Joe Montana made himself famous in part because of his unparalleled intuition on the football field. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback led the team to four Super Bowl victories putting that intuition – and his throwing arm – to good use. Now, a cannabis company backed by Montana is having similar success.

Years ago, Montana invested in a small California cannabis startup. Today, he holds an ownership stake in one of California’s largest marijuana companies.

Montana’s venture capital firm, Liquid 2 Ventures, made early investments in cannabis, much like other NFL greats.  Montana’s investments included Nabis, a cannabis distribution company founded by a duo of tech engineers. In the time since, Nabis – a modest startup in the beginning – has quietly evolved into one of California’s most successful marijuana enterprises, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in weed sales.

Joe Montana-Funded Company Dominates California Cannabis Market

In an interview with SFGate, Brian Dewey, a vice president of revenue at Nabis, said the company now moves 22% of all cannabis products sold legally in the state, which is the world’s single largest cannabis market. “We’re moving a big chunk of the market today,” Dewey said.

When the company started, its two founders made the cannabis deliveries themselves. Nabis is a distributor company that represents hundreds of different brands, according to Dewey. They deliver to almost every retailer in the state.

Montana’s investment company became an initial investor, and then invested a second time in 2019. Since he founded Liquid 2 Ventures in 2015, it has invested in 25 companies worth a combined $1 billion, according to a news release from Liquid 2 Ventures. In addition to Nabis, the company also is invested in Meadow, a software company that sells a cannabis-specific point-of-sale system, according to SF Gate.

Joe Montana’s Success in Finance

Joe Montana’s success on the gridiron is the stuff of legends. A graduate of Notre Dame University, Montana played from 1979 to 1994. His best years came as the starting quarterback for the 49ers. In addition to winning four Super Bowls, he was named the Super Bowl most valuable player three times and went to eight Pro Bowls. He retired after playing two final seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

What is lesser known to people outside the world of finance is his success in banking and investing. Montana has been “immersed in the venture capital industry” since his retirement from the NFL, according to the Liquid 2 Ventures press release.

He co-founded HRJ capital in 1998. From 2005 to 2010, he co-founded and served as a board member of the New York City-based commercial Modern Bank. After leaving there, he began angel investing.

Some of his profitable investments include Pinterest, DropBox, Weave, CoreOS, ShipBob, OpenListings (acquired by OpenDoor), Caliva and House Spirits. In 2015, he co-founded Liquid 2 Invest with core partners Michael Ma and Mike Miller. His son, Nate, joined shortly after the firm’s founding and now serves as a general partner.