We use cookies for certain features and to improve your experience. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy to learn more

Leafly

Shop legal, local weed.

Open
advertise on Leafly
ShopDeliveryDispensariesDealsStrainsBrandsProductsCBDDoctorsCannabis 101Social impact
  • Sign in
  • Create account
  • Strains
  • Shop
  • Shop
  • Delivery
  • Deals
  • Dispensaries
  • CBD Stores
  • Brands
  • Products
  • Learn
  • Cannabis 101
  • News
  • Leafly Learn
  • Science of cannabis
  • Doctors
  • Social impact
  • Lab partners
  • Download the Leafly App
  • Advertise on Leafly
    • Leafly.comUSA flag
    • Leafly.caCanadian flag
    • Leafly.deGerman flag
  • Help
  • News
  • Cannabis 101
  • Growing
  • Strains & products
  • CBD
  • Politics
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science & tech
  • Industry
  • Reports
  • Canada
  • Podcasts
  • Leafly Lists
Industry

Smoke Cartel Is Going Public. Here’s Why

Smoke Cartel
Presented BySmoke CartelPublished on February 13, 2018 · Last updated July 28, 2020
Processed with VSCO with 6 preset

This article is presented by Smoke Cartel, an online retailer and head shop made up of a close-knit team of glass lovers dedicated to making sure you get the best possible smoking gear.


Following years of rapid growth since its founding in 2014, Smoke Cartel is going public. Now trading on OTC Markets under the symbol SMKC, the company is opening the door to an influx of new capital from investors. The decision makes one of the world’s most popular online headshops the first to be traded publicly.

What does this newly public profile—and the increased attention that comes with it—mean for the company? Why is now the time to go for a ticker symbol? We caught up with founder/owners Darby Cox and Sean Geng to find out why the company made this leap and what comes next.

Related
From $600 to $5 Million in Three Years: Smoke Cartel’s Story

Growth Through Acquisitions

In its first three years of operation, Smoke Cartel saw revenue growth that surpassed the founders’ wildest expectations. That influx of cash left Cox and Geng with a problem many business owners would envy: how and where to invest those profits.

The company has recently been channeling revenue into growth, acquiring the online merchandiser ErrlyBird and adding several new, in-house product lines to its offerings. Acquisitions like this don’t just make Smoke Cartel bigger, though. They also help to diversify the company’s catalog, allowing it to provide more products and services to the growing cannabis industry as it moves increasingly towards legalization.

Piglet, one of Smoke Cartel’s office dogs, poses with gear from new acquisition Errlybird. (Courtesy of Smoke Cartel)

Ramping up that strategy takes more capital than even a booming online headshop can provide on its own, though. By going public, Geng and Cox aim to bring new investment dollars to power their aggressive growth strategy and open new doors.

“After spending the past four years building a foundation for success and recruiting a team to match, we’ve decided that this is the right time to really dedicate ourselves to growing and pushing the boundaries of what Smoke Cartel can be, and where it can go,” says Cox.

Leading the Industry Into Federal Legalization

Geng and Cox also believe that by going public, Smoke Cartel will further its influence as a leader in the industry as federal legalization moves away from ‘pipe dream’ status and toward reality.

“Sean and I have always wanted to grow the company rapidly in order to position ourselves in the best possible place when federal legalization occurs,” explains Cox. And as their public offering reflects, Smoke Cartel’s founders are betting that shift will take place sooner than some think—indeed, that it may already be underway.

“More than 60% of people believe that marijuana should be legal, and thanks in part to the wildly out of touch policies proposed by Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice, they are speaking up,” says Geng. “We feel it’s inevitable that the continuing conversation about cannabis criminalization, which we’re [hearing] more than ever before, will end in legalization on a federal level, and that leading up to that, more and more states will continue to legalize.”

Smoke Cartel’s early entry into the online headshop market has helped drive the company to grow during its infancy. As it presses that advantage by being the first such company to debut on public stock exchanges, it’s counting on having impeccable timing once more.

Shaping Perceptions

Making the move to a publicly traded model lets Smoke Cartel strengthen its position as a leading purveyor of smoking accessories and other cannabis accoutrements. But it also helps the company shape perceptions outside of the industry. Investors and a board, Geng points out, will help Smoke Cartel be taken seriously by members of the business community who may not be sold on cannabis as a mature industry.

“Going public doesn’t just give us access to investors and funding,” adds Geng. “It also lets us access the accountants, lawyers, and consultants we believe can help grow this business into a Fortune 500 company one day.”

And while opening the doors to investors also means opening the doors to investor scrutiny, that’s a challenge that Geng and Cox are eager to meet. Smoke Cartel, Cox explains, has always been devoted to transparency, meaning the founders aren’t not shy about discussing their books or business practices with potential investors. And driving public acceptance and understanding of cannabis is a founding value for the company—one that going public allows it to embrace wholeheartedly.

“We take pride in our record of educating people about cannabis and battling back against outdated stigmas,” says Cox. “That’s one reason we think Smoke Cartel is the best company to lead the industry toward more public acceptance, on stock exchanges and everywhere else.”

Smoke Cartel is currently an alternative reporting company and all questions about the stock can be directed to investors@smokecartel.com

This article has been edited to add contact information for Smoke Cartel.

investingsmoke cartelsponsored article
Smoke Cartel
Presented BySmoke Cartel

The latest in Industry

  • Delivered Inc.: A dispensary at your doorstep image
    Delivered Inc.: A dispensary at your doorstep
    Leafly Staff
  • Green Flash: Delivering Boston’s cannabis future image
    Green Flash: Delivering Boston’s cannabis future
    Leafly Staff
  • Celebrate 420 weekend with cannabis, community, and creativity at MARY FEST NYC image
    Celebrate 420 weekend with cannabis, community, and creativity at MARY FEST NYC
    Leafly Staff
  • America’s top cannabis events of 4/20 2025 image
    America’s top cannabis events of 4/20 2025
    Amelia Williams
Get good reads, local deals, and strain spotlights delivered right to your inbox.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.



Stay In Touch

Receive updates on new products, special offers, and industry news.

Something went wrong, please try again.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Leafly mobile app
Get high for less.
Download the Leafly app.
Download Leafly: Marijuana Reviews on the App StoreDownload Leafly Marijuana Reviews on Google Play

Business Solutions
  • List your store
  • List your CBD store
  • List your brand
  • List your practice
  • Business log in

About Leafly
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Investor relations
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility

Dispensaries in
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Toronto
  • Detroit

Privacy & Terms
  • Terms of use
  • Commercial terms of use
  • Privacy policy
  • Do not sell my personal information

* Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for individual medical advice.


© 2025 Leafly, LLC
Leafly and the Leafly logo are registered trademarks of Leafly, LLC. All Rights Reserved.