Joe Montana-Backed Herb Relaunches Website To Focus On Education, Information

In 2017, Benzinga wrote about HERB, a media company boasting social media followership and engagement figures comparable to those seen in mass media outlets like Buzzfeed and Vice. Only a month after that feature, we found out the company had completed a $4.1-million raise led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures.

New Look, New Life

Herb is at it again, with the re-launch of its website.

“We believe deeply in the power of legalization to positively impact people. But right now, legalization doesn’t exactly look like we imagined it,” CEO Matt Gray told Benzinga.

He explained that customers are turning to “sketchy black market e-commerce sites for untested products.” Meanwhile, lines for legal cannabis retailers stretch around the block and consumers have limited access to reliable information that can help them make proper choices.

“Budtenders are being asked questions to which they simply don’t have the answers,” said Gray.

With this in mind, Herb is re-launching its website to close the loop between cannabis consumers and cannabis producers by providing fast, simple and reliable recommendations. The company will leverage data to allow consumers to make better decisions, seeking to help make all cannabis experiences predictable, safe and fun.

“This information has never been more timely,” said Gray.

In October, edibles will hit the Canadian market.

“That’s when the floodgates will really open. When edibles were legalized in Colorado, they resulted in 269 times the rate of cannabis-related emergency room visits compared to inhaled products. Patients can spend up to 20 hours coming down from an unintentionally intense high. Lack of education is a risk to public safety and will place unnecessary stress on tax-payers and medical resources,” he said.

Other investors include:

• Slow Ventures, founded and run by early Facebook Inc FB employees.
• Michael Lazerow, who co-founded Buddy Media and then sold it to salesforce.com, inc. CRM for $800 million.
• Bullpen Capital.
• Shiva Rajarama, a seasoned product manager with experience at Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG’s YouTube, Spotify Technology SA SPOT, Twitter Inc TWTR, WeWork, and Apple Inc. AAPL.
• Liquid 2 Ventures, NFL Hall of Famer and angel investor Joe Montana's VC firm.
• Tobi Lutke, CEO at Shopify Inc (US) SHOP.
• Harley Finkelstein, COO at Shopify.
• Adam Zeplain, venture capitalist.