Rick Batenburg

Being a venture capitalist means being the centralized ignition point to connect ideas, people and resources in doing so creating value to its stakeholders.

3.5 years playing Jr. Hockey in Canada.
Business School at Nichols College in MA.
Merrill Lynch Private Wealth, sold IPOs, new issues, private equity and unique products to investors.

My work in private deals growing up developed into a specialty with my clients at ML. I brought private equity alternatives into our portfolio and found I enjoyed the deals/returns in the private space. When cannabis hit Colorado I saw a capital inefficiency that I couldn't ignore.

In 2015, Colorado we formed Cliintel Capital, a venture firm focused on emerging markets and more specifically cannabis. CCMG became the first Qualified Institutional Investment capital firm in Colorado to own THC licensed facilities through a venture fund.

We have acquired, built and grown cannabis companies across the supply chain preparing for ubiquitous legalization across the globe starting here in the epicenter of the cannabis universe, Colorado. We have owned and operated across the supply chain of the cannabis business in an effort to establish a diligence baseline. We have got our hands dirty, literally and figuratively to understand the market.

I work in the venture capital because I enjoy talking to entrepreneurs full of ideas and ready to make it happen. Capital strategy is the often the missing piece, I am grateful I can be of service to companies inside and outside the cannabis space as a teammate.

Richard M. Batenburg, Jr.

Richard Batenburg, Jr. is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Clear Cannabis Inc. In addition to this role, Richard holds managing positions in the following companies: BATMANN Consulting, Inc., an operational and strategic consulting company to cannabis-related and non-cannabis-related businesses, where he has served as both CEO and President since its founding in March 1997. Redwood Investment Partners LLC d/b/a Bonsai Cultivation, a cannabis cultivation company, where he has served as the chairman since the company’s formation in January 2017. BB Talent, LLC, a talent management, and production company, where he has been the managing member since its founding in February 2015

Mr. Batenburg has held executive level positions at First Entertainment (FTET) as a publicly listed CEO. Mr. Batenburg has founded, owned, and operated businesses in diverse industries such as VideOne Marketing where he not only produced infomercials but developed and distributed products direct to consumer via television.

Mr. Batenburg worked as an executive consultant throughout his career at AT&T Broadband, Comcast, Sun Microsystems before forming a consultancy that worked with other fortune 500 companies on process improvement and strategic change.

In April 2015; Cliintel Capital Management Group was formed, and Mr. Batenburg serves as the Fund manager of a fund directed at cannabis investments. Mr. Batenburg made his first investment in the cannabis space in 2015 as a lender and advisor to a vertically integrated cannabis firm that operated three indoor medical cannabis cultivation facilities and a medical dispensary. Mr. Batenburg managed an investment fund to invest in two large indoor cultivation and dispensary projects in Colorado, successfully exiting one cultivation and dispensary after one year, while the other indoor cultivation remains in the fund’s portfolio and is operational. He also raised $4.5 million in a third fund that owns a large stake in Clear Cannabis INC.

Mr. Batenburg’s operational, management and investment expertise gained through years of experience both within and outside the cannabis industry qualifies him to serve as the Company’s Chairman and President. Richard is an operations-oriented executive with experience managing all aspects of a business from strategic to tactical planning and execution and has run different capital market group firms for over 20 years. He specializes in the acquisition, optimization, and management of businesses, with deep experience in consolidating and standardizing technology infrastructure, business processes and practices, and establishing strategies to maximize profitability while reducing overall costs.

Batenburg excels at “end-to-end” processes to help frontline employees deliver products and services to customers and published a book titled Change Is Great-Be First! published by Advantage Media Group in 2016 having pivoted from the Cable/Broadband/Telco industry to Cannabis.

Richard M. Batenburg, Jr. has over 40 years of proven success as an entrepreneur and business owner/ operator managing all aspects of business from strategic and tactical planning through to execution. He has directed the marketing, sales, promotion, publicity, and public relations for public and private companies. He has also streamlined technology infrastructure, business processes, and practices and established strategies to maximize profitability while reducing costs.

He is the founder of many startups in Software, Consumer Goods, Consulting and Finance in dozens of industries, focusing the past 7 years in Cannabis and Hemp. Batenburg concentrates his time on financing of cannabis businesses and is the badged owner of several Colorado Cultivation, Extraction and Dispensary licenses, lives in Denver, CO with wife and three children. He is an avid ice hockey player, a Colorado Avalanche season ticket holder, and a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan.