The Green Entrepreneur
Starting a Cannabis Company in 2025: Entity Formation, Capitalization, and Licensing Reality
Host: Chris RobertsJune 25, 202542 minstandard
Episode Summary
Bob Hoban guides early-stage cannabis entrepreneurs through entity formation choices, investor rights agreements, license application timelines, and the capitalization requirements that most first-time operators dramatically underestimate.
Cannabis entrepreneurs consistently underestimate capitalization by 40 to 60 percent. The license application is not the hard part — the 18 months between approval and profitability is where most companies fail. You need enough runway to survive that valley.
Episode Highlights
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 4:00 | LLC vs. C-corp for cannabis operators — the tax and investor implications |
| 14:30 | Investor rights agreements: what cannabis investors typically demand |
| 24:00 | License application timelines by state — no sugar coating |
| 33:00 | Capitalization planning: the 18-month runway model |
Practice Areas Covered
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