Poseidon Asset Management

Emily Paxia's journey into cannabis investing began with personal tragedy. When she was between 16 and 21 years old, both of her parents passed away from cancer. During their end-of-life care, a hospice nurse mentioned that cannabis could have helped manage their symptoms—nausea, pain, insomnia, and discomfort—without the cascading side effects of traditional medications. This planted a seed that would later shape her entire career.

Years later, while working at Miller and Co Studio managing clients like American Express, Viacom, Ralph Lauren, and PepsiCo, Emily recognized something crucial: the cannabis industry represented an absolute white space of opportunity. There was enormous demand for cannabis products and services, but far too few companies and solutions to meet that demand. She called her brother Morgan, and together they decided to pivot entirely into the cannabis space—not by starting an operating company, but by becoming investors and advisors to entrepreneurs building in the sector.

In 2013, launching a VC firm for cannabis was extraordinarily risky. The industry was nascent, federal prohibition remained in place, and most investors wouldn't touch it. But Emily and Morgan were committed. They assessed their own risk tolerances carefully, set aside personal capital to invest alongside their fund, and leaned on advisors willing to take chances on an emerging sector.

They started small: their first check sizes were $50,000 to $100,000 for very early stage companies. This wasn't about writing big checks; it was about identifying founders solving real problems in cultivation, distribution, compliance, and business operations. The fund's first iteration grew modestly, but importantly, it proved the thesis—cannabis businesses needed more than just capital; they needed experienced guidance from people who understood both business strategy and the unique regulatory landscape.

Emily and Morgan's "first customers" were the founders they backed. Their ability to attract quality deals came from their hybrid positioning: they had corporate experience from Fortune 500 companies, deep domain expertise in what the cannabis industry actually needed, and—critically—a compassionate lens that many other investors lacked. They read hundreds of emails every year from entrepreneurs, treating those inboxes as informal trend analysis of what was being built in the sector.

They focused on patterns of need: business technology solutions that improved transparency and efficiency, agriculture technology that could scale small farms through processing facilities (like Flow Kana), data analytics tools for consumer behavior (Headset), HR solutions for cannabis businesses (Wurk), and consumer engagement platforms (Baker). By the end of their first fund cycle, they had backed over 40 companies, with 30 active in their portfolio.

Emily credits much of their success to diversity of thought within their partnership. She and Morgan brought different perspectives: Emily was drawn to companies like Wurk early, while Morgan had to be convinced. But Morgan saw the potential in turnaround situations like SURNA, a cultivation efficiency company, where he joined the board and helped stabilize the business. They disagreed, but trusted each other enough to dig deeper rather than reject opportunities outright.

Their outperformance—40-44% IRR over 3.5 years, well ahead of the industry's projected 30-36% annual growth—came from three things: rigorous diligence across three phases (trend identification, founder meetings, detailed financial analysis), strategic deal sizing (starting at $50-100K and scaling to $500K-$1.5M as the industry matured), and willingness to co-invest with other quality investors. They also weren't afraid to exit or mark positions to zero if they weren't working.

What they didn't solve: Emily identified banking access as the one company she wished existed but hasn't built. California cannabis businesses still lose banking relationships constantly, and without traditional credit card processing, operators struggle to function legally. She acknowledged this gap is in the federal realm and beyond her wheelhouse, but it remains the biggest pain point.

With $25 million under management and raising a second fund, Poseidon Asset Management has proven that cannabis is investable. Emily and Morgan are now writing larger checks—$500K to $1.5M in late seed and early Series A rounds where they typically lead. Their portfolio companies span the full value chain, from cultivation to consumer engagement.

At 37, Emily runs the fund with her brother while raising a three-legged dog and surviving on 3-5 hours of sleep per night. When asked what she'd tell her 20-year-old self, she said simply: "Take it easier." But the impact is undeniable. By backing founders solving real problems in cannabis—from small farmer aggregation to employment safety to marketing—Poseidon has helped reshape an industry that started as taboo into a legitimate multi-billion-dollar market. Their success proves that patient capital, domain expertise, and a compassionate lens can outperform the broader market by orders of magnitude.