Do you have what it takes to get an investor like CanopyBoulder interested in your weed business? (Joe Amon, Denver Post file)

Wanna be in the weed biz? Here’s what a venture capitalist wants

Considering that Colorado pot shops have already sold $270 million in marijuana so far in 2016, it’s no surprise that people are trying to come up with ways to get into the weed business.

That’s where CanopyBoulder comes in. A “seed-stage cannabis investment fund,” Canopy looks for promising pot-related businesses to invest in, and managing director Micah Tapman says the company has about $2 million to put toward the cannabis industry.

A great idea for a cannabis-related venture, though, is the least interesting part of a potential investment relationship, Tapman says. What’s really important? The people who come up with the idea.

“It’s gotta be at least 70, 80 percent of it,” Tapman says. “I don’t really care that much about the idea, to be honest.”

Tapman explains that the main reason the people are the crucial component is that investing is all about relationships. “If I’m investing, we’re gonna be spending some time together,” he says, adding that he thinks of it in terms of years, not weeks or months.