NBA stars John Wall and Carmelo Anthony are the latest investors in cannabis.
Leune, a California-born lifestyle brand “forged on the principle of transcending the narrative of cannabis culture, honoring the consumer” according to their Google description, has added more ballers to their portfolio as cannabis captivates more entrepreneurs.
Cannabis Ballers
Wall and Anthony joined NBA agent Rich Paul, entertainer La La Anthony, and music manager Anthony Saleh in a new funding round aimed at assisting Leune in raising $5 million, CNBC reported on Thursday.
Image from Carmelo Anthony official on Instagram
Just one day after actor Jaleel White, known for his role as Steve Urkel on “Family Matters,” announced plans to launch his own cannabis brand, Purple Urkle. Making us all wonder if there was cannabis in the potion Urkle used to transform into “Stefan Urquelle” his smooth and suave alter-ego.
Image from Jaleel White official on Instagram
Image from Jaleel White official on Instagram
Marketing and product expansion is what Leune reports the funds will be used for as the company seeks to expand its customer base. They, like many other brands, eagerly wait in anticipation of adult-use cannabis opening up in additional states to the sixteen states plus Washington, D.C. that have already done so.
Image from Carmelo Anthony official on Instagram
Image from John Wall official on Instagram
2020 Brings in the Billionaires
According to the Motley Fool, last year professional money managers really made an investment in GrowGeneration (NASDAQ:GRWG) in the second quarter.
Including some highly notable billionaire shareholders like BlackRock (over 1.95 million shares), and Jim Simons, who invested $53 million of his personal wealth in Microsoft (353,400 shares).
The Fool continues to point out that many investors increased their 13F holdings by 218% sequentially from the first to the second quarter. And that because their sales are astounding. The growth of this hydroponic giant over the last year and a half is more than impressive.
GrowGen has had year-over-over-year sales growth of 199%, 172%, 159%, and 180%. The very definition of getting a business noticed on Wall Street.
More than half of the company’s revenue was generated by selling hydroponic systems, but only one-third of it by selling nutrients or lighting products together.
GrowGen operates 28 retail locations across 10 states but has plans to more than double that number by the end of 2021.
