Kevin Durant, Snoop Dogg Invest In Cannabis Startup: A Shopify For Marijuana

Dutchie, a startup for ordering marijuana online, secures $15 million in funding from well-known celebrities.

Based in Oregon, Dutchie developed a platform for cannabis dispensaries to create a website where they can manage orders and track pickups. One thing the startup doesn't do is deliver directly to customers.

Dutchie, named after the song "Pass the Dutchie," has grown to service to 450 dispensaries across 18 states and it also eyes $140 million in gross merchandise volume.

During its Series A funding, the company received backings from venture capital firms of big-name investors which include NBA Star Kevin Durant, Snoop Dogg, and founder and CEO of Shutterstock, Jon Oringer. Durant founded Thirty Five Ventures while Snoop Dogg founded Casa Verde Capital. Other participants in the funding round include Sinai Ventures, Gron Ventures, and other individual investors.

The revenue they earn comes from the registered dispensaries that pay a monthly subscription fee to maintain their website within Dutchie, which is kind of like a Shopify for cannabis. They also don't take a cut from the transaction volume.

But despite working with dispernsaries, the focus is still on the consumer according to the founding brothers CEO Ross and CPO Zach Lispon.

"We’re focused on the customer all day, every day, with a team that ensures that they have support, that they receive their orders, that the orders are out the door quickly or at least, ready for pickup. We make sure the photos work, that different potencies are marked," Ross told TechCrunch.

The brothers came from entrepreneurial families -- their father is a businessman for 35 years. Ross, the younger brother, also co-founded a company called GrubCanada, which was sold to Just Eat in 2012. Zach also had some success with his entrepreneurial ventures as he also sold RepPro, a retirement planning software for financial advisors, to RetireUp in 2018.

Dutchie is only two years old, and last year, the company only had 100 dispensaries registered on its platform with $2.5 million in gross merchandise volume.

Ross estimates that they work with just about 15% of registered dispensaries in the U.S. and that figure may go up as states continue to pursue full legalization on marijuana with the majority of Democratic candidates for U.S. president support it.