Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) co-founder Tom Bollich said that Maureen Dowd’s “paranoid” pot column in The New York Times does not indicate a change in the public’s stance on legal marijuana. However, there is a need of stricter pot laws, believe Bollich.
“The fact that you can take too much too easily, and everything kind of looks like a candy bar,” Zynga co-founder told Squawk Alley.
Bollich now CEO of Surna
Tom Bollich was the co-founder of Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) along with Marc Pincus and six other investors seven years ago. However, he sold all his shares and made investment of over $100,000 in a climate cooling system called Surna.
Bollich is currently the CEO of Surna, a company engaged in manufacturing disruptive technology and equipment for the legal marijuana industry. The ArcView Investor Network in Denver, Colorado hosted a marijuana conference, where Bollich was a featured speaker. The conference saw a turnout of 200 high net worth investors, who were looking forward to enter the industry.
“At Surna we’re really focused on tackling the really big problems,” Bollich said, noting climate, power and water as major topics. “We’re an engineering firm at the end of the day, so we’re going to attack those first.”
Similarity between Zynga and marijuana industry
The United States official marijuana market value is anticipated to surge 68% this year to $2.57 billion, according to research by ArcView Group. The research stated that the gains will be in the form of greater demands in existing state markets along with the new state markets within a time period of five years. The research projects the five-year national market potential at $10.2 billion.
“This was exactly the way it was at Zynga,” said Bollich. “It was an evolving industry that we get to be at the ground floor.”
Bollich, previously, said that he sees a lot of similarities in social gaming and cannabis as when Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) was launched the social gaming industry was in early stages. He said that though everyone was trying there was nothing specific.
Bollich is clear about his roadmap and is exactly aware of what he has to do. A few months back, he purchased SRG and merged with Surna, which later acquired a seven-year old company Hydro Innovations.
