On July 16, 2019 Jane Technologies, Inc. (“Jane”) announced $21M in Series B funding. Santa Cruz Works (“SCW”) talked with Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Socrates Rosenfeld. Jane provides an online cannabis marketplace. Full details at: PRNewswire. SCW caught Socrates just before he boarded a flight to his next business meeting.  

SCW: How did this new round of funding compare to your Series A?

Socrates: In the first round, investors were mostly concerned about legality.  In this new round, the conversations shifted to opportunity. Cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.  We essentially have a blue ocean opportunity where the big retailers like Amazon and Walmart cannot compete. And we’re taking advantage of this position by bringing new and exciting omnichannel technologies to this market. Our goal is to make shopping for cannabis online as simple as shopping for anything else in this world -- and in doing so -- we are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in O2O (Online to Offline) retail. 

SCW: In addition to opportunity, what attracted your investors?

Socrates: Our team. The investors don’t view themselves as separate to the operators, and we don’t view our investors as separate to us. We are all on Team Jane -- and we are dedicated to building this company together.

SCW: How has participating in Santa Cruz Works Accelerator helped?

Socrates: Santa Cruz Works has built a strong supportive community.  We were energized by the “Santa Cruz way”: a closely connected group of skilled workers, tech professionals, and innovators. Not many cities are lucky to have such a vibrant ecosystem, and I’m excited for the future of our community.  

SCW: What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?

Socrates:  Building a company is not done overnight.  It is built through the disciplined execution of individual tasks every single day -- for years on end.  It takes a culture of courage and heart and commitment. We call it “Championship Output”. We live every day with the singular focus of doing the best we can for ourselves, each other, and our customers.  

Jane Technologies, Inc. is a Santa Cruz Works Accelerator 2018 graduate.