Fulfilling the Desperate Need for Innovation in Cultivation
Matthew Mills: Med-X, Inc.
Mr. Mills and his company are focused on bringing innovation to a space that demands immediate innovative thinking, by developing safe and effective products for a new industry and its patients, as well as resolving the problems that occur in cultivation. Needless to say, they are aiming far and wide at accomplishing major goals in the cannabis industry. How are they doing it? What are the steps they are taking to develop their team and execute on their milestones? We have brought on Matthew Mills, President and COO of Med-X, Inc., to talk to us about the cannabis industry and what Med-X, Inc. can bring to the table.
What is the story behind your involvement with the cannabis industry?
My core competency is capital raising; crowd-funding. I’ve raised capital for a number of companies since I started in the dot-com arena as the new millennium came into place. I raised about $20 million for a dot-com project during my tenure. Not only did I get the opportunity raise and manage capital, but I was given the chance to climb the corporate ladder of the company, with multiple promotions from Executive to VP to Senior VP and Investor Relations Director and Spokesperson, but finally Chief Operating Officer of the company. It all evolved when our company went public and the investors I was involved with made a great deal of capital. During the growth of the project, I had begun several relationships with physicians, biochemists, mathematics and financial professionals into mutual investors in the project. We started a kinship and after I became semi-retired, I was convinced by my partners (who are now physicians and biochemists that sit on my Board of Directors) convinced me that I should undertake a new venture.
The focus on product development and capital raising continued to support efforts to mature a number of green scene products. As the cannabis industry began to evolve, we gathered as a team comprised of these professionals – physicians, biochemists, operational, mathematics, and financial gurus that have a great deal of net worth and knowledge. We recognized back in 2013 that this industry was going to continue to evolve, so we started to educate ourselves. My CEO is a physician and his last 2 years of continuing education that was required to keep his medical practice, has had a great deal of focus in the medical marijuana industry. At the same time, my CFO has been constantly educating himself on the financial side of the industry. Simultaneously, I have been focusing my attention on cultivation, agricultural engineering, and pest management.
As the cannabis industry began to evolve, we gathered as a team comprised of these professionals – physicians, biochemists, operational, mathematics, and financial gurus that have a great deal of net worth and knowledge.
I am a California licensed pest control applicator for agriculture, commercial, and the residential arenas. I don’t usually go out into the field as a pest control technician. I became licensed for the education side of things. When we started building our laboratory and scaling our product development, we were positioned to be able to jump right in. We decided back in 2013 that we were going to get into this industry due to the number of road blocks and problems that were evolving in the industry, such as the use of pesticides and the inbred problems with mold and fungus. I was in the process of developing a natural pesticide product while this industry was in its infancy.
Lo and behold, we now have a pesticide product that’s approved by the Agriculture Department of Colorado for the cultivation of cannabis, as well as being registered with the EPA on a national basis. That same product is also moving into hospitality, pest control, home & garden while negotiating with forestry services and the military. Professionals came together, saw an opportunity, gathered, became educated, and now we’re moving on the combination of it all.
Professionals came together, saw an opportunity, gathered, became educated, and now we’re moving on the combination of it all.
What were you doing before?
Prior to starting Med-X, I was in the crowd-funding world for about 15 years and raised a number of projects through the crowd-funding world. I was also was involved with a lot of product development, operations, and Internet e-commerce media. That’s what’s brought us to where we are today.
What other industry might you compare the ‘green rush’ to and why?
That’s a tough question. I can’t really say I compare it to any other industry. I compare it to a growth factor: The industrial revolution and the dot-com explosion are very similar in regards to the business growth.
Right now, where are you guiding your passion and energy towards?
Until the Federal Government removes Cannabis from a Schedule 1 status to a Schedule 2, our company is going to focus on the ancillary side of our business model – like our “Nature-Cide” product line and our media company “Marijuana Times,” which is focused on bringing comprehensive information to the masses who are seeking it. Our energy is guided towards becoming profitable in those realms, while also taking the company to the public markets through the recently announced Regulation A+. Securing capital in the open markets will ensure that we’ll be in place to pursue cultivation as Congress moves to schedule changes.
Who is a person that you consider as a role model? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?
Well, I think that I had a lot of mentorship from the people I’ve worked for in the past. I’m a very enthusiastic to learn and always follow success. It might not have been so much the people that have mentored me, but it’s been the people that I’ve read about that do things other than just make money. They’re philanthropists; They’re focused on community and of course, making money but making that money works for the community itself and helps people. Our team has had a lot of success and we’re all very different people. You look at people like Warren Buffet and Richard Branson who are guys that have done one hell of a job in their careers and you greatly admire them. I admire them and intend to follow in their footsteps in the ways that they have led their careers in a positive direction while staying focused on community.
What inspires you the most about this space?
I’m inspired by our ability to come in and help; this industry needs a lot of help. There are a lot of issues on the medical side. 95% of medical cannabis found in dispensaries on a national basis is riddled with pesticides and mold. Med-X has a solution for that and it’s going to help a lot of people! We believe that our research and development is cutting edge, and it’s going to be sought after as this business matures.
95% of medical cannabis found in dispensaries on a national basis is riddled with pesticides and mold. Med-X has a solution for that and it’s going to help a lot of people!
Tell us about an esteemed achievement of yours.
I had a major achievement in the dot-com realm. I raised capital for a Dot-Com company that went from $0 to $200 million in revenue and had a market capitalization of $600 million. I’m going to say that professionally, that has been my biggest career achievement. However, the biggest overall achievement is collecting a team of people who make a difference daily to many, my partners are by far my biggest achievement.
Where do your great ideas come from?
Well, when you surround yourself with great people, it’s easy. We use a ‘think tank’ approach and come together as a group. Our products evolve as the physicians, financial experts, and mathematics professionals on our team recognize a problem and come up with a solution. This certainly isn’t the Matthew Mills show – This is a show of a group of people that think out loud and think together as a group to benefit the community. That’s our focus, and it’s turned into something really great for us. Our great ideas are a group effort.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader in this space?
As we become a profitable business and become a publicly traded company in order to gain access to market capital, we believe our management team will be sought after for the collective vision we have. Now that our products are in the process of being approved for agriculture nationally and registered with the EPA, I envision we’ll be able to get to that profitable point and experience continued growth. Our focus long-term is to become a cultivator and feed the supply chain. Now that’s going to be a massive opportunity! I would think that with the knowledge that we have, we’d eventually end up being acquired. The big boys are going to get involved in this when the schedules change and they’re going to want to tap into the knowledgeable people in the industry. We believe we are those people.
Now that our products are in the process of being approved for agriculture nationally and registered with the EPA, I envision we’ll be able to get to that profitable point and experience continued growth. Our focus long-term is to become a cultivator and feed the supply chain. Now, that’s going to be a massive opportunity!
What is important to you – mission, vision, or core values? Why?
Our mission is to innovate an area that needs innovation. Cultivation of marijuana is a difficult task. Obviously, there are a lot of issues in the cultivation area currently according to the Agriculture Department of Colorado and finding solutions for those issues is our focus. We are seeking to provide products and services that benefit patients, especially those that need medicinal products to relieve themselves of pain, stress, and myriad of other ailments. Our focus is on the community itself and fulfilling the need for patient care.
If we are sitting across from each other a year from now, how will our conversation about the ‘green rush’ be going?
By next year, Med-X should be recognized as a publicly traded company. At that point, we should be in position to build our first cultivation center here in Southern California and I would also think that we would be profitable by that point solely due to our pesticide products, which are so desperately needed in this industry. Also, we will have acquired a number of different businesses that are related to the industry as we are already planning.
