La Hoja Capital Management LLC
Q&A Session with the National Hispanic Cannabis Council
Question 1: When did you first start in the Legal Cannabis Industry and why?
My partner and I jumped in Spring/Summer 2018. I had been studying crypto and cannabis for almost a year, trying to evaluate where I could build an investment solution to share with my personal and professional network. Ultimately, cannabis is a cashflow business and that made sense to me from an investment perspective. I could understand it and hopefully translate the opportunity to a larger mainstream audience.
Question 2: What kind of advice would you give to people looking to get into the industry?
I would say just jump in. If you like the field of work you are currently working in, find a similar opportunity in cannabis. If you don’t like what you are doing and want to shift towards your passions, cannabis is a great economy to test your entrepreneurial skills. That said, there are special challenges that are specific to cannabis, on top of the myriad challenges of starting a successful business. Be prepared for it to take longer than you ever thought possible.
Question 3: How do you feel about the current application fees for licensing?
Our firm invests in venture capital, private equity and private credit funds, so our experience and insight is related to the challenges of running an investment fund in cannabis.
Question 4: How do you think cannabis has been received by the Hispanic community?
I think that it has been received fantastically. There is still a ton of education to be done, but every day acceptance is growing.
Question 5: How would you say discrimination manifests itself in the industry?
Access to capital. It is still a very homogenous group that provides the capital to the industry. So POC get smaller allocations or no allocations at all. This is one of the reasons we started a fund of funds. We want the ability to have a direct impact on the firms we invest in. We can help them expand their talent pool. A more diverse firm finds more diverse opportunities.
Question 6: What is some advice you would give to young Hispanic entrepreneurs?
Don’t ask for a job in the industry. Start a company or a fund. Bring your ideas to life and work every day to make them real. I can help.
Question 7: What is your vision of what this industry could potentially become?
This industry has the potential to change lives for the betterment of all humans on this planet. We will no longer suffer the symptoms of having constant inflammation in our bodies, nor the everyday pain from physical and emotional injuries. We will all consume some level of CBD every day in our bread, our coffee, our cereal, etc. It will be ubiquitous in our lives, and we will be better for it.