Baker Technologies

Baker Technologies was established in 2014 by co-founders Joel Milton, David Champion, and Roger Obando. The founding team combined their expertise in software, business, and product development, gained from previous technology startups, to address a gap they identified in the newly emerging adult-use cannabis market in Colorado. They observed that dispensaries lacked the technology systems common in other retail sectors. Initially conceived as an online ordering tool to help customers avoid long lines, the company pivoted its strategy. Recognizing a larger opportunity in customer retention, Baker transformed into a business-to-business (B2B) oriented Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provider specifically for the cannabis industry.

The company's core offering was a software platform designed to help cannabis dispensaries build relationships with their customers and increase revenue. This platform provided a suite of tools including online ordering, customer loyalty programs, messaging, and analytics. Dispensaries could use the system to communicate with their patrons through targeted messages based on shopping habits, offer promotions, and manage loyalty rewards, often through in-store iPads where customers would sign up. The business model was subscription-based, serving dispensaries across numerous states in the U.S. and Canada. By 2018, the platform was used by over 1,000 dispensaries, connecting them with more than two million unique consumers.

A significant milestone in the company's history occurred in May 2018, when Baker Technologies announced a merger with three other cannabis-related companies—Briteside Holdings, Sea Hunter Therapeutics, and Santé Veritas Holdings—to form TILT Holdings Inc. This strategic business combination was aimed at creating a comprehensive, vertically integrated company providing technology, infrastructure, and services across the cannabis industry. The merger was completed in November 2018, and TILT Holdings began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Following the merger, Baker's technology became a key component of TILT's broader B2B platform. Joel Milton, formerly the CEO of Baker, took on the role of President at TILT, overseeing the technology division. TILT Holdings has since evolved its focus, with its current core business being Jupiter Research, a global distributor of vaporization technologies.

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