Last week we got a new addition to the psychedelic medicine industry. On July 21, Levitee Labs began trading on the CSE under the ticker symbol “LVT”.
The Canadian-based company has joined the ranks of ambitious startups looking to make their mark on the burgeoning psychedelic space. We sat down with Levitee Labs CEO Pouya Farmand on the eve of the company’s IPO.
More than just psychedelics, an integrative wellness company
We spoke via Zoom with CEO Pouya Farmand, hours before his company was about to go public on the CSE.
“I’m assuming it’s been a crazy few weeks, leading up to the big day tomorrow?”
“Yes it’s been electric. We’ve all been working tremendously hard, preparing to execute on our vision and strategy. And yet it’s only the beginning.”
“So how about we start with the elevator pitch, a brief company introduction for those who aren’t familiar with Levitee?”
“Levitee means to elevate, to empower and uplift. We are working to be the leading multidisciplinary integrated wellness platform, providing individuals with the tools necessary to overcome their health challenges. We have a focus on mental health and addiction disorders, aiming to change how the solutions for these conditions are deployed.”
We move into some details, discussing the various acquisitions Levitee has completed during its short life as a private firm. The company is less than a year old, yet has put together an impressive list of assets, both acquired and self-started.
From the company’s recent press release:
- On July 14th, 2021, Levitee launched its premium mushroom supplement blends MONKE into the North American market on major eCommerce platforms, including Amazon
- The Company has completed construction of its Sporeo Supply facility, which manufactures and sells sterilized grain and substrate for mushroom cultivation, reducing the current supply backlog for mushroom growing feedstock
- A master distribution agreement has been signed with My Green Planet, a leading global agricultural supply group, giving Sporeo access to approximately 7,000 retailers across North America, Australia, and Europe. The master distribution agreement provides for a combined monthly minimum pre-order amount of 150,000 units each of sterilized grain and substrate
- Levitee has executed letters of intent for the acquisition of a number of businesses, which include:
- Five addiction clinics
- Three specialized pharmacies
- A telemedicine platform
- An omnichannel superfood and supplement brand
- A functional mushroom-based tea company
- A late stage applicant for a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) licence from Health Canada.
The conversation moved through a summary of the above acquisitions and developments, with Mr. Farmand giving color to each move and the company’s vision:
“We’re essentially a conglomerate, with five different divisions that include Levitee Clinics, Levitee Pharmacies, nutraceutical and superfood companies, a mushroom cultivation operation, and an R&D division.”
I jumped in with what I thought was a somewhat clever comment: “So your model could be compared to ATAI Life Science’s structure, a sort of central umbrella setup funding and supporting your subsidiaries?
“Yes, we are definitely like the ATAI model. Although they are focused on pharmacology and developing drugs through lengthy and costly FDA trials, we are focused on building the platform and delivering solutions to the patients—addiction patients, mental health patients—that need these treatments. We’re not building psychedelic spas, we’re going after the patients where the problems are most rampant and trying to help them where they are.”
We then move onto some financials, discussing that the pre-public shares owned by the founders, management, and insiders will be on hold for 4 years. I say how this could be of great comfort to investors, showing founder-commitment.
“Definitely, we are in this for the long haul. I encourage everyone to study our structure. Our goal is to be on Nasdaq and become a billion dollar company.
And with Levitee Labs the big differentiator, from a capital markets perspective, is that we’re going to be the first publicly-listed company in the space with substantive revenue and cash flow. For 2021, our conservative estimates are $15 million in revenue from our acquired assets and internal companies, with over $1.5 million dollars in cash flow.
My position, with a background in finance and capital markets, is really to act as a capital allocator and give it to the brightest minds in the industry and let them do what they do best and create the change we want to see in this industry. And we’re going to continue to pursue our M&A side of the business and acquire more cash-flowing assets in integrated wellness, centralizing them, and extracting these synergies.“
Another point on the financing front, in February 2021 Levitee Labs held a go-public financing round with gross proceeds of $10,570,000—yet these funds have only just been released, meaning that Levitee has completed many of its acquisitions without this major financing, putting the company in a strong financial position going forward.
In closing, Levitee seems to be building an ambitious and holistic wellness company that covers many key aspects of the space. We’ll be watching them closely so stay tuned to Microdose for more news.
Note: After going public Levitee released several company updates, see them here and here.