In the late 1990s, hot tech stocks achieved massive valuations that look ludicrous today with the benefit of hindsight. Companies like eToys, WebVan, and Pets.com achieved respective market caps of $10.3bn, $10.9bn and $369m despite never exceeding cumulative net sales of $364mn, $271mn, and $34mn. Those valuations came crashing down starting in March 2000 when the bubble burst (all three subsequently filed for bankruptcy).

“Taking a company public” (a term used to describe a private company’s first issuance of stock on a public exchange) can be a long, complicated, and expensive process. In the case of cannabis companies—which often struggle to access private capital—many management teams have chosen to go public at a much earlier stage than would be considered normal for their counterparts in more established industries.