The 420MSP CannaTech Ecosystem Stack was created to fill a void in the cannabis technology vertical by organizing the logos of the industry’s players into an easy chart, separated by category. Nearly every industry has a similar ecosystem chart as such visualizations allow people to quickly attain an overview of their respective industries. But it’s much more than that.
Uses
The CannaTech Ecosystem Stack serves four audiences.
The first are cannabis business license-holders, including growers at the front of the supply chain and retail dispensaries at the end. Readers can quickly see who the technology “players” are in the cannabis segment to improve technology planning (and purchases).
The second audience is service providers seeking to sell into the cannabis industry. For example, there is a thriving community of cannabis bookkeepers and accountants, called Dope CFO, that might be seeking new clients. While this group is more interested in assisting growers, processors/manufacturers and retailers/dispensaries with accounting solutions, the same service providers can use this chart to target CannaTech clients.
The third audience is the independent software developers (ISVs), distributors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that are included on the CannaTech Ecosystem Stack, because it offers validation and the ability to be part of the CannaTech conversation. In short, your absence from this chart is more conspicuous than your presence.
Finally, the fourth audience is investors who can rapidly see the technology players in the cannabis industry by category as they assess opportunities. One ISV told me that they wanted to be on the chart to be seen by investors.
Research and Methodology
We didn’t just make up the CannaTech Ecosystem Stack. In fact, it was harder than it looked. Industry experts such as Ryan Porter (well-known cannabis entrepreneur), Duane Roebuck (a leading expert in the cannabis technology distribution channel), Jim Roddy (vice president at the Retail Solution Providers Association) and Marijuana Venture publisher Greg James graciously contributed to the effort to locate appropriate technology-related logos.
“When we created the categories, it was important to define the categories that accurately matched the CannaTech Ecosystem,” Porter said. “For example, we didn’t list consulting firms and advisory services in order to stay keenly focused on the technology field. Logos were only allowed in one category to bring clarity to the presentation layer and avoid having logo entities try to be everything to everybody.”
Feedback Needed
The CannaTech Ecosystem Stack will be improved throughout 2021. You can assist our efforts by providing direct feedback (see my email address below) and nominate CannaTech logos that should be included in the next update.