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​Investor Hot Seat Investor Judges
for January 28, 2021

​Investor Pitch Competition Moderator
  • Dr. David Cunic, CEO, UCS Advisors​
Investor Judges
  • Adam B. Remis, CPA, President & Founder, YourCannaCFO
  • Carol Ortega, Managing Director, Muisca Capital Group
  • Jeffrey Glick, CFO, Start U Up ​
  • John Nemanic, Partner, Green Coast Capital​
  • Kevin Clancy, Managing Partner, Clancy Consulting
  • Noble A. DraKoln, Managing Director, DraKoln Capital Partners
  • Scott Berman, Principal, The Panther Agency
  • Terry Buffalo, CEO, American Cannabis Company

Moderator

Dr. David Cunic, CEO, UCS Advisors​

David M. Cunic is an entrepreneur who specializes in Investor Relations Advisory services. "Dr. David", as most people know him as, has raised capital, expanded several companies, and has employed over 300+ people. He has been in the medical field for 18+ years, has been a business owner for 19+ years, and has been in the cannabis industry for 10+ years. Some people have called him the "triple headed dragon" due to his diversity and experience. Over the past 16 years, Dr. David has started over 10+ companies, in both the public and private sector, and has successfully sold many of them. His efforts in business operations and human resources won him the prestigious Alfred Sloan Award for Workplace Programs and Flexibility. David has assisted many companies in securing millions of dollars for his clients ranging from the cannabis, hemp, energy, medical, water, and the beverage industry. He has served on numerous boards as an advisor and trusted source of information. Dr. David also performs presentations and speaks at conferences on a variety of topics in both the medical sector and cannabis industry. 

​Investor Judges

Adam B. Remis, CPA, President & Founder, YourCannaCFO

Mr. Remis has over 25 years of experience in accounting, audit, tax and technology experience. His work experience has spanned nearly all industries and has mixture of both private and public company experience. In November 2017, Mr. Remis won the Chief Financial Officer of the Year award from the Financial Executives International (FEI) – Arizona Chapter organization for his public Company CFO experience with InnSuites Hospitality Trust (NYSE AMERICAN: IHT). Prior to joining the Trust, Mr. Remis’s career included positions with Deloitte & Touche and Jefferson Wells. Mr. Remis has a Master of Science in Information Management from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Economic Decision Sciences from the University of California, San Diego. In February 1997, Mr. Remis became a CPA and was admitted to practice in the State of Arizona. He also holds a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification from the Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA). Mr. Remis is currently President of the FEI-Arizona Chapter and part of the 2021 FEI Summit Planning Committee which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona.  

Carol Ortega, Managing Director, Muisca Capital Group

​Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Ms. Ortega is the Managing Director and Founder of Muisca Capital Group. For over 20 years, Carol has continuously demonstrated the ability to successfully guide cross-functional teams and achieve strategic goals for a diverse group of organizations at the international arena.
In Colombia, as a professor for Xavierian University, Carol leaded various research and consultancy projects within the financial industry, taught classes and was the Director of postgraduate programs in accounting. Within the governmental sector, at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia she provided technical lead on all matters related to the process of convergence towards international standards of accounting (IAS – IFRS) for the country, under this role, Carol co-wrote the standards of accounting and financial information currently applicable in Colombia. Ms. Ortega has authorship on numerous accounting and business related academic publications worldwide. In the U.S., as the Director of Finance and Operations for Adelante Mujeres, Ms. Ortega leaded the research and implementation of the incubator, accelerator and micro-finance program, now the biggest one in the State of Oregon serving the Latino community. as the Deputy Executive Director for InStove, she established the organization strategy, resulting in the first place at the Portland Social Venture Society “Fast Pitch” competition among others, taking InStove from a start-up to a sophisticated, sustainable, growth-oriented, multinational organization.Ms. Ortega has provided business & financial consultancy services to legal cannabis start-ups in the U.S. since 2014, year when Recreational Cannabis was legalized in the State of Oregon and in Colombia since December 2015. Carol is the Founder & BOD Chair of the Colombian Cannabis Entrepreneurs Network (RECC), which foster and serves through its programs and services cannabis ventures in Colombia, founding entity of the first cannabis science event in the Americas called CannaCiencia, a state of the art event that promotes science, research, investment and good practices of the analytical laboratory of Medicinal Cannabis in the Americas.
Carol earned a B.S. in Accounting & Finance a Master’s degree in Management Accounting, from Xavierian University in Bogota, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Canisius College. Buffalo, New York.
About Muisca Capital Group
Muisca Capital Group is the first Latin American investment management firm strategically targeting the emerging legal industry of medicinal cannabis. We establish investment and execution policies that allow us to generate an optimal allocation in diversified portfolios where profitability is maximized minimizing risk. Our due diligence process is traversal and covers the strategic, commercial, operational, financial, IT and corporate social responsibility aspects. Our team of financial consultants, risk managers and business developers combine decades of experience in the financial, pharmaceutical, governmental, academic and service industries in the Americas.

Jeffrey Glick, CFO, Start U Up ​

Jeff Glick has more than 30 years of financial, administrative, and logistics management experience. His specialty is to allow companies to be “bankable”; or the ability to tell “where they were, where they are and where they are going”.
Currently, Jeff serves as an out-sourced CFO for a variety of sophisticated startup and emerging companies. Such as: underwater renewable energy technology, an international waste water treatment developer, a private equity fund focused on the emerging cannabis industry, and others.
Jeff founded START U UP in 2011. START U UP serves as the outsourced CFO to start up and emerging companies. Target clients include but not limited to private companies, family offices, hedge funds, private equity funds, and sovereign wealth advisors.
Before founding START U UP, he served as the CFO for Sagard Capital. Sagard is a hybrid fund that invests across the hedge and private equity spectrum. Before Sagard he was the Chief Financial Officer of Almaz USA, Inc (16 years) — an international commodity trading and marketing firm. He joined Almaz as a startup, and helped it grow its revenues to in excess of $2 billion dollars annually. Jeff also applied his CPA skills as a Back Office Manager and Manager in the Mergers and Acquisition department of Phibro Energy, the oil trading and refining arm of Salomon Brothers. He also worked at Merrill Lynch as an internal auditor.
Jeff holds a BS in accounting from The State University of New York at Binghamton, and has been a standing member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Association and the New York State Society of CPA’s since 1985. He holds FINRA Series 65 and NFA Series 3 designations. 
Jeff and his family have been residents of Darien CT for 25 years.  He has been active board member of Temple Shalom in Norwalk, CT and a travel team manager for almost 10 years at Darien Youth Hockey. He is a big fan of UCONN and University of Michigan athletics.
​About  Start U Up
Start U Up provides professional executive management services on an outsourced basis. Our expertise with chief financial officer responsibilities, human resources, and legal and compliance oversight help in the formation of new firms…
… and with operations as businesses grow. But growing doesn’t mean having to spend a lot more on overhead. Start U Up functions as long-term trusted advisors, providing economical ongoing professional management for a fraction of the cost of full-time employees.

John Nemanic, Partner, Green Coast Capital​

John Nemanic is a partner in Green Coast Capital International S.A.  Green Coast is an international investor providing flexible and innovative financing to the small-cap and micro-cap marketplace in a variety of sectors. Our team consists of experts in capital markets making quick decisions to provide growth capital to issuers.  
John is a serial entrepreneur and investor. As co-founder, Chairman and CEO, he exited 3 very successful Internet start ups. In 2006, Hostopia raised 29.2 million (TSX:H), then sold to Deluxe Communications for $124 Million USD. Tucows was sold to the Steinmetz Group for $45 Million April 1999. Tucows current market cap. is over $600 Million. Internet Direct was merged with Look Communications in 1999 with a deemed value of $560 Million
John's current interests are medical cannabis, cultivation, hemp and CBD start ups, with a focus on Colombia. He is married to Sandra Carrillo MD a leading expert in Cannabis for clinical applications, and was appointed as "Clinical professor in charge of the scientific program for cannabis research and education", Faculty of Medicine, University of Panama.
John manages Panamanian and Colombian based businesses. He is a former member of EO Panama and has extensive contacts within Panama. He also is a former member of EO Toronto (1995) and YPO Toronto (1999).
He is actively seeking high-return opportunities to invest in and serve as a director for high-quality cannabis oriented firms.  If you are seeking a highly experienced operator, a dynamic leader who understands the growth cycles of start-ups, and how to develop exit strategies please contact John Nemanic.
About Green Growth Partners
Green Coast Capital International S.A is a private international investment firm focused on investing in small- and micro-cap publicly traded growth companies. We provide flexible debt and equity structured investments across several international markets.
We seek to invest in high growth and distressed situations. Green Coast Capital International S.A allocates capital across all industries in four core strategies: discounted equity, convertible debt, convertible preferred equity, and undervalued open market opportunities.
We only manage our own capital giving us the ability to make timely and qualified investment decisions.  ​

Kevin Clancy, Managing Partner, Clancy Consulting

Kevin Clancy is an experienced professional of finance, accounting, marketing, and general business consulting. A problem-solver with a keen eye for efficiency, he has held roles in bookkeeping, tax accounting, financial management/consulting, product management, and multiple marketing roles. His passion is to help businesses in their early growth cycles, including those in the startup phase, experiencing rapid growth, and newly established small businesses which need technology solutions and efficiency improvements.
His practice Clancy Consulting LLC was created out of a desire to facilitate success for business owners that are pursuing their dreams and projects. The company's primary directive is to provide the bookkeeping, accounting, and FP&A support necessary for clients to make informed business decisions with confidence.

Noble A. DraKoln, Managing Director, DraKoln Capital Partners

Noble A. DraKoln has been involved in multiple tech startups as both a consultant, investor and director. In the early days of the conversion from paging to full digital cellular networks, from TDMA to CDMA, he successfully ran a venture that made mergers and acquisitions in thee 900mHz, 150mHz, and 450mHz spectrum’s. At the introduction of DVDs he successfully ran and sold off a VHS to DVD conversion studio, and he has been a part of guiding, consulting, and assisting in financing internet startups in both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 phases.​
Mr. DraKoln started out as a futures/commodities broker at the age of nineteen trading the E-mini S&P, gold futures contracts, and treasury bond strips. Since that time he has authored the Wiley & Sons published best-selling books Winning the Trading Game and Trade Like a Pro. Over the span of his twenty year career he has traded stocks, options, and futures for himself and clients. His books have been translated into multiple languages, he has been a keynote speaker around the world, contributing writer to dozens of magazine, and a radio and T.V. financial commentator.
About DraKoln Capital Partners 
We consult pre-seed, seed, and Series A level companies in how to use exempt offerings to fund their companies, retain as much equity as possible in the early stages of their companies, and increase shareholder value by having a fully engaged founder team.

Scott Berman, Principal, The Panther Agency

Scott joined the Panther Opportunity Fund (“Panther”), a vintage 2017 cannabis focused venture capital fund with a complementary and diverse set of 14 portfolio companies, in 2017 as a Principal and member of the investment committee. Scott first entered the cannabis space in 2014 when he co-founded the Cannabis Rep Network (merged into Calyx Distribution) to provide sales & distribution for brands in California. Prior to Calyx, Scott co-founded a data-driven digital ad agency called Audience Partners in 2007, targeting addressable audiences for the political and healthcare industries. Scott has a degree from the University of Maryland and began his career in a family Jewelry manufacturing business based in Philadelphia. From 1988 to present, Scott has worked for the Philadelphia 76ers, as head statistician for all home games.
About The Panther Agency
The Panther Agency (TPA) was created in 2020 to leverage our team’s ad-tech experience of 15+ years to help scale cannabis businesses. Operating at the intersection of cutting-edge ad-tech and the cannabis industry, TPA provides its clients with solutions to activate your customer data and target prospects across ALL media channels.

Terry Buffalo, CEO, American Cannabis Company

​​Terry Buffalo is a seasoned executive in the financial services that that transitioned into the cannabis sector. Mr. Buffalo serves as the Chief Executive Officer of American Cannabis Company, Inc. (ACC) based in Denver, Colorado. His ability to convey complex information in a concise and straightforward manner combined with his expertise in investment, regulatory compliance and audit responsibility has positioned Mr. Buffalo to be an effective member of the ACC team as the company continues to expand.
About American Cannabis Company
ACC began in 2013 as a fully-fledge provider of end-to-end industry-specific consulting solutions for those looking to start or improve their operations.  After having secured many license opportunities for clients both domestically as well as internationally, the ACC brand is pivoting to become a vertically integrated multi-state operators.