 All right, everyone. Thank you. We can get your attention. So a lot of you probably know that about 30% of the businesses in cannabis are owned or operated by women, which is a huge number compared to more traditional industries. We're really excited to have Treehouse Ventures here with us today and Treehouse Ventures is a woman-owned company that does invest in women-owned businesses. What we were finding with a lot of female-owned businesses is they weren't really getting access to capital the way male-owned businesses were. And that's not even just cannabis, of course. That's actually across just about any industry. And so it's great that we've gotten women to, you know, step up and help out our fellow sisters. So leading us today is Lori Ferrara. Now, Lori is, as we like to say, a baller. She managed syndicate operations at Media Tech for some of TV's biggest titles. Inside Edition, Jeopardy, Geraldo, Oprah Winfrey, so really big stuff. She began researching medical cannabis while she nursed her husband through a battle with cancer. And then once that got her into it, she, you know, is really a part of cannabis's early development. She knew it would need experience leadership. And entrepreneurs. And that's really when she became the first female investor member of the ArcView group. A lot of you know ArcView for their research reports or some of their investor events that they do. And now her latest creation is Treehouse Global Ventures. And as I mentioned, it's a fund that helps female businesses get started. So I am going to now turn this over to Lori. Great. Thank you, ladies. Let's start off with an easy question. What makes the cannabis industry a distinctive investment? Why is it exciting to invest in the cannabis industry? Go for it. Wow. That's such a huge question. For me, it's exciting to create new products and to really craft the future of the health and wellness for the U.S. and internationally as well. So, and every day is different. Yeah. I mean, I think that when you look at cannabis, it's already on to its next iteration or maybe even some people call it cannabis. We're approaching cannabis 3.0 where, you know, was a pretty disjointed or entity and industry five years ago. And then it went through this first wave of creating all these companies. Now I think I laugh that there are so many brands in the space. I used to be able to count them on one hand. And you could say, I'm sure you had this experience where you knew every single company that was operating cannabis across the country. And now there are so many that every time I hear of a new one, I just kind of roll my eyes. And I'm like, of course, there's another one. So I think the acceleration of the industry is really interesting. And it pulls on so many different industries. I mean, I think it's a combination of pharma, CPG, you know, alcohol. There are just so many different things that apply to it because of the areas that it can impact. So I think that's why it's so interesting is that it I feel like it keeps kind of changing its its face a little bit, which keeps us all on our toes. Great. Thank you. I couldn't agree more there. I mean, in the beginning there was one vape company, maybe open vape right now there's probably 50. Okay, what have you experienced over the last year or two that has evolved or changed in the cannabis investments and cannabis investments? I think for me, it's the way that we look at investments. There was a period in time where you got a PowerPoint deck and a charismatic entrepreneur. And that was all it took. And everybody was wrong. And now we have comps, you know, we have actual businesses that have been in operation for anywhere from five to 10 years, which is it's amazing that those businesses, we've been survived that long because the industry has changed so much. And I think that that's a really interesting way that when you're looking at investments now, the thesis has changed. The structure of looking at investments has changed and has become I think a little bit more sophisticated, but at the same time, we're still kind of making it up. I think as we go along, because we're not totally sure what stage this is, like with all these companies going public right now, we're not sure if that's something that's going to last a while, or if this is truly a bubble that is going to burst. I think there are a lot of different theories around that. I won't share mine, but I think that's the evolution of the way you look at investments has been big. And for me, I think a lot of the suits have arrived along with the family offices are definitely getting in the space now. Okay, what are the key characteristics of a female owned and operated business opportunity that gets you to make an investment? What gets you to say yes? If I can, because I'm constantly reviewing M&A at Canocraft, and I don't know that it has anything to do with really gender lines. I think it's about if you have a great idea that's innovation forward, that's forward leaning, and you have a really good business plan, and you have a route to market, that's what you need. It doesn't matter what gender you are, at least that's not what I'm seeing. And I don't think there's any lack of female entrepreneurs entering the business with great ideas. It's just a matter of finding that seed funding, I think is the biggest challenge for females in that space. For me, it's also the brain trust of the advisory board, and happy to say Tahira is on our advisory board, and we're excited about that. Tracy, as a follow-up, have you found any exciting female-focused brands seeking a partnership in Canocraft? Actually, I have. What's really interesting now is with the space that we're in, I think there's two companies that are sort of emerging in space. One is people who are emerging as it's a money grab, they just want to somehow turn and burn whatever it is that they're doing. And then there's other companies that are entering the space with a real passion for the plant, and not only as it relates to CBD products, or products that are derived from cannabis, but also those that are derived from hemp. And so what's been most telling, what's interesting is that there seems to be a little genderline distinction, at least in what I'm seeing coming across my desk, and women-led businesses are leaning heavily against their experience, and those experiences could be in wine and spirits like mine have been, or in beauty and wellness, which we're seeing a lot of really beautiful beauty and wellness brands that are highly innovative with new technologies around absorption that are super exciting. And so I think that's part of it as well. And so it feels as though it's leaning towards women are marching more towards CBD and wellness. And then I am painting with the biggest, widest brush ever, I recognize that. But what's been most exciting for me personally has been people are really thinking forward and leaning into that space with a real mind toward therapeutic solutions to everyday real problems that are plaguing Americans like depression and weight gain and anxiety. So it's really exciting to see a natural product take the place of other drugs that this country is addicted to. I couldn't agree more. To hear, are lots of investors made money in the first wave of cannabis valuations? Where do you see the next wave of opportunity for female-led companies? I mean, I'm still not convinced that the best brands that are going to exist in 10 years have necessarily been created yet or are in their current form are the ones that are going to be, you know, the big, you know, I hate saying it like the Starbucks or the Coke or whatever, but thinking in that, right, we're still really early. And for anybody who has been in the brand building business, it takes a really long time to build a brand, to create value in that, to create, you know, consistent consumers. So you probably know way more about this than I do because of your brand experience. But, you know, it takes a while to get there. And right now there's just such a frenzy that people are like, we're a billion dollar brand because we have, you know, 50,000 Instagram followers and I'm like, that means nothing because that doesn't actually turn into revenue. And so the metrics that we're using to measure these things, I don't think are actually accurate. And I think the next wave is really, who are the ones who are going to be actually able to stand the test of time? Because we're still in a little bit of this area where you can get these crazy valuations and not totally different from tech. You don't have to be profitable. You can have like, you know, negative EBITDA and still be at this crazy valuation. But does that actually turn into a business that has longevity? I don't think we know that yet. And so I think that's kind of the next wave of these is growth stage companies that can actually really, you know, have strong infrastructure and be able to become profitable over time. And hopefully an acquisition target. Yeah, or a standalone company. I mean, everybody's so focused on getting acquired or having that as their exit. But what about the companies that just want to operate and be companies? Like, there is a room for that. And I think that that's the wrong way to look at it. Is everybody's now looking at, like, what's our exit opportunity? And that scares me a little bit too, because you're just, I think, building to sell. And that's not sustainable either. So the Farm Bill passed on December 20th of last year. And it was a pretty quiet January, but something happened in the industry in February. And the hemp industry just exploded overnight. Where I'd have one or two entrepreneurs a week emailing me, I don't know, grew by a factor of 10. I'm seeing tremendous growth in hemp-derived CBD products. It's being led primarily, yes, by women because women make 80% of the health and wellness choices for their families in the U.S. And they are formulating products made of hemp CBD to answer the needs of their families. Whether it's a sick child, an ailing parent, all of that is being addressed. I do think that there will be a CBD bubble. Once we get towards national legalization of THC marijuana, we will go back to, in my opinion, a one-to-one ratio or play with these different ratios of cannabinoids in different products. And at that point, I think that a ratio of CBD to THC will become a more relevant product sector. And then after that, hemp is a form of cannabis. I am seeing amazing opportunities for investment with a very quick turnaround on ROI in things like hemp food, hemp cooking oil, and then a little longer down the investment train. I would say bioplastics and graphite batteries made of hemp will be a huge economic driver for the U.S. economy. I totally agree with that. I think industrial hemp is something that's very much overlooked right now because it's a long-term play. There's a lot of R&D. It's expensive. But it's massive when you think about the sustainability elements and all the things that we're dealing with right now when it comes to waste. That could be a really interesting market, but it's for the investors who are interested in not the quick turn because it's not happening right now. What are some of the benefits investors can expect in investing in women-led cannabis companies? Well, I mean that stat that I gave you earlier, 80% of all the health and wellness choices are made by women in the U.S. 85% of all the medical choices are made by women and families in the U.S. So having a woman in the CEO position or quite anything, I have been a marketer almost all of my THC career. Let me make it really clear, but having a woman in any C-level position other than marketing will impact your profitability and return on investment. Ditto. Yeah, I agree. Just statistically proven is that the more women that are in C-level suites, the more profitable they are. Is there direct correlation when the cannabis is any different? I think there's also just diversity of thought too because a lot of the, you know, you tend to find teams now that are often from the same background because people have been pulling on their own networks, which is a logical thing to do, but then you do often get into group think and I think we see that in a lot of different industries. It's not anything new for cannabis itself, but it's not new for industry, you know, different industries as a whole. And I think that that is really important and we, you know, not just women, but other ethnic groups and kind of socioeconomic backgrounds like that all contributes to how you think about bringing a product to market or running a business or managing a team and all of those aspects are really important. So, you know, female, it's like tip of the iceberg for me where it's like, yes, that is a huge, huge game changer, but there are all these other elements too that certainly add to it. Yeah, and I think we're just addressing it head on and if we can have just the same access that everybody else, we're going to do really great. Did you have a follow-up today? I did, so I'm a late addition to the panel. I googled this last night, it's called the Gender Profit Premium, when a minimum of 30% of women are represented in the sweet C-suite level, probability jumps between 6% and 15%. And you can look it up. It's the Peterson Institute for International Economics. And there are a multitude of other studies as well. And then, of course, there's one or two studies that have, you know, dispute that completely. So, thank you. Let's see, what can women-led brands do to stand out more to organizations such as Canocraft? Tracy? That was a staged question. So, what can women-led... Yeah, how can women-led companies become more visible and have more of an impact with organizations like yours? Well, I mean, it's like I said, again, I struggle with the women-led thing because I do, you know, other than the sector in which I see a majority of women playing, I don't know, again, if you have a great brand and a great passion and great commitment to the brand. I do think, you know, women, again, painting with a broad brush, but women's approach to business might be a little bit more pragmatic, a little bit more inclusive than our male counterparts. And I think both of those things are necessary in business. And, you know, having been the only female in a suite suite for a really long time in the alcohol business, I can say the cannabis is different and better in that regard. But as it relates to just specifically being a female-led business, I mean, you need to have the right people on your team. You need to have compelling people, smart people that are going to drive your business forward and make things happen. And I mean, I think whether you're male or female, that's necessary. I agree. Kristi, I know we touched on hemp, but would you talk a little bit more about the opportunity in hemp? I made a list. So I'll just walk you through it. So basically, let's start from the ground up. The carpet that's under your feet can be made from hemp. The plastic chair with the leatherette covering, all of that can be made from hemp. The water bottle in front of you, the battery in your telephone, all of these things can be made from hemp. Everything that you're wearing, all of your attire, the makeup on your face or the shaving products that you use this morning, all of that can be made from hemp. Additionally, hemp has significant impacts in cleaning the earth. It is a great phyto-remediator. And on the marijuana side of things, if you are investing in a company that is growing outside, please have soil tests done before you make your investment money. Hemp pulls toxins and heavy metals from the soil, and I would not want anyone in this room who's investing into a marijuana company be in the position where they're going to lose their investment because they're growing tainted cannabis. On the positive side of that, hemp was planted at Chernobyl, for example, in Russia to pull the toxins and the radiation from the soil. And that hemp obviously cannot be consumed as a food item, but it can be put into inert products like hemp concrete, hemp bricks, and hemp fibers to be used in secondary applications. So basically, everything that you consume, where you walk through, eat, it can all be made of hemp. And it is only because we've had a prohibition against marijuana for all these years that hemp is illegal. Treehouse is definitely looking at hemp. Thank you for that. I didn't know some of that. And to hear as an investor, what are some pieces of advice you can give female entrepreneurs seeking investment? Well, it's no different, I think, for any entrepreneur, but I think what we often find is women just haven't had as much of an opportunity to pitch. And pitching, it's painful. You have to go through it hundreds of times to get good at it and never to turn down an opportunity to be able to pitch. I think a lot of people have a lot of hesitation that the idea isn't complete yet or all my design isn't done yet, but I think you learn a lot through just going through the process and the questions that people ask you. And it can be, you know, I think a lot of people get turned off initially when they get really hard questions and they aren't able to necessarily answer everything. But that's part of the learning process. I mean, I know, you know, when I worked at Privateer, the partners will tell you that they got 200 no's before they ever got a yes, and that made them better at what they were doing and look at where they are now. And I think every entrepreneur will tell you a similar story. And so that part of it is like to never turn down the opportunity to be able to tell your story and refine your story. And I think we have to make sure we're not so attached to the specific idea that we have because you'll get feedback from people who are looking at it from a different lens and to take that into your strategy and to think of how you can make it better. Sometimes what we think in our head is like the perfect idea isn't as great from an investor perspective or even a consumer perspective. Like it doesn't play out that way. And so taking all that feedback in, you don't have to take everything, but I think that really being critical about it yourself and understanding where you can make improvements is really important. And I think for women, what I hear a lot from female entrepreneurs is that if they don't come from finance, that they don't have the lingo down and understanding how to do valuation or how to talk about it confidently. And I think finding mentors or just finding people who are willing to give you feedback and quite frankly be you up a little bit so you can get better at it is really important. So finding a small trusted circle of advisors, men and women to be able to give you that is critical. Thank you. And as a fellow, what would you say to investors looking at investment opportunities led by women? I mean, we've heard all the stats, so we obviously know that there is a benefit there. I mean, I don't think it's much different. Kind of similar to Tracy's point. I don't necessarily define something because it's female run or not, but I certainly think that there are notable differences in how men and women pitch, which I think we've heard a lot of stories on like men will say things very confidently and women might kind of be a little bit more reserved on painting this massive picture because they're trying to couch it a little bit more and are more reserved in that sense. So I think that from an investment perspective, the strategy is the same because we want to know why is this a good idea? What gap is it filling? Why will it be successful? What's your competitive edge? And can you articulate that? If it takes you more than a sentence or two to articulate your business or why you're going to be successful or what gap you're filling, then you have a gap in your own thesis. So being able to very quickly be able to say what it is, I shouldn't have to get five minutes into a presentation to understand what the business is. And that's for everybody, but I think being for women specifically just training a little bit more on that is always helpful. Thank you. As we know, the cannabis industry is the fastest growing industry in the United States. Why is it a next-generational wealth opportunity? We just have such tremendous potential. I started my first marijuana business with under $1,000. I had 10 lights and I got to the point where I grew four pounds of marijuana a month and I was my only employee. And I got to be a stay-at-home mom because of that. And I have to tell you, flash forward. Ten years, obviously, you cannot have the opportunity to have that business, but what I've been able to create with this plant in that short amount of time by playing the long game, by valuing my reputation and my relationships over the profits that I make, there's no reason why the companies and investments that I've been working with in 10 years won't be leaders internationally in both the THC and the industrial hemp space. Thank you very much. Thank you all of you.