Marijuana Business Magazine - February 2018

“We decided that helping businesses with data and analytics is what the industry needs, and that was the moti- vation for creating Headset,” Scott said. Customer Feedback Crucial To determine the type of data busi- nesses would need, the trio did additional market research.They chatted up retail- ers, learning how they run their busi- nesses, what numbers they look at, how they measure their company’s fortunes and what problems needed solving. “That’s the extent of our market research, just talking to customers,” Scott said. “The biggest driver of new product features is what we’re hearing from our customers.” Today, Headset gathers sales data from roughly 300 retailers and 100 product manufacturers that use the company’s software.That data is then aggregated, crunched and repackaged to provide customers with valuable market intelligence. For example: • What products are hot sellers – and the geographic areas where those goods sell. • The average amount of money retail customers spend in a single transaction. • The average number of items cus- tomers buy at any one time. • The time of day or day of the week when sales ebb and flow. More Investors Step Forward In launching Headset, Scott, Wan- solich and Vickers soon discovered that the marijuana industry had attracted new investors interested in wagering money on ancillary businesses. As a result, it was easier finding investors for Headset than it had been for Leafly. Moreover, the three had established a successful track record: Leafly had morphed into a well-known website. “It definitely made people open up their books to get us on their schedules to talk to us about investment money,” Wansolich said. “Because this was our second go-around and the first was with Leafly, we had a lot easier time getting money than most other entrepreneurs.” To date, Headset has raised nearly $5 million, including a roughly $1 million angel round in which Poseidon Asset Management in San Francisco and Anslinger Capital in Seattle participated, and a more recent $2.5 million pre-Series A round in which Salveo Capital in Northbrook, Illinois, and Hypur Ventures in Scottsdale, Arizona, contributed. In 2018, probably by the second quarter, Scott said, Headset aims to raise between $5 million and $10 mil- lion through a Series A round. Expansion Plans Underway Headset intends to use the money to hire staff, expand its customer base and establish a physical presence in new markets. Besides its home base Jennifer Hall is a customer development representative at Headset. (Photo by Steve Dykes) 54 • Marijuana Business Magazine • February 2018

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