By Rob Meagher

The Cannabis Industry has attracted more than its fair share of creative, driven, and successful entrepreneurs and business executives since (and before) states began licensing producers, processors, and retailers to sell medical and then adult use marijuana to customers in the United States.

There are now 25 states with medical marijuana programs and four (4) with adult-use programs in the U.S., and more coming in the fall with several states supporting ballot initiatives, including the holy grail of states — California.

To date, CBE estimates that there have been in excess of 10,000 licenses granted to Producer, Processor and Retailers (PPRs), and there have easily been thousands of new, ancillary businesses (ABs) that are targeting these licensees and consumers.

These ABs are a key part of the industry food chain as they sell their products and services to the PPRs to help them grow their business as they pursue profitability, and, to help consumers of licensee products satisfy their individual needs for the plant whether they use it for recreational or medical purposes. Unlike PPRs, ABs are not prohibited, for the most part, in doing business nationwide or internationally, so their targets are not limited to their home states or even to licensed businesses only. In fact, many have supplied the black market for years.

On the other side of the coin, many nationally and internationally recognized brands have not entered the industry for fear of retribution by their current non-cannabis related customers who want to distance themselves as far away from marijuana as they can instead of being viewed as a friend to an industry that is still Federally illegal.

Banking, payroll, insurance, security, software, and staffing are just a few of the basic segments of products and services needed by any industry, yet the large national providers are eerily absent from the Cannabis Industry due to Federal Prohibition. Brands like Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Prudential, Allstate, Marsh & McLennan, ADT Security Systems, IBM, Oracle, ADP, Spherion, and Kelly Services have remained on the sidelines, and their absence has produced unprecedented opportunities for several of the categories recognized in the inaugural CBE 100 Ancillary Businesses rankings.

The 2016 list is composed primarily of pioneering private companies and others that have decided to target the fastest growing industry in the U.S. and arguably worldwide, cannabis, and is represented predominantly by over 10 segments including but not limited to:

• Compliance;
• Consulting;
• Cultivation Products & Services;
• Extraction Equipment;
• Lab Testing Services;
• Media/Publishing/Events;
• Packaging;
• Payroll;
• Staffing;
• Security; 
• Software.

The list does not include other segments that have  clearly contributed to the success of PPRs like venture capital, accredited individual investors and investment firms since it is virtually impossible to track annual revenues or services like accounting and legal which are populated by hundreds and thousands of local players.

Like the 2015 CBE 100 PPR list, our goal was to help attract capital to companies that we believe will generate revenues and play a key role in industry expansion.

As usual, transparency is a key issue that CBE Press is following in the industry, and we have been fortunate to collect 2015 employee counts and revenues for the majority of the companies listed. In some cases, we were able to estimate revenue based on publicly available information and our own calculations. We have ranked companies in revenue slices this year and included 10 companies that have either shared their revenues and asked not to be ranked by revenue segment or have flat-out declined to share revenues. In these cases, CBE Press believes they belong on the 2015 list and have included 10 companies that fit this profile in slots 91-100. Several of these firms would rank towards the middle to top of the 2016 rankings if we used their revenue figures.

This year’s list is represented by companies based in 17 states and three foreign countries. More specifically, here are the top five locations for CBE 100 ABs by location and the number in each:

• Colorado — 31;
• California — 20;
• Washington — 7;
• Florida — 6;
• Oregon — 5.

At the top of this year’s list is Gavita Holland,  one of the oldest specialized horticultural lighting companies. Right behind are VapeWorld out of Boca Raton, Florida, and Nexus Greenhouse Systems of NorthGlen, Colorado. We apologize if we missed your company, be sure to let us know.

Please join me in congratulating the members of the 2016 CBE 100 Ancillary Businesses!

Rob Meagher

Founder, President and Editor-in-Chief

CBE Press LLC

Rank	Company Size 2015 Revenue Range	Public/Private	HQ Location	Management	Title	Employees	Category
	$45,000,000 Plus
1	Gavita	Private	Netherlands	NA	NA	12	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
2	Vapeworld	Private	Boca Raton, FL	Aaron Locascio	CEO	NA	Consumption Gear & Supplies
3	Nexus Greenhouse Systems	Private	Northglenn, CO	Mike Porter,Cheryl Longtin	President/CEO/Co-Owners	100	Greenhouses, accessories & controls
	$25,000,000 to $44,999,999
4	WeedMaps	Private	Irvine, CA	Doug Francis	CEO	170	Media/Publishing
5	GGS Structures Inc.	Private	Ontario, CN	Leigh Coulter	Owner	75	Greenhouses, accessories & controls
6	Waters Corporation	WAT/NYSE	Milford, Ma	Christopher J. O'Connell	CEO	6500	Extraction Equipment
7	Grodan	Private	Netherlands	Ryan Halvorsen	Retail Business Manager	110	Cultivation Products and Services
	$15,000,000 to $24,999,999
8	High Times	Private	New York, NY	Larry Linietsky	COO	30	Media/Publishing
9	Growers Supply	Private	South Windsor, CT	Barry Goldsher	CEO	400	Cultivation Products and Services
10	MJardin	Private	Denver, CO	Adam Denmark Cohen	CEO	250	Cultivation Management
11	Growers House	Private	Tuscon, AZ	Paul & Nate Lipton	Owners	22	Grow/Cultivation Equipment
12	CoolJarz	Private	Irvine, CA	Ken Loritz	President & CEO	22	Grow/Cultivation Equipment
	$10,000,000-$14,999,999
13	Nanolux	Private	Petaluma, CA	Emily Walter	National Sales Manager	9	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
14	Keirton	Private	Vancouver, CN	Jay Evans	CEO	25	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
15	Apeks Supercritical	Private	Columbus, OH	Andy Joseph	CEO	31	Extraction Equipment
16	Eden Labs	Private	Seattle, WA	AC Braddock	CEO	25	Extraction Equipment
17	MJ Business Daily (Anne Holland Ventures)	Private	Providence, RI	Anne Holland & Cassandra Farrington	Co-Founders & CEO	13	Media/Publishing
	$5,000,000-9,999,999
18	Best Value Vacs	Private	Naperville, IL	Thomas Marosi and Mitchell Marosi	Owners	26
19	urban-gro	Private	Lafayette, CO	Bradley Nattrass	CEO	22	Cultivation Products and Services
20	Cannasure	Private	Colombus, OH	Patrick McManamon	CEO	8	Insurance
21	SURNA	SRNA/OTC	Boulder, CO	Stephen Keen	CEO		Cultivation Products and Services
22	TrimPro	Private	Montreal, CN	Steven Drummond	Executive Director	26	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
23	Ms Mary's Staffing	Private	Denver, CO	Stephen Sullivan	CEO	5/500*	Payroll & Staffing
24	Envirotech Greenhouse Solutions	Private	Richmond, CA	Zev Ilovitz	President	8	Greenhouses, accessories & controls
25	Terpp Extractors	Private	Fort Collins, CO	Lori Hainkel	CEO	10	Extraction Equipment
26	Zwart Systems	Private	Ontario, CN	Jim Van Ryn	General Manager	40	Greenhouse Irrigation
27	MJ Freeway	Private	Denver, CO	Amy Poinsett & Jessica Billingsley	CEO/COO	39	Software
	$2,500,000-$4,999,999
28	Precision Extractions	Private	Detroit, MI	Nick Tenant	CEO	15	Extraction Equipment
29	Cannaline	Private	Elkridge, MD	Arnold Heckman & Andrew Rickert	CEO/COO	7	Packaging
30	FunkSac	Private	Colombus, OH	Garrett Fortune	CEO	15	Packaging
31	Biotrak THC	Private	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Patrick Vo	CEO	40	Software
32	Good Earth Organics	Private	Cave Junction, OR	Roy DeLeon	CEO	10	Cultivation Products & Services
33	Kush Bottles	KSHB/OTC	Santa Ana, CA	Nick Kovacevich	CEO	20	Packaging
34	Dauntless Software	Private	Redmond, WA	Clark Musser	CEO	16	Software
35	Forever Flowering Greenhouses	Private	Grass Valley, CA	Jonathan Valdman	CEO	8	Greenhouses, accessories & controls
36	Gobi Analytical	Private	Denver, CO	Bugi Perrone	Owner/President	17	Lab Testing
37	Steep Hill	Private	Berkeley, CA	J Michelle	CEO	30	Lab Testing
38	GreenBroz	Private	San Diego, CA	Cullen Raichart	CEO	15	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
39	iGrow	Private	Colombus, OH	Ari Seaman, Cary & Eric Senders	Co-Owners	15	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
40	NuAxon BioScience	Private	Bloomfield, IN	Jason Edwards	CEO/President		Extraction Equipment
41	ExtractionTek	Private	Denver, CO	Sean Winfeild	VP Sales & Marketing	7	Extraction Equipment
42	American Cannabis Company	AMMJ/OTC	Denver, CO	Corey Hollister	CEO	13	Consulting & Reseller
43	Trimminator	Private	Grass Valley, CA	Dana Mosman	CEO	15	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
	$1,000,000-$2,499,000
44	ArcView Group	Private	San Francisco, CA	Troy Dayton	CEO	7	Media/Publishing
45	Guardian Data Systems	Private	Seattle, WA	Lance Ott	CEO	12	Software and Financial Services
46	Amercanex	Private	Denver, CO	Steve Jancic	CEO	16	Media/Publishing
47	HelioSpectra	HLSPY/OTC	Goteborg, Sweden	Staffan Hillberg	CEO	22	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
48	Isolate Extraction Systems LLC	Private	Lafayette, CO	Kelly Knudson	CEO	9	Extraction Equipment
49	CANNAFAM	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Ryan Bishop	CEO	16	Packaging
50	Bulbulyan Consulting Group	Private	Burbank, CA	Avis Bulbulyan	CEOs	8	Consulting
51	Black Dog LED	Private	Boulder, CO	Corey Drew	Founder/CEO	11	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
52	GreenLeaf Labs	Private	Portland, OR	Rowshan Reordan	CEO	16	Lab Testing
53	HempTemps	Private	Aurora, CO	Shannon Forman	CEO	121	Staffing
54	Franwell	Private	Nashville, TN	Jeff Wells/Scott Denham	CEO/Executive Director	15	Software
55	Oaksterdam	Private	Oakland, CA	Dale Sky Jones	Executive Director	12	Training & Education
56	National Cannabis Industry Association	Non-Profit	Denver, CO	Aaron Smith	Executive Director	10	Trade Association
57	4 Front Advisors	Private	Phoenix, AZ	Leise Rosman	Managing Partner	16	Consulting
58	Cannaguard Security	Private	Lake, Oswego, OR	Noah Sykes	CEO	25	Security Solutions
57	Incredible Extractor	Private	Denver, CO	Rick Scarpella	CEO	8	Extraction Equipment
59	Witlon	Private	Denver, CO	Nick Murer	CEO	50	Payroll & Staffing
60	Bud Bar Displays	Private	Gold River, CA	Will Smith	CEO	15	Retail Displays
61	Analytical 360	Private	Seattle, WA	Brenton Dawber	CEO	17	Lab Testing
62	Confidence Analytics	Private	Redmond, WA	Bobby Hines & Nick Mosely	Co-Owners	26	Lab Testing
63	RM3 Labs Colorado LLC	Private	Denver, CO	Ian Barringer	Founder/CEO	20	Lab Testing
64	Denver Consulting Group	Private	Denver, CO	Greg Gamet & Justin Jones	Owners	10	Consulting
65	ProVerde Laboratories, Inc.	Private	Milford, Ma	Dorian A. Des Lauriers	CEO	10	Lab Testing
66	Capsule Consulting Group	Private	Pompano Beach, FL	Jonathan Gilinski	CEO	19	Consumption Gear & Supplies
67	Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting	Private	Denver, CO	Nic Easley	CEO	10	Consulting
68	BIOS	Private	Ft Lauderdale, FL	Sean Tegart	President & CEO	12	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
69	Stink Sack (Quark Distribution)	Private	New York, NY	Ross Kirsh	Founder/CEO	6	Packaging
70	EZ Trim	Private	Broomfield, CO	Joe Black	CEO	9	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
71	Massachusetts Cannabis Research Labs	Private	Framingham, MA	Michael Kahn	Ownership, CEO	11	Lab Testing
	Under $999,999
72	Oregon Growers Analytical	Private	Eugene, OR	Bethany Sherman	Founder/CEO	11	Lab Testing
73	CannaSafe Analytics	Private	Murrieta, CA	Matthew Haskin	CEO	8	Lab Testing
74	Vangst (Gradujuana)	Private	Denver, CO	Karson Humistan	CEO	10	Staffing
75	Medicine Man Technologies	MDCL/OTC	Denver, CO	Brett Roper	COO	4	Consulting
76	Cannasecurity	Private	Denver, CO	Tom Siciliano	COO	25	Security Solutions
77	Leaf Logix	Private	Roswell, Georgia	James Minutello	CEO	16	Software
78	Iron Laboratories	Private	Walled Lake, MI	Howard Lutz	CEO	16	Lab Testing
79	Adilas	Private	Salida,CO	Stephen Berkoncotter	CEO	3	Software
80	Calyx	Private	San Diego, CA	Chris Boudreau	CEO	15	Distributor
81	Vegamatrix	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Kyle Kushman & Susie Ambrose	Founder/President & CEO	4	Cultivation Products & Services
82	Rolland Safe	Private	Dallas, TX	Rick Rolland	CEO	84	Security Solutions
83	Adherence Compliance	Private	Denver, CO	Steve Owen	CEO	5	Compliance Software
84	Indo Expo Trade Show	Private	Denver, CO	Chris Olson	CEO	7	Media/Publishing/Events
85	iComply	Private	Denver, CO	Mark Slaugh	CEO	10	Compliance Software
86	C3 Labs	Private	Berkeley, CA	Marc Deppe/Tobias Paquet	Owner/CEO	8	Lab Testing
87	Weedtraqr	Private	Seattle, WA	David Busby	CEO	4	Software
88	HempStaff LLC	Private	Miami, FL	James Yaglielo	CEO	9	Staffing
89	Sapphire Risk Advisory Group	Private	Dallas, TX	Tony Gallo	CEO	3	Security Solutions
90	Canna Consulting Group	Private	Clearwater, FL	Karl Keich	Executive Director	9	Consulting
	Companies That Wouldn't Share Revenue Listed Alphabetically
91	Cascadia Labs (no image)	Private	Portland, OR	Amy & Jeremy Sackett	CEO	10	Lab Testing
92	Current Culture H2O	Private	Fresno, CA	Daniel Wison	President	16	Cultivation Products & Services
93	CW Analytical	Private	Oakland, CA	Robert Martin	Co-Founder	11	Lab Testing
94	Denver Relief Consulting	Private	Denver, CO	Ean Seeb & Kayvan Khalibari, Nick Hice	Co-owners	14	Consulting
95	MedMen	Private	Los Angelas, CA	Adam Bierman	CEO	NA	Consulting & Management
96	MassRoots	MSRT/OTC	Denver, CO	Isaac Dietrich	CEO	30	Media/Publishing
97	SCLabs	Private	Santa Cruz, CA	Jeff Gray	CEO	50	Lab Testing
98	TRIQ	Private	Bend, OR	Matt Cohen	CEO	13	Cultivation Products & Services
99	Viridian Staffing	Private	Seattle, WA	David Muret	Founder & COO	NA	Recruiting & Staffing
100	Women Grow	Private	San Francisco, CA	Jazmine Hupp	Co-Founder & CEO	7	Media/Publishing/Events