Before Patrick Rea became one of the most influential early investors in cannabis, he was helping shape an entirely different emerging market: natural products. From functional foods to dietary supplements, Patrick spent 15 years watching that space mature—and the parallels to cannabis weren’t lost on him.
On the latest episode of High Touch, Patrick joins hosts Jake and Andrew to reflect on what brought him into cannabis investing, how he built the industry’s first accelerator, and what founders still get wrong about pitching today. His insights are a must-listen for anyone building or backing early-stage cannabis companies.
Spotting the Signal in the Smoke
Patrick’s journey into cannabis started in Boulder, Colorado, where his background in wellness and supplements gave him a front-row seat to another market transformation.
“In 1994, there was a change in the regulations for dietary supplements on the federal level. It unlocked an emerging market that had been fledgling and turned it into something really big.”
So when adult-use cannabis began to gain traction in Colorado in 2013, it felt familiar.
“Cannabis relative to a lot of supplements is way more efficacious. You consume it and feel the effects right away. That tightens a feedback loop for consumers that is just undeniable.”
His own personal experience with cannabis—using it to treat insomnia—only deepened his conviction. And in classic founder fashion, it was a chance rooftop meeting with a CEO-turned-cannabis-evangelist that nudged him to make the leap.
CanopyBoulder: A Cannabis Accelerator Before the Ecosystem Existed
What followed was CanopyBoulder, the first startup accelerator purpose-built for cannabis tech and ancillary services. The idea wasn’t just to invest capital, but to help shape how startups launched in a highly complex, still-stigmatized space.
“We had a great template here in Boulder: Techstars. That accelerator model let us raise a fund and deploy it into early-stage startups—often as the first investor.”
Cohort one at Canopy wasn’t just about demo days—it was about helping entrepreneurs survive the frontier landscape of cannabis business.
“We were putting together a program for an industry that was still being born. There were a lot of good ideas that didn’t have customers yet. And we were probably early on a lot of things. But I feel confident about the decisions we made.”
One secret to Canopy’s success? Patrick didn’t just help startups. He built up a local ecosystem of operators to support them.
“A big part of my role early on was building a community of licensed operators who needed things.”
Pitching Isn’t Dead—You’re Just Doing It Wrong
Having seen hundreds of pitches, Patrick’s advice to founders is refreshingly tactical: ask questions, show awareness, and end your deck cleanly.
“I know I’m dealing with a sophisticated entrepreneur when they come to pitch and they ask about our fund: where we are in our cycle, what our terms are, when we’re returning money to LPs. That’s a strong signal.”
And the biggest red flag?
“Founders who don’t check in during their pitch… or who don’t clearly end it. That uncomfortable silence at the end of a pitch is really telling of awareness.”
While he admits COVID changed the pitch landscape dramatically (hello Zoom decks), Patrick still sees value in IRL presentations.
“Investors are drawn to intelligent, charismatic, clear communicators. The pitch is a microcosm of how you’ll approach the business.”
A Legacy That’s Still Being Written
Patrick may have moved on from CanopyBoulder, but his focus on community, connection, and founder support hasn’t wavered. At Poseidon, he now manages a $50M fund focused on post-seed and growth-stage operators, and he continues to invest not just dollars—but time—into the next generation of cannabis entrepreneurs.
From mastermind groups to VC & CEO mixers, Patrick is still doing what he does best: building the scaffolding for the cannabis industry’s next wave.
Listen to the full episode of High Touch with Patrick Rea here!
