Kurt Akers

Ginger is the DTC delivery service you've been waiting for. With Ginger’s e-commerce technology, cannabis brands can offer next-day delivery and provide a custom, branded delivery experience throughout California. Ginger is designed as a tool to build customer loyalty, increase marketing ROI, and give you direct access to your customers. We leverage proprietary technology and seamlessly integrate Ginger into your brand's website to create a customized, easy-to-use checkout process for your customers. Ginger's licensed, compliant distro hub houses your products so our incredible logistics team brings your customer's exactly what they want, all while representing your brand. Ginger has a dynamic team with over a decade of industry experience. We designed our technologies and services to offer cannabis brands and customers something new.

We’re a data driven asset manager investing across public equities and venture capital. Our mission is to influence the flow of capital into companies that improve society & push culture forward. 1. As public market investors, we’ve posted top decile returns using our data-driven approach. Prior to Studio we built Sentieo, an AI-driven financial research platform, as a way to gain alpha in our public market investments. Sentieo is now used by some of the world’s top investment funds. 2. As venture investors, we finance and incubate startups across stages and sectors, leveraging our experience as entrepreneurs. Companies we’ve co-founded have collectively raised over $90m in venture capital and have scaled to over 1,000 employees. We marry this experience as entrepreneurs with our data-driven approach as investors to identify and incubate startups advancing societal health, productivity, and well-being.

LongJump is a first-check venture fund, based in Chicago, designed to invest in the next generation of founders. We provide capital, connections, and community to help founders take the leap towards building fast-growing, scalable businesses. Apply for funding consideration at longjump.vc/apply

Were building a tool to solve every problem and top brainstormers get early access.

Juked is building a new community for esports with the north star mission of bringing esports fans closer together in an inclusive, all-in-one, "anti-toxic" environment. Today, esports discussion and communities are fragmented across Twitter, Reddit, Discord, and Twitch chat - and esports culture has long been mired by the toxicity that comes with anonymity on the internet. We know that esports fans are sick and tired of "hot take" culture on Twitter and the spam, misogyny, and hatred that is all too common in Twitch chat. This all changes with the launch of the Juked app this Fall. Were bringing together everything fans need to follow, discuss, and engage with the esports they love.

Headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, Left Coast Ventures is a diversified cannabis and hemp company specializing in cultivation, manufacturing, brand development and distribution. Left Coast Ventures and its subsidiaries are working to shape the future of the legal cannabis industry in the United States through acquisitions, investments, and incubation while building a respected portfolio of top shelf brands. Wholly owned, licensed, and distributed brands in Left Coast Venture’s portfolio include: Marley Natural™, Mind Your Head™, Headlight™, Dutchy™, and JEF™.

Docklight Brands brings the social and wellness benefits of cannabis and hemp to consumers worldwide through preferred brands.

Jane West is a global cannabis and smokewear brand, designed by flower lovers and made for everyone. Est. 2013.

Tilray Brands, Inc. (“Tilray”) (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), is a leading global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Latin America that is leading as a transformative force at the nexus of cannabis, beverage, wellness, and entertainment, elevating lives through moments of connection. Tilray’s mission is to be a leading premium lifestyle company with a house of brands and innovative products that inspire joy, wellness and create memorable experiences. Tilray’s unprecedented platform supports over 40 brands in over 20 countries, including comprehensive cannabis offerings, hemp-based foods, and craft beverages.

Leafly is the world’s most trusted destination to discover cannabis products and order them from legal, licensed retailers. More than 100 million people visit Leafly each year to learn more about cannabis and order online with local businesses.

Founded in 2010 in Seattle by three visionary entrepreneurs with decades of experience in investment banking and venture capital, we represent a group of investors from around the world seeking to end cannabis prohibition and the social harms it causes. Through a combination of acquisitions, investments and incubation, we are focused on building a portfolio of global brands that will lead, legitimize and define the future of cannabis. We have three fundamental beliefs: 1. Cannabis is a mainstream product consumed by mainstream people; 2. The end of cannabis prohibition is inevitable; and 3. Brands will determine the future of the cannabis industry. We are set apart by the depth of hands-on management and investment experience of our team, which includes Ivy League MBAs, PhD research scientists, marketing professionals and operators from world-leading brands, and even former federal law enforcement professionals. In an industry stigmatized by negative perceptions and substandard business practices, we are elevating consumer expectations through consistent quality and service. When prohibition ends, we intend to hold the most enviable position in the market and to generate enormous returns – both financial and social.

Endeavor Health℠ is a Chicagoland-based integrated health system driven by our mission to help everyone in our communities be their best. As Illinois’ third-largest health system and third-largest medical group, we proudly serve an area of more than 4.1 million residents across seven northeast Illinois counties. Our more than 28,300 team members, including more than 1,900 employed physicians, are the heart of our organization, delivering seamless access to personalized, pioneering, world-class patient care across more than 300 ambulatory locations and nine hospitals, including eight Magnet-recognized acute care hospitals – Edward (Naperville), Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland Park, Northwest Community (Arlington Heights), Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital (Naperville). Terms of use: endeavorhealth.org/terms-of-use

LvlUp Ventures is a global venture capital firm investing in and accelerating early-stage & late-stage startups. LvlUp is ranked among the most active venture capital firms globally (#7 worldwide, #4 in the United States, and #1 in Consumer Goods & Technology — PitchBook). Our opportunistic investment thesis backs founders wherever opportunity emerges—where the intersection of our capital, expertise, and strategic partnership ecosystem unlocks a true level up in growth, unbound by sector or stage. Beyond capital, LvlUp operates as an extended team to founders—combining hands-on growth and fundraising support with a powerful ecosystem of corporate partners to give companies an unfair advantage as they scale. We are deeply focused on unlocking synergies across our portfolio through our extended-team ecosystem, deep corporate partnerships, and a technology backbone designed to create opportunities between companies at scale. LvlUp is powered by a global team of more than 2,500 core and extended members, united by a shared mission: helping founders build enduring, category-defining companies.

Propellant Ventures is Seed stage venture capital fund that invests in the growth of Chicago and the greater Midwest across a broad range of powerful, diverse, and leading-edge B2B industries such as healthcare, future of work, supply chain, fintech, and edtech.

Ginger is the DTC delivery service you've been waiting for. With Ginger’s e-commerce technology, cannabis brands can offer next-day delivery and provide a custom, branded delivery experience throughout California. Ginger is designed as a tool to build customer loyalty, increase marketing ROI, and give you direct access to your customers. We leverage proprietary technology and seamlessly integrate Ginger into your brand's website to create a customized, easy-to-use checkout process for your customers. Ginger's licensed, compliant distro hub houses your products so our incredible logistics team brings your customer's exactly what they want, all while representing your brand. Ginger has a dynamic team with over a decade of industry experience. We designed our technologies and services to offer cannabis brands and customers something new.