Note 1 - Nature of operations

                Corporate Structure Overview Since 1985

Mentor Capital, Inc. (“Mentor” or “the Company”), which reincorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in late 2015, was founded as an investment partnership in Silicon Valley, California by the current CEO in 1985 and was originally incorporated under the laws of the State of California on July 29, 1994. On September 12, 1996, the Company’s offering statement was qualified pursuant to Regulation A of the Securities Act, and the Company began to trade its shares publicly. On August 21, 1998, the Company filed for voluntary reorganization and, on January 11, 2000, the Company emerged from Chapter 11. The Company relocated to San Diego, California and contracted to provide financial assistance and investment into small businesses. On May 22, 2015, a corporation, named Mentor Capital, Inc. (“Mentor Delaware”) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. On June 30, 2015, a vote of the holders of a majority of outstanding shares entitled to vote approved an Agreement and Plan of Merger providing for the merger of Mentor with Mentor Delaware and in which Mentor Delaware was the surviving entity. The merger was approved by the California and Delaware Secretaries of State, and became effective September 24, 2015, thereby establishing Mentor as a Delaware corporation.

                Current Business (2008 - 2015)

Since the August 2008, name change back to Mentor Capital, Inc., the Company’s common stock has traded publicly under the trading symbol OTCQB: MNTR.

In 2009, the Company began focusing its investing activities in leading edge cancer companies. In 2012, in response to government limitations on reimbursement for highly technical and expensive cancer treatments and a resulting business decline in the cancer development sector, the Company decided to exit that space. In the summer of 2013 the Company was asked to consider investing in a cancer related project with a medical marijuana focus. On August 29, 2013, the Company made a decision to divest of its cancer assets and focus future investments in the cannabis and medical marijuana sector.

Mentor has a 51% interest in Waste Consolidators, Inc. (“WCI”). WCI was incorporated in Colorado in 1999 and operates in Arizona and Texas. It is a legacy investment which was acquired prior to the Company’s current focus on the cannabis sector and is included in the condensed consolidated financial statements presented.

On February 18, 2014, the Company signed an agreement to purchase a 51% interest in MicroCannaBiz, LLC (“MCB”), for $200,000. MCB is a Limited Liability Company organized in Florida in January 2014 which began operations in June 2014. MCB provides cannabis and marijuana related private companies, investors and microcap issuers with information resources including client company specific publications, directories, and continuing education courses. On April 27, 2015, Mentor converted its equity contribution of $74,000 to a ten year note receivable from MCB and MCB’s remaining member as provided in the funding agreement. The Company was not successful in collecting on the note receivable and after consultation with collection attorneys, the note was impaired in its entirety in November 2015.

On February 28, 2014, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase 60% of the outstanding shares of Bhang Chocolate Company, Inc. (“Bhang”), which was ultimately rescinded by Mentor on August 11, 2014, see Note 4 regarding the purchase and subsequent Mentor lawsuit seeking rescission of the agreement. The parties were ordered to undergo arbitration, which took place in May 2016. On July 18, 2016, the Arbitration Panel granted Mentor’s request for rescission of the contract and ordered Bhang to return Mentor’s $1,500,000 plus interest at the rate of 10% for the period of time from the investment of funds immediately following the date of the contract through the date of the arbitration award. Amounts paid to Bhang and its owners are reported as Receivable from Bhang Chocolate Company in the consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Interest receivable is fully reserved at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015. As part of the arbitration award, Bhang owners who purchased Mentor shares pursuant to the agreement have the option to return all or part of those shares in exchange for the original purchase price of $1.95 per share plus interest at the rate of 10% for the period of time from the date of the receipt of funds pursuant to the agreement through the date of the arbitration award. Mentor will account for the return of the shares as a capital transaction if and when the shares are remitted back to the Company.

On April 20, 2015, the Company acquired 100% of a Georgia sole proprietorship, dba Investor Webcast (“CAST”) valued at $469,611 in exchange for 4,696 to-be-created Series B convertible preferred shares of Mentor. On May 7, 2015, Investor Webcast, LLC, was formed as a Delaware limited liability company subsidiary to hold the assets of CAST. CAST works to provide cannabis related public and private companies, investors and microcap issuers with the best possible investor information through webcasts, conferences, email and an evolving mix of media products, investment publications, industry financial research, and by other means. After one year, the to-be-created Series B convertible preferred shares could be converted, in steps or in whole, into Mentor common shares, See Note 19. At the time CAST was acquired Mentor was awaiting approval to reincorporate in Delaware and the Series B convertible preferred shares had not yet been created. Therefore, a convertible security was issued to the prior owner of CAST which could be converted to Mentor Series B convertible preferred shares once the preferred shares were created under the laws of the State of Delaware. At the acquisition date the Company estimated a convertible security liability of $469,611 however, based on the operating results of CAST from the acquisition date, April 20, 2015, through December 31, 2015, in conjunction with revised projected revenue over the subsequent five years, we valued the convertible security liability at $0 as of December 31, 2015. On March 1, 2016, the Company entered into a Mutual Termination Agreement and General Release in which the certain Investor Webcast – Mentor Capital Cannabis Owners Public Liquidity Agreement effective April 20, 2015 (the “Purchase Agreement”) and the Convertible Security Agreement with the prior owner of CAST were cancelled and terminated, resulting in a spinoff of CAST assets and liabilities to the prior CAST owner.

On June 25, 2015, the Company formed Canyon Crest Holdings, LLC (“CCH”), a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Mentor. CCH was formed to provide management services to the rapidly evolving cannabis sector. Services to be provided may include but are not limited to: 1) Branding, marketing, administrative and consulting services; 2) Compliance and legal services; and 3) accounting and financial services.

In association with the financing of CCH, on August 21, 2015, Mentor entered into an agreement in which an individual with a long relationship with CCH operating management purchased to-be-created Mentor Series C convertible preferred shares for $120,000. After one year, the to-be-created Series C convertible preferred shares could have been converted, in steps or in whole, into Mentor common shares, See Note 19. At the time of the agreement, Mentor was awaiting state approval of its reincorporation under the laws of the State of Delaware and the Series C convertible preferred shares had not yet been created. Therefore, upon Mentor’s receipt of the invested amount, a convertible security was issued to the purchaser which could be converted to Mentor Series C convertible preferred shares once the preferred shares were created under the laws of the State of Delaware. Mentor loaned the invested funds to CCH who advanced the $120,000 to fund costs of the startup entity, however, due to internal disagreement between the startup entity’s managers, one of whom was personally known for many years by the investing individual, the planned startup operation has been disbanded and the intended funding agreement between Mentor and CCH management was never fully consummated. Due to the fact that the planned operation has been discontinued, the fair value of the convertible security is $0 at both September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015. In March 2016 the Company designated the individual investor as holder of 120,000 of Mentor’s unexercised Series D warrants, exercisable at $1.60 plus the $0.10 warrant fee so that she may have the opportunity to receive recovery for a portion or all of the amount invested by her in CCH.

On April 18, 2016, the Company formed Mentor IP, LLC (“MCIP”), a South Dakota limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Mentor. MCIP was formed to invest in intellectual property and specifically to hold the investment in patent rights obtained on April 4, 2016 when Mentor Capital, Inc. entered into an agreement with R. Larson and Larson Capital (“Larson”) to seek and secure the benefits of mutual effort directed toward the capture of license fees from domestic and foreign THC and CBD cannabis vape patents. See Note 17.