Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
A visit to the headquarters office of Eaze, a San Francisco-based medical marijuana delivery service, is preceded by visions of stoned millennials lounging on beanbag chairs idly talking on smartphones and munching Doritos. The reality is that their office, located in the heart of San Francisco's financial district, looks like any other ambitious tech startup, with neatly-dressed professionals working quietly in front of computers, surrounded by conference rooms where others plan the next moves for the biggest marijuana delivery technology service in the world.
With operations in over 80 cities throughout California, Eaze has become one of the lead players in a growing number of tech startups looking to capitalize on the green rush. Despite demand requiring thousands of deliveries per day, Eaze commits to delivering weed in 20 minutes or less and says that their average time is 15 minutes. That's faster than you can get a pizza in most American cities.
They are able to accomplish all of this without ever touching plant or money. Their tech platform facilitates the transaction between the marijuana buyer and the dispensary that sells it. After an order is placed, the driver (who is employed by the dispensary) uses an Eaze mobile app to deliver the goods. Eaze receives a fee from each partner dispensary for the deliveries they make.
In the past year, Eaze served over 100,000 patients. "It's important for us to be in the largest markets," says Keith McCarty, Eaze's CEO and founder. "We can expand extremely fast."
McCarty is no stranger to the technology world. He was employee number four at Yammer, the enterprise social network that Microsoft bought in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He launched Eaze in 2013 and has raised over $10 million from investors including Snoop Dogg who knows a little bit about the delivery product himself.
One of the keys to Eaze's growth has been the expansion of the medical marijuana customer base in California. To help this process, the company launched EazeMD last year which allows patients to consult with a doctor via their mobile app and receive a medical marijuana card. The free app is available on Android and iOS, and the application fee is significantly less than the cost of a standard medical marijuana evaluation.
While Eaze has grown thanks to a simple, but effective technology model, they still face challenges brought on by community resistance to what some perceive as mobile "drug running" in local neighborhoods. The company employs a public policy team to work with local city councils and also contracts with lobbyists in major California cities to clear roadblocks for their service.
Ironically, one of the markets where Eaze cannot operate is right in the heart of Silicon Valley. The city of San Jose has banned cannabis delivery services, but there have been recent indications that local officials are willing to now explore the idea.
One of the more compelling arguments for permitting a sanctioned service like Eaze to operate in a market is acceptance of the inevitable. "There's going to be delivery no matter what," says McCarty.
Although Eaze's technology model has quickly gained acceptance by medical patients, there is the looming possibility that large, wealthy tobacco companies may enter the cannabis production and distribution market in a big way, thus forcing smaller players to the sideline. McCarty is coy about how this might affect his business, preferring to take the view that his nimble tech platform might in fact be appealing to Big Tobacco.
"I think that Eaze would be a perfect complement to anything they want to do," says McCarty.
Eaze may soon be seeing the opening of a new door for delivery demand in California. A voter initiative that would legalize marijuana for recreational use appears to be headed for the election ballot in the state this November. The coalition which has collected signatures to place the measure before voters includes former Facebook President Sean Parker.
Rising social acceptance of marijuana for medical or recreational use has clearly paved the way for technology startups like Eaze to capitalize on the green movement. And the time may not be that far away when some of these cannabis-related firms deliver not just growth for their business, but nicely green profits as well.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Eaze Applies Classic Tech Model For Marijuana Delivery
Author: Mark Albertson
Contact: Examiner.com
Photo Credit: Eaze
Website: Examiner.com
With operations in over 80 cities throughout California, Eaze has become one of the lead players in a growing number of tech startups looking to capitalize on the green rush. Despite demand requiring thousands of deliveries per day, Eaze commits to delivering weed in 20 minutes or less and says that their average time is 15 minutes. That's faster than you can get a pizza in most American cities.
They are able to accomplish all of this without ever touching plant or money. Their tech platform facilitates the transaction between the marijuana buyer and the dispensary that sells it. After an order is placed, the driver (who is employed by the dispensary) uses an Eaze mobile app to deliver the goods. Eaze receives a fee from each partner dispensary for the deliveries they make.
In the past year, Eaze served over 100,000 patients. "It's important for us to be in the largest markets," says Keith McCarty, Eaze's CEO and founder. "We can expand extremely fast."
McCarty is no stranger to the technology world. He was employee number four at Yammer, the enterprise social network that Microsoft bought in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He launched Eaze in 2013 and has raised over $10 million from investors including Snoop Dogg who knows a little bit about the delivery product himself.
One of the keys to Eaze's growth has been the expansion of the medical marijuana customer base in California. To help this process, the company launched EazeMD last year which allows patients to consult with a doctor via their mobile app and receive a medical marijuana card. The free app is available on Android and iOS, and the application fee is significantly less than the cost of a standard medical marijuana evaluation.
While Eaze has grown thanks to a simple, but effective technology model, they still face challenges brought on by community resistance to what some perceive as mobile "drug running" in local neighborhoods. The company employs a public policy team to work with local city councils and also contracts with lobbyists in major California cities to clear roadblocks for their service.
Ironically, one of the markets where Eaze cannot operate is right in the heart of Silicon Valley. The city of San Jose has banned cannabis delivery services, but there have been recent indications that local officials are willing to now explore the idea.
One of the more compelling arguments for permitting a sanctioned service like Eaze to operate in a market is acceptance of the inevitable. "There's going to be delivery no matter what," says McCarty.
Although Eaze's technology model has quickly gained acceptance by medical patients, there is the looming possibility that large, wealthy tobacco companies may enter the cannabis production and distribution market in a big way, thus forcing smaller players to the sideline. McCarty is coy about how this might affect his business, preferring to take the view that his nimble tech platform might in fact be appealing to Big Tobacco.
"I think that Eaze would be a perfect complement to anything they want to do," says McCarty.
Eaze may soon be seeing the opening of a new door for delivery demand in California. A voter initiative that would legalize marijuana for recreational use appears to be headed for the election ballot in the state this November. The coalition which has collected signatures to place the measure before voters includes former Facebook President Sean Parker.
Rising social acceptance of marijuana for medical or recreational use has clearly paved the way for technology startups like Eaze to capitalize on the green movement. And the time may not be that far away when some of these cannabis-related firms deliver not just growth for their business, but nicely green profits as well.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Eaze Applies Classic Tech Model For Marijuana Delivery
Author: Mark Albertson
Contact: Examiner.com
Photo Credit: Eaze
Website: Examiner.com
