GoFire makes a cannabis vaporizer and dose-monitoring app. (Courtesy GoFire)
A cannabis tech startup is reaching for new highs in its pursuit of investment.
GoFire, a Denver-based company making a cannabis vaporizer and dose-monitoring app, pocketed $210,000 in fresh funding at the end of January. It looks to push that number up to $750,000, according to a recent SEC filing.
GoFire CEO Peter Calfee said the company will use the cash to design and manufacture GoFire products. He also hired a public relations firm to help the company spread the word before GoFire starts selling its first vaporizers in May.
“We’ve done very little marketing,” said Calfee. “We’re about to pop the lid and show the world what we’ve achieved.”
Peter Calfee
Calfee started GoFire and the end of 2014. The company is selling a cannabis vaporizer synced with a mobile app that measures cannabis in 5-milligram increments. The idea is to let cannabis users keep track of the amount and type of marijuana they inhale, and to help them share cannabis-based remedies for various ailments.
The app also offers medical users suggestions on strains and doses to use for different ailments. For example, if 30 users found a certain cannabis oil vaporized at a certain temperature helped with migraines, a GoFire user could see these reviews and track down nearby dispensaries carrying the oil.
Calfee said user information and data on the app is anonymous and HIPPA-compliant. Calfee sees his primary customers as new cannabis consumers who may not have considered cannabis as a medical solution prior to GoFire.
“We’re very focused on the medical marketplace,” said Calfee. “I’m not looking at the 21- to 28-year-old pot head.”
For Calfee, the product is personal. The 25-year-old was in a car accident in May 2015, which seriously injured his back and left him bedridden for weeks. Calfee switched from his opioids to cannabis to treat pain just two weeks after the accident, using an early GoFire prototype to measure and monitor dosages.
“I knew every four hours I could take 25 to 30 milligrams, and that would alleviate that pain and would allow me to continue working,” said Calfee.
Now, the company has 11 full-time and seven part-time employees working from an office at 2399 Blake St.
GoFire’s vaporizers are not on the market yet, but Calfee plans to release the products in May. Vaporizers are available for presale for $190, but will sell for $250 after the product’s launch.
The GoFire app comes free with the vaporizer. Calfee said some of GoFire’s competitors include Seattle-based cannabis strain reviewer Leafly and Denver-based Weedmaps, which finds dispensaries and marijuana doctors for users.
“There are vaporizers out there that are potential competitors, and web-based apps that are potential competitors,” he said. “But there is no one crossing into both.”
Calfee plans to expand GoFire’s customer base throughout Colorado, Washington, Oregon and California, and eventually wants to expand into Canada. He also sees uses for the product outside the marijuana world.
“The tech in our eyes will be able to be used not just for cannabis, but to create consistency for any inhaled medicine,” said Calfee.
GoFire makes a cannabis vaporizer and dose-monitoring app. (Courtesy GoFire)
A cannabis tech startup is reaching for new highs in its pursuit of investment.
GoFire, a Denver-based company making a cannabis vaporizer and dose-monitoring app, pocketed $210,000 in fresh funding at the end of January. It looks to push that number up to $750,000, according to a recent SEC filing.
GoFire CEO Peter Calfee said the company will use the cash to design and manufacture GoFire products. He also hired a public relations firm to help the company spread the word before GoFire starts selling its first vaporizers in May.
“We’ve done very little marketing,” said Calfee. “We’re about to pop the lid and show the world what we’ve achieved.”
Peter Calfee
Calfee started GoFire and the end of 2014. The company is selling a cannabis vaporizer synced with a mobile app that measures cannabis in 5-milligram increments. The idea is to let cannabis users keep track of the amount and type of marijuana they inhale, and to help them share cannabis-based remedies for various ailments.
The app also offers medical users suggestions on strains and doses to use for different ailments. For example, if 30 users found a certain cannabis oil vaporized at a certain temperature helped with migraines, a GoFire user could see these reviews and track down nearby dispensaries carrying the oil.
Calfee said user information and data on the app is anonymous and HIPPA-compliant. Calfee sees his primary customers as new cannabis consumers who may not have considered cannabis as a medical solution prior to GoFire.
“We’re very focused on the medical marketplace,” said Calfee. “I’m not looking at the 21- to 28-year-old pot head.”
For Calfee, the product is personal. The 25-year-old was in a car accident in May 2015, which seriously injured his back and left him bedridden for weeks. Calfee switched from his opioids to cannabis to treat pain just two weeks after the accident, using an early GoFire prototype to measure and monitor dosages.
“I knew every four hours I could take 25 to 30 milligrams, and that would alleviate that pain and would allow me to continue working,” said Calfee.
Now, the company has 11 full-time and seven part-time employees working from an office at 2399 Blake St.
GoFire’s vaporizers are not on the market yet, but Calfee plans to release the products in May. Vaporizers are available for presale for $190, but will sell for $250 after the product’s launch.
The GoFire app comes free with the vaporizer. Calfee said some of GoFire’s competitors include Seattle-based cannabis strain reviewer Leafly and Denver-based Weedmaps, which finds dispensaries and marijuana doctors for users.
“There are vaporizers out there that are potential competitors, and web-based apps that are potential competitors,” he said. “But there is no one crossing into both.”
Calfee plans to expand GoFire’s customer base throughout Colorado, Washington, Oregon and California, and eventually wants to expand into Canada. He also sees uses for the product outside the marijuana world.
“The tech in our eyes will be able to be used not just for cannabis, but to create consistency for any inhaled medicine,” said Calfee.
Finally, a way to medicate responsibly! Having access to data options to research with doctors and patients takes out the guess work and shortens the learning curve. Ground breaking technology was long overdue. Thank you Go Fire.