All posts by Uttara Choudhury

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Nextech3D.AI: On trend with multifaceted AI/AR technology for e-commerce

They say that timing is everything, and it’s especially true when launching a new business.

In 2018, Wall Street veteran and serial entrepreneur Evan Gappelberg founded Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR) on the idea that augmented reality (AR) and 3D modelling would become of central importance to e-commerce.

An astute technology trend spotter, Gappelberg’s Nextech3D.AI is the right company, in the right place, at the right time. Its diversified AR and AI technology is enjoying strong demand, particularly for 3D WebAR photorealistic models that online retailers use to market products more effectively.

The company has a major presence in the United States, among other markets, with a long list of high-profile clients ranging from Amazon to Kohl’s and Target.

Nextech3D.AI recently reported first quarter 2023 revenue of $1.3 million, up 40% sequentially, as 3D model revenue climbed 550% year over year. 

Canadian Securities Exchange Magazine caught up with Gappelberg to talk about how Nextech3D.AI is riding breakthrough generative AI technology to become a player in the US$100 billion 3D modelling wave set to sweep through retail over the next decade.

You founded what is now Nextech3D.AI in January 2018 with a vision that AR/3D was going be a megatrend. It seems that everything has panned out exactly the way you saw it. How do you feel?  

I feel vindicated! The pandemic in some ways derailed my vision. In other ways, it accelerated what was happening. It felt like we were first being pushed in another direction completely. But after the pandemic, once the dust had settled, it seemed like 3D and AR had moved into high gear. The demand started picking up and clearly things were moving faster than before the pandemic. 

I feel pretty good coming up with the business idea back in 2018 and spotting the trend early — it is really exploding right now. With my decades of training on Wall Street, I can spot technology trends fairly early. I knew that AR/3D was going be a megatrend in the shift to e-commerce. 

Nextech3D.AI is a top provider of AR Wayfinding technologies and a 3D model supplier for hundreds of brands. How big is the market opportunity?

We’ve been building toward this moment for five years. We are standing in front of a $100 billion dollar 3D modelling market, tucked inside the $5.5 trillion global e-commerce ecosystem, and we plan to take full advantage. Everything that’s being sold online today and everything that’s going to be sold online in the future is going to have a 3D model, or digital twin. That represents a huge multi-decade opportunity. 

In fact, I saw an article which said that by 2040, 95% of all commerce is going to be conducted online. Most importantly, shopping in 3D has been proven to lead to 40% lower product returns, a 93% higher click-through rate, and a 250% boost in conversions. It’s metrics such as these that are driving the rapid adoption of everything 3D.

Last year, Nextech3D.AI won a $6.7 million 3D model order from Amazon Prime Marketplace. How is that going, and what are some of your other contract wins?

Our relationship with Amazon continues to get better and better. We started working with them in the third quarter of 2022. We were in a trial stage, really a testing phase, and we passed with flying colours, and we signed a three-     year contract with Amazon. We just reached a major milestone by delivering more than 20,000 3D models as the company’s preferred 3D model supplier. Amazon is the biggest fish in the e-commerce ocean. They are the whale of whales.

We also do business with American retail giants Kohl’s and Target. All told, we are a supplier to over 100 brands and companies. We supply 3D models to Procter & Gamble, Dyson and many other top companies, though no single one really compares to Amazon.

Talk about your journey as a public company now that Nextech3D.AI has been around for a few years. 

Since we have no institutional ownership in our stock and company, we get a distortion in value. It’s essentially retail investors deciding what price our stock is trading at in a volatile market. You look at a $100 billion opportunity, a tech company that has breakthrough generative AI and has landed the largest e-commerce customer in the form of Amazon, and yet we still only have a market cap of $51 million.

Tell us about the launch of your new generative AI technology that can create 3D models from text prompts.

We have technology that we are developing in-house that’s generative AI, and we’re really approaching this from multiple angles where you can use a text prompt and just type in “leather” or “couch”, indicate whether it’s shiny leather or matte leather and the AI will create that swatch that can then be draped over a 3D model. These technological advancements allow us to scale the production of 3D models, which is exactly what’s required when you are dealing with giant customers like Amazon. 

With generative AI, we are creating an increasingly wide and exponentially growing moat: the more models we make, the larger the moat. I believe that we are at the point where the value of Nextech3D.AI goes up with each new 3D model we make, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and value.

ARway was spun off from Nextech3D.AI in October 2022. The company says its goal is to exit 2023 with a $10 million sales pipeline. Are you seeing strong demand for ARway’s wayfinding technology?

We are in late-stage negotiations with blue chip companies and governments. Verizon is one of them and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers is another. The Canadian Armed Forces, believe it or not, is another entity that is testing out the technology. These are all enterprise contracts, and they’re all very impressed by the technology. It’s only a matter of time before the dominoes start falling and customers start signing bigger contracts.

Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters has posters with phrases like “Done is Better than Perfect” and “Move Fast and Break Things.” Do you have motivational mottos at Nextech3D.AI?

Take extreme risks to enjoy outsized rewards. That’s kind of our motto. It’s the way I live my life. You only live once, right? Taking a risk means you actually make a decision, commit, be strong and create something beautiful with your dream.

Why is Nextech3D.AI a company to watch?

Nextech3D.AI gives investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a CEO who has public market experience, a track record of success and is the single largest shareholder in the company. In other words, he puts his money where his mouth is.

You’re also investing in a company that has proven itself on the big stage by doing business with heavy hitters like Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Kohl’s and Target.

This story was featured in Canadian Securities Exchange Magazine.

Learn more about Nextech3D.AI at http://www.nextechar.com/

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

IM Cannabis: Early Mover Status Drives Growth in Multiple Legal Cannabis Markets

IM Cannabis (CSE:IMCC) Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Oren Shuster believes that entrepreneurs have to trust their “gut instincts” and follow the data to make good business decisions.

Earlier in his career, Shuster had co-founded with Rafael Gabay the Ewave software group, which was thriving with over 1,000 employees. Nevertheless, when the subject of medical cannabis came up during a meeting, Shuster’s instincts nudged him toward exploring its potential. 

“We started the Ewave technology group, and I quickly focused on healthcare technology. I’ve been one of the pioneers in developing web-based electronic medical records, radiology management and telemedicine solutions. But one day, a man talked to me about medical cannabis,” says Shuster. 

“As an entrepreneur, it got my attention, so I spoke with patients and doctors and collected data and feedback on medical cannabis. A light bulb went off in my head; I knew I had to do it – there’s something significant here for patients.”

With decades of experience in technology and medical ventures, Shuster then pivoted to co-found IM Cannabis, or IMC, in Israel.

In 2010, IMC sold its first batch of premium flower. The company is an outlier, and in a very good way, with operations in Israel, Canada and Germany, the world’s three largest federally legal markets.

Where most people see problems, entrepreneurs such as Shuster tend to see opportunity.

“A lot of cannabis companies went to Malta, as it was easy, but we went to Germany. A tough or challenging environment didn’t matter, as we have a strategic approach to Europe – not opportunistic,” says Shuster.

Germany legalized the medical use of cannabis in 2017. Shuster’s early push into the regulated German medical cannabis market has positioned IMC for high-octane growth as Europe’s largest economy presses ahead with plans to legalize cannabis for recreational use. German lawmakers are expected to introduce a draft bill on recreational cannabis legalization by the end of this year, according to media reports. 

“We’ve laid our foundation in Germany, currently one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the world, which is expected to rapidly expand as the German government enacts broad regulatory reform of cannabis use,” says Shuster. 

Undoubtedly, Germany legalizing cannabis for recreational use will be a seismic move for Europe. Tiny Luxembourg and Malta have given the go-ahead for people to grow and consume cannabis, but Germany is the continent’s biggest market.

Currently, IMC operates in Germany through its fully licensed EU-GMP subsidiary Adjupharm GmbH, which has built a logistics centre that allows it to repackage products. With the completion of the logistics centre, IMC has doubled its footprint in Germany to 8,000 square feet, upgraded its production facilities and increased its storage capacity to seven tons of cannabis. 

“IMC has a very clear strategy. What we’ve done is built the supply chain which starts with premium products in Canada going to our state-of-the-art EU-GMP facility in Germany. We are building it as the hub for the EU market,” explains Shuster. 

“We are in the best position to take a leadership position in the massive European market of 750 million people.”

In Germany, the IMC Hindu Kush strain has been a strong seller, helping make Adjupharm GmbH a top 10 cannabis company in the country. Adjupharm has initiated product licence applications to prepare for the launch of new high-quality THC products in the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of 2023.

“We entered the Canadian market because we needed premium products for Germany and Israel. Our cannabis capacity in Canada is about 15,000 pounds (6,804 kilograms) annually, and we are not yet at full capacity. It’s all premium, indoor-grown Canadian cannabis,” notes Shuster.

“We are growing locally and selling in the Canadian market while supplying our other global markets. We’re also buying premium products from Canadian growers.”

IM Cannabis offers cannabis flower and strain-specific cannabis extracts under the IMC brand, plus dried flower, pre-rolls and pressed hash offerings under the WAGNERS and Highland Grow brands. IMC serves both medical and recreational consumers in Canada. 

IMC has launched a slew of new products in Canada in response to high demand for its WAGNERS and Highland Grow brands, which hold top-three spots in the premium and ultra-premium segments in Ontario, according to sales data from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS). 

The WAGNERS pre-roll catalog at the OCS has expanded with the launch of Tiki Rain, Blue Lime Pie and  TRPY ZLRP pre-rolls. Two new 3.5g dried flower stock keeping units (SKUs) – Tiki Rain and Purple Clementine – were launched in addition to an expansion of the concentrate portfolio, with the introduction of soft black hash and 3.5g soap bar hash. New product rollouts include Frost Bite, Leviathan and Space Jagger, according to the company.

“There are distinct advantages to being in different markets in diverse phases of maturity. The Canadian market is the most mature, fully legalized market with a variety of products. We’ve gained insights from being in an ultra-competitive market and can carry those insights to less mature markets,” says Shuster. 

IMC produces a full suite of distinct strains – Roma, Tel Aviv, London, Dairy Queen, Mango Mint, Lemongrass, Pecan Pie, Mimosa – and at least three different oils. The premium brands are aimed at high-end consumers and benefit IMC with premium pricing and higher margins.

“Most of our products are premium and occupy the highest category, as consumers are willing to pay more for quality and artisanal brands,” says Shuster.

While focusing on revenue growth, Shuster has also rigorously pursued cost and margin efficiencies at IMC. For its second quarter ended June 30, 2022, IMC reported C$23.8 million in revenue, a 114% increase from the same period in 2021.

IMC sold 3,210kg of dried flower during the quarter, at an average selling price of $5.72 per gram, compared to 1,842kg for the comparable quarter in 2021, at an average selling price of $3.92 per gram. 

IMC chalked up the jump in revenue to more medical and recreational cannabis sold at higher average selling prices per gram in Israel and Canada. The company’s gross profit, before fair value adjustments, was $5.6 million during the quarter, compared to $0.6 million in the second quarter of 2021.

“At the end of Q2, we had $5.8 million in the bank. We’ve accelerated along the path to profitability with increased revenue, operational streamlining and a focus on cost reduction,” says Shuster. 

“We are seeing growth and a revenue run rate of almost $100 million annually.

IMC has launched its Canadian WAGNERS brand in Israel and plans to bring new medical cannabis products to the country later this year. 

IMC’s de facto company, Focus Medical Herbs, closed its Sde Avraham cultivation farm in Israel, resulting in cash cost savings of $2.5 million per year. It has also finalized the sale of SublimeCulture and restructured its operations in Canada, yielding $4 million in annual cash savings.

A cautious risk-taker, Shuster has connected the dots of opportunity by building a diversified company with a global cannabis supply chain.

“I take calculated risks. I never put all my eggs in one basket, which is why IMC is geographically diversified with operations in Israel, Canada and Germany,” says Shuster.

“On legalization, we are primed to target new adult-use recreational cannabis markets in Germany and capture substantial market share across Europe.”

This story was featured in Canadian Securities Exchange Magazine.

Learn more about IM Cannabis at https://imcannabis.com.

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Plant Veda Foods: With its plant-based dairy products flying off shelves, this conscientious company’s business outlook is soaring too

Armed with a master’s degree in computer science from California’s Northwestern Polytechnic University, Sunny Gurnani was working for tech giants like eBay. He was poised for a career in technology in Silicon Valley, but keen business sense and a kind heart led him to co-found a plant-based dairy company instead.

Since its launch in 2019, Vancouver-based Plant Veda (CSE:MILK) has developed award-winning plant-based dairy alternatives. The firm’s cashew milk, dairy-free coffee creamers, lassi (drinkable yogurts) and PlantGurt cashew yogurts have landed on shelves in more than 200 stores, with demand outstripping supply.

The engineer-turned-entrepreneur reveals that he and his wife committed to the vegan lifestyle epitomized by Plant Veda a decade ago.

“My wife was expecting our first child and we had gone to a vegan restaurant in California. It had flashcards that described the way cows in the dairy industry were treated,” says Gurnani, Plant Veda’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

“For cows to produce milk, they have to give birth, so the cows are constantly impregnated. When the calves are born, they are taken away from their mothers. Male calves are often killed straight after being born. My wife and I were expecting our first child – it was horrifying to see the animal cruelty.”

Unsettled, Gurnani drilled deep into articles and documentaries on the dairy industry. Haunted by footage of animal cruelty, Gurnani, who was vegetarian in India, turned vegan and has since abstained from animal products like dairy and eggs.

“I studied vegan diets and their nutritional value, and around a year before this information my father had died due to his heart condition. I felt such regret as my father could have reversed his heart disease by shifting to a whole food, plant-based diet,” says Gurnani.

In 2012, Gurnani wanted to start his own company in the US, but his H-1B visa immigrant status had him tied in the knots. Legally, the couple couldn’t launch a start-up in the US, so they built a certified organic plant-based dairy company called Go-Vegan, and later Nutriva, in India, while holding down jobs in California. Go Vegan preceded Plant Veda and made soy milk, ice cream and tofu.

“By day I was an engineer in Silicon Valley and at night I was running a plant-based dairy in India. My wife got a permit and was running a vegan food truck in California, where she started selling her plant-based lassis and yogurts.”

Tired of waiting for US Green Cards, the enterprising couple immigrated to Canada with their business blueprint for Plant Veda.

“We wanted to do well by doing good. A plant-based business is ethical, good for the planet and has several health benefits,” says Gurnani.

“We decided to move to Vancouver and registered for Canada’s largest vegan and vegetarian show, the Veg Expo, even before reaching Canada. At Veg Expo on May 5, 2019, we launched Plant Veda’s drinkable yogurt cashew lassi in five different flavours.”

Plant Veda’s breakthrough creamy lassi, a traditional yogurt drink cherished in South Asia, was the right product at the right place. It won the Veg Expo Product of the Year award in 2019 and the Clean Choice Award from Clean Eating Magazine in 2021.

To be a heavy hitter in the $900 million specialty beverage market, Plant Veda has positioned itself as a “healthier, wholesome and sustainable” plant-based dairy company.

“We don’t use artificial flavours. Our mango lassi is made with cashew yogurt and chunks of whole alphonso mango. Our lassi contains a special blend of 10 billion probiotics,” says Gurnani.

Plant Veda’s lassi line of drinkable yogurts has five flavours: mango, blueberry, strawberry, saffron cardamom and turmeric ginger.

Plant Veda Co-Founder Vanita Gurnani, Director of Product Innovation, says that working out how to emulate the texture, taste and appearance of the plant-based products took patience and good ingredients.

“I was born and raised in Anand in Gujarat, which is the dairy capital of India. I grew up loving dairy products so after becoming vegan I was missing all these things. When we started Plant Veda it was very important to get the right taste and texture,” says Vanita.

“We also wanted our products to be healthy and that’s why we always use wholesome ingredients such as Canadian maple and agave to lightly sweeten our products. There are no artificial sugars, high-fructose corn syrup or oils in our products. They are wholesome, tasty and healthy.”

The Plant Veda Innovation Centre is a 25,000 square foot facility on Annacis Island in Delta, British Columbia. It’s a springboard for new product development and large-scale production. The ongoing Phase 1 upgrade will bring annual yogurt production to 2.5 million litres, up from 100,000 litres.

In a nutshell, the Delta facility will propel the production of  $10 million worth of products a year, according to the company. By 2022, Plant Veda says that with “minimal additional upgrades” the facility will be churning out 15 million litres of product. The expansion could catapult Plant Veda’s annual revenue to $60 million in a few years, according to the company’s growth blueprint.

In addition, the Delta facility will be a plant-based go-to-market hub for innovation, production and distribution.

“We’ve invested considerable capital and effort to convert the facility to a fully plant-based innovation centre with designs, upgrades, equipment and processes best suited for plant-based beverage R&D and production,” says Plant Veda President Michael Yang.

Yang says Plant Veda is developing “strategic partnerships with technology vendors” that could also make the Innovation Centre a co-manufacturing facility in Canada.

Dairy is a $490 billion dollar market globally, and the alternative dairy sector is tipped to grow to over $52 billion by 2028 – a 156% leap from $22 billion today, according to Grand View Research.

Ultimately, the popularity of Plant Veda’s lassi catapulted the firm’s products into Whole Foods.

“We are growing our store presence and are in over 200 stores with more chains stocking Plant Veda products in Western Canada with UNFI, Pro Organics and Sysco as our distribution partners,” says Plant Veda Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer Mayur Sajnani.

“We will expand our presence and expect strong growth in revenue in 2022 as we list our PlantGurt probiotic yogurt line in stores,” Sajnani adds.

The PlantGurt product line was launched in November 2021 in three flavours: plain unsweetened, mango and blueberry.

One tub of PlantGurt yogurt contains billions of probiotics. The recent boom in probiotic products reflects an effort to re-introduce bacteria believed to promote good health. The global probiotics market size is expected to reach $95.25 billion by 2028, according to Grand View Research.

After establishing itself in Canada, it is coming time for Plant Veda to go full-circle and move into the US market. “As we expand geographically to the US from Canada, we are going to see explosive growth and are working on setting up a distribution centre with a third party in the US,” says Sajnani. 

This story was featured in the Canadian Securities Exchange magazine.

Learn more about Plant Veda Foods at https://www.plantveda.com/

CSE Issuer Stories

Revive Therapeutics: Developing Novel Treatments for TBI, Addiction, and COVID-19

Revive Therapeutics (CSE:RVV) is in the spotlight these days for good reason, thanks to a portfolio of prized intellectual property in the psychedelics field, as well as a COVID-19 drug candidate.

In March of last year, Revive acquired Psilocin Pharma for its psilocybin-based IP and treatments. Psilocin founder Derrick Welsh now spearheads Revive’s psychedelics division.

Revive further boosted its pipeline through an exclusive license with the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust to advance medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum compounds to help cancer patients.

On the COVID-19 front, Revive is evaluating rheumatoid arthritis drug Bucillamine as a potential treatment for inflammation caused by COVID-19. 

We recently caught up with Revive Chief Executive Officer Michael Frank to talk about the company’s strategy for building a valuable drug pipeline and patent portfolio.

Revive is working on solutions for quite a varied range of patient needs. Why is the company’s work a compelling story for investors?

Revive has a strong platform in two areas targeting rare disorders and infectious diseases. The FDA has approved a Phase 3 trial for Bucillamine aimed at COVID-19, which is a tremendous milestone for us. We’ve also got a strong portfolio around psychedelics, and we are working with a lot of US universities, so we have two best-of-breed platforms. We’re developing novel psilocybin and cannabidiol therapeutics and have a patent portfolio covering methods and compositions of drugs. 

The Psilocin Pharma acquisition has galvanized Revive’s move into psychedelics. What psilocybin treatments are you moving down the clinical path?

We acquired Psilocin from its founder over a year ago. We took our delivery systems in cannabis and transcended them to psychedelics. Psilocin Pharma has IP covering methods of production of psilocybin formulations, and we want to take it down the clinical path by developing products around breath strips, lozenges, and sprays.

We’re working with US universities on preclinical/clinical studies that aim to channel psilocybin in various formulations and delivery methods to treat mental health, substance use disorders, methamphetamine addiction, and neurological disorders. We’re partnering with the University of Wisconsin to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical study to evaluate psilocybin in adults with methamphetamine use disorder and traumatic brain injury (TBI)/stroke.

We’re also working with the University of Health Sciences Antigua on our tannin chitosan drug delivery technology to deliver psychedelics in an oral thin film patch in human clinical studies to support regulatory approvals globally. We’ve developed a hydrogel that’s going to be used for dosing patients in Antigua. Revive will be one of the companies to have a psilocybin product that’s going to be taken by patients – in the next four to five months – to treat mental health and substance use disorders.

The University of Wisconsin has done the early stages of our formulation work and now have to move it along the clinical path with partners like LTS. The university has done a lot of work on opioid addiction and other areas, but these are Phase 1/2 clinical trials aimed at methamphetamine addiction and TBI/stroke. Enrollment will continue throughout Q1 2022, and we will have access to IP from the two studies. There’s early data that shows psilocybin could be effective for dealing with addiction as a whole.

What is driving Revive to look at psilocybin as a solution to managing TBI and stroke? 

We have data from our initial trial at the University of Health Sciences National Health Research Institutes. In the mouse model study, we saw favourable results in one group of mice, and the study signalled the neuro-reparative effect of psilocybin. 

The mice were assigned to four groups, which included the control group and the mice with TBI who were given psilocybin. Cognitive function was examined by the Morris water maze test. It found psilocybin, given after injury, improved cognitive function in TBI mice.  

Since the mice with concussions, who had high-dose psilocybin, did really well, we’re using the data to push forward with brain injury studies and an FDA clinical study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with patient enrollment. It’s early stage, but we’re working with incredible universities to build the science. This is important work because millions of children with hockey, football, and other sports concussions end up with brain fog and a multitude of other symptoms. 

How are your psilocybin oral thin film strip development and psilocybin biosynthesis programs progressing?

The programs are progressing nicely. Our work with LTS Lohmann on oral thin film formulation is a unique opportunity – they are a one-stop shop for us. They are going to take the product, put it through testing, and by the end of it, we’re going to have data to support our claim for a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) and IND.  

With the North Carolina State University collaboration, Revive is developing a biosynthetic version of psilocybin based on a natural biosynthesis enzymatic platform. It’s been developed by Dr. Gavin Williams at NC State for producing psilocybin efficiently using an engineered enzymatic pathway in E. coli.

Turning E. coli bacteria into a microbial factory for producing chemotherapy drugs has been successful. Vitamins also use E. coli or a yeast model. We’re looking to produce artificial biosynthetic psilocybin using the same E. coli pathway, but it won’t be exactly the same. We’re waiting on the Drug Enforcement Administration to permit us to go to the next step. 

Psilocybin is expensive; there’s limited supply, so companies will need synthetic options. At the end of our synthesis process, we are hoping to be able to provide the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for our own products. We’ll have a powertrain that can not only supply our own API, but build a great synthesis platform that will lend itself to mental health and addiction.

Let’s conclude with your work regarding Bucillamine as a treatment for lung inflammation in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Our double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial for Bucillamine for COVID-19 is based on 1,000 patients and up to 50 sites in the US. We are adding viral load testing to support work done by the University of California, San Francisco for a minimum of 300 patients in this 1,000 person study. 

Bucillamine has a well-known safety profile – it’s been prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan and South Korea for 30 years. We’ve also successfully finished a Phase 2a FDA clinical trial of Bucillamine for gout back in 2015.

In late summer 2020, when we applied for a Phase 2 trial for COVID-19, we were fast-tracked by the FDA and asked to prepare an IND for a Phase 3 confirmatory trial for COVID-19 because of our gout study and the history and safety of Bucillamine.

Learn more about Revive Therapeutics at https://revivethera.com/

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Verano Holdings: A 14-state footprint and coveted brands set this Chicago-based cannabis company apart

Verano Holdings (CSE:VRNO) Chief Executive Officer George Archos has connected the dots of opportunity to create one of the biggest cannabis companies in the US. Based in Chicago, the vertically integrated, multi-state operator was valued at around $3 billion when it went public in February of this year. 

The 42-year-old serial entrepreneur, who also co-founded the Wildberry Pancakes & Café chain, was inspired to start Verano after seeing the potential of medical cannabis.

“I looked at the medical marijuana opportunity that came up in my home state of Illinois and saw it was a strong challenge. I also saw that it offered the benefit of helping people. I had an uncle that had multiple sclerosis and I think that he could have benefited from it when he was suffering,” says Archos.

“We applied for a license in 2014 and were selling product a year later. We started off small with less than 10 employees and we scaled over the years as the markets grew.”

From its roots in Chicago, Verano has evolved into a broad-based powerhouse with a 14-state footprint. It has cultivation, production and dispensary licenses across several states, lending it multiple revenue streams.

Verano has 28 retail locations under the Zen Leaf banner and 50 additional operating dispensaries, with plans to open around 10 more this year. It also has 340 active dispensary wholesale partnerships.

Verano was doing well before the pandemic and its strong growth shows no sign of slowing down. For the first quarter ended March 31, Verano revenue soared 117% to US$143.3 million compared to the first quarter a year earlier.

“Verano has massive upside over the next few years and for the long term as a cannabis green wave continues to sweep across the country,” says Archos. 

“We are seeing more daily-use consumers, besides more and more medical patients coming online every single day. Sales have been strong this year and we anticipate good sales in the back half of the year as well.”

The Verano boss chalks up being able to execute well on mergers and acquisitions to going public earlier this year. 

“Going public has given us access to capital, which has allowed us to transact on the M&A front. We have built on some very strong acquisitions to the Verano platform, which has given us access to markets like Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania,” says Archos. 

“It’s really helped us deepen our footprint and bring some high-quality operators to the Verano family.”

In February, Verano closed a key merger with Florida-based Alternative Medical Enterprises that gave it access to 34 active retail locations in Florida, with more planned by the end of 2021, and one retail location in Phoenix. It also boosted the company’s cultivation facilities to 220,000 square feet in Florida and 30,000 square feet in Arizona, with expansion of an additional 60,000 square feet currently underway.

The company has also engaged in significant M&A activity in Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, increasing assets such as dispensary locations and grower/processor sites.

Verano has completed the acquisitions of Territory Dispensary, Emerald Dispensary and The Local Joint, giving the company the third-largest retail footprint in Arizona, with six active storefronts and two cultivation facilities. 

Verano has also expanded its dispensary footprint through M&A with TerraVida in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and acquired three dispensaries in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area through the Healing Center.  

“M&A has been a part of our story and we will continue down that path when we find assets and people that make sense for Verano. We like to transact so we do see more M&A in our future,” says Archos. 

“We are well funded for expansion of M&A activities so we’re in a very good position.”

Verano had $111.6 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31, and recently completed a $100 million upsizing of its credit facility to $130 million, for total liquidity of roughly $241.6 million.

“Given both its strong cash position, and strong free cash generation, the company is well positioned to fund both organic (supported by in excess of $100 million in CAPEX in 2021) and acquisition driven growth,” said ATB Capital Markets. 

Significantly, Verano’s cash flow from operations for the first quarter was $42 million, and free cash flow totaled $4 million.

Through its 10 cultivation and production facilities, Verano produces a suite of artisanal cannabis products sold under its portfolio of brands: Avexia, Verano, Encore and MÜV. These are positioned as premium brands, so the company enjoys premium pricing and higher margins.

“When Verano started off, we positioned ourselves as a premium producer, that’s just how we built our facilities,” says Archos.

“That’s how we marketed our products, and it goes into the hand trimming and level of detail that we put into every jar, and every product that we put onto the shelves.” 

By blending cannabinoids (THC and CBD), the firm’s Avexia Medical Cannabis brand has a portfolio of balms and lotions for pain relief, an Epsom salt soak, and a line of micro-dose tablets. Separately, the Verano brand has handy “swift lift” pre-rolls, refined vapes, and concentrates, while Encore Edibles produces handcrafted chocolates, mints, gummies, hard candies and caramels.

Meanwhile, MÜV has received multiple patents for its award-winning products that provide high-quality, reliable medical cannabis for patients.  

“We consistently add cultivation as markets scale, so we are constantly under construction in almost every market, adding flower capacity and manufacturing capacity because every market is growing,” says Archos.

“Verano sometimes is as much of a construction company as we are a cannabis company.”

Verano has opened three Zen Leaf dispensaries in New Jersey, where the expansion of its 120,000 square feet cultivation facility is underway in anticipation of the onset of adult-use sales in the state.

“Being profitable and cash flow positive was important to us, so we have been very good stewards of our capital,” Archos concludes. “We have deployed funds where we thought we could get the quickest return on investment.”

This story was featured in the Canadian Securities Exchange magazine.

Learn more about Verano Holdings at https://verano.com/

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Bee Vectoring Technologies International: Delivering patented organic pesticides with some help from the hive

Swarms of mechanical drones are used in modern agriculture, but Bee Vectoring Technologies International (CSE:BEE) is wonderfully old school. The Ontario-based agritech company has successfully drafted some of nature’s little helpers – an army of commercially reared bees – to deliver organic pesticides to crops.

The company’s natural precision agriculture system relies on bees carrying BVT’s patented biological fungicide – Vectorite with CR-7 – from commercial hives to crops. The breakthrough is getting a lot of attention, as it could help farmers reduce, or even eliminate, the need for chemical spraying.

The intellectual property and creativity driving BVT’s business has been in development for nearly two decades, but it’s since 2016 that the company has really ramped up testing and field trials. Currently, BVT has over 65 patents and 35 patents pending in agriculture-dominant countries around the world.

With its patent-rich endeavour, BVT is now eyeing the global US$240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market with its targeted pest and disease management solutions. 

But how does it all work? 

Its genius is its simplicity. Inside the hive, bumblebees or honeybees walk through a tiny tray, picking up Vectorite with CR-7 powder on their legs as they exit their hives to travel out into the fields. The Vectorite carries a refined form of Clonostachys rosea (CR-7), a fungus that feeds on other types of fungi that damage crops. The powder naturally drops on plants’ blooms as the bees fly around the field pollinating the crop. 

The BVT trays are changed during the bloom period and accurately dispense portions of Vectorite with CR-7 that are just the right size for a bee to carry. The company says “multiple biocontrols” can be added to each tray at the same time in a process called stacking. 

“BVT is commercializing a system to harness the natural pollination process of bees to deliver safe, biological plant-treatment products to crops to help them fight pests and diseases, producing higher yields for farmers while reducing the use of synthetic chemical pesticides,” says Bee Vectoring Technologies Chief Executive Officer Ashish Malik.  

“We have demonstrated that yield increases of as much as 30%, and reductions in chemical fungicides of up to 98%, are possible with our unique and patented natural precision agriculture technology.”

When absorbed, BVT’s Vectorite with CR-7 enables a plant to block disease such as botrytis (grey mould) in strawberries, which is the most widespread strawberry disease in California. According to some estimates, BVT’s solution saves strawberry farmers over $4,000 per acre.

Bees still contribute to one-third of the food we consume by pollinating crops. “There are about 3 million beehive colonies that are used in commercial agriculture today, quite a staggering number when you further consider that each beehive can contain 20,000 bees,” says Malik, an engineer with an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

In August 2019, BVT became the only company to have US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval for a bee-delivered fungicide. The company also received a “residue tolerance exemption” from the EPA, which confirms that products with CR-7 are safe for human consumption. Unlike many chemical pesticides, there is no requirement to test crops for residual CR-7.

“This underscores the safety of CR-7 for human consumption. It also gives growers an economic advantage since they don’t run the risk of their crop being rejected,” says Malik.

The Canadian company has an ambitious US blueprint, so it’s not surprising that Malik resides in Davis, California, near the US agricultural research nerve centre of Sacramento.

“Davis is home to the University of California, Davis, which is one of the leading universities in agricultural sciences worldwide, and the greater Sacramento area is one of the larger innovation hubs for agritech companies,” says Malik. “It is a great location from which to build out our US footprint. We have opportunities across the US – from the Southeast, to the Pacific Northwest, California, Michigan, New Jersey, New England and the Midwest.”

BVT sees its biotech as a solution for berry, almond, stone fruit, tomato and pepper growers. In fact, in its first growing season selling commercially in the US, it has garnered customers from growing regions that cover over 80% of US blueberry acreage. 

“Currently, we are focusing on the berry crops. Blueberry growers in the Southeast represented about 75% of our invoiced sales in 2020,” says Malik. The BVT boss says that as he looks to the 2021 season, he sees continued growth in the Southeast and new revenue in Michigan and the Pacific Northwest from berry growers. 

“From this base we will expand onto additional crops such as tree fruits and nuts (stone fruit, almonds), and indoor vegetables (tomatoes, peppers) in the medium to longer term,” says Malik. 

California requires its own approval beyond the EPA process and represents the largest market opportunity for BVT, with 1.4 million acres of almond farms pollinated by bees. “We are in the final stages of the regulatory approval process in California and Switzerland. In addition, we have started the process for Mexico,” says Malik.

BVT is opening new revenue streams by way of third-party product in-licensing, having successfully rounded out Phase 2 evaluations and a proof-of-concept field trial with two biological insecticides in North America. Field trials in Europe with a third biological insecticide, in addition to a biological fungicide, are in progress and expected to be completed by late fall.

“Extending BVT’s product line through in-licensing of third-party biological products is one of the key innovation projects for BVT. It enables us to open new revenue streams by increasing our addressable market,” says Malik. “These products have the potential to not only deliver additional revenue but also extend BVT’s reach geographically and into new crops.”

BVT hopes to eliminate an unhealthy reliance on synthetic pesticides, and that would be great for the environment. “Having a safe, environment-friendly and affordable food supply system is something we should all care about,” says Malik. 

Malik began caring a lot about how food is grown when he was starting a family. “I became passionate about this after my wife and I started our family. I thought about my children’s well-being and joined the agriculture industry back in 2003,” says Malik.

“Bee vectoring is an all-natural approach that advances sustainable agriculture. BVT’s unique natural precision agriculture technology is a viable alternative to the inefficient practice of spraying crops globally.”

This story was featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
at http://www.beevt.com/

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Rockcliff Metals: CEO Alistair Ross is bullish on copper as everything goes electric

Rockcliff Metals (CSE:RCLF) is a Canadian near-term copper producer and active explorer in the Snow Lake greenstone belt of Manitoba.

The company has one of the largest land parcels in the Snow Lake mining belt, a region home to copper, zinc, gold, and silver deposits – the portfolio spans more than 4,500 square kilometres. Also key to the plan is the Bucko Mill, a facility that Rockliff will convert to process copper (it was originally built to handle nickel).

Rockcliff’s growth outlook is simple to grasp, with near-term annual copper production projected at 20,000 tonnes and rising gradually to over 50,000 tonnes.

Chief Executive Officer Alistair Ross spoke with Public Entrepreneur about the realities of taking a mine into production in the current environment, and what shareholders can expect from his team in 2020.

You are a seasoned mining veteran who has lived in many different parts of the world, including England and Africa. What drew you to Rockcliff’s project in Manitoba?

The opportunity to build a mining company from scratch was something I had been contemplating for a while. When the Rockcliff opportunity presented itself, I was asked to take the company from an explorer to a producer, from essentially a one-person company directing exploration activities to a company that would find its way into the mid-tier ranks of copper producers.

I jumped out of my second retirement when I saw the resource base it already had. The fact that some of the heavy lifting had already been done with Greenstone Resources providing the capital to get us through the study phase, and Norvista providing the cornerstone asset of the Bucko Mill lease as well as an important mineral resource in the Tower project, is really important.

Rockcliff’s portfolio of properties is extensive.  Walk us through the highlights.

The bulk of the properties are similar in a couple of ways. One, the deposits are at or near surface, and that would allow for rapid access via ramp and portal rather than shaft. Secondly, they are typically narrow veins and steeply dipping in nature. This has allowed us to focus on designing a mining method that could fit multiple ore bodies and allow the transfer of capital equipment from one mine to the next.

Tell us how you transform a junior explorer into a high-grade copper-zinc producer.

Our strategy is to focus on our copper-rich deposits initially due to our belief that, of all metals needed for the next phase of greening our planet, copper is virtually a core part of almost all solutions currently being contemplated and pursued.

Battery-powered electric vehicles, renewable power generation, storage of energy – all of these require copper in differing amounts. BHP put out a forecast in May 2019 suggesting that at the mid-point of forecast EV penetration, approximately 1 million tonnes per annum of extra copper would be required.

How we are aiming to position ourselves to deliver some of that extra production is by selecting three of our more promising projects (Rail, Tower, and Talbot) for drilling with an eye to preliminary economic analyses. We would then select the best looking project to advance to a bankable feasibility study (BFS) that would include defining the work required to recommission the Bucko Mill.

We would concurrently permit the mining property and the mill to become a copper producer and have a financing plan in place so that – upon board approval of a construction decision at the end of 2020 – we could begin to mobilize in early 2021. That would all be with a view to producing our first concentrate for sale in early to mid 2022.

Outline your work program for 2020 and tell us if you expect it to be a busy summer.

The whole year will be busy. We intend on having updated resource statements for Tower, Rail, and Talbot by the end of February, and our preliminary economic analyses of those three properties should be ready by early May.

From there, we would go into a bankable feasibility study on the chosen property for completion by year-end. In parallel, our permitting for the mine property and the mill will be proceeding, and our financing plan will be completed based on the preliminary economics.

While we are waiting for the BFS project selection, we are drilling our secondary properties at Copperman, Free Beth and Tramping. As soon as we have made our decision for the BFS property, we will then launch an intensive drill program to further upgrade our knowledge and allow for BFS-level work on the resource, mining, and metallurgical factors.

Can you shed some light on Rockcliff’s status regarding production permits, environmental permits, and road access to the Snow Lake properties?

We have taken all the samples and completed our studies on the Tower and Talbot properties. At Rail, we are just short of our spring study samples to be in a similar position.

We have completed our studies on the implications of placing copper tailings in the tailing area at Bucko and found no impact. We are therefore ready to file for a Notice of Alteration for the mill once we have completed our mining studies to understand what throughput may be required to match the mine output.

Roads are only contemplated for the Talbot and Rail properties, and studies are underway to assess both environmental permit applications and engineering design implications.

How much cash do you have on hand and how far does it get you?

We currently have sufficient funding to complete our required exploration program with approximately $12 million in our flow-through account, and we are on track to complete our studies for a board construction decision in December. We have about $5 million in our hard dollar account to support us until then. We would require a raise to begin construction in 2021.

What are the prospects for subsidiary Goldpath Resources, which has five highly prospective lode-gold properties within the Snow Lake area?

We are pleased that Kinross Gold has agreed to continue its earn-in option at Laguna and Lucky Jack, and we look forward to seeing their continued success. The rest of the properties are of secondary interest at the moment and we will be undertaking a strategic review of their role in our company during 2020.

Given your advanced work, has the company signed any preliminary offtake agreements?

We have not signed any offtake agreements but we have been approached with expressions of interest to talk as our studies develop. Our very early review of the ores suggests that our concentrate will be clean and of reasonable to high grade. So with current knowledge, I do not anticipate any issues placing these concentrates on the market at competitive rates.

This story was featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about Rockcliff Metals Corp. at https://rockcliffmetals.com/.

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

HeyBryan Media: Home maintenance should be easy, safe and a few app-clicks away

HeyBryan Media (CSE:HEY) has its sights set on becoming to the home maintenance industry what Uber Technologies is to the transportation industry – a genuine disrupter.

In 2018, technologist and entrepreneur Lance Montgomery created the HeyBryan app, which seamlessly pairs homeowners and tradespeople. In short, the handyman app gives harried homeowners instant access to reliable experts in their zip code who can handle everything from electrical repairs to plumbing, and more.

Every expert undergoes a background check to ensure a safe experience. Montgomery, who has a strong track record of taking companies public, has done a good job of propelling HeyBryan’s user base, with the company recently announcing average monthly customer growth of some 115% since the beginning of 2019. Having contractor and TV personality Bryan Baeumler playing a key role in the business has certainly helped to drive that growth.

Public Entrepreneur caught up with Montgomery recently to talk about how he is creating a carpe diem moment for the company by tapping Canada’s $50 billion home maintenance market, while eyeing the even larger US market.

Can you share the story about how HeyBryan Media started?

HeyBryan started from a personal experience, as do most successful startups. One day, I came home and the dishwasher was broken. I did what everyone does and googled “dishwasher repair Vancouver” and got served with paid ads. Frustrated, I tried Craigslist and wasn’t comfortable with what I found. I didn’t feel confident about who would come, and what I would be charged. Are they vetted? Will they even show up? These are things homeowners deal with every day; it’s the small tasks that we all need done and it’s hard to find help.

So, I decided to research the space and really didn’t find anything that worked in Canada. That’s how HeyBryan Media was born.

Tell us about your marketplace app and what it does.

HeyBryan connects homeowners to home maintenance experts in your area, on your schedule. All experts are vetted and verified. It’s really an end-to-end solution that brings the connection together. Everything happens in-app – scheduling, payment, chat, ratings, reviews and rescheduling.

On the expert side, we provide the opportunity to work when you want and where you want. They set their own rates and get paid fast through the app, with money deposited in their account. We bring the business to them and allow both sides of the marketplace to rate and review each other. This gives us great data on the quality of the work and where experts rank in our system.

How long did it take the company to develop the app and line up reliable experts?

The app started slowly with just our CTO and me working on it in our spare time. But as we raised money, we were able to get additional support to speed up the process. To go live in Vancouver, we did a 30-day recruitment, so all in all it was 12 months from idea to first city launch.

Typically, does the tradesperson vetting process take a lot of time?

We partnered with Certn, an AI-based company that does ID/criminal and background checks in real time. We then have our customer success team onboard them, so it’s fairly quick. We currently have around 600 experts on the platform.

What are your key markets and how do you expect them to shape up?

We are currently live in Vancouver and Toronto with plans to expand across Canada in 2020. Our marketing efforts are showing growth in both markets and the focus is now on repeat customers, referrals and new customer acquisition, but the growth is solid. Future plans call for entering the United States.

What are the hallmarks of an innovative company and does HeyBryan fit the bill?

I think innovation is solving or disrupting an industry. This small task space has been painted with a negative brush and our goal is to change this perception. We are adding technology to a very outdated industry and bringing value to both the homeowner and the experts — this is highly innovative.

How important is it to have a company like HeyBryan with an aging Canadian population?

Peoples’ homes are their biggest asset and research shows that people are staying in their homes longer and home maintenance is a massive market. As the population ages, it’s important to have a trusted solution for this demographic so they can get help around the house with no worry.

Is the HeyBryan app the number 1 app for averting DIY (do it yourself) mishaps?

Yes, with a trusted brand like Bryan Baeumler, we feel we are number 1. There’s always competition, but we share the same values as Bryan and want to be the go-to home maintenance solution. We focus on the small tasks, so we are not looking to get into large renos, but if you maintain your home properly, you can avert larger disasters. Take a car – if you maintain it, the car will last longer, and you can avoid the engine blowing up.

Talk to us about the business model for the company.

Everything is done in-house, and we have a full team looking after technology, creative, design, development, data, marketing, sales and customer service. Everything has been built in-house, which allows us to grow and scale as well as pivot when needed.

The revenue model is two-sided. We take 20% of every completed task from the expert and a 7.5% trust and support fee from the customer. The customer fee takes care of our hard costs such as insurance/payment processing fees. All in, our margin is 27.5%.

HeyBryan is already disrupting the home maintenance industry, but do you have plans for new products?

Yes, we are exploring many avenues both in strategic partnerships and complementary new revenue streams. The opportunities in the gig economy are endless and we’re excited about the future of the overall company.

You were successful in getting Bryan Baeumler to sign on as the name brand and face of your company. How does the celebrity endorsement help keep marketing costs in check?

Securing a celebrity endorsement was a massive win. Trying to build brand awareness and consumer confidence is expensive and time-consuming. Bryan brought that reputation, as well as awareness and trust. We can leverage Bryan’s following and his massive reach allows us to spend money in other areas to evolve and grow the business.

You have the entrepreneurial DNA to take your idea and build it into a business. What is one of the important lessons that you’ve learnt?

Be patient and don’t try to rush to market with a sub-par product. Do your research, plan and always expect delays. The other major thing I learnt was how critical it is to have the right people in the right roles. Surround yourself with the right people in the right roles and allow them to shine. We have built an amazing team and I couldn’t be prouder.

This story was featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about HeyBryan Media at https://heybryan.com/.

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

TruTrace Technologies protects intellectual property to send counterfeiters packing

Product validation is more important to the cannabis industry than you might think 

Instagram is a hotbed for selling knockoff fashion and cannabis, from fake Chanel bags to phony Gucci slides to counterfeit vapes, cannabis oils and edibles.

Loudpack Farms spent US$2.5 million on new packaging and hardware just to distinguish its award-winning Kingpen cannabis vapes from fakes. After Kingpen won 13 prizes, the company said knockoffs began proliferating at unlicensed dispensaries across California.

In a particularly brazen move, a counterfeiter went to cannabis cultivator THC Designs’ website, downloaded data that showed how its marijuana had fared on state certification tests, then stuck the lab results on the side of fake products to assert authenticity.

Fortunately for the legitimate cannabis industry, help is finally at hand. TruTrace Technologies (CSE:TTT) has developed the first blockchain-secured platform to track intellectual property for cannabis. The company provides DNA-based cannabis product validation and helps with intellectual property protection and product guarantees for patients and customers.

“It’s a combination of science, enterprise software, and blockchain technology,” says TruTrace Chief Executive Officer Robert Galarza. “By focusing on granular genetic, chemical and contaminant data, as well as motion and movement information and then merging that into a blockchain we are able to provide real-time data on each product being purchased.”

Galarza comes across as a veritable Renaissance man compared to most pinstriped CEOs. His background spans roles as a corporate attorney, movie producer, advertising executive, and entertainment lawyer. He’s even managed professional fighters and co-founded the enterprise technology company Spark Digital Technologies.

Channeling the power of blockchain
With TruTrace, Galarza now channels the power of blockchain to enhance trust and fix the grim realities of corrupted supply chains in the medical cannabis industry.

In a nutshell, TruTrace combines the power of big data with the security of blockchain to provide strain identification, registration and verification for cannabis at scale.

The firm’s immutable, cryptographically secure technology is the brainchild of Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Tommy Stephenson, who developed enterprise software platforms over two decades for companies such as Microsoft and Mercedes Benz.

Galarza says his favourite part of the job is traveling to Seattle to visit the development centre, which has “a Disney feel” to it. The engineers exude an “if we can dream it, we can build it” philosophy, he says.

The dream team in Seattle
“Tommy’s passion and genius percolates into the team. At our core, we are data nerds who love cannabis and understand the issues around moving this product around the world. When blockchain came on our radar, we knew it could be a powerful tool in data management,” says Galarza.

“Combining this with the immutable recording nature of blockchain also made it attractive as a protection method for intellectual property and creating a permanent lineage for cannabis strains.”

The Seattle team’s goal has been to build a framework to help licensed cannabis producers and micro-cultivators easily and inexpensively move their products through the mandatory testing process. TruTrace places that test data on the blockchain for its own protection and that of the company’s intellectual property.

In this way, TruTrace’s StrainSecure cannabis tracking platform establishes an accurate, single-source, validated, and permanent account for cannabis strains from seed source to market. A cannabis strain’s genetics are stored into an immutable ledger and information is added during each processing stage.

TruTrace’s seed-to-sale tracking technology
In short, TruTrace’s seed-to-sale tracking tackles two pain points in the cannabis industry: it modernizes the inventory tracking system and provides customers with details about a product’s lab test results and cultivar.

It’s been a busy year for TruTrace, which listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange in June. The company expects momentum to continue into the second half of 2019 driven by its medical cannabis pilot program with national Canadian pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart.

“Our biggest inflection point has been the relationship with Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws. I’m not sure everyone fully grasps how much it means to have a company of their size, history, and reputation in the medical cannabis industry,” says Galarza.

Pilot program with Shoppers Drug Market
“Working alongside Shoppers changes the conversation about what our technology could mean for the industry because we are focusing on building a bridge between medical cannabis and the traditional medical industry – that’s a bigger divide than people like to admit. If we can help make cannabis a customary part of medical treatment, it could impact the trajectory of the industry in a positive way.”

In June, TruTrace announced a milestone deal with Shoppers Drug Mart for a pilot program to use its StrainSecure technology as a central hub for identity management, asset tracking, validation, and product authentication.

Licensed producers are also using TruTrace, in part to assure stakeholders that the medical cannabis industry is serious about offering a verified, standardized cannabis treatment option.

Harvest One Cannabis joined TruTrace’s master genome strain and clone registration program in February to verify its United Greeneries cannabis strains, becoming one of StrainSecure’s early adopters. The company said it turned to the platform so patients could enjoy an increased level of confidence in the consumption of its Satipharm branded cannabis sold through Shoppers.

Similarly, well-known medical cannabis producer WeedMD is a big believer. The Ontario-based company saw 40 of its cannabis strains undergo validation as part of the first phase of its pilot program with TruTrace.

Working with about 10 major producers
“We are working with about 10 major producers, with several others getting finalized at the moment. Although our focus has been in Canada throughout year one, we’re seeing some exciting momentum in South America and the US as well,” says Galarza.

In another recent move, TruTrace applied StrainSecure technology to cannabis water company NXT Water by fixing QR codes on its just-launched AKESO hemp-derived fitness water. A customer can now scan the QR code to learn instantly about the fitness water’s test results.

“This relationship was born out of a blind test they performed on several leading CBD water products in the US market. They found most of the products fell well below the advertised amount of CBD, with some having none at all,” says Galarza.

“Alternatively, the AKESO product was consistently testing out at around 12 milligrams of broad-spectrum CBD per bottle and NXT wanted to find a way to communicate this to their customers. They turned to TruTrace and started using the StrainSecure platform.”

Strong technology adoption
TruTrace has spent a lot of time, effort, and money perfecting its software. Now that the technology comprehensively solves a very real problem, long-time supporters are experiencing the moment they knew eventually had to come.

“The hallmark for an innovative technology company is adoption at various levels of industry. A great idea without customers unfortunately will remain nothing more than an idea that never panned out,” points out Galarza.

“We believe TruTrace has achieved this in its young history. From Shoppers Drug Mart and Deloitte, to WeedMD and NXT Water, we’ve found great adoption at many levels. We believe that sets us up for long-term success.”

As adoption grows with each new user, TruTrace further stakes its claim as a technology game-changer for the cannabis industry.

This story was originally published at www.proactiveinvestors.com on September 13, 2019 and featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about TruTrace Technologies at https://trutrace.co/.

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Go Cobalt: Battery metals the target with promising projects in the Yukon and Quebec

It was serendipity that led Go Cobalt Mining Corp CEO Scott Sheldon to the exploration company’s flagship Monster property in Yukon, Canada’s Wild West which is seeing a modern-day minerals-rush. The Monster property is located 80 km north of Dawson City, in Yukon.

“In 2011, I ran into a friend from university who had been living in the Yukon since graduating,” said Go Cobalt CEO Scott Sheldon. “My dad and I had recently discussed a collaboration and took this opportunity to move into a gold play together leveraging some great Yukon contacts.”

As the material needs of the world’s seven billion people continue to grow, there has been a rush to exploit the Yukon’s exceptionally rich resources — gold, zinc, cobalt, and more.

As a junior mineral exploration company, Go Cobalt is focused on copper, gold and cobalt projects in Canada. Yukon’s industry-friendly regulations attracted the battery metals company which has been in the resource rich region since 2011.

Go Cobalt is on the right track as the fundamentals supporting the cobalt sector such as the electric vehicle and energy storage booms continue to grow stronger.

Sheldon has mining in his veins. His father Don Sheldon raised capital for junior resource companies for nearly three decades.

“I started working in the industry when I was 16 years old up in the Golden Triangle of northern British Columbia,” said Sheldon. “I continued to do this every summer through university to help pay for my degree” added Sheldon, who graduated from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

The Monster advantage

Interest in Yukon began in the 19th century when gold prospectors pushed northwards and plied creeks with picks, pans and shovels. Today, the Yukon in the northwestern wilderness of Canada is considered one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.

Co Cobalt’s Monster property in the Yukon is a copper, cobalt, gold prospect covering 63 square kilometers of the Ogilvie Mountains in the Dawson Mining District. The company believes its Monster project represents a large, prospective opportunity because it lies on the Wernecke Breccia, a region of the Yukon known to host iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) style minerology.

“Our VP of exploration even wrote his thesis on comparing the Wernecke region of the Yukon to similar hydrothermal deposits in Australia. Some of the biggest copper mines in the world carry an IOCG signature,” said Sheldon. “Olympic Dam and Candelaria are two examples.”

The tremendous size, relatively simple metallurgy and relatively high grade of IOCG deposits can produce extremely profitable mines. The Monster has zones of elevated copper and cobalt concentrations across the entire 19 km length of the property. The Monster’s IOCG mineralization is hosted within and directly adjacent to the Wernecke Breccia.

“Major iron ore copper gold deposit trends have recently been recognized for hosting cobalt and offer high-tonnage potential,” said Sheldon.

Go Cobalt now covers 6,000 hectares of the Wernecke Breccia in the northern Wernecke Breccia belt and has high grade copper (over 3%) and cobalt (over 9%) on the property.

“There is also anomalous gold and silver. Traditionally IOCG deposits will be polymetallic and offer a range of minerals,” explained Sheldon.

Drilling in 2020

Go Cobalt has started work on the Monster using satellite imagery and roped in geoscientist Rodrigo Diaz, an expert in IOCGs and remote spectral geology, for optimizing the mineral exploration process.

The CEO said Go Cobalt had over $300,000 budgeted to spend on the property this year “to get it drill ready for 2020.”

“We are also redoing some of the historic gravity surveys using updated elevation models,” said Sheldon. “We expect to extensively expand the gravity survey this summer. In addition, we are planning a site wide electromagnetic survey and continued mapping to follow up on historic zones of interest.”

Go Cobalt doesn’t require additional environment permits at this point in its exploration program.

“We have had discussions with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation about our work on their traditional territory and will continue to keep them notified as we move forward,” said Sheldon. “The old road to the property is currently in disrepair and would need a special permit.”

The company will use one of the two air strips within 10 km of the property to stage its 2019 program. Go Cobalt says it has adequate funds for the mining season.

“We have about $1 million in the bank. Half of that is flow through funds to be spent this season. We also have about $1.8 million from outstanding warrants that are all ‘in the money’, said Sheldon.

Barachois Vanadium project

Some miners have really concentrated positions because they are focused on the short term. However, Go Cobalt is aware a complete absence of diversification can be painful for performance. Therefore, it also has a Barachois project, a sediment hosted vanadium-selenium-silver-lead-zinc prospect in the Gaspe area of Quebec.

The project covers 1,801 hectares where carboniferous aged sediments have been shown to host sedimentary vanadium-zinc-lead mineralization.

The latest, greatest utility-scale battery storage technology to emerge on the commercial market is the vanadium redox battery, also known as the vanadium flow battery. V-flow batteries are nonflammable, compact, reusable over semi-infinite cycles, discharge 100% of the stored energy and do not degrade for more than 20 years. These batteries use the multiple valence states of just vanadium to store and release charges.

“Barrachois helps us add another excellent battery metal in a good mining province. We are excited to further that project this summer,’ said Sheldon. “It is the polar opposite to the Monster. It has road access and is relatively flat topography.”

Investment case

Go Cobalt is leveraging the global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy by banking on a basket of battery metal projects. Global demand for cobalt, nickel and silvery-grey, malleable vanadium has skyrocketed in recent months with high demand from electric car and laptop makers.

“We are giving our investors exposure to a variety of battery metal projects,” said Sheldon. “Our flagship in the Yukon is a polymetallic style prospect. It has high grade surface mineralization for both copper and cobalt.  Also, we have a Vanadium project in Quebec, and we are actively searching for a Nickel project in Quebec as well.”

This story was originally published at www.proactiveinvestors.com on February 15, 2019 and featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about Go Cobalt Mining Corp. at http://www.gocobalt.ca/.