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Thursday, May 24th, 2018

The California Cannabis Entertainment and Technology Forum

11 AM - 11:45 - Herscher Hall - Guerin B

Investing in Cannabis: Media, Medicine and Technology

Moderator, Mitchell Berman, Managing Partner, Rise Entertainment, LLC

Matthew Nordgren, CEO and Founder, ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management

Evan Eneman, Founder / Managing Partner, Casa Verde Capital

Mitch Kulick, co-founder and partner, Feuerstein Kulick

Jon Trauben, Partner, Altitude Investment Management

 

Mitchell Berman, Managing Partner, Rise Entertainment: Mitchell Berman is a 30-year entertainment and technology media veteran, who has participated in the launch of 6 start-ups and a successful IPO. These initiatives span social enterprise, mobile/PC games, streaming OTT video, e-commerce, education technology, video-on-demand, interactive television, cable and satellite entertainment television channels, digital music, YouTube influencer channels, augmented & virtual reality, and subscription-based entertainment products and services. Currently, Mitch serves as managing partner at Rise Entertainment LLC, focused on mentoring Southern California entrepreneurs and managing investments in early to mid stage companies that intend to make a cultural impact in the digital world. Mitch has previously served in various senior management capacities with Home Box Office (HBO/Cinemax), E! Entertainment

Television, Sky Network Television New Zealand, Galaxy Media/East Coast Pay TV (FOXTEL Australia), OpenTV, C-COR, ZillionTV Corporation and Berman Strategic Advisors. Mitch is a frequent speaker at domestic and international industry conferences, serves as a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, an advisory board member and judge for the UCLA Social Enterprise Academy, a board member of the Silicon Beach Young Professionals, a strategic advisor to the Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development/Auckland Mayor’s Office and New Zealand Consul General in Los Angeles.  Mitch earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

 

Evan Eneman, Founder / Managing Partner, Casa Verde Capital Evan Eneman is a serial entrepreneur, advisor and investor.  He focuses on developing game-changing and next-generation offerings across a range of industries. He has been instrumental in building revenue and growth opportunities across a diversified list of entertainment, hospitality, financial services and consumer products companies. A long-time advocate for the legalization and de-stigmatization of cannabis, Eneman has spent the past several years working on investing in and scaling companies in the emerging cannabis space.  In 2014, Eneman co-founded Casa Verde Capital, one the first venture capital firms that makes early stage investments in innovative and fast-growing ancillary businesses in the emerging cannabis industry. After seeing a need in the market for professional service offerings for cannabis businesses, Evan co-founded ELLO, providing accounting, tax and advisory services to the industry. He currently serves as CEO of ELLO.  At the same time, recognizing the demand for a dedicated creative and marketing agency focused on cannabis brands and services, Eneman set about founding one and Flower Shop was born.  Prior to his work in the cannabis industry, Eneman served as a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, advising clients on assurance, operations, strategy, cyber-security and privacy, working with marquee brands and leading Fortune 500 Companies. Evan also spent many years working in various capacities within the music, entertainment and hospitality industries developing and overseeing operations and production processes for boutique creative firms both in New York and Los Angeles. Evan holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and is an active member of the alumni community, serving as President of the Wharton Alumni Club of Southern California.

 

Matthew Nordgren, CEO and Founder, ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management: Matthew Nordgren is an ambitious executive, dedicated philanthropist, and accomplished athlete who brings a unique passion to creating strategic alliances. He has breadth and depth of experience in finance, corporate development, and capital sourcing, as well as in building highly motivated teams of skilled professionals. In 2005, Mr. Nordgren received his education at the University of Texas in Austin, while playing football for the Texas Longhorns football team.  As a quarterback on a National Championship winning team, he developed skills that would be carried through his lifetime and core business philosophies. He was the first full scholarship in the NCAA University of Texas football history to graduate with two degrees in less than four years and being accepted into and pursuing a dual Master’s Degree program. After playing professionally briefly with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles (where he was sidelined with injury), Mr. Nordgren went on to earn two Master’s degrees in business and sports management from the University of Dallas. He was subsequently featured on the Bravo TV show “Most Eligible Dallas,” while becoming a partner in the family business, NORDCO, Inc., a Dallas-based energy conservation firm.  This is also when he helped to develop, manage and build his first private equity business/family office, which was a sports and entertainment focused portfolio. Throughout his career, Mr. Nordgren has been appointed to many executive leadership positions at a wide-ranging group of companies and industries. From real estate to sports and entertainment, from hospitality to insurance and financial services, from emerging industries to later stage leveraged buy outs, he is singularly focused on finding synergistic opportunities that have upside potential.  He is committed to successfully helping manage the overall financial state of his clients’ businesses and the companies with which he and his clients have interests within. Mr. Nordgren is currently CEO and Founder of ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital management, a venture fund focused on the ancillary service providing companies in and around the cannabis and hemp industries.  More specifically, on Series A type opportunities where proven businesses are looking for growth equity to attack and win new markets.  He was recently name one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Cannabis Industry” by High Times Magazine. Additionally, he is the founder of NORDCO Consulting LLC, a private equity firm dedicated to buying and selling middle market companies with forward-thinking vision. To date, Mr. Nordgren has personally managed over $7 billion in transactions and maintains a portfolio of approximately 25 companies. Inspired by his belief that education and athletics can open doors for at-risk youth, Mr. Nordgren founded The Leadership Foundation—an organization committed to giving back to non-profits whose purpose is to empower youth through sports and education. He feels strongly that young people, regardless of their personal circumstances, should have the opportunity for a bright future and the chance to make a positive impact.  Furthermore, he is involved with and contributes to numerous philanthropic causes and remains dedicated to giving back and making a difference.

 

Jon Trauben, Partner, Altitude Investment Management: Twenty five years of banking, finance, trading and investment experience

Managed more than $50 billion of transactions - Jon is a cannabis investor, association member, mentor and board member to several of his fund's portfolio companies.  He brings a wealth of experience and management expertise with a 25-year record as a seasoned commercial real estate, capital markets and finance executive. Jon has held senior positions on Wall Street while at Barclays, Credit Suisse, Cantor Fitzgerald and Hunt Companies where he was a business leader, lender, trader and investor. While at Barclays and Credit Suisse he was a Managing Director and senior member of the real estate finance groups and was involved in more than $50 billion of transactions. Jon earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rutgers University and he received a Master of Science in Real Estate from New York University. Jon holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.

 

Mitch Kulick is a co-founder and partner of Feuerstein Kulick and is the head of Feuerstein Kulick’s Cannabis, Securities and Corporate Departments. Mitch brings a wealth of practical experience and knowledge to his practice and clients as a result of the many hats that he has worn during his 25-year legal career. Mitch’s current client base is primarily comprised of companies, funds, and investors focused on the cannabis industry both in the U.S. and abroad. Mitch advises his clients in all aspects of the cannabis space ranging from corporate governance to capital markets transactions to regulatory compliance. Mitch has also worked directly with state regulatory and licensing bodies in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Mexico. Prior to co-founding Feuerstein Kulick, Mitch was the General Counsel of Steep Hill Labs, Inc., the country’s first commercial cannabis lab (Oakland 2007) and a current Feuerstein Kulick client. At Steep Hill, Mitch was the Company’s liaison to Steep Hill’s investors and government regulators and also served as the in-house investment banker and lawyer for the Company. Mitch is a charter member of the International Cannabis Standards Board and has been a featured speaker in numerous Cannabis seminars and other industry group functions. Prior to joining Steep Hill, Mitch spent the previous 8 years as the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Iroquois Capital — an active hedge fund and private equity fund in New York City — where he was heavily involved in the drafting of the fund formation documents and advised the fund managers on all aspects of the ’33 Act, ’34 Act and the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. Mitch also gained invaluable experience as an enforcement lawyer in the Northeast Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission and has leveraged that experience to provide practical advice in his representation of funds, investors, and companies in the context of SEC and DOJ matters. Mitch began his legal career in the New York office of Greenberg Traurig, where he worked on complex corporate reorganizations, labor disputes and securities litigation matters. Mitch graduated from the University of Michigan (with Honors) and received a JD from Hofstra University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review.