Cannabis Last Week

Cannaconvo with Matt Hawkins, Founder and Managing Partner at Entourage Effect Capital

Entourage Effect Capital is a venture capital firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry.

Published

2 years ago

December 14, 2022

Global Cannabis Times Staff

Jon sits down for a cannaconvo with Matt Hawkins, Founder & Managing Partner at Entourage Effect Capital. Their conversation touches upon raising capital, the SAFE Banking Act, and state regulations.

About Matt Hawkins:
Matt Hawkins is the founder and managing principal of Entourage Effect Capital (EEC), formerly known as Cresco Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry. Since 2014, the firm has made close to 70 investments out of three funds, co-investment vehicles and special purpose entities. Matt is known and respected in the cannabis industry as having the vision to become one of the first investors in the industry. He brings long standing relationships in the industry that compare to very few others in cannabis.

He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of StateHouse and a board member of Sunderstorm. He has helped orchestrate numerous exits for the firm’s investments. He has spoken on countless industry panels and has appeared on CNBC, Fox News, Cheddar, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg among others discussing the industry. As a result, he is widely considered to be a thought leader in the legalized cannabis industry.

Prior to the founding of EEC, he was a partner and President of a private real estate investment company which acquired REO and NPL from banks and financial institutions across the country, with particular interest in multifamily residential and self-storage assets. The company completed more than 55 bank-direct acquisitions, deploying over $500MM of capital since Q4 2008. In 2013 alone, the company bought close to 10,000 Class B and Class C value-add multifamily units across the Sunbelt of the United States. At the end of 2013, Matt and his partners sold their interest.

Prior to this, Matt was a Principal/ Co-founder of San Jacinto Partners, a fund focused on the bulk acquisition of single family residential assets and the Managing General Partner of Adjacent Capital, L.P., a private equity/specialty lending fund. He was earlier affiliated with Treadstone Partners, L.L.C., a distressed debt and equity fund. He has an extensive background in both turnaround management and private equity. Prior to joining Treadstone and forming Adjacent Capital and San Jacinto Partners, was associated with Hull & Associates, a regional turnaround management firm. Matt is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin.

DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own, and not those of my law firm Zuber Lawler. Even though I drop knowledge bombs, the show is NOT legal advice.

Send comments to: jp@globalcannabistimes.com

Going Global - Pioneering Cannabis Hospitality: A Conversation with Arend Richard

In this enlightening interview, Arend Richard, a seasoned entrepreneur from the cannabis industry, shares his journey from starting a YouTube channel to educate on cannabis use, to co-founding WeedTube, and developing a unique cannabis hospitality business. Born and raised in Colorado, Aaron discusses the evolution of his business ventures and his current project—creating a welcoming, educational environment for both seasoned and first-time cannabis users. He delves into the challenges of establishing a cannabis-friendly social space, including regulatory hurdles and community engagement, and highlights his vision for a new kind of social interaction centered around cannabis.