Gateway is the world’s premier cannabis accelerator and seed stage fund, and the first differential accelerator™ anywhere. Located in San Francisco's Bay Area, Gateway provides cannabis entrepreneurs exposure to the mentorship, capital, and best practices proven in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs in the cannabis space have great passion and creativity for the products they produce. Gateway’s goal is to usher the cannabis industry into the mainstream by not only cultivating great entrepreneurs in the space, but helping to create world-class business leaders as well. Through staggered admissions and mentorship tailored to the unique strengths and needs of individual founders and business, Gateway’s differential accelerator™ program creates a custom acceleration path, avoiding generic advice and focusing on what founders need, when they need it.
Gateway’s location, office, and growing network of mentors, investors, and partners are all deliberately designed to create the best entrepreneurs in this quickly evolving market, fostering cross-pollination of industries such as cannabis, tech, and consumer packaged goods. The company is located in The Leviathan Building in the birthplace of the cannabis industry and hotbed for cannabis innovation, Oakland, CA.
Gateway was launched on November 20, 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Ben Larson (@pitchtoben) and Carter Laren (@claren).
Press Contact: Ben Larson, Co-Founder at Gateway. Email us.
MEDIA RESOURCES
GATEWAY DETAILS (current)
- Located in Oakland, CA (near Jack London Square)
- up to 10 companies per cohort
- 2 cohorts per year
- $50,000 initial investment in each company
- 5+ months of incubation, including one-on-one advising
- 6+ months office space with the cohort
- Vast network of CEO and Founder-level Mentors in the Cannabis, Tech, and Services Industries
- Fund reserves for follow-on investment during first raise
PRESS COVERAGE
- These Entrepreneurs Want To Bring Your Cannabis Idea To Life. Here's How. (Civilized, Jan 28, 2016)
- 23 Budding Bay Area Cannabis Startups to Watch (San Francisco Business Times, Jan 19, 2016)
- You've Got a Genius Weed Idea, Now What? (Cannabis Now Magazine, Jan 17, 2016)
- Investing in Cannabis Episode 24 - Founders of Gateway (Investing in Cannabis, Jan 8, 2016) video
- Cannabis Insider: Oakland's Leviathan Building Becomes a Hub for Silicon Valley Cannabis Startups (7x7, Dec 30, 2015)
- Marijuana Business Incubator Launches in Oakland (Marijuana Business Daily, Dec 18, 2015)
- Comcast NBC Newsmakers: Ben Larson, Co-Founder of Gateway (Comcast NBC Newsmakers, Dec 16, 2015)
- KCBS Radio Interview with Gateway Co-Founder, Ben Larson (KCBS Radio, Dec 14, 2015) audio
- California's First Marijuana Incubator Launches, Headquartered in Oakland (OaklandNorth, Dec 8, 2015)
- MJIC Inc. Launches Gateway to Success With First California Cannabis Business Incubator (Yahoo! Finance, Nov 24, 2015)
- WDRB.com, MJINews, CBS8.com, FOX Carolina...
- ‘US Capital of Cannabis Will Be Oakland,’ Says Incubator Founder (East Bay Express, Nov 24, 2015)
- Chat with Ben and Carter of Gateway Incubator (WeedClub, Nov 24, 2015) video
- The Gateway Incubator is California's First Cannabis Company Incubator (DCN, Nov 23, 2015)
- Marijuana Startup Incubator "Gateway" Fires Up (Tech Crunch, Nov 20, 2015)
QUOTABLES
- What California's legalization of marijuana means for business (Business Times, Nov 9, 2016)
- California Voters Legalize Recreational Marijuana, Opening Door to Commercial Sales (Inc., Nov 9, 2016)
- This map shows every state that legalized marijuana on Election Day (Business Insider, Nov 9, 2016)
- We attended an election viewing party at a San Francisco marijuana dispensary — here's what happened (Business Insider, Nov 9, 2016)
- Recreational marijuana is now legal in California (Business Insider, Nov 8, 2016)
- Did California Legalize Recreational Marijuana? Proposition 64 Is Passing in Early Returns (Patch, Nov 9, 2016)
Audio, VIDEO, and IMAGES
In episode 24, we speak with Carter Laren and Ben Larson of Gateway, an early stage accelerator program for cannabis companies. Gateway is a full immersion business accelerator and seed investment program located in the birthplace of the cannabis industry, Oakland, CA.
It was not that long ago that Marijuana was thought of mainly as an illegal street drug, all of that is changing. Newsmakers Host Barbara Rodgers interviews Ben Larson Gateway (http://gtwy.co), Co-Founder & Managing Partner For more information, please visit http://gtwy.co
Cannabis companies need a home base to found their startups, and Gateway Incubator in Oakland is offering just that: Space, Money, Mentorship etc.. Message Gateway direct at http://WeedClub.com/gtwy
