BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Former Yahoo CEO And Super Bowl MVP Invest $75 Million In California Startup For ‘Cannabis Curious’

This article is more than 5 years old.

On Thursday, San Jose-based cannabis marketplace, Caliva closed $75 million in funding from investors that include former Yahoo and Autodesk CEO, Carol Bartz, and three-time Super Bowl MVP, Joe Montana. Caliva’s first round will go toward expanding production of the cannabis retailer’s recreational products which include marijuana flower vape cartridges and beverages.

Launched in 2015, Caliva Collective is an all-in-one cannabis dispensary, marketplace, grow facility and delivery service. Cannabis data analytics platform Headset labeled Caliva Collective a top-seller for its vaporizer brand G Pen Gio, which retails for $30. Since its launch, Caliva has opened a dispensary in San Jose and distribution center in Brisbane - about 41 miles north of Silicon Valley. It now employs over 400 people as drivers, wellness consultants, growers, bud trimmers and scientists.  

Helping create an influencer-esque business is Caliva’s CEO Dennis O’Malley, who brings his branding chomps from his past life in the marketing and advertising world. “We’re building a brand that people will look to as a trusted company in terms of our business practices and what our company stands for,” O’Malley told Forbes.

Caliva says its revenues grew by 350% last year despite the state’s overall cannabis market dropping 17% due to tightening regulations, which included a major switch half way through 2018 that required all cannabis products be lab tested before sale. O’Malley plans to leverage the new $75 million in funding to launch new product offerings like a new line of cannabis beverages, continuing to educate customers and expand to five metro areas in California. “We’re known for products that are fun for you,” O’Malley says. “We’re extending that as well as releasing a product category for pain relief, sleep and anxiety.”

After finding relief in cannabis-infused pain creams, former Yahoo and Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz decided to take a tour of Caliva’s facility and says she was impressed by the collective’s management and operation style. “This is not an investment in the broad industry - this is an investment in a very good company in a very big industry,” Bartz told Forbes. Along with putting her money behind Caliva, Bartz is joining the board and plans to work closely with the marketing department to help address the stigma many potential consumers or the “cannabis curious” face when approaching the market. “Not everybody wants to go into a dispensary, but they’d like to try the products. We really need to go from word of mouth to real consumer marketing around the wellness products,” Bartz says.

Follow me on LinkedInCheck out my websiteSend me a secure tip