Who I Am and Why I Launched the Syndicate

I’m Rick Bashkoff, Managing Director of Receptive Capital. Prior to joining the cannabis industry, I held senior positions at one of the largest record companies in the world, a pioneering media tech startup, an enterprise SaaS company in growth mode and an early stage cannabis tech company. I specialize in building long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships and I’m highly skilled in the creation and execution of a wide variety of business models and business plans. Throughout my career I have been an active investor through personal investments focused on technology, CPG, cannabis and crypto.

A lifetime cannabis enthusiast, I have served as a cannabis information resource for my family and friends for decades. What began as light conversation and cannabis stigmatized jokes at my expense, started to turn into impactful conversations as my friends and family began understanding the benefits of the plant. 

My “cannabis will be everywhere” moment was in the summer of 2016. I began researching and investing in the cannabis industry as a passion project. This initial research effort quickly turned into a transformative career change. I began volunteering for CannaGather, the largest cannabis meetup in New York, working directly with the founder and team to organize the monthly meetups. I then worked as a cannabis-focused entrepreneur in residence at Five Four Ventures, a venture capital firm in New York. Following my time at the VC firm, I began consulting directly for cultivators, brands and technology companies in the cannabis industry. Leveraging my extensive network and operations and business strategy experience, I assessed business plans with a focus on revenue growth and fundraising. In July 2021, I joined Lucid Green as an SVP and GM of two of their business units.

Over the past 5 years I’ve enjoyed getting to know the cannabis entrepreneurs of today’s successful companies and I want to do more for the next generation of cannabis entrepreneurs. After building a resourceful network in the cannabis industry and seeing an opportunity to invest in early stage cannabis companies, I’ve organized a group of early stage investors as a vehicle to do more for cannabis entrepreneurs on the East Coast. The West coast states have acted as trailblazers and there is much to learn from the pioneers from the industry. However, the East Coast presents an undeniable opportunity to “do cannabis right” and I hope to be part of the effort to create a robust, inclusive and innovative cannabis industry in the East Coast states.