Follow the Money
Warren Buffett once famously said, “When the tide goes out, you see who’s been swimming naked.” The Oracle of Omaha offered this sage bit of wisdom in reference to companies’ ability to survive in lean times . In cannabis, the tide went out very quickly, leaving many founders blushing through a combination of hubris, inexperience, and the misguided notion that abundant liquidity was going to last forever. “I have spent ten years in the cannabis industry, and this is the most challenging environment I have seen for raising capital ,” said David Kram, a seasoned finance and capital markets executive and founder of Springfield Capital, a boutique investment management and advisory firm. “With most publicly traded cannabis companies down more than 80 percent from their highs a couple years ago and a market that appears to be in a recession, things aren’t looking good.” Over the past two years, the industry has been plagued by a lack of growth capital and dashed hopes of changes to the r...