Editor’s note: This story was previously published on EstroHaze, a multimedia company highlighting the business and lifestyles of multicultural women in the cannabis industry.
Calling all ganjapreneurs! A new minority-focused investment firm has entered the cannabis space to aid you in your entrepreneurial success. C.E. Hutton was formed in June 2017 by Hutton himself, Khadijah Adams and Michael Souza. Adams, the catalyst of the new enterprise, is the vice president and chief operations officer of the investment firm.
Their core values of faith, integrity and trust guide their operation as they seek to build a safe, profitable space for those generally underserved within the cannabis space—and beyond. Adams spoke with EstroHaze in detail about the birth of this unique company and its worthwhile mission while providing sound investment tips for ganjapreneurial hopefuls.
Please explain how C.E. Hutton came into being.
I started out in this industry in March 2014 by investing in marijuana stocks and private placement. Then I formed MIPR Holdings with a former business partner. We owned that company until June 2017 [before it was acquired by C.E. Hutton].
C.E. Hutton was one of my investors, and he was interested in investing in the cannabis industry. He hired me on as an investor consultant under MIPR Holdings. I connected him with several different investments, most of whom were minority-owned businesses. The whole time I kept pitching him on the idea of having a business-development and management firm that is minority-focused—due to the lack of diversity in the cannabis industry. Eventually he said, “Let’s do it,” so I helped him put together a phenomenal team, and we’ve been rocking and rolling ever since.
What are the services your firm offers to its clientele?
What we do is provide business consulting and development, as well as marketing consulting, development and strategizing. We have some proprietary software coming out very soon that will offer entrepreneurs and small to midsized companies the opportunity to prepare their plans online.
We’re super excited about being able to offer the opportunity to minority-focused businesses, and although we’re not exclusive to minorities, we are inclusive to all communities that understand the power of diversity and what that brings, as far as true value, to an industry as a whole.
There is information about Greenstreet Academy on your website. Can you tell us more about that?
The Greenstreet Academy is a totally separate company. When C.E. Hutton acquired MIPR Holdings, I pitched him on the idea of having an online educational platform that will teach investors the fundamentals of investing in the cannabis space. It has been very well received.
What advice can you offer those who are interested in seeking funding for a cannabis-related enterprise?
As an investor, one of the things that’s a turnoff for me is ... an entrepreneur without a plan on paper.
I think having ideas is great, but you shouldn’t approach an investor with the anticipation that they’re going to invest in your idea. You want to approach an investor when you’re “ready.” That doesn’t mean that you have to have all of your funding or team together, but it does mean that you have a well-thought-out plan.
If you don’t have a well-thought-out plan, then it’s important that you hire the right team to put together a plan. For example, it’s like being a pilot: The pilot can’t reach his proposed destination without proper direction, so in order for an investor to follow an entrepreneur’s vision, we’d like to see a well-thought-out plan. We want an entrepreneur to know where they’re going, how they’re going to get there and have a plan to do it.
To read the rest of this story, go to EstroHaze.