"She had a Web-development firm, and I had an IT company," said Jessica Billingsley, referring to her now-partner Amy Poinsett. They knew each other socially and had some clients in common—real estate agencies, restaurants and other local small businesses—though they didn't work together directly. That is, until an amendment to Colorado's medical marijuana legalization law, implemented in 2001 but with narrow distribution, OK'd the opening of retail dispensaries where patients could have their pot prescriptions filled.

"A client of mine opened one of the first dispensaries in Boulder, and I invested in the business," Billingsley said, adding that she was asked to recommend a software platform to run the operation. She mentioned that to Poinsett, and the two agreed to join forces to launch a business called MJ Freeway and develop their own SaaS software platform for marijuana retailers, designed not just for Billingsley's client but also the many other dispensaries opening statewide.

By 2010 they had a working product and began licensing it to medicinal pot shops. "That's when we quit our other jobs and doubled down on MJ Freeway," Billingsley said, mentioning the name of their venture.

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"We have very complimentary skills in terms of our tech backgrounds, and work very well together," Poinsett said, "so it was a great opportunity to build something from the ground up. It was exciting then and continues to be exciting now."

