Seven businesses pitched their ideas to investors, but there was only one winner.

Dan Ripoll is the CEO of Pushr, a marijuana startup in Los Angeles. Before the big competition, he memorized exactly what he was going to say.

“You get the butterflies and the, you know, a little nervous. Yeah, but it’s also exciting,” said Ripoll.

He had just three minutes to explain everything his company does. Then he’s got to be ready to take questions from a panel of judges.

It’s a Shark Tank style business pitch competition just for the cannabis industry put on by Leafwire, a networking platform for the industry. The prize is a chance to appear on a widely watched show.

The truth is Ripoll needs investments totaling $3 million dollars to launch his business.

Research at Harvard Business School found three out of four startups fail.

Ripoll has some advantages though. He’s done this before, started a company from scratch that is. The cannabis industry in California is also very fertile, raking in millions of dollars in tax revenue alone.

The room was packed when Ripoll’s turn came to take the stage. He didn’t forget a single word.

Pushr ended the night in third place. For a company that's just barely one year old, it’s a proud accomplishment.

This isn’t the end for Ripoll, or Pushr, by any means. He walked away without a prize, but he’ll keep pitching to anyone who will listen.