SOME THINGS ONLY COME AROUND ONCE EVERY 75 YEARS

HALLEY Venture Partners looks to invest early in these truly life-changing trends. HALLEY is focused on building elite companies in the legal cannabis, hemp and traditional agriculture spaces. Now spanning 80 years of prohibition, nation-wide legal cannabis is overdue as a safe and effective medicine and as an adult product since it was outlawed in 1937. However, with recent state ballot wins, the USA has 11 adult-use legal states and nearly 96% of the population has at least some option for access. We believe that the momentum is undeniable and work to partner with companies that are best positioned to capitalize on a legal industry that should grow to over $100 billion once all states allow full adult use.

About Halley

HALLEY brings together a diverse group of financial professionals, engineers, scientists, lawyers, media guru's, cultivators, sales specialists, software experts, and many others. We look to find the next crop of super companies and their visionary founders. We aim to nurture them when needed and stand aside when they are flourishing.

The Team

Steve Schuman

Founder and Managing Director of Halley Venture Partners, L.P.

Steven J. Schuman is the Managing Director of HALLEY Venture Partners, L.P., a venture investment firm he founded in 2017 that focuses on building the best technology and medical companies in the legal cannabis and hemp industries. Mr. Schuman has 17 years of public and private equity investment experience in agriculture, technology, and manufacturing. From 2010-2016, Mr. Schuman was a Senior Analyst and Portfolio Manager for Passport Capital, LLC, a multi-billion dollar investment management firm headquartered in San Francisco. Prior to Passport, Mr. Schuman was a Senior Sell-Side Equity Analyst at Prudential Equity Group covering the agriculture and chemical industries. Mr. Schuman started his career in engineering at Cargill and Dow AgroSciences. He has worked for Fortune 100 corporations as well as multiple start-up companies.

Mr. Schuman received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from The Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a Mayfield Venture Capital Fellow.

Aaron Taffet

Investment Partner

Mr. Taffet joined HALLEY in 2019 as a general partner after working as CFO of Shift Cannabis Co., a multi-state operator of cannabis assets in Colorado and New Mexico and a strategic partner firm of HALLEY Venture Partners LP since 2017. As a general partner at HALLEY, Mr. Taffet is responsible for all aspects of the HALLEY partnerships including deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management and he is a member of the HALLEY investment committee along with Mr. Schuman. Previous to Shift, Mr. Taffet was a Principal at Intuitive Private Equity, multi-strategy private equity firm based in Boulder, Colorado and Silicon Valley where he was primarily responsible for capital deployment in the cannabis space. Mr. Taffet has worked with over ten operating companies as a financial client advisor, including market analysis and modeling in multiple states. He has extensive experience in private equity performing investment analysis, due diligence, and deal execution as well as serving as a board member to portfolio companies. In addition, Mr. Taffet’s background includes wide-ranging experience in M&A and capital markets advisory across several continents, with previous positions at Deutsche Bank in both the US and Latin America. From 2008 to 2012 he worked on and investigated deals in Australia, Canada, Japan, and Russia.

Mr. Taffet received a BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University.

Strategic AdvisOrs

Since 2017, HALLEY Venture Partners LP has maintained Shift Cannabis Co. as a strategic advisor to assist in evaluating the landscape of the legal cannabis and hemp industries.

From seed to sale, Shift provides dynamic business services to boutique cannabis cultivators and retailers, where boutique is defined as a compassionate culture committed to delivering authentic, world-class experiences. Formed in Boulder, Colorado in 2010 by a vetted field of cannabis industry professionals, Shift today is renowned as the choice purveyor of connoisseur-quality flowers and extracts, exclusive genetics, environmentally-friendly production practices, and the aficionado retail experience. Shift actively manages Shift Cannabis™, Shift Refinery™, Shift New Mexico™ and Dalwhinnie Farms™ brands.

Edwin Fowler

CEO of Shift Cannabis Co.

Mr. Fowler manages Shift Cannabis and its subsidiaries in multiple markets and develops and leads strategic growth initiatives for Shift’s national expansion efforts. For over 10 years, Mr. Fowler has been a growth oriented executive with responsibility in high-profile business expansion activities, in cluding eCommerce, Construction, and Development industries. Mr. Fowler is currently an advisor to Grownetics and Finch & Sons and earned a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Vermont.

Travis Howard

Founder & CSO of Shift Cannabis Co.

Mr. Howard splits his time between corporate management practices and the legal areas of dynamic entrepreneurial industries. He holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and a B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University. Mr. Howard’s broad business background encompasses specialties in computer information systems, project operations control, and public speaking platforms. In addition, Mr. Howard’s diverse portfolio of professional experiences includes System Administrator roles, Office Director positions, CEO titles, and membership on boards of directors. Mr. Howard’s understanding of emerging and disruptive technologies, managerial applications, and the legal structures supporting both creates a fertile environment for creating business value through transformation. He enjoys applying his knowledge to start-up companies looking to embrace both the future and the persistent market changes that arise along the way. Mr. Howard is a member of both the State of Colorado and local Boulder Bar Associations.