Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Kovacs.
Kim, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m currently the CEO of The Arcview Group, a network of high-net-worth cannabis investors with more than 600 members who have raised $300M for cannabis companies. As CEO, I set directives and lead growth strategies for The Arcview Group and its associated companies, including Arcview Ventures, Arcview Collective Fund, Arcview Market Research and represent Arcview on the board of Arcview Capital a FINRA licensed broker-dealer.
I joined Arcview In January and was swiftly promoted from President to CEO and joined the Board of Directors. As a process-driven executor, I take strategies and ideas and turn them into quantitative results for long-term success. Membership growth and lighting up additional education-based programming is a key area of focus, which drives our digital program and architecture expansion which we call Arcview Access™. By expanding our ecosystem, it enables regular and easy access globally to all the value that Arcview shares with this community and industry.
Concurrently, I serve as the Managing Director of Arroyo Ventures, a strategic advisory firm that connects high-net-worth female investors and exceptional entrepreneurs, and empowers women seeking capital or investment opportunities. As an active angel investor, Arroyo has invested in 18 companies spanning technology, life sciences, and cannabis.
Prior to The Arcview Group, I founded and served as CEO of MyJane, a wellness technology platform that curated cannabis products designed to address the most common challenges women face, including sleep, pain, and stress. Distribution channels included women-only ambassadors who provided home delivery and education. MyJane was acquired by Manifest 7 in January 2019.
Prior to MyJane, I founded/co-founded six additional companies, raised more than $100M in equity capital for these ventures, and, as Chairman of San Diego’s Alpha Project, secured $50M in funding from HUD to preserve low-income housing.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The challenges I’m facing now are related specifically to the cannabis industry. There are a few interesting developments in cannabis that keeps us very bullish on the opportunities. First of all, cannabis was deemed essential in 2020 amid COVID-19 regulations. This allowed for cannabis businesses to stay open and many have seen significant jumps in year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth. This is terrific for the industry – demand is high so the market is expanding.
Second, due to COVID-19 many new consumers are trying cannabis and many consumers who used to be okay with buying from the illicit market are not wanting to take that additional product risk. They prefer to buy from licensed and therefore compliant operators. This boosts jobs and tax revenues too. However, the industry is still federally illegal and access to capital is tough for cannabis operators globally. I see small steps are being made but until we have federal protections for these businesses and allow for banks to step in we are always going to have an illicit problem.
Please tell us about The Arcview Group.
When I first joined The Arcview Group, the company was known for hosting incredible events for investors to come mingle, learn and see great company’s pitching for investment several times per year. When Arcview first started, ten years ago now, there was no competition in this space since most of the country was still illegal even for medical marijuana. However, in 2019 there were many more players on the scene and a lot of groups hosting events globally – so Arcview faced tougher competitive challenges and needed ways to differentiate itself.
We decided at the onset of 2020 and pre-COVID, which was very fortuitous, to pivot to a digital strategy for our members. This enabled us to engage more frequently and to deliver a different experience to our membership than what others were doing. Now many are trying to adopt this digital strategy but since we got a few months jumps, we are in a very good position to now dominate this new digital space.
Also, another key factor in our success is how we listen and respond to our customers. Cannabis is a very unique industry and changes almost weekly. In order to be on top of your game, you need to understand how each stakeholder is also evolving and their need for information and insights to keep current.
By redefining our mission and creating a new strategy around the customer vs the events business we have been able to differentiate ourselves from those who had been encroaching on our events business. In fact, we don’t see ourselves in the same competitive space with them anymore. Arcview is creating a new digital space for investors and companies to interact and use technology to do so.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Looking ahead, The Arcview Group, as the original investing network focused on cannabis, will see more competition with additional cannabis investor networks forming in the future. I also see hemp as a huge win for the cannabis industry overall. There are thousands of uses for hemp including fiber, fuel and animal feed among the myriad of health benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids. For the cannabis industry as a whole, there are ten key challenge areas on the horizon, including:
1. De-scheduling and Regulating
2. Cannabis at the Federal Level
3. Consumer Safety
4. Enforcement of the Illicit Market
5. Access to Banking and capital markets
6. Social Justice and social equity
7. Fair Taxes – local, state and federal
8. Public Perception ‘just say no’ is still very persuasive
9. International Trade and treaties especially for hemp
We’re likely to see some significant changes to the cannabis industry during this year and over the next five. Not only is the market expected to grow through legalization and usage, but customers are likely to be more educated about cannabis and purchase multiple types of cannabis products. The Arcview network consists of thousands of accredited investors who have funded more than 300 companies in excess of $300 million as a result of their participation in Arcview.
As a trusted leader, The Arcview Group will continue to connect high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors, and money managers with founders and companies seeking investment in the legal cannabis sector. We’ll also continue to provide our stakeholders with webinars, research, and quality opportunities. Arcview looks forward to further building new divisions within The Arcivew family, such as: Arcview Consulting, Arcview Ventures, Arcview Collective Fund, Arcview Capital, and The Arcview Women’s Investor Network.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arcviewgroup.com/
- Phone: 855-892-1951
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcviewgroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArcViewGroup/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/arcviewgroup
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/klkovacs/
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