An embarrassing experience trying to get medical marijuana from a doctor gave Mark Hadfield, chief technology officer of HelloMD, the idea he needed to stimulate his business.Instead of targeting patients with general medical ailments, the foundering telemedicine company could connect people seeking medical marijuana cards with doctors.HelloMD used its existing technology to make an already-legal process more efficient and discreet. Within six weeks, the revamped HelloMD app was available to Californians.Consumers download it, answer two dozen health questions and video chat with a doctor, who recommends various marijuana strains.Customers receive a PDF of the doctor’s approval a few minutes later and a laminated card in the mail. HelloMD is one of a growing cluster of startups pivoting their businesses into the cannabis industry .Nearly 1.5 million Americans have secured doctor recommendations to use marijuana as medicine . Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington have approved marijuana for adult recreational use, and California, Nevada and Massachusetts may pass similar measures in November.At least a dozen states are considering pot-related measures this fall, meaning marijuana could soon be legal in some form in most US states.That market opportunity isn’t lost on investors or entrepreneurs . Venture capitalists jumped in last year, investing a record high of $215 million in 2015, up from $97 million in 2014.Mainstream venture capital firms, such as Founders Fund, DCM, Slow Ventures and Y Combinator, made their first bets last year, joining longtime cannabis investors, including ArcView Group and Snoop Dogg’s firm Casa Verde Capital.
Those investments have emboldened a new class of entrepreneurs to launch marijuana-related startups focusing on cultivation, tracking, distribution and delivery. Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA