Ryan Freitas, Chief Revenue Officer of FundCanna – Interview Series

Following the federal rescheduling of cannabis in the United States, cannabis professionals and businesses have scores of questions regarding how such reform will change prohibitive laws surrounding banking and financial services for plant-touching and ancillary businesses alike. Because this is such a sweeping change at the federal level, the ripple effects of this reform on cannabis and financial banking laws are still unpredictable.

For a greater understanding of how banking and finance laws for cannabis companies could change, mycannabis.com had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Freitas, Chief Revenue Officer of FundCanna.

So what topics did you study at San Diego State, and how did your studies better prepare you for your career?

I attended San Diego State University and earned my degree in Communicative Disorders. While it may not seem directly tied to commercial finance or cannabis lending at first glance, the program actually helped build many of the foundational skills I use every day in business leadership.

The coursework focused heavily on communication, active listening, problem solving, and understanding how people process information and make decisions. Those skills have been invaluable throughout my career, especially in sales leadership, relationship management, and strategic partnerships.

A big part of my success over the years has come from being able to truly understand a client’s challenges, communicate solutions clearly, and build long-term trust. That ability started developing during my time at SDSU.

What were your first roles in your capital management career, and what were the most valuable lessons you learned during your early years?

My early experience in finance started in equipment leasing and commercial finance at Five Point (FPH ) Capital, where I worked with small and midsize businesses across a wide range of industries. That role taught me the fundamentals of prospecting, relationship building, and understanding how businesses use capital to grow.

One of the biggest lessons I learned early on was that access to capital can completely change the trajectory of a business. Many business owners are incredibly talented operators, but cash flow timing and growth expenses can create major challenges. Learning how to structure solutions around those realities was critical.

I also learned the importance of persistence, consistency, and transparency. In finance, trust is everything. Clients want partners who are honest, responsive, and willing to help them navigate difficult situations—not just someone trying to close a transaction.

During your many years with National Funding, what types of industries and small businesses did you/your teams most frequently work with? What industries usually require more access to capital than others?

At National Funding, we worked with an extremely diverse range of small businesses, including restaurants, construction companies, trucking and transportation businesses, medical practices, retailers, manufacturers, automotive businesses, and service-based companies.

One of the interesting things about small business finance is that capital demand exists across almost every industry, but the reasons can vary significantly. Construction and transportation businesses often required larger amounts of working capital because of equipment costs, payroll cycles, and delayed receivables. Restaurants and retail businesses frequently needed capital for inventory, expansion, or seasonal fluctuations.

Industries with high operating expenses or rapid growth opportunities typically required more consistent access to funding. What I learned there translates directly into cannabis today because many cannabis operators face those same challenges—but often with fewer financing options available to them.

Prior to your role on the FundCanna team, did you have any professional concerns about joining a company that works so directly with cannabis businesses?

I actually did not have professional concerns about entering the cannabis space. I’ve long been an advocate for plant medicine, and I was genuinely eager to become involved in an industry that I believed was making a positive impact on people’s lives.

Throughout my career in traditional SMB lending, I wasn’t really able to work directly with cannabis operators because most conventional financial institutions avoided the industry altogether. FundCanna provided the platform I had been looking for — an opportunity to combine my background in commercial finance with an industry I was passionate about supporting.

Once I became more immersed in the space and spent time meeting operators, my conviction only grew stronger. I quickly realized these are legitimate entrepreneurs running highly sophisticated businesses in one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.

What stood out to me most was how underserved these businesses were from a financial perspective. Many operators had limited access to traditional banking or institutional capital despite running compliant, revenue-generating companies. That created a major opportunity for responsible lenders like FundCanna to step in and provide real financial solutions.

What are the biggest issues that cannabis companies usually when attempting to receive capital funding? Did the soon-to-be previous federal policy on cannabis cause significant issues?

The biggest challenge cannabis companies face is the lack of traditional banking access caused by the disconnect between state legalization and federal regulation. Even highly successful cannabis operators have historically struggled to obtain the same financing products available to businesses in other industries.

That creates several downstream issues, including limited lending options, higher capital costs, restricted banking relationships, and difficulty scaling operations efficiently.

Federal policy uncertainty has absolutely played a role in that environment. Many traditional financial institutions have remained cautious because cannabis is still federally illegal, even in states with mature regulated markets. That uncertainty limited institutional participation and reduced overall capital availability.

As a result, cannabis businesses often had to rely on private lenders, alternative financing companies, or highly dilutive investment structures to fund growth.

How does FundCanna provide better access to quality capital opportunities for cannabis companies that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have access to?

FundCanna was built specifically to understand the cannabis industry and the unique challenges operators face. Traditional lenders often evaluate cannabis businesses using outdated assumptions or risk models that don’t accurately reflect the realities of the industry.

Our approach is different because we focus on the actual performance and operational health of the business. We understand the compliance landscape, the market dynamics, and the operational challenges cannabis companies navigate daily.

That industry-specific knowledge allows us to provide faster, more flexible financing solutions tailored to cannabis operators. In many cases, our clients gain access to capital opportunities they simply would not receive through conventional financial channels.

Just as importantly, we aim to be long-term partners, not transactional lenders. We want to help businesses grow sustainably and position themselves for long-term success.

How do the services that FundCanna offers have to be altered depending on the state in which the potential client is located? Are some states more difficult for businesses to receive funding from than others?

Cannabis is still a highly state-specific industry, so every market operates somewhat differently from a regulatory and operational standpoint. Licensing structures, taxation, compliance requirements, market maturity, and competitive dynamics can vary significantly from state to state.

Because of that, underwriting and financing strategies often need to be customized based on the operator’s location and market conditions. Mature markets may have more competition and tighter margins, while newer markets may offer stronger growth opportunities but carry different operational risks.

Some states are definitely more challenging than others when it comes to funding. Markets with unstable regulations, excessive taxation, or oversupply issues can create additional hurdles for operators and lenders alike.

Our team spends a great deal of time understanding those state-level differences so we can structure financing responsibly and effectively for each client.

What are some meaningful and important ways that capital provided via FundCanna has been utilized by your clients? How have they used those funds to ensure their success?

We’ve seen clients use capital in a variety of impactful ways, depending on where they are in their growth cycle.

Some operators use financing to expand cultivation capacity, open new retail locations, purchase equipment, increase inventory, or improve operational infrastructure. Others use working capital to stabilize cash flow, manage payroll, or navigate periods of rapid growth.

One of the most important things capital can do for a cannabis business is create operational flexibility. In an industry with limited banking access and evolving regulations, having reliable access to capital can help operators make strategic decisions without constantly reacting to short-term cash constraints.

The businesses that tend to succeed long term are the ones that use capital strategically—not just for survival, but to improve efficiency, strengthen operations, and position themselves for sustainable growth.

Do you think the federal rescheduling of cannabis will solve the capital-related issues that cannabis companies deal with? If so, how?

I believe federal rescheduling would be a major step forward for the cannabis industry, particularly when it comes to taxation, regulatory clarity, and the overall business environment. However, I don’t believe it will solve every capital-related challenge overnight.

One thing my experience in traditional SMB lending taught me is that even businesses operating in industries that have never been federally illegal have historically struggled with access to bank financing. There has always been a significant funding gap for small to medium-sized businesses in general, and I don’t necessarily expect cannabis to become an exception simply because rescheduling occurs.

What I do think will happen is that institutional capital may become more comfortable entering the space. However, I don’t believe most banks will suddenly begin directly lending to cannabis operators at scale, especially for smaller transactions. The reality is that underwriting smaller deals requires significant human capital, time, servicing, and compliance costs. Many financial institutions simply are not interested in deploying sub-$500,000 loans to individual operators.

Instead, I believe banks and institutional groups will likely prefer providing larger capital facilities to experienced specialty finance companies like FundCanna. From their perspective, it is more efficient to deploy tens of millions of dollars to one experienced lending platform rather than manage and service thousands of individual cannabis businesses directly.

That’s where companies like FundCanna can continue to play an important role. We understand the operators, the nuances of the industry, and how to responsibly deploy capital into a market that still requires specialized underwriting and expertise.

How does FundCanna plan on expanding alongside the American cannabis industry in this new post-rescheduling era?

FundCanna’s goal is to continue growing alongside the industry by remaining focused on what we do best: providing reliable, cannabis-specific financial solutions backed by deep industry expertise.

As the market evolves, we expect to continue expanding our product offerings, strengthening strategic partnerships, and leveraging technology to create a more seamless financing experience for operators nationwide.

We also believe the industry will continue maturing significantly over the next several years. As that happens, operators will increasingly need sophisticated financial partners who understand both traditional commercial finance and the unique realities of cannabis.

That’s where we believe FundCanna is positioned to add long-term value. Our focus is not just on financing growth today, but on helping build a stronger and more sustainable cannabis industry overall.

Thank you for joining us, Ryan! For more information on FundCanna, please visit its website.