Jamen Shively hopes to do with marijuana what Starbucks has done with coffee.
Shively, who worked as Microsoft's Director of Corporate Strategy until 2009, participated in a press conference on Thursday accompanied by the former president of Mexico to discuss his plans to build a national marijuana brand in the US, to be called Diego Pellicer.
During the press conference, Shively outlined his ambitious plans to raise the $10 million he needs to fund the new company, which he hopes will have millions of marijuana-using customers, according to the Associated Press.
“Let’s do something big or go home,” Shively said in an interview with The Seattle Times before the press conference. “We expect more millions (from this business) than Microsoft has.”
Shively plans to buy medical marijuana farms and businesses in Washington and Colorado. The company will be headquartered in Seattle. Washington recently voted to legalize marijuana. But Shively was vague about whether his plans would comply with federal laws to create a national brand name, Mashable reports.
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