Würk is the leading human capital management company for the cannabis industry. Keegan Peterson founded Wurk in 2015 after recognizing that cannabis businesses didn’t have access to the same scalable HR technology solutions as mainstream companies.  Under his leadership, Wurk now serves hundreds of clients across 33 states, including some of the largest publicly traded cannabis corporations in the nation. Würk now pays one in ten employees in the cannabis industry.

Prior to founding Wurk, Peterson spent over a decade working for high-growth HR technology companies, developing a deep understanding of how to build and scale software solutions that automate critical HR functions of business operations.

Peterson is active in lifting up other entrepreneurs in the cannabis space. He is a mentor at Canopy Boulder and Canopy San Diego, a mentorship-driven, early-stage investment program for startups in the cannabis industry, with a focus on ancillary products and services. He is an outspoken public advocate and thought leader for the cannabis industry and is an associate producer on the 2018 documentary Weed The People, which aims to educate mainstream audiences about medical cannabis as a human rights issue.

Full name: Keegan Peterson

Title: CEO and founder

Company: Würk

Years at current company: 5 years

Education profile: Keegan holds a BBA in Finance from Florida Atlantic University, graduating Cum Laude.

Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis: Prior to founding Wurk, Keegan spent over a decade working for high-growth HR technology companies, developing a deep understanding of how to build and scale software solutions that automate critical HR functions of business operations.  

Company Mission: Wurk was founded after Keegan recognized that cannabis businesses didn’t have access to the same scalable Payroll and HR technology solutions as mainstream companies. Despite numerous advancements in the legalization movement, cannabis companies still repeatedly experience cumbersome and preventable growth challenges, including being dropped by traditional workforce management vendors. Wurk exists in order to provide an HR and payroll platform specifically to serve the rapidly growing cannabis industry.

Company’s most successful achievement: Würk currently handles payroll for 1 in 10 employees in the cannabis industry nationwide, and powers some of the biggest names in cannabis including: Acreage Holdings, Aster Farms, Canndescent, Harvest, Flow Kana, Vangst, Curaleaf, GTI, and iAnthus.

Has the company raised any capital (yes or no): yes

if so, how much?: $18M

Any plans on raising capital in the future?  Wurk is not actively pursuing additional financing at this time but open to investments that accelerate the growth of the company.  

Most important company 5-year goal: Empower all the people of cannabis with 100% access to proper workforce management and payroll technology so they can continue to grow their companies.