LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRØHBTD, the leading cannabis lifestyle media and brand platform, has raised USD $12 million in funding, $8 million of which was recently secured from a Series A round of investment. In addition to being a lead investor, the Delavaco Group acted as the sole strategic advisor to PRØHBTD. This financing represents the single largest round of funding for a media related company in the cannabis industry to date and follows an initial $4M of seed funding.
The funding will be used to accelerate the continued production and distribution of PRØHBTD’s slate of original content, make new key hires and deepen the expertise and capabilities across the company through strategic acquisitions, as it continues to help cannabis companies build their businesses and reach global audiences.
PRØHBTD will soon announce its plans for a Canadian public offering that will provide investors with an opportunity to participate in the future growth of the cannabis industry’s leading modern media company.
Aaron Serruya from Serruya Private Equity said “We've seen every media opportunity in the cannabis industry but none of them compare to what the team at PRØHBTD has built. We expect great things from the company and we're excited to support the team’s global vision."
PRØHBTD has built a first of its kind cannabis ecosystem that includes a brand creation and product development platform, complemented by an original content studio and expansive media distribution network. Through the company’s in-house creative agency, more than 60 cannabis brands partner with PRØHBTD for brand and product development, design, market strategy and branded integration within its original content, which is led by Chief Content Officer Josh Otten and his team of award winning content creators.
PRØHBTD built the first and largest multi-platform video network in the cannabis industry. In addition to the company’s flagship lifestyle destination www.prohbtd.com, video content is syndicated across 15 different partner platforms including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, Android TV, Dailymotion and others, which saw more than 21 million video views in May with an average view through rate of 3:45 minutes. This reach and engagement provides cannabis brands with effective means to reach an available audience of more than 100 million consumers when many traditional media platforms are restricted or closed to them.
In an online universe littered with throw-away social videos and outdated cannabis narratives, PRØHBTD has quietly built the world’s largest cannabis lifestyle original video library. This library is currently being licensed to third parties to extend the PRØHBTD brand into new global markets.
“We started PRØHBTD to tell cutting edge stories through premium lifestyle cannabis content in a way that no-one else was doing,” said Drake Sutton-Shearer, CEO of PRØHBTD. “We are fortunate to have such an incredible group of investors and advisors so now it’s time to turn up the heat and accelerate our global mission to mainstream cannabis and connect brands to consumers. Game on.”
The financing comes with additional revenue generating agreements from leading companies across the cannabis industry who have selected PRØHBTD to invest in and partner with. This is a testament to the momentum and strength of the core business that the company has built over the past four years.
PRØHBTD continues to strike exclusive strategic partnerships that connect the company and the industry with Wall Street and Madison Avenue. Its partnership with Advertising Week helps mainstream companies to connect with the cannabis brands of the future and understand who the cannabis consumer is. After last year’s history making event in Times Square, the company is headed to Sydney, Australia on July 30th to introduce international cannabis thought leaders to the APAC region, before returning for Advertising Week New York in October.
Additionally, the exclusive partnership with Entrepreneur Magazine will produce the inaugural “Top 100 Cannabis Entrepreneurs” list, which will spotlight 100 visionaries and leaders in this exciting industry and introduce them to the mainstream business community.
Future plans include launching educational and experiential programs to help consumers better understand the many benefits of cannabis as a health and wellness tool.
In addition to the PRØHBTD founders Drake Sutton-Shearer (CEO), Josh Otten (CCO) and Kieve Huffman (COO) investors and advisors include Donald Glover, Swedish House Mafia’s Axwell Hedfors, Joel and Benji Madden, Peter Lewit, Steve Shapiro, Joey Houssian, Serruya Private Equity, Delavaco Capital, Cresco Capital, Green Acre Capital, Clarus Securities, Explorer Equity Group, Vector Management Partner Andy Mendelsohn, Advertising Week founders Lance Pillersdorf and Matt Scheckner, Guggenheim Media Managing Director Kraig Fox, Wharton Marketing Professor David Bell, former Tribeca Film Festival and droga5 CEO Andrew Essex, NYC design firm 2X4, Mesh Ventures, former Coca-Cola and MDC Partners executive Craig Binkley, Shevin Law Group founder Eric Shevin, Peter Witting, EPIC Records EVP and CFO Lynn Hazan, 414 Media Advisors, Therapy Studios and Therapy Content, Chris Berman, Format Entertainment CEO Dave Jordan, CAA’s Ryan Harlacher, Executive Producer and former HBO and Televisa executive Michael Garcia, Language Media CEO Ryan Tomlinson and Sheppard Mullin Blockchain and Digital co-team leader Jim Gatto.
About PRØHBTD
PRØHBTD creates, builds and markets cannabis brands to global audiences. The company has built a first of its kind cannabis ecosystem that includes a brand creation and product development platform complemented by an original content studio and expansive multi-platform video distribution network reaching an available audience of 100+ million people. Through the company’s in-house creative agency, more than 60 cannabis brands partner with PRØHBTD for brand and product development, design, market strategy and branded integration within its original content, which is made by a team of award winning creators.
PRØHBTD is recognized as the exclusive global cannabis partner of Advertising Week and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Learn more at www.prohbtd.com and www.prohbtdmedia.com.
Video Reel: https://vimeo.com/274378219
