitals.
The company expanded to target fire and flood restoration, crime scenes and, most recently, the cannabis industry.
“As soon as it became legal, we knew our products would be a great fit for the industry. And it’s a new area to increase our sales,” stated by spokeswoman Sunny Schneider-Christensen.
Vaportek invented a smaller home dry vapor systems for individual use as well as bigger machines for larger growing compounds.
“We’re targeting bedroom smokers to big industry growers,” she stated.
The american market for legal pot saw a spike of 74% to $2.7 billion between 2013 and 2014, creating the most efficient expanding industry in the country, given by the details stated from a report from the ArcView Group, a cannabis-focused investment and research firm. It’s looking to reach $3.5 billion in 2015.
Four states — Washington, Colorado, Alaska and Oregon –currently have legalized the distribution of recreational pot, and another 23 states have legalized it for medicinal practices.
“Under full legalization, this could be a $36 billion industry,” stated by ArcView Group’s CEO Troy Dayton.
“Most people who are getting in won’t be marijuana growers or processors. That requires a very specific skillset,” he stated. “It’s like with the Gold Rush. It’s a great time to be selling picks and shovels, instead.”
WaterPulse, in Longmont, Colorado, aids pot growers to help lower water usage by as high as 70%. Its automatic watering mats, can be positioned underneath the marijuana plants, allowing growers to set timers, stateded Mike Croy, the VP of sales and marketing for the firm.
“This helps prevents water wastage and allows plants to grow uniformly,” he said, adding that marijuana’s legalization has generated a lot of interest.
“It’s become the fastest-growing part of our overall business,” he stated.
Brother-sister team Kevin and Kathleen Sullivan launched Forever Green Indoors in 2013. The Kirkland, Wash.-based firm sells lighting panels for indoor marijuana farms.
Kathleen had run a small business that sold energy-efficient lighting options for businesses.
“We recognized an opportunity for our products in the marijuana business,” stated Kevin. LED lighting is much more effective for growing cannabis indoors — and considerably cheaper, he said.
“The market demand for LED lighting panels has really picked up in the last six months,” he said. Forever Green Indoors has gone through the installation process with about 500 LED panels since the firm first begun. “We’re not profitable yet, but our pre-orders are growing fast,” stated Kevin.
Mirsky, who at one time use to create websites for dispensaries, is moved by the excitement provided by helping his clients.
He developed the branding agency five years ago and holds a list of hundreds of clients the agency has worked with. In the previous year he reached $500,000 in sales and is looking to employ eight new people this year.
“Five years feels like 20 years already,” he said. “That’s how fast everything is moving in this industry.”
MAPH Enterprises, LLC | (305) 414-0128 | 1501 Venera Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33146 | new@marijuanastocks.com
