We began the process of evaluating companies for The 2017 CBE Ancillary Business 150 back in May, using CBE Week to get the message out to its 30,000 plus subscribers that included a brief survey tracking company revenue performance for the last three years, as well as other proprietary information.

CBE then pursued companies that we thought should be included in this year’s list by speaking with companies directly that exhibit at industry trade shows throughout the summer, and then with yours truly, reaching out directly to company ownership via e-mails and phone calls to gather the data needed to put together this year’s ranking.

For those of you who are new to CBE and our industry lists, when we launched in November of 2014, CBE promised its readers that it was on a mission to share the best practices of key industry stakeholders, and benchmark and recognize performance of private companies, by sharing their revenue, employee counts and key management players.

The goal of this list has always been to help buyers and sellers in the industry connect, and help the network of key industry political, regulatory and special interest group leaders to stay on top of developments that impact their business decisions.

When reaching out to ancillary business executives, my pitch was very simple: “You want to be included in the AB list because it really is a list of product and service suppliers that are generating real revenues and employing real paid workers, which are the best indicators of why you should be on an RFP when a licensee is looking for your category of product or service providers.”

And, just as importantly, transparency says a lot about companies that are working diligently to build successful ventures – a lot more than the amount of capital companies raise with an idea and a promise of great returns to investors looking to maximize returns based on “shoot for the moon” valuations. This was a lesson learned in past boom and busts, like the rise and fall of thousands of internet start-up companies in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, or the implosion of the banking and mortgage sector ten short years ago.

And yes, whether I am specifically being naive or not, my personal aspiration was to see capital flow to the start-ups whose products or services could solve cannabis licensee business problems – or to cannabis licensees like the ones on the 2017 CBE 200 PPRs and other companies that we haven’t identified yet (not for a lack of trying).

As usual, please reach out to CBE and feel free to submit a completed survey so we can recognize other companies that we didn’t identify on this year’s list. We want licensees to know about and have access to all of the terrific suppliers!

Some of my favorite stories (actually least favorite) and comments in putting together this list together were the ones I heard when talking to executives, who are not as transparent as I hope they would be, or are so focused on their valuations that they lose track of the fact that they better deliver for customers before counting their potential wealth – that includes companies that I have called repeatedly only to get screened out and never acknowledged (I should publish that list!). Those stories include:

1.) “What does it cost to be on your list?” (There are way too many pay-for-play media pretenders in the cannabis space. CBE is not one of them!).

2.) “Your list should be based on valuations.” (Ahh I see…potential and big ideas count more than real performance.).

3.) “He or she is on a call and will get back to you shortly.” (The absolute kiss off!).

4.) “What is in it for me and my company to be on your list?”

5.) “The competitive comment of XYZ company’s past year revenues aren’t counted correctly.” (Instead of focusing on why their company should be on the list).

6.) “I don’t want to be on your list because….” (Like Forbes, Fortune or Business Week, CBE is an editorial product and its editors decide who is on the list!).

But enough with this editor’s venting about the difficulties associated with this task. Let’s look at the criteria for inclusion.

The 2017 CBE Ancillary Business List was expanded to include all categories of businesses that are part of CBE’s Business Directory, which includes over 750 companies. The projected year-end annual revenue threshold for being part of the rankings this year is at least $1,000,000.

CBE received over 150 completed surveys. Some of the companies that submitted did not qualify for the 2017 list but are now part of the ever-growing database that CBE has been collecting for the past three years.

The top categories of representation on this year’s list are:

Category	Companies
Consulting	9
Cultivation Products & Services	33
Extraction/Distillation Equipment	11
Lab Testing	14
Legal	10
Media/Publishing/Events	11
Packaging	10
Security Solutions	7
Software	13
Staffing/Payroll	5

Notably absent from this year’s list are biotechnology companies. CBE only had a couple of firms submit surveys and none qualified.

A list of the top-ranked companies by category and by reported projected year-end revenues looks like this:

Category	Company
Advertising, Marketing and PR	The Cannabis Marketing Lab
Consulting	Canna Advisors
Consumption Gear & Supplies	VapeWorld
Cultivation Products & Services	Hawthorne Garden Products
Extraction/Distillation Equipment	Waters Corporation
Lab Testing	CW Analytical
Legal	Vicente Sederberg
Media/Publishing/Events	Weedmaps
Packaging	Cool Jarz (Earthwise Packaging)
Security Solutions	CannaGuard Security
Software	Franwell/Metrc
Staffing/Payroll	Ms. Mary Staffing

On behalf of CBE Press, congratulations to Chris Hagedorn and his top ranked team at Hawthorne Garden Supplies, owners of well-known brands Gavita lighting, Botanicare and General Hydroponics.

Also, a shout out to Doug Francis and his team at Weedmaps. CBE’s sources tell us that their revenue grew by leaps and bounds in the last year, as their international expansion gains ground and traction.

Finally, thank you to all of the companies that shared their proprietary data and keep it coming so we can keep up with the ever-growing CBE Producer, Processor and Retailer list that included 200 companies this year.

 

2017 Ranking	Company Name/Revenue Range	Financing	HQ Location	Management	Title	Employees	Category
$45 Million Plus
1	Hawthorne Garden Products	Private	Port Washington, NY	Chris Hagedorn	General Manager	NA	Cultivation Products and Services
2	Weedmaps	Private	Irvine, CA	Doug Francis	CEO	170	Media/Publishing
3	Nexus Greenhouse System DeltaT Indoor Grow RBI/Rough Brothers	Private	Northglenn, Colorado	Craig Humphrey	VP Sales	200	Cultivation Products & Services-Greenhouses
4	Gro Dan	Private	Netherlands	Ryan Halvorsen	Retail Business Manager	110	Cultivation Products and Services
5	Shimadzu	Private	Tokyo, JP	Teruhisa Ueda	President & CEO	11000	Laboratory Equipment
6	VapeWorld	Private	Boca Raton, FL	Aaron Locascio	CEO	NA	Consumption Gear & Supplies
$25 to $44.99 Million
7	GGS Structures	Private	Ontario, CN	Leigh Coulter	Owner	75	Cultivation Products & Services-Greenhouses & Controls
8	Waters Corporation	Public/NYSE:WAT	Milford, MA	Christopher J. O'Connell	CEO	6500	Extraction and Lab Equipment Manufacture
9	Growers Supply	Private	South Windsor, CT	Barry Goldsher	CEO	400	Cultivation Products and Services
10	Growers House	Private	Tuscon, AZ	Paul & Nate Lipton	Owners	32	Cultivation Products and Services
11	Cool Jarz (Earthwise packaging)	Private	Irvine, CA	Ken Loritz	President & CEO	120	Packaging
$15-$24.99 Million
12	Marijuana Packaging	Private	Vernon, CA	David Palacios	Senior Acct. Mgr.	150	Packaging
13	HighTimes Holding Company	Private	Los Angeles, CA	Adam Levins	CEO	NA	Media/Publishing/Events
14	Franwell/Metrc	Private	Nashville, TN	Jeff Wells/Scott Denham	CEO/Executive Director	22	Software & RFID Tags
15	Kush Bottles	Public/OTC:KSHB	Santa Ana, CA	Nick Kovacevich	CEO	62	Packaging
16	Precision Extraction	Private	Detroit, MI	Marc Beginin & Nick Tennant	CEO	25	Extraction Equipment
17	Urban Gro	Private	Lafayette, CO	Brad Nattress	CEO	42	Cultivation Products and Services
$10 -$14.99 Million
18	MJ Business Daily	Private	Providence, RI	Anne Holland & Cassandra Farrington	Co-Founders & CEO	30	Media/Publishing/Events
19	Eden Labs	Private	Seattle, WA	AC Braddock	CEO	25	Extraction & Distillation Equipment Manufacturer
20	Apeks Supercritical	Private	Johnstown, OH	Andy Joseph	President	30	Extraction Equipment Manufacturer
21	Leafly	Private	Seattle, WA	Drew Reynolds	CEO	106	Media/Publishing
22	Bhogart	Private	San Jose, CA	Kevin Dolan	Partner	48	Extraction Equipment Manufacturer and Retailer
23	Ms. Mary Staffing /Hybrid Payroll	Private	Denver, CO	Stephen Sullivan	CEO	10	Staffing/Payroll
24	HydroLogic Purification Systems	Private	Santa Cruz, CA	Rich Gellert	Owner	17	Water Filtration
$7.5 to $9.99 Million
25	Vicente Sederberg	Private	Denver, CO	Brian Vicente & Christian Sederberg	Co-Founders/Partners	50	Legal
26	Greenspoon Marder	Private	Ft Lauderdale, FL	Gerald Greenspoon	Co-Managing Director	27	Legal
27	Solis Tek Inc.	Public/OTC: SLTK	Carson, CA	Alan Lien & Dennis Forchic	Chairman/President &CEO	16	Cultivation Products & Services
28	MJ Freeway	Private	Denver, CO	Amy Poinsett & Jessica Billingsley	Founders, CEO & COO	75	Software
29	CannaGuard Security	Private	Lake, Oswego, OR	Noah Stokes	CEO	35	Security Solutions
30	Cannasure	Private	Colombus, OH	Patrick McManamon	CEO	12	Insurance
31	Root Sciences	Private	Belfair, WA	Nenad Yashruti	Co-Founder	6	Extraction/Distillation Equipment
32	Your Green Contractor	Private	Engelwood, CO	Nathan Mendel	Founder & President	40	Construction/General Contractor
33	Evolve Greenhouse Solutions	Private	Medford, OR	Johnathan T. DiBiasi	Owner	20	Cultivation Products & Services-Greenhouses
34	Dyna-Gro	Private	Richmond, CA	David E. Neal & Susan P. Martin	Owners, CEO & CFO	10	Cultivation Products and Services - Nutrients
35	EnviroTech Cultivation Services	Private	Richmond, CA	Zev Ilovitz & Kurt Parbst	President	10	Cultivation Products & Services-Greenhouses, Accessories & Controls
36	Extraction Tek	Private	Denver, CO	Matthew Ellis	CEO	9	Extraction Equipment
37	California Lightworks	Private	Canoga Park, CA	George Mekhtarian & Craig Adams	Owner/Director Sales & Marketing	17	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
$5 to $7.49 Million
38	Baker Technologies	Private	Denver, CO	Joel Milton	CEO	55	Software
39	SIVA Enterprises	Private	Burbank, CA	Avis Bulbulyan	CEO	18	Consulting, Management, Brands, Insurance
40	Surna	Public/OTC:SRNA	Boulder, CO	Trent Doucet	Co-Founder & CEO		Cultivation Products and Services
41	Forever Flowering Greenhouses	Private	Grass Valley, CA	jonathan valdman	CEO	9	Cultivation Products and Services
42	CW Analytical	Private	Oakland, CA	Robert Martin	CEO	22	Lab Testing
43	Zwart Systems	Private	Ontario, CN	Jim Van Ryn	General Manager	40	Greenhouse Irrigation
44	Terpp Extractors	Private	Fort Collins, CO	Lori Hainkel	CEO	10	Extraction Equipment
45	BioTrack THC	Private	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Patrick Vo	CEO	60	Software
46	Cannaline	Private	Elkridge, MD	Arnold Heckman & Andrew Rickert	CEO/COO	9	Packaging
47	Funk Sac	Private	Colombus, OH	Garrett Fortune	CEO	15	Packaging
48	Isolate Extraction Systems LLC	Private	Lafayette, CO	Kelly Knudson	CEO	14	Extraction Equipment
49	Triminator	Private	Grass Valley, CA	Dana Mosman	CEO	15	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
50	Dope Publishing	Private	Seattle, WA	George Jage	CEO	44	Media/Publishing/Events
51	Canna Advisors	Private	Boulder, CO	Jay & Diane Czarkowski	Co-Founders Partners	11	Consulting

2017 Ranking	Company Name/Revenue Range	Financing	HQ Location	Management	Title	Employees	Category
$2.5 to $4.99 Million
52	CannaFam	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Ryan Bishop	CEO/COO	15	Packaging
53	Greenbits	Private	San Jose, CA	Ben Curren	Co-Founder and CEO	30	Software
54	Smart Promotions/CannaCon	Private	Kenmore, WA	Robert Smart	Founding Managing Partner	7	Media/Publishing/Events
55	Witlon, Inc.	Private	Denver, CO	Nick Murer	CEO	6	Payroll Management, Staffing & HR, Accounting, Compliance and Marketing
56	Growcentia, Inc	C Corp	Fort Collins, CO	Gregg Steinberg	CEO	32	Cultivation Products and Services - Nutrients
57	Canna Security America	Public/ OTC:CSAX	Denver, CO	Tom Siciliano	President	100	Security Solutions
58	Assurpack llc	Private	Greenwood Village, CO	Nancy Warner	CEO	5	Packaging
59	JPS Designs	Private	Costa Mesa, CA	Jim Smith	President	25	Commercial Design
60	Steep Hill Labs	Private	Berkeley, CA	J Michaele Keller	President & CEO	40	Lab Testing
61	The Capsule Group	Private	Pompano Beach, FL	Jonathan Gilinski	Founder & CEO	3000	Encapsulation Products and Services
62	Good Earth Organics	Private	Cave Junction, OR	Tim Clark	CEO	10	Cultivation Products and Services
63	NuAxon Tech	Private	Bloomfield, IN	Jason Edwards (Cliff Perry)	CEO/President	7	Extraction Equipment
64	Harris Bricken	Private	Seattle, WA	Hilary Bricken	Managing Attorney	33	Legal
65	Black Dog LED	Private	Boulder, CO	Corey Drew	CEO	8	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
66	Vangst	Private	Denver, CO	Karson Humistan	Founder and President	26	Staffing
67	National Cannabis Security Services	Private	Coatesville, PA	Ted Daniels	CEO	107	Security
68	Calyx	Private	Oakland, CA	Dakota Sullivan	CEO	15	Distributor
69	Green Leaf Lab	Private	Portland, OR	Rowshan Reordan-Loney	CEO	20	Lab Testing
70	ProMax Grow	Private	Tappan, NY	Jeff Gassman	CEO	14	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
71	Desiccare, Inc. (Integra)	Private	Reno, NV	Ken Blankenhorn	President	150	Humidity Control/Packaging
72	Gobi Analytical	Private	Denver, CO	Burenjargal Perrone	Owner/President	17	Lab Testing
73	Medicine Man Technologies	Public/OTC:MDCL	Denver, CO	Brett Roper	COO	19	Consulting
74	HelioSpectra	Public/OTC:HLSPY	Goteborg, Sweden	Ali Ahmadian	CEO	32	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
75	Helix TCS (Cannabase)	Public/OTC:HLIX	Greenwood Village, CO	Zachary L. Venegas	Founder and CEO	74	Security, Compliance and Data Analytics
76	Leaf Logix Technologies, Inc.	Private	Los Angeles, CA	James Minutello	CEO	23	Software
77	Amercanex	Private	Denver, CO	Steve Janjic	CEO	30	Media/Publishing
78	American Cannabis Consulting	Public/AMMJ/OTC	Denver, CO	Terry Buffalo	CEO	13	Consulting & Reseller
79	ArcView Group	Private	San Francisco, CA	Troy Dayton	CEO	15	Media/Publishing/Events
80	Dymapak	Private	New York, NY	Ross Kirsh	Founder/CEO	8	Packaging
81	Wykowski Law	Private	San Francisco, CA	Henry Wykowski	Owner	10	Legal
82	Hoban Law Group	Private	Denver, CO	Bob Hoban, Brent Johnson, Kate Strickland	Founder, CEO & COO	30	Legal
83	National Cannabis Industry Association	Non-Profit	Denver, CO	Aaron Smith	Executive Director	10	Trade Association
$1 to $2.499 Million
84	Confidence Analytics	Private	Redmond, WA	Bobby Hines & Nick Mosely	Co-Owners	13	Lab Testing
85	Emerald Scientific	Private	San Luis Obispo, CA	Ken Snoke	President	12	Scientific Supplies and Lab Equipment
86	Pure Life Veganix	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Kyle Kushman & Susie Ambrose	Founder/President & CEO	5	Cultivation Products & Services-Nutrients
87	RM3 Labs	Private	Denver, CO	Ian Barringer	Founder/CEO	22	Lab Testing
88	Mjardin	Private	Denver, CO	Rishi Gautam	CEO	250	Cultivation & Processing Management
89	Hemp Temps	Private	Aurora, CO	Shannon Forman	CEO	240	Staffing
90	Cova	Private	Denver, Colorado	Gary Cohen	CEO	40	Software
91	Guardian Data Systems	Private	Vancouver, WA	Lance Ott	CEO	50	Software
92	Marijuana Venture	Private	Seattle, WA	Greg James	Founder	10	Media/Publishing/Events
93	Meridian Merchandising	Private	Olympia, WA	Chris Helm	Owner		Packaging
94	Seinergy LLC	Private	Langley, WA	Bob Gunn	CEO	3	Equipment finance, energy rebates, electric utility rebate administration
95	Adilas	Private	Salida,CO	Stephen Berkoncotter	CEO	3	Software
96	Green Mountain Harvest	Private	Lakewood, CO	Susan Chicovsky	Owner	69	Harvesting and Trimming
97	McAllister Garfield, PC	Private	Denver, CO	Sean McAllister	Founder/Attorney	20	Legal
98	ProVerde Laboratories, Inc.	Private	Milford, MA	Dorian A. Des Lauriers & Chris Hudalla	Co-Founders, CEO and Chief Science Officer	14	Lab Testing, Extraction Services
99	Oregon Growers Analytical	Private	Eugene, OR	Bethany Sherman	Founder/CEO	12	Lab Testing
100	Cannabis Business Times	Private	Valley View, OH	Jim Gilbride & Noelle Skodzinski	Publisher/Editor	22	Media/Publishing/Events
101	3C Consulting, LLC	Private	Denver, CO	Nic Easly	CEO	15	Consulting

2017 Ranking	Company Name/Revenue Range	Financing	HQ Location	Management	Title	Employees	Category
$1 to $2.499 Million
102	Oaksterdam	Private	Oakland, CA	Dale Sky Jones	Executive Director	12	Training & Education
103	4Front Advisors	Private	Phoenix, AZ	Josh Rosen & Kris Krane	CO-Founders, CEO & President	30	Consulting
104	AEssense	Private	Sunnyvale, CA	Robert Chen	Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.	120	Cultivation Products & Services, Software
105	Digipath Inc.	Public/OTC:DIGP	Las Vegas, NV	Todd Denkin	Founder, President & COO	13	Lab Testing
106	LabTrader Scientific Equipment Inc._	Private	San Diego, CA	Jacqueline Ramirez	Owner	5	Extraction Equipment Manufacturer
107	WURK	Private	Denver, CO	Keegan Peterson	Founder & CEO	30	Workforce Management Software
108	Bud Bar Displays	Private	Gold River, CA	Will Smith	CEO	20	Retail Displays
109	Analytical 360	Private	Seattle, WA	Brenton Dawber, Ed Stremlow, John Brown and Dr. Paul Matthews	Management teaT	19	Lab Testing
110	The Rosen Group	Private	New York, NY	Lori Rosen	President	18	Public Relations
111	BDS Analytics	Private	Denver, CO	Roy Bingham & Elizabeth Stahura	CEO and Co-Founder	23	Data Analytics/Research
112	Offit Kurman	Private	Maple Lawn, MD	Jon Wachs & Darren Weiss	Principal and Co-Founder, Cannabis Practice Group	350	Legal
113	Symplifya	Private	Denver, CO	Marion Mariathasan	CEO	17	Compliance Solutions
114	Trace Weed/Dauntless Software	Private	Redmond, WA	Clark Musser	CEO	17	Software
115	WeedTraqr	Private	Seattle, WA	David Busby & Eric Ogden	Founder & CEO/Co-Founder	6	Software
116	CannaSafe Analytics	Private	Murrieta, CA	Matthew Haskin & Aaron Riley	CEO & President	10	Lab Testing
117	Loney Law Group	Private	Ashland OR	Paul Loney	Owner	7	Legal
118	AltaSci Laboratories	Private	New Britain, CT	Jose Zavaleta	Lab Director	10	Testing Lab
119	Emerge Law Group	Private	Portland, OR	Genny Kiley	Shareholder	13	Legal
120	Dispensary Permits (Arizona DP Consulting LLC)	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Sara Gullickson	Owner	5	Consulting
121	Indo Expo Trade Show	Private	Denver, CO	Chris Olson	CEO	7	Media/Publishing/Events
122	Iron Laboratories	Private	Walled Lake, MI	Howard Lutz	CEO	16	Lab Testing
123	Leafbuyers Technology Inc	Public	Greenwood Village, CO	Kurt Rossner	CEO	18	Media/Publishing
124	Manna Molecular Science LLC	Private	Framingham, MA	Nial DeMena	CEO	5	Transdermal Patch Manufacturer
125	Patient Focused Certification (Americans for Safe Access)	Non-Profit	Washington DC	Jahan Marcu	Director	20	Training/Certification
126	Quintel-MC	Private	Greenwood Village, CO	Leslie Buttorff	CEO	120	Software
127	Rose Law Group	Private	Scottsdale, AZ	Ryan Hurley	Partner/Chair Cannabis Practice Group	35/5	Legal
128	Strategic Factory	Private	Owings Mill, MD	Keith Miller	CEO	121	Advertising, Marketing and PR
129	The Bureau	Private	Miami, FL	Josh Gordon	CEO	4	Packaging
130	The Cannabis Marketing Lab	Private	San Luis Obispo, CA	Celeste Miranda	Founder/CEO	22	Advertising, Marketing and PR
Companies that belong on list but don't disclose revenues (listed alphabetically)
131	Across International	Private	Livingston, NJ	Anna Tykowski	Marketing, PR & Advertising	NA	Material Processing Equipment
132	Advanced Nutrients	Private	Abbotsford, BC Canada	Michael Straumietis, Robert C. Higgins	Founder & Co-Founder & President	NA	Cultivation Products & Services - Nutrients
133	Argus Controls (Conviron)	Private	Surrey, BC Canada	Yurij Duda	General Manager	NA	Automated Control Systems
134	Boveda	Private	Minnetonka, MN	Sean Knudson	CEO	15	Humidity Control
135	Cascadia Labs	Private	Portland, OR	Amy & Jeremy Sackett	CEO	10	Lab Testing
136	Current Culture H20	Private	Fresno, CA	Daniel Wilson	President	16	Cultivation Products & Services
137	Custom Vault	Private	Bethel, CT	Tom Brennan	President and Chief Executive Officer	NA	Security Solutions
138	Denver Relief Consulting	Private	Denver, CO	Ean Seeb & Kayvan Khalibari, Nick Hice	Co-owners	14	Consulting
139	Flowhub	Private	Denver, CO	Kyle Sherman	Founder & CEO	NA	Software
140	GreenBroz	Private	San Diego, CA	Cullen Raichart	CEO	15	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
141	Keirton	Private	Vancouver, CN	Jay Evans	CEO	25	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
142	LIV Advisors	Private	Los Angeles, CA	Simone Cimiluca-Radzins	CEO	3	Consulting Services
143	Nanolux	Private	Petaluma, CA	Emily Walter	National Sales Manager	9	Cultivation Products and Services - Lighting
144	NEXTG3N	Private	Chino, CA	Josh Conley	Owner/CEO	NA	Cultivation Products & Services - Greenhouses
145	Pax Labs	Private	San Francisco, CA	Tyler Goldman	CEO	NA	Consumption Gear
146	Rolland Safe and Lock	Private	Dallas, TX	Rick Rolland	CEO	84	Security Solutions
147	RX Green Solutions	Private	Manchester, NH	Todd Brady	Founder & CEO	NA	Cultivation Products & Services
148	SC Labs	Private	Santa Cruz, CA	Jeff Gray	CEO	50	Lab Testing
149	Trim Pro	Private	Montreal, Canada	David Boissenot	CEO	NA	Cultivation Products and Services - Trimmers
150	Wilson Safe	Private	Philadelphia, PA	Ray Wilson	President	20	Security Solutions