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Unfortunately, the "why" here comes down to "I smoke weed" and "I knew I wanted to be a part of [the industry]". Minus a few stats on demographics, the rest is
by basseq 10y ago
Unfortunately, the "why" here comes down to "I smoke weed" and "I knew I wanted to be a part of [the industry]". Minus a few stats on demographics, the rest is standard platitudes about being bored in a corporate job and the highs/lows of entrepreneurship. ("I wanted to venture out on my own, but didn’t know how!")
This is still an enthusiast-driven market, as illustrated by the photo in the article of the co-founders lighting up in the office. C'mon.
The industry needs to--already has, and will continue to--evolve away from pure enthusiasts and towards businesspeople who see the massive business opportunity. The legal market is estimated to top $7B in 2016, and $40B in the next 5-10 years. No incumbents, little regulation: this is the wild west. We're talking the very real possibility of 100%+ annual market growth, which is insane.
- gozur88 10y agoThe problem is the laws haven't changed at the federal level. It's still illegal, and you can still go to jail if the feds wan to put you there. As long as that's true there's going to be a wild west element, because everything you've built can be taken away literally on the whim of a federal prosecutor.
- basseq 10y agoThat's not a problem, that's risk. "Wild west" means high risk and high reward. Fortunes will be won and lost. That kind of thing. There's a reason traditional businesses haven't entered: the beta is way too high. My lamentation here is that the author isn't discussing his transition in terms of an actual business case (e.g., opportunity and risk), instead relying on merely personal interest.