Category: Featured

Xandr CMO Kirk McDonald: We live in a diverse world, you lead in a diverse world, your company competes in a diverse world.”

This should be obvious by now, and I hope we are all getting to fully appreciate that to lead successful business ventures in a diverse society, we need a company leadership and workforce that reflect the customer set. So, first takeaway: We live in a diverse world. You lead in a diverse world. Your company competes in a diverse world. If your leadership team doesn’t mirror and reflect that, they will never understand what the competitive challenges are, what’s around the corner and what are the needs of the business. Second takeaway: It’s just the right thing to do. You’ll win as a business and you’ll be more competitive. Third takeaway: If everyone around you is like you, who’s going to tell you about the thing you don’t already know? Diversity is not just measured in gender and race, it is critical that you have diversity of thought, experiences and perspectives as well.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kirk McDonald. Kirk is a media and technology industry leader with over 25 years of experience working with the world’s leading brands, media companies and technology providers. He is the Chief Marketing Officer at Xandr, the AT&T advertising and analytics company. The company, established in fall 2017 provides a premium advertising marketplace for buyers and sellers across all platforms. As CMO, Kirk is responsible for the marketing strategy and execution for the company. Before joining AT&T, Kirk was President of PubMatic, Inc. a leading marketing automation software company sitting at the intersection of media and technology. Prior to PubMatic, Kirk was President of Digital, Time Inc. He also served as Chief Advertising Officer of the Fortune|Money Group, overseeing worldwide advertising sales, integrated marketing, and the events business. He’s previously held senior sales, marketing and client success positions at Aquantive’s DRIVEpm and Atlas Enterprise, CNET, ZiffDavis and Condé Nast. Kirk has been fortunate to receive many professional awards, including: Adweek’s 2015 “50 List of Vital Leaders in Tech, Media and Marketing,” Adweek’s 2014 “12 Stars of Ad Tech Who are Building the Future of the Industry Right Now,” Business Insider’s 2014 “The 46 Most Important African-Americans in Technology,” Business Insider’s 2013 “The 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology,” and Business Insider’s 2012 “THE SILICON ALLEY 100: The Coolest People in New York Tech This Year”. Kirk’s commentary on key technology trends and the future of media have been published in leading industry and trade publications including WSJ, Huffington Post, Beet.TV, AdExchanger, Adweek, The Drum, and many more. Kirk currently serves on several professional and not-for-profit boards including the Advertising Week Advisory Council, and MOUSE/CI.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

For someone who came from very humble beginnings, college served a single purpose — and that was to get a good job, increase my earning potential and to keep growing as a professional. Without knowing a lot about this [publishing and media] industry early on, I’m a little embarrassed to say that I was attracted to what I heard were the salaries of the sales people, and I found it all super interesting.

To someone majoring in English Literature, publishing just sounded like it was going to be the right fit. At the time, college was expensive. I was not sure how I would afford Law School, so I jumped when I had the chance to work in the research department for Conde Nast Publishing. I fell in love with the media industry immediately and became fascinated with how people were connecting with the content they cared about in print, TV and, eventually, digital.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

By nature, I’m an extrovert, but I am very conscious that I learn best when I’m being silent and listening to the teams around me. I had a boss who taught me a valuable lesson early on. He reminded me that “no one likes the smartest person in the meeting.” Thanks Greg — you know who you are. So, I try to carry the theme of that advice through everything I do. I try to celebrate the wisdom of the team and not take myself too seriously. It’s helped me find the natural gravity of my opinion and the amount of contribution I should have/give to things.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I worked in sales early on in publishing, a role where confidence can be both a strength and sometimes a liability. I showed up in a management role at CNET early on in digital, like circa 1997, after leaving a hyper-rigorous sales culture at a previous job. Needless to say, the culture was quite different.

Sometime within my first three months, I made the decision to separate from a couple of the sales people that I inherited, which prompted the other two sellers to resign on their own. Yep, no team and an aggressive financial target to make. Not ideal, but we recovered.

What I learned was you can be wrong, even when you might be right. Success should be measured in progress at pace towards the goals/targets you have, and any action that derails the progress path to the goals/targets is a fail.

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

This should be obvious by now, and I hope we are all getting to fully appreciate that to lead successful business ventures in a diverse society, we need a company leadership and workforce that reflect the customer set. So, first takeaway: We live in a diverse world. You lead in a diverse world. Your company competes in a diverse world. If your leadership team doesn’t mirror and reflect that, they will never understand what the competitive challenges are, what’s around the corner and what are the needs of the business. Second takeaway: It’s just the right thing to do. You’ll win as a business and you’ll be more competitive. Third takeaway: If everyone around you is like you, who’s going to tell you about the thing you don’t already know? Diversity is not just measured in gender and race, it is critical that you have diversity of thought, experiences and perspectives as well.

More broadly can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

Culture typically creates commonality. But how amazing it is if your culture becomes a culture that welcomes change, the new and the innovative. It’s the leaders who welcome change because they recognize the speed and pace of business, leaders I respect like [AT&T Chairman and CEO] Randall Stephenson, [Xandr CEO] Brian Lesser, [WarnerMedia CEO] John Stankey and other leaders, who recognize that change is not just inevitable, it is an advantage. If you can build culture that way, then your company will thrive. If you want to impact culture, the concept of diversity has to be built in, not bolted on. And if you ingrain it in the culture, in a way where you pursue differences and encourage diversity of thought, I think we’re richer for it.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

Someone can give you a title and put you in charge tomorrow, but whether people are willing to follow you is what defines you as a leader. It is clear vision for what it is you’re trying to accomplish, and the ability to articulate that to a group of people or an individual who can align behind that purpose or mission. If you are going to be successful as a leader, you have to be good at making sure that your constituents are willing and able to follow you.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Very quickly identify what are the major things and minor things in business and life and do not major in the minors. Don’t make the small stuff big stuff.
2. Don’t compete for the title of smartest person in the room or meeting. Be someone who brings everybody together and makes the room aligned.
3. Leading people is about people issues, not business issues. It’s about understanding people. To get a team to work is about understanding the team.
4. Remember that in addition to the business in front of you, you have to put a certain amount of time in to self-development and treat yourself as an asset for the business. Recognizing your asset value to a business is not just your vertical expertise, but what people think about you when you leave the room.
5. Never forget that no matter what you’re doing in business, you’ve got to be human and have fun. You’ve got to laugh. Don’t forget to be kind along the way. Devote time to giving back.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

It would be a kindness movement, a pay it forward movement. It’d be the human API. The Human Assume Positive Intention (API) initiative. If we assume positive intention in everything we do, and bring that API to everything we do, it would solve a lot of misunderstandings. In business, it’s saying, “Let me actually hear your perspective.” If I assume we both have positive intent, and we’re both working toward the same greater good, it can be amazing how much more we learn from each other.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Ladder of St. Augustine

My mother chose this quote for my yearbook entry at The Bronx High School of Science, and it’s been one of my guiding mantras ever since. It’s a reminder that hard work and perseverance pays off — it’s not just the degrees you have, or anything else. Those who reach and accomplish great things have to continue persevering.

The second quote I love is, “Pressure is a privilege.” I first heard it playing a round of golf in a foursome with Boomer Esiason, and he said it as I stood over a putt. I found out later that the quote is actually attributed to Billie Jean King. I love it because it reminds me that moments of high pressure are earned, and therefore they should be celebrated. The work you’ve done has earned you a moment where the decision you make next matters. Lean into it, because likely you earned it.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them!

Right now in this moment, spring of 2019, maybe because I’m partway through her book right now, I’d love to sit down and ask Michelle Obama about things she wrote about in “Becoming” and the current state of the world and to hear her perspective.

How can our readers follow you on social media? You can find me on LinkedIn or on Twitter @KirkMcD_

Thank you for joining us!

Xandr CMO Kirk McDonald: We live in a diverse world, you lead in a diverse world, your company… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Within this space, it is especially important that we continue to disprove the inaccurate information and stigma that has plagued the beauty and possibility of this plant.” with Alexis Rosenbaum and Fotis Georgiadis

Large legacy companies may show less of their face and their team. Within this space, it is especially important that we continue to disprove the inaccurate information and stigma that has plagued the beauty and possibility of this plant. One strategy Rosebud uses is to regularly show the face behind the brand. I want my customers to know me, to understand my struggles and to connect with my love for CBD and cannabis. I try not to hold anything back and keep things real when it comes to the behind-the-scenes reality of being an entrepreneur.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Alexis Rosenbaum, Cannabis professional, Founder & CEO of Rosebud CBD. Alexis was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Morehead State University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in social work and women’s studies. In 2017, Alexis’ sold her first entrepreneurial endeavor after generating over $500k in sales. While building her first business, Alexis began experimenting with cannabis and CBD to reduce stress and anxiety. She struggled to find a CBD product on the market that met her standards: oil extracted from hemp organically sun-grown in the U.S., consistent and transparent lab testing and, of course, compelling and relatable branding. Alexis developed a passion for CBD and soon began a mission to set the bar in the rapidly-growing industry. After discovering a small U.S. hemp farm whose values aligned with her own, Alexis founded Rosebud CBD. Launching in April 2018, Rosebud generated over six figures in the first year of business. Today, Rosebud is pioneering the CBD space with an elevated design that matches the integrity and sheer quality of its products.

Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

I was going through a personal identity crisis while my husband’s professional baseball career was coming to an end. I had reached a point where it felt as if I had tried all options for managing my stress and kept coming up empty-handed until my sister suggested I try cannabis. Knowing the impact cannabis and CBD have played on my mental and physical health really fueled my passion for wanting others to have access to those same life-changing benefits.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I made the trip to our supplier’s farm in early September of last year. I had experienced the benefits of cannabis by consuming but had never been around such a huge amount of the cannabis plant in bloom. The farm is situated in a bucolic valley with nearly no one around and a nearby creek that’s rushing with water. It was a truly magical experience to see this plant with so many potential healing benefits in full bloom, to walk between the rows in the fields smelling the flower so alive, and seeing the crystals glistening on my skin.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We live in a 1000 square foot second-floor apartment that’s very old. I was preparing for our first holiday season with Rosebud placing bulk inventory orders. I ordered about 2,000 boxes to be delivered to my apartment. I hadn’t thought out how a semi truck would get down my car-lined street, how I would get all of these boxes up the staircase without a loading dock, and where I was planning to store this massive amount of cardboard.

I ran stacks of our shippers up and down my stairs. We stuffed them under both of our beds, along the walls, and on top of shelving. My entire apartment felt like a fulfillment center. Rosebud HQ took on a whole new meaning that day.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are hard at work to finalize a major brand refresh. Since launching Rosebud, we have grown so much and we want to continue to push the envelope for elevated design within this space. We believe pairing good design that feels welcoming and exciting with high-quality products will continue to help change the stigma around cannabis.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have a whole team of powerful creative women that I really rely on — from my advisor, my sisters, my mom, and the many amazing women in the cannabis space. But the one person who has really helped along the way is my partner and husband, Danny. He is the original creator of the name Rosebud and has been my sidekick since day one. He feeds me when I forget to eat, carries me to bed when I’m passing out in front of my laptop, reassures me during moments of doubt and provides feedback when I need it most. He is also the head folder of most of our shipping boxes. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the energy I have to grow Rosebud to where it is in one year.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Large legacy companies may show less of their face and their team. Within this space, it is especially important that we continue to disprove the inaccurate information and stigma that has plagued the beauty and possibility of this plant. One strategy Rosebud uses is to regularly show the face behind the brand. I want my customers to know me, to understand my struggles and to connect with my love for CBD and cannabis. I try not to hold anything back and keep things real when it comes to the behind-the-scenes reality of being an entrepreneur.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excite:

1. It’s an entirely new industry that will greatly impact our job sector. According to a CNBC article, the cannabis space is expected to create more than 250,000 new jobs by 2020.

2. Cannabis has the opportunity to be a female-dominated industry. Women have been our healers and caretakers since the beginning of time and finally, we are turning to listen to them as leaders with our medicine.

3. This industry legitimizes what we have all known for so long — that cannabis heals and will forever transform our world’s overall health and wellness.

Concern:

1. Big pharma and large corporations stepping in to control a crop we should all have access to.

2. How do we handle the gross incarceration of historically African-American males and minorities?

3. Lack of regulation and laws around hemp and CBD means the industry is constantly changing and shifting. This is not sustainable.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. A legal team within the cannabis space is necessary. Find a team you can afford and rely on to keep you updated.

2. Credit card processing companies and banks will constantly evaluate and shut down accounts — always have a backup account prepared.

3. Invest the money to build a website you own entirely instead of using mainstream platforms like Shopify or Squarespace. Those companies can shut you down and restrict your business whenever they want.

4. While regulations within the CBD/hemp space are non-existent, follow the guidelines established for other food and dietary supplements to prepare for a regulated market.

5. The cannabis space can be lucrative, but it will not be an overnight success, especially if you run your business with integrity. Don’t expect to turn and burn. Though the industry is rapidly growing and there are some exceptions to the rule, you will inevitably face a lot of unexpected challenges and setbacks. If you truly believe in this plant and its myriad benefits, just do it. Take the risk and deal with hardship. The world needs cannabis and it takes bold, courageous people to bring this plant into the light.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Work remotely when you can (it’s good to take a break from the hustle and bustle), and of course, take mental health days. This first year of business, I’ve experienced major burn-out by trying to do everything myself. Trust your own intuition. You hired skilled, competent people to work with who believe in your vision. Let go of the reins a little bit and let them do their thing. Delegation can be hard, but it is key to any businesses’ success.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

A legal cannabis home grow program to make sure the plant is accessible to anyone and everyone. Plus, growing your own cannabis is a therapeutic experience in its own right.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@RosebudCBD

Thank you for joining us!

“Within this space, it is especially important that we continue to disprove the inaccurate… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Be cognizant. For companies, this means first recognizing that your team isn’t as diverse as it could or should be.” with Cheryl Durst and Fotis Georgiadis

Be cognizant. For companies, this means first recognizing that your team isn’t as diverse as it could or should be. Most of us feel comfortable in our own “bubbles”, but a lack of diversity is a false feeling of safety. Open your eyes to the inclusion issues unique to your organization.

As a part of my series about “Black Men and Women of The C-Suite”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing…Cheryl Durst, Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). An exceptional communicator, innovator, and visionary leader, Cheryl Durst has spurred progress, driven change, and encouraged the expansion of the Interior Design industry. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Cheryl is committed to achieving broad recognition for the value of design and its significant role in society through both functionality and engagement in everyday workspaces and the built environment. Demonstrated by her active involvement in connecting industry professionals, including designers, manufacturers, clients, end users, and employers, she has worked to promote an understanding of how design impacts human behavior and affects all aspects of shared spaces.

Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

After graduating with a background in journalism and economics, I entered a recessionary job market, and took my first job as a substitute teacher. It was during this time that I began honing my presentation skills — taking on the responsibility to engage my students with information, meeting them at their level.

From there, I was hired by the Washington Design Center, where I initially worked in event and meeting planning, and then moved on to work in sales for a couple of the design showrooms. After spending some time learning about design and the A&D market, the design center ultimately hired me to create a continuing education series/curriculum for designers — programming that was necessary for designers to gain and maintain professional licensure.

When my husband was transferred to work at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, I began seeking local employment prior to our move and came upon a very new design association — the International Interior Design Association — that was in search of a director of education.

I moved to my current role as EVP and CEO not long after joining the team, and have since spent over 20 years serving the international community of commercial design professionals.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

This is more of an observation than a specific story, but it’s a result of the many years of traveling I’ve done in my role at IIDA. When you spend a considerable amount of time in airports, you begin to see a number of celebrities and notable people in passing. Over the years, I’ve watched people like Oprah Winfrey, David Sedaris, Colin Powell, Anthony Bourdain, and Madeleine Albright as they maneuver through security, waiting at the gate, and boarding a plane — all activities that seem to equalize us. Invariably, I’ve seen that these people behave with patience, positivity, and gratitude. It’s interesting to think about the world we live in today, a world in which many are presenting themselves as “larger than life,” the people who truly are “larger than life” so often choose humility and kindness. It’s amazing to see, and has stayed with me over the years.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of my first jobs was as a copywriter at an agency. I was a couple of weeks into my new role, and was in attendance at a very public event. I introduced my boss as “Marie” to a group of our clients — I had been a little unsure that this was correct, but she hadn’t corrected me before, so I felt fairly confident about it. It turns out that her name is actually Marnie. So, I had clients at this event staring at me, likely thinking, “And how long have you worked here?” It was completely embarrassing at the time, but it taught me to always ask someone to say their name to you, and ask again if it isn’t clear — getting a name right is so important.

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

First, having a diverse executive team demonstrates your company’s values and culture. It provides visibility to those outside of your organization; it’s a signal to other diverse communities that they are welcome in your company and, more broadly, in your profession.

Second, it’s (very slowly!) becoming the way of the world to be more inclusive. It is viewed as the right thing to do — to acknowledge the reality of diversity in life and business.

Lastly, inclusion is incredibly valuable to teams when they’re making decisions or brainstorming new ideas. Diversity of thought, of experience, of background — those are the factors that make conversations dynamic and bring truly innovative results to the table.

More broadly, can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

Having diverse leadership expands opportunity on both sides of the equation. From an individual point of view, it provides people with someone who looks or thinks or acts like they do, and allows them to see themselves in that role or that industry. It opens them to possibilities they might not have considered. From the organization’s standpoint, it takes leadership outside of thinking one specific way, broadening the collective mindset and allowing for new ideas and approaches to come to the surface.

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do help address the root of the diversity issues in executive leadership?

Be cognizant. For companies, this means first recognizing that your team isn’t as diverse as it could or should be. Most of us feel comfortable in our own “bubbles”, but a lack of diversity is a false feeling of safety. Open your eyes to the inclusion issues unique to your organization.

Talk about it. Diversity begins with a conversation. Before it’s a policy or a poster, it starts with talking to one another. Tackle what diversity means for your organization and develop a working definition so you know what you’re aiming for.

Be Courageous. Recognizing bias is hard. Admitting our failures as an organization is hard. Achieving more diverse teams will necessitate changes that can be uncomfortable, and it requires courage to tackle these issues.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

Leadership is the art and science of inspiring, motivating, and managing. It requires empathy, creativity, humility, enthusiasm, and humor. It’s not about behavior; it’s an attitude. Leadership should always be in the service of others — the people, the company, the industry — not in service of yourself.

Currently, my most important role is in articulating the value of design on behalf of IIDA and our 15,000 members. The work that I do is always in service of promoting the value of commercial interior design, and is ultimately to the benefit of my team, our members, our profession, and our society.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. You can do some of the things some of the time, but you cannot do all of the things all of the time.

2. Take time to enjoy the amazing moments you have in your professional career; don’t just work right through the good times and move on. Revel in the special moments.

3. It is truly impossible to over-communicate.

4. Nurture and sustain confidence in yourself and in those on your team. Fear and self-doubt are contagious, and it can be incredibly difficult to heal your organization once it has spread.

5. Hire slowly and intentionally, but be quick to let people go when the mutual fit isn’t there.

Reflecting on the fourth and fifth points, a specific example comes to mind. A few years ago, there was a person on my staff that was extremely under-confident in her own abilities and was fearful of new ideas. I have never seen anything dismantle a group of people so quickly — we’ve worked through a recession, through negative team members, and other issues, and nothing has been as difficult to come back from. The experience made me ever mindful of the way I portray my own confidence and how I encourage my team to be strong in their convictions.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Such an incredible and thought-provoking question! I’m on a personal mission, that as I speak to people, whether in groups or as individuals, I will do a better job of making eye contact and to truly listen to them. It sounds so simple and so basic, but by making the most intrinsic of human connections — seeing and hearing and actually physically doing that — we are saying, “I see you. I hear you.” Both of these phrases in colloquial English or contemporary vocabulary mean, “I acknowledge your humanity.” It’s about seeing, hearing, and recognizing the whole person and their place in the world — not the demographic, not the gender, not the race, not their earning potential, not the CV, not a category they’ve been put in — but the person. Who they are. What they feel. It’s about empathy, and it’s beyond empathy, in a way. “I see you. I hear you.”

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Plan for the best. Anticipate the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

My mother shared this notion with me in various iterations as I was growing up. It’s really about that mixture of being an optimist about what’s ahead, a realist about what you’re dealing with right now, and always making the best of whatever comes your way.

By nature, I am quite optimistic. In the world of work, however, you have to be pragmatic. Whatever challenges you face, the outcome is in your hands.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

I would choose Henry Louis Gates; he is the director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. His work — especially his PBS series in which he focuses on genealogy, history, and genetics and how our ancestry informs our individual lives — is incredibly interesting to me. I admire the way in which he’s able to share ideas and information so effectively through filmmaking, essays, books, and his teachings; he’s quite inspirational.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can find me at @cheryldurst on Instagram, and you can find IIDA at @IIDA_HQ on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for joining us!

“Be cognizant; For companies, this means first recognizing that your team isn’t as diverse as it… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Discovering that a natural substance I had always discounted was the key to regaining my health made me question all of the choices I had made through to adulthood.” with Pamela Hadfield and Fotis Georgiadis

Discovering that a natural substance I had always discounted was the key to regaining my health made me question all of the choices I had made through to adulthood. What other plant-based cures are available that binary black-and-white thinking refuses to consider? In fact, had my internal judgements and biases kept me from other solutions in my life?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Pamela Hadfield. Pamela is a tech entrepreneur and co-founder of HelloMD, the largest online community of health and wellness cannabis consumers. After suffering from debilitating migraine headaches for much of her life, Pamela found relief using medical cannabis. She quickly found she was not only able to manage the pain from her migraines, within six months she was preventing them altogether and was able to seamlessly drop her use of Vicodin. It was at this time that Pamela became not only a cannabis advocate but an early adopter to cannabis as the exit drug for the opioid epidemic. It was through her personal experience, and an awareness of the associated stigma with cannabis consumption, which led her to create HelloMD.

Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

Having suffered from debilitating migraines for most of my life, my condition worsened after the birth of my third child. After years of trying different medications that did not help, I began consuming Vicodin regularly to relieve my pain. Aware that this was a dangerous path I looked for a new solution, and finally decided to try cannabis.

To my surprise, with cannabis I was able to leave the Vicodin behind. Daily doses of CBD not only allowed me to manage my pain, but I found that within six months I was preventing my migraines altogether. I realized that what had been my medication of last resort should have been my medication of first resort.

My personal experience coupled with a keen awareness of the social stigma around cannabis consumption, led me to start HelloMD in 2014. Over the past four years, HelloMD has evolved into a digital healthcare platform that includes education, doctor consults, and product selection. HelloMD’s mission is to help people find their way within their personal journey with cannabis. Our goal is to help people just like me, who had no idea about how cannabis might help and no understanding of where to start.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Over the years we have seen over 100k patients in one on one online video consults with our doctors. As a result, I have had the opportunity to talk to thousands of patients. What I’ve learned is that we as humans suffer from a variety of conditions and we are very oriented around finding solutions to our problems.

What has intrigued me most is how common anxiety and chronic pain are within our society. Over 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety and over 50 million people suffer from some sort of pain or chronic pain. We have been conditioned to take pharmaceuticals such as benzodiazepines for depression and anxiety or opiates for chronic pain. For many people, these are not only ineffective but dangerous. What has been most interesting to me within my job is seeing how effective cannabis can be in helping large amounts of people get off of traditional pharmaceuticals in a more natural way, without horrific side effects associated with traditional medications.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The first week we were in business we launched a Google Ads campaign. Immediately, we started to see enormous traction and were seeing hundreds of patients for our doctor consultations. We thought we were absolutely amazing! After about two weeks our account was shut down and Google informed us they would no longer be working with us. We had no idea you could not advertise through normal channels in the cannabis industry. In hindsight it is funny that we were so naïve, but the reality is, creating a business within the cannabis industry is like the triple black diamond of entrepreneurship as there are so many challenges you face that are non-issues in any other industry.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We have some exciting news to announce soon that essentially means our reach will be larger than ever before. Stay tuned!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I would never be successful without the support of my co-founder Mark Hadfield. He is extremely supportive of my ideas and the things I want to produce. Although it has not been easy all of the time, we have worked as a team to bring HelloMD to where it is today. We have opposite skill sets which is also helpful. I always say to people when starting a business, make sure you have one advocate that really has your best interests at heart and will help support you through the dark times, because there will be many!

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

That’s a great question. In the cannabis industry you always need to think outside the box and be extremely agile. One thing that many cannabis companies do well is connect with the consumer through experience. This may be at an in person event or through online communication. Cannabis is unique in that there is always something new to learn, so I also think that consumers and patients are more easily engaged. Larger legacy companies would be shocked at how agile you need to be in order to survive and thrive within this industry.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excite me:

· Cannabis is truly a global phenomenon now — watching normalization sweep the globe is unbelievably exciting

· The ability to help millions of people with plant-based medicine

· Opportunities in education on a global scale — the rolling back of prohibition

Concern me:

· The business of cannabis is big money. It concerns me that the needs of the patient may be overlooked and cannabis might get rolled up into a new version of Big Pharma.

· Regulatory structures are too rigid and make it too difficult for patients to have access and the black market continues to thrive. Regulators, in my experience on the whole, really misunderstand cannabis.

· That cannabis companies are penalized for being in cannabis, yet are expected to operate like any other business. This goes in regards to banking, advertising, and so on. It concerns me that this will continue.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

I wish someone had told me 5 things to avoid before I started a cannabis business!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Cannabis was my medication of last resort when it should have been my medication of first resort. My Plan B should have been my Plan A. I spent decades needlessly in pain because I was unwilling to explore an unconventional cure. My hesitation was informed by social norms and reinforced by the medical establishment. It prompted a bout of critical thinking that shook me to my core: What else had I been absolutely wrong about? What role did the medical establishment play in my delusion? And how is it conspiring to shroud the other plant-based cures already available?

Discovering that a natural substance I had always discounted was the key to regaining my health made me question all of the choices I had made through to adulthood. What other plant-based cures are available that binary black-and-white thinking refuses to consider? In fact, had my internal judgements and biases kept me from other solutions in my life?

Cannabis has taught me to be more open minded and to see issues at hand with multiple lenses. My personal belief is that having an open mind while also employing a critical thinking mindset can change the world.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Instagram:

Hellomd_com
pamela_hello

Twitter
@hellomd_com

Facebook:
hellomdcompany

Thank you for joining us!

“Discovering that a natural substance I had always discounted was the key to regaining my health… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I go out into the world to physically meet and make conversation with the folks I believe would be interested in attending or otherwise supporting my cannabis events. Early in my cannabis event planning days, emailing businesses for partnerships wasn’t the most effective approach, and Facebook ads and Eventbrite ticketing systems were not always possible due to the involvement of cannabis. Guerilla marketing, like creatively kicking off my events in a very public place before heading to the cannabis lounge, has been a clever way for Token Events to instantly boost awareness of the many ways in which the cannabis industry can succeed.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ivy Summer. She’s is a certified wedding planner who serves engaged couples interested in planning their own wedding. As the pioneer of some of California’s first cannabis events, Ivy was the first local wedding planner on the scene to tackle the unexpected aspects of cannabis-incorporated weddings and is responsible for bringing the annual Cannabis Wedding Expo and its team to the golden coast. With nearly a decade of experience consulting, planning and coordinating weddings in the Bay Area, plus 3 years professionally consulting cannabis weddings, this jack of all trades and Master in Business Administration launched the USA’s first cannabis art museum tours and cannabis yacht tours on San Francisco’s bay. As a networking guru, business professional and traveler, Ivy has a devoted fan base across the globe. Visit both voulez-events.com and tokenevents.ca; follow both Voulez Events and Token Events on Facebook, voulezevents and tokenevents Instagram, and @VoulezSF on Twitter.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

I’ve always been an advocate for the cannabis industry, and even more so as a professional event planner for the past 10 years. When California legalized recreational cannabis in November 2016, I intuitively prepared for how to discuss the various cannabis wedding options with engaged couples based on my previous hospitality experience and existing network in Colorado. The following month, I coordinated my very first cannabis wedding at a San Francisco private estate.

During my time coordinating vendors for my first cannabis wedding, I realized the scary possibility that some vendors may not be ready to associate their brand with cannabis. I did a bit of research about how to navigate this challenge. The Cannabis Wedding Expo (CWE) was already hosting annual events in Colorado and Washington, but not yet in California.

I made a phone call to introduce myself to the co-founders of the CWE, and happily offered to find a 10,000 square foot space for the team to bring the expo to [San Francisco] California for the first time. Local engaged couples immediately reached out to Voulez Events to inquire about how to legally incorporate cannabis into their wedding day as either a ritual, group activity, dining experience, or non-consumption décor. From there, I saw an opportunity for not only weddings, but special events like art museum tours and yacht parties — and then Token Events was born.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting story that happened to me since I began hosting cannabis events was about America’s first cannabis yacht tour on the bay in February 2018. I published the event on Facebook in January 2018, and within 48 hours of creating the Facebook event page, about 2,500 people RSVP’d as either “Going” or “Interested.” By the time the tour date came around, I had already spoken with the U.S. Coast Guard among other important institutions and organizations to ensure that I was executing my event by the book and being transparent throughout the process of preparation.

I reserved at least half of the 40 seats for American veterans who belonged to the Oakland Chapter of the Weed for Warriors non-profit. About an hour after we set sail on the bay, the U.S. Coast Guard approached our yacht… and I learned that they had been ordered by Jeff Sessions to do so! This was interesting because the U.S. Coast Guard came aboard, found there was nothing illegal taking place, and got to meet their brothers and sisters from every other branch of the military. We ended the event with happy guests and we sent our best to Jeff Sessions.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made when I was first starting was innocently forgetting about the possibility of service pets attending Token Events yacht tours! One guest attended with his gorgeous, well-mannered golden retriever — a certified service animal, who was recently recovering from a knee injury. I immediately got in touch with the cannabis lounge and Captain of the yacht to confirm we could all accommodate the guest’s service pet. Everyone was ecstatic to make the pup feel comfortable, including our cannabis sponsor W!NK, which offered its pet-friendly CBD tincture for the dog to enjoy along with the guests.

One lesson I learned was to be intentional in the future about accommodating service animals and ensuring all parts of the events are ADA-compliant across all venues.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

I’m currently working on an exciting project that can propel cannabis tourism around the globe, beyond U.S. borders. As I transform my wedding planning business into a destination wedding consulting firm, I’m finding opportunities to extend my cannabis event services to other countries. Can’t say much more about it at this time, but stay tuned!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’m super grateful for my family and friends for believing in me from conception to execution of the ground-breaking Token Events. I’m grateful to my event attendees and sponsors who participated in the events I’ve hosted for San Francisco residents and tourists alike. I’m thankful for the team at Medithrive, which sponsored my first two cannabis art museum tours. Specifically in the Bay Area, cannabis businesses have created community and are really supportive of one another; I’ve got so much appreciation for the organized groups in both San Francisco and Oakland, from the bottom of my heart! Without that community, I’d still be fishing for answers to so many questions I had about how the laws all around California are changing. Last, but certainly not least, the co-founders of the Cannabis Wedding Expo helped me create a dream come true for my city by the bay, year after year, and I’m honored to call them my friends.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

The marketing strategies I implement are simple: I go out into the world to physically meet and make conversation with the folks I believe would be interested in attending or otherwise supporting my cannabis events. Early in my cannabis event planning days, emailing businesses for partnerships wasn’t the most effective approach, and Facebook ads and Eventbrite ticketing systems were not always possible due to the involvement of cannabis. Guerilla marketing, like creatively kicking off my events in a very public place before heading to the cannabis lounge, has been a clever way for Token Events to instantly boost awareness of the many ways in which the cannabis industry can succeed.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that most excite me about the cannabis industry entail (1) the potential it has to positively affect every other industry we can imagine and in some ways we may not be able to imagine; (2) its ability to fund public education and claim other important social responsibilities; and (3) the strong pillar of education around cannabis that continues to blossom. The three things that most concern me include (1) the steep hurdles that still exist for cannabis businesses to launch and thrive due to the lack of a level playing field, relative to the majority of established industries; (2) the long-lasting cycle of mass incarceration for cannabis-related crimes; and (3) the roadblock to funding necessary cannabis research required to make monumental advancements in the medical industry.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

Five things I wish someone told me before I started leading cannabis business:

(1) I wish someone told me about the best ways how to advertise, considering the limitations of Facebook ads.

I wanted to run a test for the first cannabis yacht tour Facebook event: Without sending any invitations, I wanted to see how many people would RSVP or purchase tickets. The title was “Cannabis Yacht Tour on the Bay.” Within the first 48 hours, the event page attracted 2,500 RSVPs! I wanted to boost a Facebook ad to see how many more people the page could reach. Facebook was quick to deny my boosted ad, and I consider myself lucky that the title of the event alone was exceptionally effective in capturing my target audience. Word-of-mouth would’ve been my next attempt at advertising the event if all else failed.

(2) I wish someone told me how to sell tickets for my cannabis events.

As a professional event planner, I naturally used Eventbrite to sell tickets for my first cannabis yacht tour. After having successful sales and transferring the funds to my bank account, Eventbrite banned my ticket page. The company failed to warn me about this. I found out that my Eventbrite page was no longer available when I went to review my stats on the back end. For my second cannabis yacht tour, I had to find a reliable ticketing system that gave me full confidence that my customers would be able to purchase tickets without issue and that I would be able to transfer funds to my bank account without a problem. Fortunately, I was able to conduct business on the TicketLeap platform for subsequent cannabis events.

(3) I wish someone would’ve told me how to write off cannabis [event] business expenses.

It’s still impossible to write off certain expenses as a cannabis business. For example, fellow cannabis businesses sponsored some of the products in the gift bags for my event attendees, but I had to purchase other items, process deliveries, acquire transportation, and invest in some business operations that I would’ve otherwise been able to write off as a business expense had I not been operating within the cannabis industry. Unfortunately, any business operations that were affiliated with the growth, transportation or consumption of cannabis could not be considered business expenses that I could legally write off, according to the laws at the time.

(4) I wish someone would’ve told me how to find non-cannabis industry folks as prospective partners who support this new emerging industry.

Before I discovered the Cannabis Wedding Expo, it was not the easiest feat to find and book vendors for the cannabis weddings I was hired to plan and in San Francisco. Many businesses outside of the cannabis industry were uncomfortable associating their brand with cannabis. I needed to be transparent with the wedding vendors I reached out to on behalf of my clients to validate their reliability, willingness and professionalism regarding these turn-of-the-century events. I heard a lot more “no way, not right now’s” from wedding industry folks in the Bay Area than I originally thought I would.

(5) I wish someone told me about where to find legitimate answers to valid legal concerns per location.

California’s laws can slightly differ county by county. I explored several different resources that allowed me to keep my ear on the legal pulse of legislation throughout the state so that I could adequately perform my job as a professional wedding and event planner. I took initiative to be more informed so that I could educate a venue my clients had their eyes on. For example, in the earliest days of legalized recreational cannabis, a grey area existed for venues located both in the city of Pleasanton, CA, and the county of Alameda because the city and county established cannabis legislation that clashed with one another. Unfortunately, these venues could not legally host cannabis events — at least not until the laws pertaining to their entire jurisdiction made it clear that it was legally okay to host events with cannabis onsite.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Advice I’d share with other cannabis business founders to help their employees to thrive would be words of encouragement to listen and even test out employees’ ideas. Some of the most successful parts of my cannabis art museum and yacht tours came from my employees!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Visit both voulez-events.com and tokenevents.ca; follow both Voulez Events and Token Events on Facebook, @VoulezSF on Twitter, and both voulezevents and tokenevents Instagram.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started, with Ivy Summer and Fotis Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

TIAA SEVP Sean Woodroffe: “Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have”

Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have. If you’re laser-focused on the job you have and doing it to the best of your ability, the next job will come along. Worrying about the next step can distract you from being a high performer in your current role and hinder your professional development.

As a part of my series about “Black Men and Women of The C-Suite”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Sean Woodroffe, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of TIAA, a 100-year-old Fortune 100 financial services company that provides financial solutions for the not-for-profit sector. With more than 25 years of Human Resources experience, Mr. Woodroffe is responsible for TIAA’s human resources strategy and execution for the company’s global workforce, including compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, organizational design and effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Overall, I was drawn to working with and delivering services for people. That aspect of a career in HR was serendipity.

When pursuing my undergraduate degree in International Relations at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, I aspired to work in international law, as I was inspired by my mother’s four-decade career at the United Nations. I was enamored with the prospect of serving in a Foreign Service capacity as a lawyer. The summer between my junior and senior years at Shaw, I worked as a Summer Intern at Merrill Lynch. That internship led to a full time offer upon graduation and I spent 18 wonderful years there. During that time, I had the opportunity to lead HR for the organization’s Japan Wealth Management business unit based in Tokyo, Japan, before transitioning into a London-based HR role as the Head of International HR. Since Merrill Lynch, I’ve led a variety of global human resources programs with financial services organizations, and am happily leading the human resources strategy and execution across the TIAA enterprise.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

When I worked at Sun Life Financial, they were a sponsor of the football stadium where the Miami Dolphins played. In 2010, during that time, there was seismic earthquake in Haiti that captured the world’s attention. I had the opportunity to visit Haiti firsthand as a member of a charitable delegation arranged by the Miami Dolphins to deliver goods and services to Haitians impacted by the earthquake. When I personally witnessed the abject devastation to the Haitian community — citizens living in tents with sparse belongings and minimal food rations — it was a life changing moment. It helped me appreciate the virtues of life and perspective of what is important, on what to focus on and what not to. It was a sobering reminder to me that even on our perceived bad days, things could always be worse and is generally worse for others among us.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My boss, who was the CEO at the time, sent me an email about an announcement that we had sent. I responded to him and inadvertently copied the entire company. My advice would be to double check the “To” line before you hit send!

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

Inclusion and Diversity are among the underlying principles of our organization. In fact, TIAA is one of the few remaining Fortune 500 companies with a black CEO (Roger Ferguson). As Roger Ferguson once said, a diverse boardroom is inspirational for a company’s workforce and “inspires people in the organization to look to the board and see faces that look like them and voices that sound like them.”

We recognize the value in not just having a diverse leadership team, but a diverse employee-base as well. A diverse workforce provides us with a deeper understanding of our clients’ various needs and the appropriate solutions to meet their needs. At TIAA, our diverse and inclusive culture allows all employees to show up as their full selves every day in order to contribute their unique talents and skills, enabling us to provide our clients with fresh ideas and distinct perspectives to help them achieve their financial goals.

More broadly can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

No matter where we live, work or go to school, we are always going to meet someone who is different from us. Instead of focusing on those differences as a negative, look at them as a learning experience to understand new perspectives about life.

Creating opportunities where people from different backgrounds feel empowered and given the ability to go above and beyond to achieve greatness will help our neighborhoods, schools and places of work thrive.

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do help address the root of the diversity issues in executive leadership?

It’s important to recognize that diversity isn’t limited to one’s gender or the color of his or her skin. Diversity in thoughts, ideas, personal and professional experiences, religious and political views, etc. are all pivotal pieces to an organization’s or community’s success.

At TIAA, we embed our inclusion & diversity philosophy into every aspect of our business. To help foster diversity and inclusion, TIAA has a rich community of Employee Resource Groups that provide leadership development, networking opportunities, community outreach and philanthropic efforts, business solutions and product input, and multicultural awareness.

By recognizing the needs of underserved or underrepresented groups and allocating appropriate resources and opportunities, local communities and frankly, society as a whole, can help the leaders of tomorrow reach their fullest potential.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

To me, leadership is a privilege, and it is all about serving others. “Servant Leadership,” as it’s called, is a doctrine that I’ve adopted from the moment I had the blessed fortune to lead others. Every day, in every situation, I always try to focus on the “we” vs the “I”, as success is a team effort.

An admired leader is not someone who talks about himself or herself, but one who is a great listener and takes interest in the success of others. They take every opportunity to ascribe the credit to others for when things go well, and inspire team members to be their best.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

I’m an optimist, so I’d like to focus this question on the three things that people shared with me that turned out to be spot on advice and very useful.

1. If you’re a high potential employee, you’ll find yourself in situations where your career is moving faster than an organization has the ability to commensurate pay increases. So, you may find yourself in a situation where you’re slightly below the market rate for your talent level. If you’re being challenged, getting good exposure and moving up in the organization, don’t worry about it, because over time the pay component always catches up! I experienced that myself.
2. Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have. If you’re laser-focused on the job you have and doing it to the best of your ability, the next job will come along. Worrying about the next step can distract you from being a high performer in your current role and hinder your professional development.
3. A lesson I learned early in life from my mother: If you want to be regarded as a high potential employee or team member, go above and beyond! Mediocrity should be mercilessly shunned. As was perfectly quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King: “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

What I feel most passionate about is that we all should live in a way where we are improving the lives of the people around us. What role are we playing in making this a better world? If everyone started putting others first, imagine the possibilities.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

As I mentioned, my mother worked for the United Nations for more than 40 years. As a child of the 1970’s and 80’s, I was drawn to international leaders, particularly South African president Nelson Mandela. In the movie Invictus, President Mandela meets with the captain of the South African rugby team and asked him, “How do you lead others, and how do you inspire them to be their best?”

Nelson Mandela’s definition of leadership means to inspire others to be their best. It’s a notion I’ve always been drawn to, and craft my leadership style around this mentality.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Wesley Autrey. Mr. Autrey was dubbed the “Subway Samaritan” following his selfless act of bravery by saving Cameron Hollopeter who suffered a seizure and fell onto the subway tracks. I’m amazed at his ability to react so quickly to someone in dire need of help and to virtually sacrifice his life to save another. That act is the purest personification of heroism.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow TIAA on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!

TIAA SEVP Sean Woodroffe: “Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

…drop what doesn’t work. This one comes from my own experience as well as my experience advising clients. Don’t fall in love with an idea to the extent that you are blinded to its negatives. Go with your gut. Move on. Trust yourself, if something is telling you no, listen.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Olivia Brown. Olivia Brown is the founder of 3 cannabis related businesses. The first was The Way Of The Flower, a cannabis infused reflexology business. Then, focusing on personal health and cannabis industry investment, she opened Professional Cannabis Consulting Inc.. Most recently, she opened a storefront partnership called The Hamilton Hemp Collective where she provides consulting and sells unique products like Cannabeds’ hemp pillows and hemp mattresses. Industry watchers say Brown certainly deserves her reputation as a cannabis industry trailblazer! She is also a trusted media commentator — a compelling public speaker who delivers clear, concise, interesting cannabis education on all aspects of the cannabis plant, cannabis medicine, recreational cannabis, and the emerging Canadian cannabis industry. Breaking the stigma, Brown says, is important to her — and this “Pot Power Lady” has devoted her professional life to — very effectively — knocking it down with a vengeance. Recent media appearances include : CTV, CBC, Cable 14 and CHCH TV,The Highway magazine, The Hamilton Spectator, The London Free Press, AM900, and CP (Canadian Press) articles in newspapers across Canada.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

I first came to cannabis as a patient. Without realizing it, I had long been using the plant medicinally — self medicating for anxiety. Becoming educated about the many medical applications, I later used cannabis to help me through serious medical issues. At that time there weren’t a lot of professional voices teaching people about medical cannabis, and it kind of became my mission to bring an educated, professional voice from a medical perspective to the cannabis industry. I studied for years, determined to effectively merge the holistic, wellness industry with the world of cannabis medicine.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I would say one of the most interesting things about this journey has been the intersection between Cannabis and medicine! Things are starting to change, but in the early days I sure remember a lot of interesting conversations, debates really — about with doctors about medical cannabis. Now some of those very same doctors, and even hospitals, call me for advice about patients!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Funny moments can actually be few and far between — I might be dealing with cannabis but its also about health, and I deal with a lot of sick people which can be hugely stressful — but there is one moment that always makes me laugh when I think about it…. The time when one client wanted me to get an MD -yes, an actual DOCTOR — instead of a vet to monitor her dog!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

I sure am! And things change so quickly in this industry that by the time this article comes out, I’ll probably working on ten MORE fascinating cannabis related projects! It’s hard to say which of them I’m most excited about — One that is really close to my heart, is the storefront I opened in the city where my business began — Hamilton Hemp, on Barton Street in Hamilton Ontario! It acts as my head office for the consulting business, and we also offer some really unique products like Cannabeds’ hemp mattresses, hemp pillows, even hemp doggie beds! They’re new- made here in Canada and available North America wide. The project that is probably having the biggest impact on my career right now is the switch away from one on one patient care into corporate and international cannabis consulting. One on one patient care can be really draining and it’s easy to get burnt out — so after years of it, I’m pretty excited about some consulting I’ve been doing in Trinidad / Tobago and in Jamaica and about the possibility of being brought into some major projects on the international scene. As exciting as the growth of this billion dollar industry is in Canada, there is a whole world out there, and many countries are opening up to the truth about cannabis and wanting to get on this train to success!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I don’t think anyone achieves success without a great team of supporters behind them. Of course — I literally couldn’t do any of it without the support of my wonderful husband and my amazing kids. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the people who have literally helped me get to where I am today — My Publicist Tracy Lamourie and the team at Lamourie Public Relations — we started working together three years ago, I had no media presence at all — she made sure all the local media knew about the work I was doing, and did such a great job that now they reach out to me….Jory Meisner (The Cannabis Scout / Cannabis Haven International) — he has really been my industry mentor, guiding and advising me as I developed the business side of things. Brian Johnson of BrianJohnsonDesigns.ca — who is a vital part of my team and public presence — he does an amazing job with my website, my blog, graphic design, and so much more. I’ve been very lucky to gather a skilled team of professionals who are as committed to my mission as I am!

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Aside from the basics — make sure you surround yourself with a skilled publicist who understands cannabis, cannabis medicine and the cannabis consumer; and of course an excellent web/graphic designer that will work closely with you to ensure timely blogs and a social media presence that reflects authenticity, honesty, and some personality. Even a big corporate or legacy company shouldn’t have a generic presence. People want to know the PEOPLE they are dealing with. And keep up on changes and innovations in this extremely fast moving industry!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

What excites me is the future potential of this amazing and still growing new industry and the fact that so many women are leaders in the space. Cannabis amnesty — removing the charges for people that were convicted in the past for a now legal plant that never should have been prohibited; and the vast revenue potential!

What concerns me mostly is the overly strict limitations and over regulation set by governments that can stifle innovation, entrepreneurs, and employment.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

First thing — Don’t sell yourself short. There are so many newcomers to this industry selling themselves as cannabis consultants, when they were bankers or real estate agents just months ago! We welcome all those people with all those great skill sets into the industry, but those of us who have been around awhile don’t know whether to laugh or to cringe when we see them selling the knowledge they barely have at high dollar to cannabis businesses or investors. I wish someone had made me realize earlier that I had accumulated far more knowledge in far more areas of the cannabis business than most of those people. I know that now, and that’s why I have been moving away from one on one care to consulting for large corporations and internationally.

Second thing — Be prepared for community disapproval — not everyone will agree. I’ve had issues with family and friends over what I do, been confronted by school officials who even called police — even though I was a legal medical patient — just because they smelled cannabis on me one day! I’ve had issues with banks- thats common in this industry for sure — with other business owners, and of course elected officials don’t treat cannabis related businesses with the same respect as they do other businesses — that’s changing with legalization, but it has been a long road.

Third thing — Be prepared for 18 hour days and a lot of stress. There’s always a learning curve, things change quickly, people are always demanding immediate answers from you, and especially on the one on one working with sick people side, it can really be difficult. People ask and expect a lot of you, they’re often not well and at high stress times in their lives… it’s not always easy, that’s for sure!

Fourth thing — be careful who you trust. I’ve seen a lot of grey market companies who aren’t working with a consultant approach big companies, get wined and dined and treated like gold, give the companies samples of their product with the promise of future meetings, then they never hear from those companies again, later finding they took the product back to their R and D departments, duplicated it, and cut the original maker out of the deal.

Fifth thing — drop what doesn’t work. This one comes from my own experience as well as my experience advising clients. Don’t fall in love with an idea to the extent that you are blinded to its negatives. Go with your gut. Move on. Trust yourself, if something is telling you no, listen.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Support your employees with continuing education and mentorship.

Don’t forget the back end — have a great accountant.

Use a publicist that can help media and the public see you as the expert in your field that you are.

Remember it’s not a race — just do what is best for you — do you!

Hire family if you can (make sure they are competent though!) — and in this industry it is really important to keep up to date on all aspects of cannabis law!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would create a movement that reduces stigma around cannabis medicine so people like seniors and mothers can use cannabis without stress or worry about uninformed judgement.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

https://www.instagram.com/professionalcannabisconsulting

https://twitter.com/PCConsultingInc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-brown-rrpr-8100289a/

https://www.instagram.com/sungazerhempgirl/?hl=en (personal)

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Olivia Brown: “Don’t fall in love with an idea to the extent that you are blinded to its negatives” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There is no change without change. You have to be willing to change yourself, your work, your habits, and your environment to stay on your journey to your desired success. It is up to you and no one else. You are in control and you have to do the work!

As a part of my series about “Black Men and Women of The C-Suite”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Rita P Mitchell. Rita is an overcomer. In a career spanning nearly four decades, she has navigated countless roadblocks and conquered numerous obstacles to accomplish her personal and professional goals in the very competitive financial services industry. Rita became president of her own insurance and securities brokerage firm, spoke on the TEDx stage, has been a frequent contributor to Black Enterprise magazine, and became the first-ever recipient of First Horizon’s 2018 Inclusion & Diversity Leader’s Award. Before retiring in early 2018, Rita served as Executive Vice President and Manager of Private Client Services for Middle Tennessee, First Tennessee Bank. Most recently, she has written Own Your Phenomenal Self, a guide to empower young career women to achieve their desired success, which released on January 29, 2019. Rita resides in Nashville, TN, and enjoys writing, cooking, and traveling with the love of her life, Fulton, and her daughter, Brittany.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I recently retired after a 40+ year career in the financial services industry. Having climbed the corporate ladder from top-producing salesperson to Owner/President of the insurance and brokerage firm Mitchell Financial, Inc., to Executive Vice President, leader, and manager for a $50 billion regional bank, I have endured and overcome countless roadblocks on my journey to amazing success. Through these corporate ups and downs, a passion grew in me to empower women to become their best selves. I wrote Own Your Phenomenal Self for all the amazing young women in corporate America who have a strong desire to do good in the world and to be their very best for themselves and their families. It is a unique guide on character, success, and leadership for those who may not have the privilege of having a one-on-one mentor/coach. I am now on a mission to share this message worldwide: You are enough. You have enough. Because you were created with enough!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

In all of my success, I was never selected to be a leader because of my talent, merit, or experiences; my leadership opportunities came because I was the only one who stood up, I was the only one who was ready. My mantra is “get ready, be ready, stay ready,” and, fortunately, I have always been ready — ready to raise my own hand and toot my own horn for the next big thing.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The worst mistake that I ever made at work happened nearly 40 years ago, but I still remember it to this day. I was only 22 years old and I was a participant in a regional bank’s 18-month management training program. For six months of this program, we had to do a six-week rotation in different areas of the bank and I was in the middle of the “bond-desk rotation.” Compared to the other areas, in my opinion, I was learning very little and had been given only mundane tasks to complete. So on this particular day, I was in a bad mood and decided to tell my co-workers that worked in this area how boring the bond-rotation job was compared to the other rotations.

I was completely on fire and spoke my mind about every little thing: I did not think that I was being utilized properly; I felt that I was smarter and more talented than the work that they were having me to do; I could do something better with my time; and finally that I was completely BORED out of my mind. As I finished, I turned around and there stood the manager of the department who was also a senior vice president and reported directly to the president of the bank. As I shut my mouth, he politely asked me to follow him to his office, which I did. He then politely asked me to close the door, which I did. Let me just say, the only thing that I said in that meeting was that I was sorry. He said everything else that you could possibly imagine about how dumb, ungrateful, careless, immature and stupid I obviously had to be. In addition, he told me if I was so smart and so bored maybe I should go read a bond book, which one of the bond traders politely had on my desk the next morning. The bad news was that it was the worst verbal butt-kicking in my life. The good news was that I read that bond book, shut my mouth and eventually was promoted out of the program!

My lifelong takeaways:

1) Never say or email anything in a corporate environment that you are not prepared to say to the CEO directly and/or blast out to the entire company.

2) Never complain without also having a recommended solution to the problem.

3) Don’t be the problem.

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

1. Leaders should look like the people they are leading. How can you, as a leader, have a universal perspective if everyone looks and thinks the same way? The executive team should look like the workforce AND the customers since they are the ones the company is serving and selling to.
2. Typically, one person cannot and does not have all the right answers. To have the best chance of landing on the right answer or the winning strategy or the right vision and mission, you need diversity at the executive level.
3. Lastly, how can you do good in the world without being inclusive? And how can you be inclusive without having diversity at the table? It takes having diversity at the table to hear the ideas and experiences you’ve never had or heard of. You don’t know what you don’t know, and you certainly can’t learn it all in a vacuum.

More broadly can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

Leadership at the executive level impacts the culture of the entire company. Thus, when you have diversity and inclusion at that level, you have the opportunity to change and impact every employee at every level.

People begin to be more open and look for ways to become more alike because they are working on the same page, on the same problem, and they are on the same team, as opposed to finding commonality in what is different. Diversity, when it is done well, creates commonality rather than division, and that changes the world.

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do help address the root of the diversity issues in executive leadership?

1. First, recognize talent when you see it, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else. Don’t be afraid of smart people. Recognize the talent and call it out!
2. Secondly, figure out how to grow that talent into leadership. What does he/she need to become successful? Do they need a mentor, more education, polished communication skills, etc. How do you mold, shape, develop, and lead this person into becoming their best self?
3. Then, finally, please, place them on a legitimate executive career track. Share with them the path that you are putting in place AND set an expectation that all of management will support this path and acknowledge the person as someone the company has “named and claimed.” Then, expect and demand support from all involved in this person’s career trajectory.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

This is best expressed in an excerpt from my book: Own Your Phenomenal Self: A Guide on Character, Success, and Leadership.

“Good leaders influence, empower, and inspire others to become the best they can be. Great leaders have humility and are, themselves, the greatest servants. They are powerful because they do the right thing for the right thing’s sake. They bring out the best in others because they use their power and position for good. They help you to want to be your best, and they create an environment to nurture and foster that better behavior. With great leadership, there is care. With great leadership, the littlest things are the biggest things.”

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Grades, education, and paper are important: good grades — at all levels do your best; higher education — keep educating yourself if you can afford it; paper — everything you do will go on paper — on your resume — so make it meaningful. Understanding the importance of these three things is critical to your future success.
2. Language. We are a global economy. Learn more than one language. More is more.
3. You do not need to be known as the smartest person in the room, even though you might, in fact, be the smartest; however, you do need to understand the power and the strategy being used in the room. This means: not talking and, instead, observing the landscape; seeing how people connect to power; looking for how decisions are being made and how things get done; AND learning how and why people get promoted. Stop letting people know who you are until you see who they are first.
4. Own your power. This means to have a personal agenda and determine what it is you are trying to accomplish with your career and life; to evaluate the gifts and talents that belong to you; and then to own the fact that you are truly in control of your destiny because choice belongs to you.
5. There is no change without change. You have to be willing to change yourself, your work, your habits, and your environment to stay on your journey to your desired success. It is up to you and no one else. You are in control and you have to do the work!

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

It is in the book I just published: Own Your Phenomenal Self. The movement is called OYPS (Own Your Phenomenal Self), which, in essence, says that you are enough and you have enough because you were created with enough.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”

Og Mandino

This was the inspiration that helped me go from a person who had no business being in sales (no friendly personality, no skills, no network) to becoming a number-one producer and top salesperson because this is what I knew I had to do to get there. And I did. I conquered that mountain, and now it is how I live my life.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Oprah!! There are no words, she is just “all of that “ and more. She has been that light in my world to help me know what was and what is possible when you bring hard work, integrity, honesty, authenticity, and care of humanity to the table and to the world as you stay on your journey to becoming your best self!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: @ritapmitchell

Twitter: @ritapmitchell

Facebook: @theritapmitchell

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!

Author Rita P Mitchell: “There is no change without change” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

TIAA SVP Sean Woodroffe: “Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have”

Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have. If you’re laser-focused on the job you have and doing it to the best of your ability, the next job will come along. Worrying about the next step can distract you from being a high performer in your current role and hinder your professional development.

As a part of my series about “Black Men and Women of The C-Suite”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Sean Woodroffe, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of TIAA, a 100-year-old Fortune 100 financial services company that provides financial solutions for the not-for-profit sector. With more than 25 years of Human Resources experience, Mr. Woodroffe is responsible for TIAA’s human resources strategy and execution for the company’s global workforce, including compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, organizational design and effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Overall, I was drawn to working with and delivering services for people. That aspect of a career in HR was serendipity.

When pursuing my undergraduate degree in International Relations at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, I aspired to work in international law, as I was inspired by my mother’s four-decade career at the United Nations. I was enamored with the prospect of serving in a Foreign Service capacity as a lawyer. The summer between my junior and senior years at Shaw, I worked as a Summer Intern at Merrill Lynch. That internship led to a full time offer upon graduation and I spent 18 wonderful years there. During that time, I had the opportunity to lead HR for the organization’s Japan Wealth Management business unit based in Tokyo, Japan, before transitioning into a London-based HR role as the Head of International HR. Since Merrill Lynch, I’ve led a variety of global human resources programs with financial services organizations, and am happily leading the human resources strategy and execution across the TIAA enterprise.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

When I worked at Sun Life Financial, they were a sponsor of the football stadium where the Miami Dolphins played. In 2010, during that time, there was seismic earthquake in Haiti that captured the world’s attention. I had the opportunity to visit Haiti firsthand as a member of a charitable delegation arranged by the Miami Dolphins to deliver goods and services to Haitians impacted by the earthquake. When I personally witnessed the abject devastation to the Haitian community — citizens living in tents with sparse belongings and minimal food rations — it was a life changing moment. It helped me appreciate the virtues of life and perspective of what is important, on what to focus on and what not to. It was a sobering reminder to me that even on our perceived bad days, things could always be worse and is generally worse for others among us.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My boss, who was the CEO at the time, sent me an email about an announcement that we had sent. I responded to him and inadvertently copied the entire company. My advice would be to double check the “To” line before you hit send!

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

Inclusion and Diversity are among the underlying principles of our organization. In fact, TIAA is one of the few remaining Fortune 500 companies with a black CEO (Roger Ferguson). As Roger Ferguson once said, a diverse boardroom is inspirational for a company’s workforce and “inspires people in the organization to look to the board and see faces that look like them and voices that sound like them.”

We recognize the value in not just having a diverse leadership team, but a diverse employee-base as well. A diverse workforce provides us with a deeper understanding of our clients’ various needs and the appropriate solutions to meet their needs. At TIAA, our diverse and inclusive culture allows all employees to show up as their full selves every day in order to contribute their unique talents and skills, enabling us to provide our clients with fresh ideas and distinct perspectives to help them achieve their financial goals.

More broadly can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

No matter where we live, work or go to school, we are always going to meet someone who is different from us. Instead of focusing on those differences as a negative, look at them as a learning experience to understand new perspectives about life.

Creating opportunities where people from different backgrounds feel empowered and given the ability to go above and beyond to achieve greatness will help our neighborhoods, schools and places of work thrive.

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do help address the root of the diversity issues in executive leadership?

It’s important to recognize that diversity isn’t limited to one’s gender or the color of his or her skin. Diversity in thoughts, ideas, personal and professional experiences, religious and political views, etc. are all pivotal pieces to an organization’s or community’s success.

At TIAA, we embed our inclusion & diversity philosophy into every aspect of our business. To help foster diversity and inclusion, TIAA has a rich community of Employee Resource Groups that provide leadership development, networking opportunities, community outreach and philanthropic efforts, business solutions and product input, and multicultural awareness.

By recognizing the needs of underserved or underrepresented groups and allocating appropriate resources and opportunities, local communities and frankly, society as a whole, can help the leaders of tomorrow reach their fullest potential.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

To me, leadership is a privilege, and it is all about serving others. “Servant Leadership,” as it’s called, is a doctrine that I’ve adopted from the moment I had the blessed fortune to lead others. Every day, in every situation, I always try to focus on the “we” vs the “I”, as success is a team effort.

An admired leader is not someone who talks about himself or herself, but one who is a great listener and takes interest in the success of others. They take every opportunity to ascribe the credit to others for when things go well, and inspire team members to be their best.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

I’m an optimist, so I’d like to focus this question on the three things that people shared with me that turned out to be spot on advice and very useful.

1. If you’re a high potential employee, you’ll find yourself in situations where your career is moving faster than an organization has the ability to commensurate pay increases. So, you may find yourself in a situation where you’re slightly below the market rate for your talent level. If you’re being challenged, getting good exposure and moving up in the organization, don’t worry about it, because over time the pay component always catches up! I experienced that myself.
2. Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the job you have. If you’re laser-focused on the job you have and doing it to the best of your ability, the next job will come along. Worrying about the next step can distract you from being a high performer in your current role and hinder your professional development.
3. A lesson I learned early in life from my mother: If you want to be regarded as a high potential employee or team member, go above and beyond! Mediocrity should be mercilessly shunned. As was perfectly quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King: “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

What I feel most passionate about is that we all should live in a way where we are improving the lives of the people around us. What role are we playing in making this a better world? If everyone started putting others first, imagine the possibilities.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

As I mentioned, my mother worked for the United Nations for more than 40 years. As a child of the 1970’s and 80’s, I was drawn to international leaders, particularly South African president Nelson Mandela. In the movie Invictus, President Mandela meets with the captain of the South African rugby team and asked him, “How do you lead others, and how do you inspire them to be their best?”

Nelson Mandela’s definition of leadership means to inspire others to be their best. It’s a notion I’ve always been drawn to, and craft my leadership style around this mentality.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Wesley Autrey. Mr. Autrey was dubbed the “Subway Samaritan” following his selfless act of bravery by saving Cameron Hollopeter who suffered a seizure and fell onto the subway tracks. I’m amazed at his ability to react so quickly to someone in dire need of help and to virtually sacrifice his life to save another. That act is the purest personification of heroism.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow TIAA on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!

TIAA SVP Sean Woodroffe: “Never worry about the next job you’re going to have, only focus on the… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Julianna Carella: “The larger a brand or company becomes, the more intimate the relationship with their customers needs to be”

We strongly believe that the larger a brand or company becomes, the more intimate the relationship with their customers needs to be. There is good reason why the cannabis industry fears corporate takeover; the world of health and wellness needs a new model that addresses the disconnect with customers and their needs. The cannabis industry, having grown from a grass roots movement, has a strong connection to the people who fought for it. Brands, no matter how large or small, that align with this purpose seem most likely to succeed.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing. Julianna Carella. Julianna is a trailblazer — fearless, focused, driven and always ahead of the competition. Her story is noteworthy in that she’s built one of the world’s first medical cannabis companies and since 2008 has created not one, but two multi-million dollar enterprises. These brands are dramatically altering the quality of life for health-conscious consumers and their pets by both providing broad access to safe alternatives and educating the public on the therapeutic value of cannabis and hemp. Carella began her career in San Francisco as a professionally trained dancer. After having her first child, she shifted gears to formally study her long held interest in homeopathic medicine. After some time, she realized how challenging that career was for a young, single mother and pivoted her focus towards accounting. During her time as a bookkeeper, Carella started a side business making medical cannabis edibles for friends and family members who suffered from numerous ailments. When an acquaintance suggested she turn her baking and formulation skills along with her homeopathic background into something more, Carella found that her commitment to helping those around her had untapped potential to grow commercially. In 2008 she established Auntie D’s Apothecary, one of the first five medical cannabis companies in California and began creating a variety of edible cannabis products for people under the brand name of Auntie Dolores (meaning: Anti-pain). She built her business on core principles of health freedom: delivering a gourmet experience, remaining environmentally focused, responsible consumption and the pursuit of thought leadership. Understanding that every patient had different needs and should be able to manage their own doses, she quantified the THC and other phytocannabinoids, offering options in milligrams. As her business grew, she developed choices to serve the needs of diet-restricted consumers, believing that this range of unique treatment options should be accessible to all. In 2011 Auntie D’s began cultivating CBD-rich cannabis in Mendocino California and began new product development. Eventually, clients began to ask if they could use Auntie D’s products to treat their ailing pets. She was again inspired and developed a line of pet products infused with CBD rich oil. In 2013 Auntie D’s introduced Treatibles, becoming the pioneer in creating CBD products for pets. Understanding the new opportunity with hemp, Julianna created a proprietary formula sourced from the company’s own organic hemp grown in South Carolina, where she forged a relationship with master cultivators at the forefront of hemp legalization. The exceptional oil yields an unmatched cannabinoid and terpene profile, creating the entourage effect, providing a full spectrum of benefits for pets that is virtually free of THC, non-psychoactive and non-toxic. Maintaining quality, consistency and transparency became a company mantra. Born from a passion to help people and, subsequently, pets thrive, both Auntie D’s and Treatibles promote Harmony for the Whole Family® through the happiness and health of each member. Both brands prioritize educating the public on the benefits of full spectrum hemp oil featuring naturally occurring CBD for both humans and pets. Treatibles is now a multi-million dollar company offering organic full spectrum CBD-rich hemp oil products including functional chews, oils and capsules in various potencies that helps pets of all shapes, sizes and conditions. Treatibles are available from coast to coast as well as internationally. And Carella is still dancing everyday, to the beat of her own hemp drum.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

In 2008 during the economic downturn, my daughter was approaching college age and my career as a bookkeeper became dull. I saw an opportunity that existed in a time that was to change forever merely a decade later. Being one of the first movers in the California cannabis space led the way to opportunities and expansion, but also meant much of the groundwork and infrastructure for the industry was still to be realized.

Much of our work has been focused on lifting cannabis prohibition and educating the public about the benefits of phytocannaninoids, necessary developments in the evolution of the industry.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting story is really more of a strange fact. The growth of the Auntie Dolores brand happened during a time when advertising for cannabis brands was illegal and yet within a year of our founding date, the demand for our product spread from the Emerald Triangle all the way to San Diego. Word of mouth, guerilla marketing, and social media are responsible for this success. This taught me to never underestimate the ability to create brand loyalty and generate good will through direct interaction with our customers, even if prevailing law makes it difficult.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was when I needed to find a bank that would allow us to open a business checking account. In disbelief that a bank could deny banking services to any company, I completed the application with 100% honesty. That didn’t go well, because before I even finished the application, I was escorted out the front door. I then fought tirelessly to lift the federal ban on cannabis, and remove it from the Controlled Substance Act, so that cannabis operators could bank successfully.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Because our product line has shifted towards CBD from THC, we have found ourselves more involved in the hemp space. We continue to add products to our product line that are designed for other species, including cats and horses. We have also formed an important partnership in Japan, where Treatibles will be available later in 2019.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

The person I am most grateful for is my Nanno (grandfather), Michael Carella who is no longer with us, sadly. He was a brilliant man that was a pharmacist that sold medical alcohol during prohibition, and then later found success in the alcohol industry, owning liquor stores in San Francisco. Although he was not alive when I founded this company, I believe he guides me through spirit.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

We strongly believe that the larger a brand or company becomes, the more intimate the relationship with their customers needs to be. There is good reason why the cannabis industry fears corporate takeover; the world of health and wellness needs a new model that addresses the disconnect with customers and their needs. The cannabis industry, having grown from a grass roots movement, has a strong connection to the people who fought for it. Brands, no matter how large or small, that align with this purpose seem most likely to succeed.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that most excite me about the Cannabis Industry are:

• We are getting closer and closer to full legalization of cannabis and hemp. We should all be reminded that the prohibition of cannabis represents a small sliver of time taken from the full history of the plant. People and animals have enjoyed the benefits of the plant for thousands of years; prohibition will (hopefully) be no more than a century long once it is all said and done.
• There is much more to discover about the plant; now that hemp is no longer a controlled substance, we will see more research into the benefits of cannabinoids. Hopefully, this will mean more research here in the USA.
• Everything that happens in the cannabis/hemp space happens in dog years. One year of progress can feel more like seven years when you consider how much happens in that period. A fast-moving new industry is exciting, and full of opportunity!

Three things that concern me most about the Cannabis Industry are:

• Being an entrepreneur in the cannabis and/or hemp space can often feel like extreme business. Cannabis companies have extra challenges that are industry related; other industries, including the alcohol industry do not face the same challenges as cannabis companies. Many of the inherent challenges can lead to business owner burn out. (Cannabis happens to be a fantastic aid for stress, and entrepreneurs should enjoy a healthy regimen of it.)
• The patchwork of different regulations that exist in both the hemp and cannabis industries is something that makes business cumbersome and causes confusion in society, law enforcement, etc. The ban on cannabis in many parts of the country, as well as in states that have cannabis laws, but lack local support only drives more business to the black market. Eventually, full legalization of cannabis would be a step towards a unified regulatory system, as well as an end to the black market.
• The cannabis industry has collective amnesia. This may be due to the fact that things are changing so quickly. It’s important to remember history, the pioneers who fought for this plant’s freedom, and how we got where we are today.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

Banking challenges will slow you down, but they won’t take you down. It’s been an incredible challenge to run successful cannabis/hemp brands with limited banking. I look forward to some of this changing with hemp’s new classification.

You’ll be spending more time studying regulatory compliance than you may like. To be a successful cannabis or hemp brand, knowledge of current and changing laws for proper marketing and labelling of THC and CBD products is essential.

Balancing adaptability and tenacity is an everyday effort. In any nascent industry, entrepreneurs need to be agile enough to manage the unexpected, while still maintaining a tenacious follow through on the original business objectives.

It’s not all about getting high. Thanks to the discovery of CBD and other beneficial cannabinoids, more opportunities exist for entrepreneurs.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a very long tunnel. I never imagined that 11 years after our founding date cannabis would still be a Schedule 1 narcotic. Although we may be years away from full federal legalization, there has been tremendous progress in the past decade. This speaks to the necessity for activism as well as the success of the grass roots cannabis movement.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Cannabis and hemp have the ability to change the world for the good. If you consider the endless benefits of the plant, it becomes clear how much potential it has to offer safer more sustainable alternatives, not only in medicine and wellness, but also industrial/textile/plastic. If every person was committed to ending the stigma and prohibition of this miraculous plant, we would be that much closer to a gentler, more sustainable planet.

Julianna Carella: “The larger a brand or company becomes, the more intimate the relationship with… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr. Mark Kurzman: “Hope and a positive attitude are essential components on the road to recovery regardless of the condition the person has”

…I believe that hope and a positive attitude are essential components on the road to recovery regardless of the condition the person has. I try my best to help my patients be hopeful and have a positive attitude even when they are facing very difficult challenges. It breaks my heart when a patient will come to the office and say Dr. So and So said I have x amount of time left. One of the best things my mentor, does when someone tells him that is, he has them stand up and turn around in a circle, he then tells them that he does not see any expiration date tagged to them. The point being, is no one knows the answer to when a person’s time will come, so lets be hopeful and do everything we can to move forward and live life.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things you should consider before using cannabis as a medical treatment ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Mark Kurzman, M.D.. Dr. Kurzman grew up in New York City to the sound of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones tunes playing on the radio. In another life, he might have been a drummer, playing with his band in Madison Square Garden, healing the world with his sweet melodies. That said, being a physician is truly his dream job. It combines his lifelong fascination with biology and physiology, as well as his innate passion to help people and make the world a better place. Dr. Kurzman is excited to be working to help make everyone’s dreams of good health and wellness become their new reality. Dr. Kurzman received his medical degree from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He completed his residency in family medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences AHEC-SW program in Texarkana, Arkansas. Dr. Kurzman completed a year of post doctoral training in cannabis medicine with Dr. Allan Frankel, one of the foremost experts in this field. Dr. Kurzman then began working with Dr. Allan Frankel at Greenbridge Medical in Santa Monica, CA. Now, he uses medical cannabis in the forms of sprays and capsules to treat a number of conditions. Some of those conditions include anxiety and insomnia, seizures, chronic pain, cancer, migraines, fibromyalgia, autism, and irritable bowel disease. Dr. Kurzman believes in treating the person as a whole and not just as a list of symptoms. He is also a firm believer in lifestyle medicine, which promotes lifestyle changes including eating healthy and exercising in order to treat many chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol as well as managing anxiety. When you meet Dr. Kurzman, you’ll see he’s always up for an adventure and meeting new people… especially when traveling to different places around the world; he’s already been to Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Europe, and Israel, and can’t wait to add India to the list!

Thank you so much for doing this with us Mark! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

In two words: My Wife.

She began using whole plant cannabis to treat her migraines. She went from having 15 migraines per month to 1 migraine every three months. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I then began reading research articles about the benefits of whole plant cannabis and migraines as well as other disorders.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

A young patient of mine was diagnosed with a diffuse midline glioma which was being treated like a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The patient had received radiation therapy and was taking the standard chemotherapy for this cancer. When I saw her the cancer was stable but still present, we added whole plant cannabis to her regimen. In the 7 months since adding the cannabis she has had a marked decrease in the size of the tumor and is clinically doing well.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

I am exploring research opportunities in using cannabis to help with drug addiction.

CBD can help decrease cravings and help treat anxiety and whole plant cannabis can help with withdrawal symptoms of certain drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamines. I am also exploring using cannabis to help treat people’s pain and help them decrease (and at times) stop their use of opioids.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have had the amazing opportunity to learn from and work with Dr. Allan Frankel, a key leader in the medical cannabis industry. I am so grateful for his expertise and his guidance in using medical cannabis to treat different diseases.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I chose to work with Dr. Frankel, a key leader in the medical cannabis industry, and grow our business together. I am proud to work with him as his practice continues to grow thanks to industry press, online coverage and doctor referrals. He has seen thousands of patients and treated them with dosed medical cannabis. In addition, working with community organizations to grow the message of medical cannabis as a mainstream medical treatment is invaluable.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry?

1. Medical cannabis emerging as a new field of medicine. There is a lot of exciting data showing how cannabis can be effective as medical treatment for a number of diseases. For example, whole plant cannabis can help treat Anxiety, Insomnia, Migraines, Cancer, Chronic Pain, IBD, IBS, Fibromyalgia, Seizures, Autism, PTSD, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, as well as Myasthenia Gravis.

2. The development of new whole plant cannabis medicines. There are a few companies developing whole plant cannabis oil to be taken as capsules or sublingually.

3. Research opportunities in cannabis medicine. Fortunately, there are really good institutions and researchers looking into the benefits of medical cannabis. One such institution is Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research at the Technion‘s Faculty of Biology.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

1. Lack of regulation regarding different cannabis products. Unfortunately, there is not enough regulation and transparency in companies developing new cannabis products. I can only do my job effectively when I know exactly what is in the patients’ medicine.
2. It being difficult to tell the difference between whole plant cannabis, Hemp CBD, Distillate or Isolate.
3. Companies developing products without thinking about the medical market and not consulting physicians regarding product development.

As a doctor, can you please share 5 things one should think about before exploring using cannabis as a medical treatment?

1. It’s very hard for consumers/patients to figure out how to get the correct medicine/product. A mother of a patient with autism was looking for a specific ratio of THC:CBD that would be whole plant cannabis that was helping her son with his symptoms . She was advised by a dispensary to get THC-Acid and CBD- Acid instead of THC and CBD. As a result, the child began to do worse until we switched back to the correct oil. He’s now doing better. Because of stories like this I feel that it is really important to seek physician advice when using medical cannabis. At Greenbridge Medical, we are experts in dosing medical cannabis and treating patients.
2. Whole Plant CBD versus Hemp CBD. Whole plant cannabis has 144 cannabinoids, 200 Terpenes, Flavonoids, and 500 active molecules. Hemp CBD is single molecule CBD without any other components. It has been shown that whole plant cannabis is more effective than Hemp CBD to treat various disorders. Many people try Hemp CBD without trying whole plant cannabis for their ailments.
3. Conditions that can be treated effectively using cannabis. Whole plant cannabis can help treat Anxiety, Insomnia, Migraines, Cancer, Chronic Pain, IBD, IBS, Fibromyalgia, Seizures, Autism, PTSD, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other autoimmune diseases as well as Myasthenia Gravis.
4. Endocannabinoid System. We have an endocannabinoid system in our bodies that interacts with the cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. We make molecules in our body called anandamide and 2-AG that are similar to THC and CBD respectively. We have cannabinoid receptors that interact with our endocannabinoids as well as the cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) promotes homeostasis, which is a state of natural physiological balance in which there is neither an excess nor deficit of activity. The ECS regulates our neurons that fire along synapses. The endocannabinoid system has been found in our brain/central nervous system, immune system, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract-liver and pancreas, reproductive system, musculoskeletal system, skin, adrenal glands, lung tissue, and adipose tissue.
5. Guidance from a Physician. Patients considering using cannabis as a medical treatment should be evaluated by a physician who is able to recommend the appropriate medicine and dosage for their condition.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Help each person utilize their strengths to the fullest. Compliment people on a job well done and thank them for their hard work.

If you could inspire movement that could bring the most good to the most amount of people what would that be?

I’m not sure about inspiring movements, but at Greenbridge we give a little bit of cannabis and a lot of hope. I believe that hope and a positive attitude are essential components on the road to recovery regardless of the condition the person has. I try my best to help my patients be hopeful and have a positive attitude even when they are facing very difficult challenges. It breaks my heart when a patient will come to the office and say Dr. So and So said I have x amount of time left. One of the best things Dr. Frankel, my mentor, does when someone tells him that is, he has them stand up and turn around in a circle, he then tells them that he does not see any expiration date tagged to them. The point being, is no one knows the answer to when a person’s time will come, so lets be hopeful and do everything we can to move forward and live life.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I’m new to social media, so I’d love the follows!

• Instagram: @drmarkkurzman
• Twitter: @drmarkkurzman
• Facebook: @drmarkkurzman

Dr. Mark Kurzman: “Hope and a positive attitude are essential components on the road to recovery… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You are not a CEO, you are a fire chief” With Emily O’Brien CEO of Mondo

…Lastly, you are not a CEO, you are a fire chief. As stated above, there will be so many problems. Just put on your fire chief hat and put out the blaze as best you can and lead. Don’t panic at the fire, learn from it and contain.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Emily O’Brien. Emily, is super dog mom, dancing extraordinaire, cannabis industry leader. Emily O’Brien is also the CEO and Founder of Mondo. Emily grew up on a winery in Napa Valley, studied at Evergreen State College, and has found herself operating Mondo for the last 7 years. She and her company have been written up in GQ, Elle UK Magazine, NY Times, and Forbes. Visit us at mondomeds.com or follow @mondomeds on Instagram

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

My backstory about what brought me to the cannabis space was literally my back. I ruptured my disc in my lower back, and it caused me excruciating pain and a lot of nerve damage. My doctors put me on a cocktail of opiates and ordered a 6 month physical therapy regimen. The preciption pills tore up my body and clouded my mind, so I turned to edibles to counteract the side effects. The only edibles that were available were brownies and cookies, and thus I was eating those sugary “delights” every day for 6 months. It was terrible but it allowed me to get off of the opiates much sooner and without withdrawal symptoms. This experience made me realize that I needed to create “a daily edible for everyone”, and thus Mondo was born.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most amazing thing I witnessed and had a helping hand at, was getting someone successfully off of Prednisone and Percocet. This gentlemen was the husband of a classmate in my permaculture studies program, and she was telling me about his ailments since I was studying the health benefits of cannabis in school. (Love you Evergreen). He had been taking Prednisone for the last 7 years for inflammation, managing pain with Percosets for the last two, and his body was paying dearly for it. I created a daily concoction for him of 100mg of CBD and between 20–50 mg of THC per day. He was then able to ween himself off slowly over time without adverse effects. It was truly amazing to witnesss.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Here’s the lesson: THC will will collect at the bottom of a giant glass of extracted coconut oil if left to solidify at room temperature.

How do I know this? Haha. Well I unknowingly gave my testers around 250 mg of THC when I had intended to give them 75 mg per edible. I painstakingly went through the process of testing extraction methods with a local scientist, and had found the perfect formula to extract all the beneficial compounds without the bitter cannabis taste. I got a little carried away in my excitement and created a 2 liter batch of highly concentrated coconut oil batch, got it tested for mg’s of THC and was ready for product testing. I created many batches with corresponding lot numbers. A few weeks of testing went by and I decided to bring a test batch to my permaculture class. My classmates were ecstatic that I wanted to share my tester edibles, low and behold not 45 minutes later the entire class was keeling over, crawling around in the garden, and experiencing vertigo. Some took it in stride, but others did not hold up so well (oof!). I knew my calculations or titrations weren’t wrong, I love chemistry, so what was it? Well I went to get the oil retested (now a halfway full jar), and low and behold it was almost 4 times as concentrated than the first round. Oh, I guess here’s another lesson.. test, test, and test again!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Certainly! We are getting ready to launch Mondo in Massachusetts, just in time for the 420 holidays. Additionally, I am working on a few new product partnerships with our CBD line. Our powder is a great platform for people to build products with, and I am looking forward to all the fun creative implementations.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I would not be here today without the help and support of my family. My father, Bart O’Brien was my first champion in starting this company when most people were concerned about the industry. It took a little while for my mother to come around, but she has turned into a valuable advisor and huge advocate (she’s in love with the CBD version!). Having a family as supportive as mine created a safety net for me to jump into this precarious industry head first.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I think large legacy companies need to adopt creative packaging strategies. Laws require a significant amount of packaging before the product can leave the store, and almost everything is non-recyclable. It would be great if these companies would invest heavily into biodegradable options, and be leaders in eco-consciousness. It is forgotten that the cannabis industry is incredibly resource intensive, water, nutrients, electricity, and now non-recyclable packaging is required.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The three things that excite me are:

1. Greater people have access to medicine that can work for their bodies. From tinctures to patches to inhalers. There are now many options for people to ingest THC or CBD to balance their bodies.
2. Shifting of the stoner culture to an informed wellness culture.
3. Opportunities to bring economic boon to impoverished and underserved communities.

The three things that concern me:

1. Constant shifting of regulations around CBD. There is not a policy in place that states that CBD has medical benefits, and the laws around it are constantly changing.
2. The number of women and people of color who hold CEO positions in the industry is falling from once higher numbers.
3. Lack of eco-consciousness. Packaging requirements are quite intense and there are very little environmentally friendly options.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Murphy’s law applies to the cannabis industry.Anything that can go wrong will go wrong (testing, regulations, landlords, banking…..). Just know it and keep moving.
2. Give yourself rest. You will get busy. Beyond busy. Passed out in your clothes on your couch laptop resting on your stomach like a shield kind of busy. Give yourself space and time and my god SLEEP. Create a system and trust in the process, every business will take as much as you will give it. Be kind to yourself on days off, and grind it out every work day.
3. Contractual Farming. Oof the horror supply stories. I was out of my strain specific supply so I ended up walking around Emerald Cup with a sign that reads “Organic Blue Dream Trim?”. That was a difficult quarter.. Hah.
4. Know when to pivot. I started making granola bars thinking it would be a “daily edible for everyone”. Well that’s not quite the case, and after 3 years I needed to make the pivot to shut down granola bar production and figure out how to solve that problem I set out for myself. And Voila! Mondo powder was created.
5. Lastly, you are not a CEO, you are a fire chief. As stated above, there will be so many problems. Just put on your fire chief hat and put out the blaze as best you can and lead. Don’t panic at the fire, learn from it and contain.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Employees come first. Always. If you are bringing people on board with your vision you need to make sure you take care of them. Give people opportunity and room to grow and they will turn around and impress you.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I want to inspire patience. Patience with yourself, patience for others.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Follow us on Instagram @mondomeds or visit our website at www.mondomeds.com

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You are not a CEO, you are a fire chief” With Emily… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “We aren’t getting bank loans anytime soon, but many vendors like merchant processing, payroll, and HR companies aren’t willing to work with cannabis companies either.” with Jay Burns and Fotis Georgiadis

Cannabis businesses aren’t getting bank loans anytime soon, but many vendors like merchant processing, payroll, and HR companies aren’t willing to work with cannabis companies either. We’ve encountered this a few different ways. For example, toxic waste disposal companies don’t accept cannabis waste. Security companies did not initially work with cannabis companies, but many have since changed their policies. Sometimes, banks will just close your accounts out of nowhere. We’ve had scientific equipment vendors unwilling to work with us. And even though the industry is growing really fast, these setbacks can be really frustrating.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jay Burns. Jay is the Lab Director at Treeline Analytics, a WSLCB accredited laboratory committed to standardizing the cannabis industry through high quality and ethical testing methods. With a Ph.D. in marine, estuarine and environmental science and a background in science, policy, education and private industry, Jay focuses on protocol development and validation, quality assurance testing and regulatory compliance, as well as analysis of policy and legal frameworks for the cannabis industry.

Can you share the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

I’ve been interested in the cannabis industry since about 2012, when the legal markets were first being proposed and passed by states. I saw it as a great opportunity to apply my background in science, policy, education and private industry, and that was really exciting to me. I started working with a start-up that was developing energy efficient grow lights targeted at cannabis. Then I moved to consulting with actual producers before I realized that working in the laboratory best fit my training and skillset. Since my actual cannabis experience was still pretty limited, I worked as an extraction chemist for two years to get more hands-on experience in a cannabis testing lab. I learned a lot about how crops are grown, how products are made and how producers and processors operate. It also gave me an understanding of the regulatory framework, how it’s actually implemented and how it effects the industry on a day to day basis.

Can you share the most interesting story that has happened to you since you began leading your company?

A customer once brought in some “space weed” which was an unknown plant growing in the pot of his cannabis plant. Convinced it was also cannabis, he brought in a sample for us to perform a cannabinoid profile. We were skeptical as the sample did not look like any cannabis we’d ever seen in the lab before. And while we’re still not exactly sure what it was, our tests confirmed it definitely was not cannabis.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Very early on, we were making deliveries to our customers and one of our drivers was pulled over for speeding. He got out of the car to show the cop his license to carry cannabis, but the cop just looked at him like he had two heads, handed the license back and let us go with a massive amount of cannabis in the trunk. And while it was completely legal, it was a little hairy for a minute — so lesson learned, don’t speed while driving around for the business.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We’re working on understanding cannabis as a matrix. The cannabis plant is very interesting on a biological, genetic and biochemical level. It’s a very difficult matrix to analyze and many factors that are known about other regulated products are missing, or under-researched in cannabis. We’re using our resources to help define some of these critical factors to help advance testing and basic research.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’ve been fortunate to know many people throughout my life — family, teachers, bosses — who have been great examples of what it means to be a good person, a stand-up citizen and a respected scientist. When I think about who inspired me to pursue this career, one person stands out in my mind and I often think about him.

Mel Moon was the Director of Natural Resources at the Quileute Indian Tribe. Mel was an amazing person that had a deep understanding of people and policy. He was an excellent mentor who taught me how policy works and how it can affect people in their everyday lives. He had an uncanny ability to interpret policy and direct scientific investigations, and he always stuck to his core values. I aspire to be as wise and empathetic.

This industry is young, dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that large legacy companies should consider adopting?

We are extremely limited by regulations on what advertising we can do. Direct marketing is slightly different. All cannabis companies are public record, and the state has a spreadsheet of every potential client in the state, so we advertised to this list through direct marketing. Phone calls, knocking on doors and emails. A hand-signed letter had an 11 percent response rate on our initial push. Social media presence and marketing is very important based on consumer demographics. Depending on what state, companies are bound by regulation to market to consumers. This has driven much of the advertising to social media. Companies can be less PC than traditional industries which makes the content a little more fun.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

What excites me about the industry:

· The newness of the industry — having the opportunity to shape how it develops.

· The sense of fairness and justice that’s brought to the legal system as legalization expands.

· The potential for growth as legalization increases and research and innovation continue to shape the industry.

What concerns me about the industry:

· Uncertainty of federal regulations, which inhibits investment, innovation and research.

· The differences in regulations that vary by state and a lack of dialogue to learn from mistakes and successes.

· The lack of standardization of testing methods across labs and states, which makes it difficult to compare data and can lead to misunderstandings about what test results mean by the public and by research scientists.

· The volatility of prices makes it difficult for small operations to be successful and may lead to increased consolidation and ownership by large corporations. Which is unfortunate because cannabis could be a great area for entrepreneurship and family owned businesses.

Can you share a story or example for each of your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” answers?

Restrictive and frequently changing regulations makes it difficult to operate as a normal business. We can receive notice anytime about new rules and changing laws.

· Due to a lack of history to rely on, regulations were initially established on “best guesses” of how things would function and previous laws, with a big emphasis on regulating product to make sure there was no illegal transit out of state, etc. And even though the laws protecting public health are based on other regulated products, they may not be truly comparable. As the industry grows and information is gained, rules often change. Some are minor, but many can lead to financial difficulties for companies, especially processors who are required to make packaging changes (getting rid of names, colors, flavors attractive to children, etc.).

Cannabis businesses aren’t getting bank loans anytime soon, but many vendors like merchant processing, payroll, and HR companies aren’t willing to work with cannabis companies either.

· We’ve encountered this a few different ways. For example, toxic waste disposal companies don’t accept cannabis waste. Security companies did not initially work with cannabis companies, but many have since changed their policies. Sometimes, banks will just close your accounts out of nowhere. We’ve had scientific equipment vendors unwilling to work with us. And even though the industry is growing really fast, these setbacks can be really frustrating.

In a race to the bottom, competition is cutthroat — many companies are operating at break even or at a loss in order to gain market share.

· This is true for producers more than anyone. Retailers and budtenders hold the power in the industry, especially in Washington, based on vertical integration regulations and current market conditions. And to add to the confusion, neighbors and competitors are filing complaints against one another.

Buzz around the cannabis industry has helped with recruiting, but high-paying jobs, advancement opportunities and employers who can afford to offer benefits are hard to come by — making it hard to retain employees.

· With the race to the bottom, margins are not as established as in traditional industries. The companies themselves are still in their infancy and often don’t have cash reserves or cash flow to support employee benefits programs. So, companies get creative with their offers and schedule flexibility in order to accommodate talent.

Hemp and cannabis are commodities, but they’re not priced accordingly. Many new businesses build higher prices into their model, but as the industry becomes more mature, prices will fall and create problems for these businesses.

· We’ve seen several businesses forced to file for bankruptcy in order to ask for forgiveness for loans they’re unable to pay.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees thrive?

One of the most important things is to make sure your employees feel involved in the company everyday. Actively seek out their opinions and ideas, because they know certain aspects of your business much better than you ever could. You never know where a great idea will come from, so listen! Along with that, reward them for their contributions and make sure they’re fairly compensated. When you have good employees, do what you need to do to keep them.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I’ve been inspired by and part of the environmental movement for a long time, devoting most of my career to it. For me, pollution and climate change are issues that are actively affecting every person on this planet. It’s the great equalizer. We can’t wait for actions by governments, but we must take steps in our daily lives with our choices and actions.

These issues are already relevant to the cannabis industry. The current cannabis production process utilizes a lot of resources — energy, water, nutrients — which leads to resource depletion, CO2 emissions and strain on wastewater treatment. Some farms do strive to be organic and have a low impact, but this is far from the dominant practice. Cannabis is a very versatile plant that can grow under extreme conditions, but the consumer market demands high potency and high-quality flower, especially in appearance. If I could take one small step toward helping the environment in my current role, it would be to inspire growers to develop and follow best practices to minimize the impact of their crops, but still put a high-quality product out into the market. This would help inspire consumers to make that a higher priority over THC content.

Thank you for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “We aren’t getting bank loans anytime soon, but many… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You never know what’s going to happen at the federal level.” with Bryce Berryessa and Fotis Georgiadis

You never know what’s going to happen at the federal level. It still is a schedule one federal drug, and there are a lot of potential issues around that. It provides a landscape where no matter how fast things are moving or how stable your state is there’s always going to be instability until we figure this thing out at the federal level.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business,” I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Bryce Berryessa, President of La Vida Verde. Bryce Berryessa has made a name for himself in the cannabis community. As the founder of Santa Cruz County’s premier dispensary TreeHouse (formerly known as The Cookie Co 831) and co-founder of award-winning brands Hashman Infused and Waxman Concentrates, Berryessa has succeeded in adapting to this ever-evolving industry. After graduating from the University of Utah in 2005 with a dual degree in Communications and English, Bryce honed his craft in indoor cultivation and extraction methods after studying organic pest control management and sustainable agriculture practices near Santa Cruz. He spent up to five years learning how indoor cultivation allows for complete control of the environment and produces a higher quality plant with intense aromas and flavors. These skills allotted Bryce to begin utilizing organic ingredients in all future products. Bryce was the co-founder and operations manager for California’s first-ever Enviroganic-certified farm. Enviroganic approval means that all standards from state and local environmental compliance and organic management practices are met. In 2010, he began consulting on facility design and indoor cultivation throughout Canada and the United States. Two years later, Berryessa co-founded Hashman Infused and Waxman Concentrates. Hashman Infused makes edibles such as chocolate bars, CBD tinctures, and CBD capsules. Waxman Concentrate products are always solvent-free, contaminate-free, and mold-free. Waxman Concentrate creates a THC-heavy crumbled wax that can be dabbed, vaped or melted into your favorite cup of coffee. In 2015, Berryessa and partner Chef Eric Hara established La Vida Verde with the mission to produce organic edibles and tinctures with gluten-free, non-GMO, organic and vegan ingredients into a market traditionally known for mixing cannabis with sugar. That is not the case with La Vida Verde. The delicious guilt-free supercookies are blended with cashews and sweetened with unrefined coconut sugars, and the stimulating organic tinctures are crafted with botanical extracts, which enhance the effects of the cannabis. La Vida Verde is committed to preserving the environment, consumer safety and high-quality ingredients in all products. Berryessa currently Santa Cruz with his wife and two young sons and sits on numerous statewide committees: Board of Directors of the Association for Standardized Cannabis (ASC); Board of Directors of California Growers Association (CGA); Manufacturing Committee Member for the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA); and Founding Board Member of California Cannabis Manufacturers Association (CCMA), an industry group that currently pushes companies to challenge lab-testing results. Bryce, a cannabis veteran can be seen in many high-profile publications such as Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post.For the past 13 years, Bryce has dedicated his life’s work to various sectors of the cannabis industry ranging from indoor cultivation and government relations to dispensary operations and patient advocacy. He continues to focus his career path on La Vida Verde and consults with partner companies to make a positive change through best industry practices.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

In 2005, I was offered a random job offer to go to work on an organic farm. I had graduated from college and drove out to California to show up to what I thought was a vegetable farm, and unbeknownst to me, I drove onto a property in the Sierra. I was immediately shocked by the location, then realized it was not illegal in California. I quickly fell in love with the plant and the rest is history.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

So many things have happened in the last 14 years, but I think my perspective on the most exciting situation is just the transition from a completely unregulated market into a regulated one. The evolution and pace at which the cannabis industry has evolved are astonishing.

Also, being part of something that is under a substantial transformative process that business is running, it’s funding and the perception of the general public around cannabis has been extraordinarily interesting. My life is infinitely different now. My daily tasks, objectives and stress levels are higher than it was several years ago. The industry that is taking off like a rocket ship and even though it has significantly changed in the last ten years, it still has such a long way to go. We are at the beginning of what is going to be a global cannabis movement and a cannabis industry.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think one of the most amusing mistakes I learned when I was first starting was not rely enough on time. People that are smarter than me have more experience and an excellent example of that means. In 2012, when we were doing our manufacturing, we were creating products and trying to learn as we went along. We were fortunate enough to meet my current partner who had a background in manufacturing. The first time that he came in he just laughed at us, and within a few months he had taken over our manufacturing processes and had increased our profitability by almost twice of what it was and decreased the amount of time for us to make products by a third.

So we were making better margins far more productive and taking less time to do it. The best lesson is any business is that you can be innovative and not lose your way, but also be open to learning from other people that have maybe been down the same pathway. It is significantly valuable!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Yes, lots of exciting projects! It’s exciting times. My dispensary, TreeHouse, in Santa Cruz is continuing to grow, and our goal has always been to create an interactive space that fosters community rather than just a place where you can buy cannabis. Since the grand opening on January 1st, 2018, the first day of legalization, we spent all last year adapting to the new rules and regulations and growing a business that was expanding month-to-month. This year we have been able to start stabilizing and focus on other tasks that are important to us rather than just the operations of the business.

We host lots of events that support local artists and up-and-coming companies within the Santa Cruz community to showcase their art and products. We are collaborating with other organizations especially those that share our viewpoint and passion for local awareness and sustainable business practices. Also, we are getting ready to expand our reach into the Bay Area by trying supporting Santa Cruz and setting an example to other local businesses. We are also working on some exciting partnerships to help foster change and new products, and I think that’s the most exciting thing on the dispensary and for manufacturing.

My partner and I are always looking to innovate and create new products or to do things a little bit better. We launched a source cartridge under Skunk Feather three additional SKUs of Blank Brand gummies with adult-friendly flavors. We make the gummies in-house, and cure them, so they have a chewy texture. We have some large products that are launching under our brands in about thirty days, including new Blank Brand chocolates like Caramel, Cookie Butter, and Peanut Butter Cups.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

It’s a group of people, rather than one person. One of the best parts about my job is sitting on the board of directors of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) and the California Cannabis Manufacturers Association (CCMA) and these boards, particularly with CCMA, are a lot of our biggest competitors. In the case of CCMA, all of my fellow board members are competitors and I think that it is a testament to the mindset, the passion and the type of people that are attracted to the California Cannabis industry. Competitors can come together, collaborate and help each other out.

Moreover, it enabled us to learn more at a rapid rate and I now have a vast support system that I can lean on. There are people throughout these organizations who can work together to answer questions and tackle statewide issues.

There’s a talented community of competitors that work and collaborate cooperatively. So I know it’s not always going to be that way, but I’m sure thankful that I found those groups that are willing to share, support and provide help to tackle the significant hurdles that we face every day.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I think part of the reason why we have to be young dynamic and creative is we’re not allowed to participate in a lot of traditional marketing platforms. Various publishing and digital advertising firms will not work with cannabis companies so, and that forces us to think outside of the box.

Can you share three things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share three things that most concern you?

Excitement

The three things that most excite me about the cannabis industry right now is that 1) it’s new, 2) the sky’s the limit, and 3) we are going to see so much change in innovation over the next decade that it is a fascinating time to be part of the growth.

Another exciting thing is that public perception is changing from state-to-state and countries worldwide are accepting cannabis as a viable form of relief for symptoms and that the stigma of cannabis that has been around since Prohibition is eroding quickly.

Concerns

1. My number one concern right now is just that the rate of change and how fast things are growing and big business and significant influences coming into it and so it’s providing a landscape that’s making it infinitely more difficult for Young entrepreneurs to start cannabis companies. And you know regulations are forcing companies to be extremely well capitalized, which is bringing in a lot of outside money and influence that wasn’t part of the industry beforehand. In some instances that’s for the better, but not all cases.

2. My second concern is that you never know what’s going to happen at the federal level. It still is a schedule one federal drug, and there are a lot of potential issues around that. It provides a landscape where no matter how fast things are moving or how stable your state is there’s always going to be instability until we figure this thing out at the federal level.

3. My last concern is banking. You know it’s hard to run a business where you have payroll and bills and expenses and people that depend on you and can for any reason at any time have your bank account shut down and have a tough time finding another one. And the amount of work and effort and stress that goes into trying to find good banking relations is enormous. And you know that is always a vulnerability that is at the back of any cannabis operators’ minds because they could lose their bank account in any day and it causes massive disruption to the business.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. I wish someone had told me that that running a cannabis business or startup has the same pitfalls, perils, and challenges as any other business; but then a whole bunch of different challenges and problems top on top of it.

2. I wish someone had told me to raise three times the amount of money I think I need for any given project and to understand that best case scenario it’s going to take twice as long to build anything or get a product to market as I anticipate.

3. I wish someone had told me to get involved with trade associations in my industry a lot sooner than I did. That has been one of the most helpful tools that we have had as a company in the last five years.

4. I wish someone had told me to find a solid mentor that had started a business and ran a business and advice life lessons and tools and resources from other people sooner than I was able to get them on my own.

5. I wish someone had told me that a strong support system would keep the company in line.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

My advice would be to ensure that your vision, your passion and mission statement is communicated to every member of your organization at all times. Everybody must understand where and why you are setting goals as a company. Remember that no matter what the title or position, every member is a crucial part of that of your team.

Try to build a company culture where people are held accountable, but also support and uplift each other and is motivated to go the extra mile to help accomplish the goal that they’re all working together as a team to reach you are a person of significant influence.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I am a huge fan of community and keeping it local. Start a realistic movement allows communication with people to invest their time, money, resources, and energy into the communities in which they operate. Local change leads to global change; so it is essential to build and keep communities healthy and vibrant.What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Instagram

Blank Brand

La Vida Verde

Skunk Feather

Websites

Blank Brand

La Vida Verde

Skunk Feather

TreeHouse Dispsensary

Thank you for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You never know what’s going to happen at the federal… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Being involved for five years, I know first-hand how difficult it is and how many obstacles you have to cross to become a successful brand and to make your mark in this industry.” with Alex Todd and Fotis Georgiadis

My biggest concern is that there’s a lot of hype and excitement surrounding the industry, and people might assume that it’s a gold rush and an easy way to make money. There’s so much deception because people don’t know what they’re actually getting involved in. To anyone that seeks my recommendation, I’d suggest that you do your due diligence and ensure that the company is sufficiently funded because it’s not as easy as people think. Being involved for five years, I know first-hand how difficult it is and how many obstacles you have to cross to become a successful brand and to make your mark in this industry.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Todd, the founder of Saucey Farms and Extracts, a luxury cannabis brand that offers products that are organically-grown, slow-cured and premium-grade. Prior to staring his own cannabis business, Todd was a celebrity jeweler for A-list stars such as Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Rihanna, and Kevin Hart. He also handled all the prestigious Roc-a-Fella and Paper Planes chains that are the staple of Roc Nation athletes/entertainers like Big Sean, Fabolous, Meek Mill, and more. These days, Todd is transitioning from the jewelry business to the cannabis industry by introducing a set of upscale products lines under Saucey Extracts, one of which features a collaboration with legendary Harlem rapper Jim Jones. The brand’s selection of products ranges from vape cartridges to cannabis flowers that appeal to all adult consumers, from novice users to veteran connoisseurs. To ensure high potency and purity, the brand has established a dedicated team of master cultivators and experts in cannabinoid research to help increase the quality of our cultivars through selective breeding processes.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Saucey Farms & Extracts actually started off as my passion project. My experience lies in the jewelry space — I was a celebrity jeweler — but the cannabis industry allows me to make a more meaningful impact and bridge the gap among business and financial minded people plus grassroots industry leaders. I find this to be the most interesting thing, because the cannabis industry is truly an eclectic mix and a melting pot of individuals.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The truth is that I’ve made a lot of mistakes since starting. The whole experience in the beginning was definitely challenging because I was not familiar with farming and growing cannabis. I approached this venture from a marketing and sales perspective, and I underestimated the agricultural aspect.

This ended up being quite a costly learning experience, but every single experience has been a major lesson. If you’re smart, every mistake turns into a lesson and if you learn from them, then you’ll get to a point where you don’t duplicate them.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Our brand is new to market, as we officially launched at the Hall of Flowers expo at the end of April/beginning of May. So far, we’ve launched eight strains of cannabis flowers and a pre-roll option. We’ve also partnered with Jim Jones on an exclusive line of cannabis products called CAPO. We’ve debuted all-natural cannabis oil cartridges in 11 strains as well. Looking ahead, we’ll be developing and producing a CBD line within the next couple of months.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Definitely my family — my wife and kids. Behind the scenes they’re the true winners and without having their support this would be incredibly difficult. My family is by far my biggest support system and that is the most important thing…if I didn’t have support then it wouldn’t be possible to do what I’m doing.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I’d say the biggest thing is to be highly involved in the social media world. We’re in such a fast-paced environment that is heavily content-driven and it’s important to adapt to new technology. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, I’d suggest that you stay innovative with your products and stay connected with your audience. This lets consumers feel like they’re involved in something larger than just buying a product on a shelf.

It’s about being part of a team and part of movement. At Saucey, we are creating the movement and developing a top luxury cannabis brand.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

I am excited for the future of the cannabis industry. I’m also excited for the opportunities that this industry brings to so many diverse people and walks of life. When I was at Hall of Flowers, I noticed that this industry doesn’t attract a certain demographic, it connects all of us…all different types of people.

My biggest concern is that there’s a lot of hype and excitement surrounding the industry, and people might assume that it’s a gold rush and an easy way to make money. There’s so much deception because people don’t know what they’re actually getting involved in.

To anyone that seeks my recommendation, I’d suggest that you do your due diligence and ensure that the company is sufficiently funded because it’s not as easy as people think. Being involved for five years, I know first-hand how difficult it is and how many obstacles you have to cross to become a successful brand and to make your mark in this industry.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

· The cultivation aspect isn’t as glamorous as you’d think.

· You will receive all of these fancy decks in the beginning, but they don’t accurately depict what’s going on.

· From a marketing perspective, it’s difficult to fight against tremendously capitalized companies.

· You need to be able to have proper infrastructure to provide supply chain.

· In general, how hard it is to make it in the industry.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Our job as a CEO and leader is to find greatness in every employee and make sure they know it. Do not micro-manage, just let them be authentic. Once you have a better understanding of their abilities, target your approach accordingly.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I am super passionate about health and cancer awareness. So with that said, I would love to inspire a movement that raises awareness about the positive impact of the cannabis industry and all of the potential healing and medical benefits one would get from the plant.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Find me on Instagram at @alextodd and follow Saucey Farms & Extracts at @sauceyextracts

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Being involved for five years, I know first-hand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “It is becoming more and more apparent that smaller businesses are being edged out.” with Gina Dubbé, Dr. Leslie Apgar and Fotis Georgiadis

It is becoming more and more apparent that smaller businesses are being edged out. With the large, multi-state companies buying up the smaller licenses, those with passion for providing patients with quality and safe medical cannabis options will no longer have a voice. In the bidding war for new licenses, the large companies are edging out the smaller independents, as they have much deeper pockets to buy their way in. Also, because they control so much of the market, they can sell to themselves at lower price points than the independents can buy it wholesale, which puts undue economic pressures on the smaller companies and can force them out of business.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Gina Dubbé and Dr. Leslie Apgar. Gina is a serial entrepreneur with a track record of growing successful businesses in emerging industries. Prior to Greenhouse Wellness, Gina was the co-founder of TheraPearl, a company that produced revolutionary hot and cold compresses filled with gel beads. TheraPearl provided a reusable, drug-free way of relieving pain and inflammation associated with muscle strains and sprains, swelling from surgery, spa treatments and allergies, and a host of other pain-producing conditions. Given her success with the company, Gina was named to Forbes Magazine’s list of Women Who Built Outstanding Companies in 2014, and TheraPearl made the Inc. 500 list of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in the US for 2 consecutive years. After TheraPearl was purchased in 2014, Gina had the resources and desire to build another business, and saw the burgeoning cannabis industry as an opportunity to provide alternative treatment options for pain management. She applied for and was awarded the dispensary license for Maryland’s 12th district, thus leading to the formation of Greenhouse Wellness. She is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) with a master’s degree in engineering from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from West Virginia University.

Leslie is a physician born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She graduated from the Honors Program at Washington State University with a BS in Zoology, then attended Penn State University for medical school. Dr. Apgar completed her residency at Penn State University’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Apgar has over 20 years of experience in direct patient care and routinely counsels patients, seeing the various, sometimes devastating, conditions that can cause the need for alternative therapies. As a skilled minimally invasive surgeon, she has been on numerous hospital committees helping to educate and train new surgeons and students, change policies, and embrace emerging technologies. She has been board certified since 2002.As a serial entrepreneur and having cared for so many women with wellness complaints, she decided to fill an obvious void in the community by expanding into the aesthetics field. Her company, PuraVida Med Spa & Laser Center, was born in 2008, and she became the sole owner of the wellness facility in 2013. Her business continues to thrive well into its 11th year of operation.She partnered with Gina in 2017 to open Greenhouse Wellness, a medical cannabis dispensary in Howard County, Maryland, where she serves as medical director. Dr. Apgar regularly consults with patients on integrating medical cannabis as part of their treatment plan. Under her and Gina’s leadership, the dispensary won a “Top Workplaces” award from the Baltimore Business Journal, the first dispensary in the state to be acknowledged for such an award.

As a combination of both Gina and Leslie’s backgrounds and experience in the cannabis field, the two created Blissiva, a cannabis product company that develops product specifically to help women find relief from symptoms of anxiety, endometriosis, chronic pain, and more. Blissiva’s first product, The Balance Pen, sold out in under 6 weeks, validating a need for more female-oriented products in the marketplace.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

After medical cannabis became legal in Maryland, one of my patients mentioned a business opportunity to me in the field, so we scheduled a conference call with her and her California-based contact. They were interested in pitching to me, as the medical director, and getting funding from Gina for a dispensary in Maryland. Gina was looking for new opportunities after selling TheraPearl, and I was intrigued enough to at least listen to what they had to say.

So, we were driving home together after tennis as these two people gave us an overview of their concept — they were planning to bid for a cannabis cultivator, processor, and a dispensary.

Gina, being the savvy investor, asked a question regarding the economic return profile of the investment which was met with some silence and an answer of, “That’s not really important. That’s not how this works. You wouldn’t understand.”

We were a bit taken aback by the tone and response, and although we didn’t expressly say it to each other, were fairly certain we wouldn’t move forward with this specific proposal. I then dropped Gina off at her house (we were neighbors) and I hadn’t even gotten through my door when my phone rang. Gina shared, “I looked up the proposal requirements for the dispensary. It looks like it’s 20 hours of work. So, screw it. Let’s just do it ourselves.”

The proposal was due in 2 weeks, and in the middle of those 14 days, I was leaving for my honeymoon, but we jumped in. To make a longer story short, Gina dove right in, and 20 hours turned into 120 hours. She did the vast majority of the research by herself at her computer, working tirelessly. I — honeymooning and not having any formal training in medicinal marijuana — looked up the science and chemistry on it, learning on the fly about the primitive nervous system we all have, acting as science consultant and proofreader.

It was, essentially, a business proposal — and to our great surprise and delight, we were awarded a license, opened Greenhouse Wellness in December 2017, and we’ve been at it ever since.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Our very first patient, we refer to her as “Patient Number One,” was incredibly motivated for us to open and had been emailing us for weeks before we officially had product available to sell. She had been injured in the service and had hardware in her back after surgery to correct her spinal fractures. She was in constant pain, had a fentanyl pump, and was on a significant amount of oral morphine tablets. The opioids were ruining her life, and she was desperate to have help weaning off her pharmaceuticals. To get her off of her meds, we used a THC elixir, which she used to replace a dose of her oral pain meds. When she was off her morphine, she started to wean off the fentanyl pump. Within 3 months, she was off the opioids entirely, and she is now off the cannabis as well. She made such an impact on the whole staff, and especially on me, as a physician, who had never before seen the impact of cannabis on opioid use first hand. We watched her personality change week to week, watched her change her gait as her pain lessened, and celebrated in unison when she announced she was off her pain meds completely. She changed everything for us.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

A lot of our funniest moments have been a result of our assumptions proving to be flat out wrong. I was convinced that flower was not going to be a valuable delivery system of cannabis in terms of medical efficacy. We really opened with a strong focus on vapes, oils, and tinctures. However, now having learned so much about the biology of the plant, I’ve completely changed my mind.

From Gina’s perspective, the funniest mistake was assuming the natural demographic would be a younger, more recreational crowd. However, one of our first patients was an 80-year-old woman, and the majority of our patients are over the age of 50. It continues to surprise and delight us — this is a demographic that grew up with a stigma around cannabis, and one that is now aging and really stand to benefit from the medicine. We are happy to serve them and are so touched by the positive outcomes they are finding.

Our funniest “day” in the dispensary was most certainly our first 4/20. We really thought it would be a “normalish” day with a slight uptick in sales due to specials we ran that week. Boy, were we wrong, as patients practically busted down our doors. It was a boon in terms of business. We achieved our highest sales on record since opening. We both just stood there completely shell-shocked and pleasantly overwhelmed at the endless traffic and excitement the entirety of that Friday.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Yes, we are incredibly excited about Blissiva, a medical cannabis product-oriented company designed specifically for women. We came up with the idea after meeting so many women in Greenhouse who were looking for relief from illnesses and hardships like breast cancer, menopause, endometriosis, insomnia, and anxiety. Because I’m a practicing OBGYN, and now a doctor practicing cannabis, we saw a unique opportunity to use the medicine to create products specifically made for the complexity, beauty, and power of the female body and mind. Our first of these products, The Balance Pen, aimed to help women find relief from symptoms of anxiety and insomnia, and we sold out in under 6 weeks. We are now examining our second product lines, which will be engineered to help with sexual health.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Just like raising a child, to obtain success in the cannabis industry, you really need a village. Our village includes people that inspire us with their courage, usually our patients; people who keep us focused, like our accountant, who keeps us financially compliant; our security contractor, who keeps us safe and secure; and our wellness consultants, who are examples of kindness on a daily basis as they interact with our patients face to face, helping to diminish pain and suffering in the Maryland medical cannabis population.

This industry is young, dynamic, and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Marketing has certainly been one of the trickier parts of marketing this business. Given that the drug is still federally illegal, traditional advertising, like social ad placement, billboards, and more, are off limits.

Due to this, we have found more “grassroots” marketing and community engagement to be very effective. Tactics like hosting educational events and outreach, placing ads in local businesses, like diners where we know our patients are visiting, doing outreach to colleges, and having a focus on earned media through public relations, has not only helped our lead generation, but also our credibility and brand awareness.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Exciting:

1. Seeing patients feel better in real time.

This is one that NEVER gets old. We have seen so many of our patients not only find relief from their physical symptoms, but many have also been able to wean themselves off of addictive opioid regimens. This is huge to us, as our nation battles a very intense opioid epidemic.

2. The receptivity to Blissiva.

As mothers and middle-aged women starting a dispensary, we certainly had our fair share of negative reactions. Certain friends of ours may not have understood (we never held it against them) and institutions like banks even took issue with us personally. However, seeing so many women (especially ones 50+) have SUCH a positive reaction to Blissiva validates our vision of making this medicine accessible to ALL by offering a safe and comfortable experience.

3. The stigma is certainly changing.

Again, even anecdotally, we could tell you this is happening as our patient base is largely comprised of baby boomers. We see parents coming in trying to find relief for their children (children who are 18+, of course) and even friends or family members (we have some relatives in law enforcement) who are changing their opinions and asking questions about how this medicine might bring relief to themselves or loved ones who are suffering. It’s really encouraging to see the dialogue become much more inclusive and inquisitive versus just judgmental.

Concerning:

1. Big business coming in.

We bid in two other states after winning a license in Maryland (Pennsylvania and Ohio), and it has become very clear that already in this burgeoning stage of the industry, consolidation and big business are taking a lead. Even in Pennsylvania, where the state opened up the application process again, nearly all those who won in the second round were large, multi-state companies. This is concerning because it’s really edging out the ability for smaller, independent businesses with deep ties to their communities to thrive.

2. Monopolies.

The big companies are positioning themselves to monopolize the market, and this will limit the options that are available to patients as far as what medicines are available, as sadly, the large companies answer to their shareholders and profit over patients.

3. Unintended consequences of the plant becoming recreationally legal.

Also concerning is the unintended consequences of the plant becoming recreationally legal. When this happens, the trends indicate that versions of the plant that are very medically focused (i.e. higher CBD amounts) aren’t as accessible because the recreational demand is more focused on high THC products. While we certainly hold no judgment around that desire, those products are not always the best for those whose intention is medical, not recreational, in nature.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. You’ll lose friends.

Some folks just can’t accept cannabis as an alternative healing method, and can’t even agree to disagree because their “just say no” to drugs mentality is so hardwired. We hope that with the tincture of time, their opinions will change as more and more data become available on the validity of cannabis as a medicine and that the friendships will return.

2. You’ll lose a bank.

Gina’s personal bank, who she’d done business with for 35 years, saw in the paper that she won the medical marijuana dispensary bid — which was in her personal name, as we hadn’t had time to create an LLC or anything — and “invited her” to remove all her accounts from the bank. Basically, her personal bank tried to cancel her personal account. They had their mortgages there, all of their family’s checking accounts, the kids’ savings accounts — it was a cold slap in the face, and one of the first experiences we had of feeling like “pariahs.”

3. It’s harder than any other business.

We have found that in this industry, there are a lot of cannabis enthusiasts who saw a business opportunity, and perhaps not as many business enthusiasts who saw a cannabis opportunity. That can be challenging for some, because at the end of the day, in our case, you are running a retail business, which can be difficult. You have to deal with part-time employees, inventory management, supply and demand, and more. We are business enthusiasts, so we manage these things fairly well, but they are still challenging.

4. Cannabis is really impactful medicine.

Had I known how impactful this medicine would be, I would have wanted to jump in sooner, and I would have focused on educating others much earlier. There is so much opportunity around cannabis education, and my role these days is really to educate those around me, from the patients, to the community, to the medical practitioners. There is so much to learn, and the potential for healing from cannabis is so great that we have just scratched the surface. I am excited to see what comes next.

5. How big business would come in and snatch everything up.

It is becoming more and more apparent that smaller businesses are being edged out. With the large, multi-state companies buying up the smaller licenses, those with passion for providing patients with quality and safe medical cannabis options will no longer have a voice. In the bidding war for new licenses, the large companies are edging out the smaller independents, as they have much deeper pockets to buy their way in. Also, because they control so much of the market, they can sell to themselves at lower price points than the independents can buy it wholesale, which puts undue economic pressures on the smaller companies and can force them out of business.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Definitely implement a training program. Product knowledge and customer experience is key to maintaining a great brand and growing patient base. The more you educate your employees and the better you treat them, the more this will reflect in their interactions with patients, and all will benefit.

Additionally, always emphasize what makes you different. We were nervous about being one of the only women-owned cannabis businesses in the state and taking such a strong medical approach when many of our competitors were positioning themselves more recreationally, but this made us stand out. We’d find patients who would drive, in some cases a couple hours, just for that unique difference.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Definitely inspiring more women in business. We are currently in the process of writing a book about how we founded Greenhouse Wellness and Blissiva, and the true intention behind this endeavor is to encourage other women to unapologetically “go for it.” We were two working mothers with many odds stacked against us — we were in an industry we knew nothing about at the time, one that was heavily stigmatized, and one that had very few women in it — and we just went for it and didn’t look back. While the number of stories of female entrepreneurs are certainly increasing, we still have a long way to go in providing examples that let other women know it’s okay to throw your hat in the ring.

We hope our story will serve as an inspiration and a love letter — for other women who are forging their own ways in their careers and lives, becoming their own types of disruptors, and challenging the status quo. It’s certainly the mantra we go to bed with, and we hope it’ll be the fight song other women wake up to, or the pat on the back when they are doubting themselves.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Instagram:

@blissiva — https://www.instagram.com/blissiva/

@greenhousewellnessmd — https://www.instagram.com/greenhousewellnessmd/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/greenhousewellness

https://www.facebook.com/Blissiva-1048898915277342/

Thank you for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “It is becoming more and more apparent that… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “There are very few women who run CBD companies, and yet, women are the main buyers of CBD products.” with Lisa Hannah and Fotis Georgiadis

There are very few women who run CBD companies, and yet, women are the main buyers of CBD products. I’ve worked in the Cannabis industry for several years and it continually astounds me how often I’m still the only women in the room at high-level meetings. I have hope that this will rapidly change, and I’m very excited to see more women enter into the category and likely dominate it in a few years.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Hannah, President and co-founder of Cultivating Wellness, a full-service CBD marketing research, logistics, and brand innovation consultancy that helps best-in-class, hemp-based cannabidiol products to enter, innovate, and thrive in the emerging marketplace. With a background serving Wall Street investors with data-driven business analysis, Lisa helped to expand and establish a proprietary, systematic equity research firm, OTR/Off The Record Research. Her ability to uniquely vet business models and companies, and provide deep market intelligence for brand leaders and investors, has helped companies across consumer sectors grow, launch, and scale. Lisa is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a founding member of Women Leaders In Cannabis, based in San Francisco. She lives in the Bay Area with her three daughters.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I think to answer that fully I have to trace it back to my work on Wall Street. I helped build out a very successful research firm serving investors with deep market intelligence. I spent most of my career vetting the health of businesses and industries for investment opportunities. I made a choice to step back from the always-on nature of the financial sector to raise my daughters and pursue new avenues of interest and meaning. Doing so opened new doors in business consulting and entrepreneurship. I began advising consumer companies on how to launch and scale, and started a few ventures of my own.

Originally, cannabis as a viable or even credible industry never occurred to me; I went to school at U.C. Berkeley, and the city had a celebrated “stoner” culture, which was looked down upon at the time. Then, I was confronted with the power of cannabis and CBD head-on. One of the businesses I founded was centered on enhancing salons and spa centers in Senior communities. Over time, I witnessed caregivers sneaking in medical marijuana to senior patients to alleviate everything from pain and anxiety to symptoms of dementia, as well as a replacement for harmful pharmaceuticals. Witnessing the impact of what we now know to be the CBD compound was totally mind-blowing to me.

As a research nerd, I dove in head first and what I uncovered was an undervalued and misunderstood commodity that was truly helping people. As a mother, dedicating myself to the discovery of what CBD could do felt like a meaningful venture I could not walk away from, and an outlook towards business I wanted to pass on to my daughters. I’m so energized to be apart of a movement to remove the stigma and to shape a credible industry, which starts by setting the highest bar for companies that are creating CBD brands.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

This is such a dynamic space, everyday feels interesting! There are moments that stick when you’re working in a series of firsts. One of the first products we developed at Cultivating Wellness was CBD bottled spring water from a supplier that had formulated THC and wanted to pivot to CBD. It took months to get to a level of quality and compliance that met our Total Quality Assurance standards.

The day finally arrived where we ordered a big rig to truck ten pallets from Northern California to Washington. That was a big deal; it was one of the first CBD products to move across state lines. Operating in a wishy-washy regulatory environment to develop not just a new product, but also a new category that didn’t exist before felt really significant.

Cannabis and CBD research is in its infancy, but it’s an exciting time to help champion

the best standards possible and to create an entry for new product innovation.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Oh yes. This has to be when we were developing ChrD+ with Lexaria Biosciences, a tasteless and odorless fine white powder that can be added to any drink, hot or cold. You might see where this is going. There were samples out all the time at my home, in the office, spilling out of boxes. New people would walk into meetings and think something seriously illicit was taking place. Even in a progressive state like California, there are a ton of hurdles we face for consumer education. We were so deep in the process we were totally oblivious. It was a real lesson in perceptions and about the dangers of being too casual. It’s our job to counteract those negative associations for CBD at every turn and elevate it as a healing compound. We had a lot of explaining to do, especially to some very confused delivery people. That experience was good practice on educating all types of people on what CBD is, what it does, and why it’s valuable.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We’re really thrilled to be launching ChrgD+, which is totally innovative and versatile as a tasteless, odorless additive for any beverage. It was created to showcase DehydraTech, a proprietary technology from Lexaria Biosciences, which increases the bioavailability and absorption of CBD into the bloodstream. We also have some exciting launches on the horizon with Stanley Brothers (creators of Charlotte’s Web) and we’re currently consulting with a range of CPG companies interested in creating high-end CBD topicals and more in the food and beverage category.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

This comes back to the senior community, who first exposed me and ignited this passion for championing CBD as truly beneficial and healing form of medicine.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

This may sound counterintuitive, but our major strategy right now is to say no. We reject more brands and businesses than we work with, because frankly there are just a lot of bad players out there right now, and many of them don’t pass our assessments and stringent vetting process. There’s a lot of motivation to move fast in and ask forgiveness later, and that’s going to screw up the entire industry and really harm consumers in the long run. There are ways to be nimble and competitive without sacrificing integrity. Marketing strategies for CBD product entry have to be cutting-edge and borrow across categories. At the end of the day, our strategies have to think ten steps ahead to withstand the most stringent regulatory climate or scientific advances for compliance and application. In the current landscape, the smartest strategy is industry-wide and about giving the real, credible players a bigger runway for advancement.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

There is so much that excites me; mostly learning more about what the compound can do on so many levels, from an efficacy standpoint and the diversity of applications. When they open up research there will be so many rapid advancements to learn more about the science and the way CBD interacts with individual chemistries. More real research is needed to guide best practices based on science.

There’s a lot that concerns me, too; mostly the bad players that can really undercut consumer trust, and that goes back to the lack of industry standards. I’m concerned about the lack of education that could sway regulatory powers at play. Then there’s the influence of lobbies and big pharma. It’s important that every person entering into CBD maintain a level of professionalism that’s necessary to make this industry succeed and thrive.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) There are very few women who run CBD companies, and yet, women are the main buyers of CBD products. I’ve worked in the Cannabis industry for several years and it continually astounds me how often I’m still the only women in the room at high-level meetings. I have hope that this will rapidly change, and I’m very excited to see more women enter into the category and likely dominate it in a few years.

2) That the general public has no idea about the difference between CBD and THC and what the affects are on the body. I don’t fault anyone for not knowing these differences; the classifications and scheduling of these substances and the constant interfacing with regulatory agencies dominates so much of this business landscape. This isn’t a race, it’s a marathon.

3) The regulatory powers that be are very confused and conflicted as to how to play the hemp-derived CBD issues. The FDA has frustratingly waffled for many years and caused havoc in an industry that is so beneficial to consumers seeking relief from pain, anxiety, sleep issues, and more progressive diseases such as Parkinson’s.

4) That there would be so many CBD products trying to enter the market — all unregulated, and that is very scary. There are daily reports about brands and operations that have to be shutdown, and that kind of policing is necessary. The void for standards is getting wider by the minute. It’s not easy rejecting money where brands want in, but if we’re not vigilant about it, then who will be?

5) That this is the best industry in the world to be in. We are just scratching the surface with CBD, and the industry is full of promise and unfound medicinal jewels that can truly help and heal the human body.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Get into this industry only if you truly believe and champion CBD in its entirety. Surround yourself with people who feel the exact same way. A team that is unified in its meaning and direction will come together with creative, breakthrough, and interesting ways you never thought possible.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

As with any major movement, there needs to be a fearlessness around funding and advancing research in CBD. More clinical trials across a variety of applications are needed so doctors can justifiably prescribe CBD and provide accurate dosing standards.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Connect with me on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisahannah

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “There are very few… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “Implement an immediate way to report customer feedback given to employees” with L.A. Dawson and Fotis Georgiadis

Given my background as a leadership coach, I’d tell any CEO to implement an immediate way to report customer feedback given to employees that is funneled up to you on a regular, recurring basis so you can make tactical and strategic decisions real time. It’s critical to be flexible based on your customers’ needs. Employees will be happier when customers are happy and when they can offer products they believe in.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing L.A. Dawson, the founder and CEO of EDIYBLES, an Ohio startup focused on teaching easy, effective, and safe methods for making and consuming DIY cannabis-infused edibles. Prior to founding EDIYBLES, L.A. dedicated her career to enabling positive organizational culture at leading media, technology and financial services firms as a trainer, communicator, and leadership coach.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

Thank you for the opportunity to appear in your publication! Most people who know me IRL have no idea I work in the cannabis space, nor my passion for the plant, although that is changing. I was one of those kids who was a “good” kid — didn’t really go to parties in high school, went to college on an academic scholarship — not exactly the stereotypical cannabis user back in the early 90s in West Virginia. I still have that squeaky image because I’m extremely successful in my career and life.

After 2 years in college, I joined the student newspaper and fell in with a new social group, some off whom used cannabis. I was a driven, tight, anxious person at that age. I don’t know that anyone who achieved all that by my age could ever be described as chill. I didn’t consciously realize this then, but when I first used cannabis, I liked it because I could just relax and laugh and melt all the anxiety away. I became more introspective and thoughtful. I didn’t get sick like I did from using alcohol, and I continued to be a star student despite my cannabis use, graduating magna cum laude. As I got older, the migraines I had suffered as a teen became more frequent and severe. Cannabis was the only thing that quickly relieved the pain and nausea. That’s when I knew it was medicine. But I felt bad about it — being the goodie goodie I am — and hid my use from even those closest to me.

Years later, one of my closest friends and fellow (illegal) medicinal cannabis user, became sick with cancer. Toni asked me to learn to cook with her vaporized leftovers (people call it ABV or already been vaped), and that was the genesis of EDIYBLES. I had to learn to do it right for her. My edibles helped with her pain, and I had to give her high-quality homemade products. Later, I realized I could use my teaching background to help others do it themselves, too, without all the trial and error we went through.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When I was first starting the company, the Cleveland School of Cannabis happened to be holding its first series of public open houses. I connected with the admissions director, who graciously allowed me to present my business concept to gauge public reaction. At one of the events, Irv Rosenfeld — one of only 3 living medicinal cannabis patients to receive deliveries of his medicine from the Federal government’s farm in Mississippi — spoke about his experience. Since I had a booth at the event, I had the privilege to speak with him afterwards and hear his perspective on why he continues to fight for legal access for others, despite his health. He also understood my business concept at a time when I needed validation from someone professional and credible like him. He brought in his tin of 100 rolled up joints delivered directly from the Feds! I couldn’t believe my eyes, given the laws in Ohio and around the country at the time. He’s a fascinating character.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I hope I can share this story without getting into trouble. At the time this story took place, I had just started cooking with cannabis a few months prior. I was not very educated about how to dose edibles just yet. Toni asked me to make her Firecrackers — two graham crackers stuffed with Nutella and ABV baked in the oven. Not knowing the cannabis strain or potency, I just measured the ABV by the tablespoon when making the recipe. As you can imagine, I had no way to tell her what the potency of the edible was, but she didn’t care. Toni was open to try whatever I was making. Stronger was better, she told me.

Her mother, on the other hand, had no clue about edibles. All she knew was what Toni told her: cut up the Firecracker into 4 equally sized pieces. Like the great lady she is, Toni’s mom followed exact directions. The treats looked so delicious, she licked a little drop of Nutella that came off the side, along with the crumbs off her fingers. Two hours later, I received a phone call from a hysterically-laughing Toni asking me to come to her house! Her mom was in the bathroom with her head under the faucet to cool off. Her mom was alternately roaring with laughter and completely quiet. Now, this mistake might not be funny in another context, although Toni’s mom and I still giggle about it today. She took it in stride, and I’m lucky there wasn’t a different outcome.

Certainly, the lesson here is precision matters in DIY cannabis cooking! While it may not be as accurate as a laboratory, dosing must be carefully estimated when doing it yourself. I also learned an important lesson about safety: educate everyone involved with dispensing edibles, and be sure to keep products locked away from those who shouldn’t have access to them.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Oh yes! Now that I’ve worked at a couple of big consumer shows in Ohio to get the brand into the public consciousness, I’ve joined the Ohio Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. They are connected to all the major industry players in our state and can help me partner on events with their member organizations. I’m continuing to teach mini-classes at events and live online, and I’m offering a mobile class from Ohio to Michigan, where recreational cannabis and homegrow are legal. From my area, we can take a day trip there. Of all the ideas I’ve put out there, the mobile class generated the most excitement.

I’m also in the process of hiring part-time staff to work at consumer and business-to-business networking events in other cities and states. To do that, I’m working with an outsourced HR firm to handle the important logistics, including managing a centralized support staff in Ohio that will assist those in the field. I’ve been hard at work developing training and other support materials for these folks.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

It’s cliché, but there is no person more responsible for my success than my mom. We were dirt poor in West Virginia in a low-income family. My single mom didn’t always know if she was going to be able to make the mortgage payment every month. She knew the only way I was going to rise up out of poverty was to work the hardest, to strive for excellence in everything, and to make connections with people. She taught me all those things with her words and actions. And that’s exactly what I did to become the successful person I am today.

While she didn’t earn what she deserved, given the limitations imposed upon women then, she was the most independent person I’ve ever known. I can’t emphasize enough how she set the perfect example of the modern-day woman before anyone had a concept of what women would be doing 40 years later. Like many women of that time, she started at the bottom of the ladder and stayed there, especially since she had kids.

Around the time I went to college, she finally started working at office jobs in customer service roles that placed her firmly in the middle class. But during the very tough times, she rarely complained. She always said regardless of who she worked for, they were paying her to do a quality job. That’s what she was going to give them. I’m well aware she didn’t have to have that attitude with the way those jobs and companies treated her. No one would have blamed her. She didn’t do it for them, though. She did it because she had pride in herself and her work, and because she cared about her customers. All those lessons have stuck with me throughout my life.

For most of my life, I hid my use of cannabis from my mother because I knew she would be disappointed with me. However, as times changed, so did my mom’s attitude towards cannabis. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I told her I was starting a cannabis-related business, but she was my number one supporter. When she was diagnosed with cancer herself, she became one of my product testers. She’s just as much a part of this company as I am. I wish she was here to see it come to fruition.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

In this industry, you’re forced to develop alternative marketing avenues because social media advertising can shut you down at any moment for “illegal” product marketing. Facebook closed my advertising account for both itself and Instagram, right as I was beginning to successfully market events.

The best brand-building avenues have been through my participation on cannabis-related Facebook groups. Granted, this is time-consuming because there are so many groups out there. However, I’ve made so many connections to the larger local cannabis communities I want to target, including large events where we sold products direct to consumer. I’ve been very selective about the groups I’ve joined so that I can connect with my target customers and business partners in my voice with authenticity. It’s a whole other level of grassroots marketing. I’ve also made similar connections on Instagram — which costs me zero dollars. These groups are what I’ll call micro-influencers, and they are critical in the cannabis industry because it’s still taboo for many older folks to share anything about cannabis on social media. But they will quietly monitor or sometimes comment on others’ posts in these lifestyle groups, especially when they are professional and educational.

It takes a lot of effort, and I’ll eventually have to hire a person to handle it for me, but it’s really one of the best ways to reach people all over the country in a targeted way on a small budget. Perhaps I’m naïve, but I can’t imagine big brands interacting with customers on these organic networks quite like small businesses can.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

3 Things That Excite Me

1. Stigmas being removed from cannabis use at all age groups

2. The push for Federal legalization/decriminalization — driven by individuals and businesses

3. The positive energy generated by women in service working for a common goal — creating the first female-dominated industry in modern history

3 Things That Concern Me

1. The lack of authoritative sources of information for the layperson on dosage, uses per condition, state laws, etc. Because of search engine issues, it’s hard to sort through what’s true and what’s false about cannabis online.

2. Confusion about cannabis CBD and hemp CBD — what the differences are, what has medicinal value and why, where you can buy legal and effective CBD products, etc.

3. Continued legal and financial disruption because of Federal laws — banking remains elusive, business registrations are tricky, people are still being prosecuted for possession and “manufacturing” of cannabis. These are huge risks that virtually no other industry faces.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. I wish someone had told me that businesses like mine that don’t touch the plant face many of the same challenges as those that do. Surprisingly, I deal with many of the banking, tax, and incorporation issues as those that touch the plant. My first bank and accountant dropped me after initially accepting my business!

Given the products we sell can be used in other kitchen applications, I was shocked. But because banking is federally regulated and cannabis is federally illegal, some businesses understandably don’t want to take the risk of being associated with cannabis, even if it’s just in the marketing and education side of the industry.

2. I also wish I had known that online giants like Facebook, Instagram, and Google would suppress free speech so easily using the argument that cannabis is an “illegal drug” — their words not mine. Mularkey! Cannabis is legal in some form or fashion in all but 3 U.S. states. Twitter closed my account without explanation, but I was able to recreate it without issue (for now).

Consider all the controversial content these platforms produce without batting an eyelash, and then consider the outlandish idea that they would eschew advertising dollars from anyone! Of all things, they won’t take money from the cannabis industry. They’ve taken to shutting down even free cannabis-related content and groups on their platforms. It’s mindboggling.

Fighting city hall, in this case, is fruitless. The only complaint mechanism is run by a bot, and you can’t reason with a bot. Again, my products don’t touch the plant. I am guilty by association in their eyes. Getting shut down on social forced me to come up with other creative ideas for advertising and marketing on a start-up budget, so I guess their loss is my gain. When they decide taking advertising dollars from the cannabis industry is in their best interest, many of the brands will have moved on to greener pastures (pun intended).

3. Where was the crystal ball telling me how hard it would be to find reliable business partners and contractors who follow through after initial conversations? I’ve wasted many hours on conversations that led to either no business relationship or broken promises. Sometimes, I can tell right away if someone is wasting my time, but there are many persuasive people vying for your time who say enticing things so you’ll give it to them.

I’ve purchased products from vendors who went dark afterwards and refused to return messages. I’ve spoken with and trained people who seemed completely excited about booking and facilitating classes, but when it was time to deliver, they were nowhere to be found. It’s frustrating, but I’ve been able to find legitimate service providers to help me cut through the clutter. I hired an HR firm, Mary Jane Agency, to find qualified candidates and joined the Ohio Cannabis Chamber of Commerce so I can connect with top-notch vendors. Once again, I needed to come up with a better solution to what I was doing to find vendors and contractors because I just didn’t know what to expect when I first started out.

4. I wish someone had told me that the incorporation name used on business filing papers makes a huge difference, especially in the cannabis industry. When I first named the company, it was called Maryjane’s Confections, LLC. Could I have posted a bigger flashing sign that said, “Cannabis business, please don’t work with me”?

After my bank and accountant left me, I decided to change the company name to something less conspicuous that also reflects the fact that we’re essentially a retailer. EDIYBLES is a d/b/a that represents the brand. That simple, inexpensive fix opened doors to getting necessary business services while also making it easier to deal with wholesalers and pay sales tax.

5. Way back at the beginning, when this idea was in its infancy, I lost relationships with people who, at that time, played key roles in my life. When it became evident that I was charging forward with an ancillary cannabis business — against the wishes of some people — I decided to move on. It hurt, and it was hard to leave them behind. I considered putting my dreams on the back burner for a time. Would it be worth sacrificing relationships for an unproven and shaky industry? If I was unsuccessful, who would be there for me?

If I knew then what I know now, I would have lost less sleep over those decisions. By removing unsupportive people from my life, I opened room for the right people to enter. I have cheerleaders now! I committed to owning a business in the cannabis industry, and I enjoy loving, encouraging relationships BECAUSE of it, not in spite of it. I wish I had known I was wasting emotional energy on people who would never support me, energy I could have channeled elsewhere. There is a silver lining to not knowing all this then: I wouldn’t be repeatedly awed by the amazing people who continue to enter my life because of cannabis.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Given my background as a leadership coach, I’d tell any CEO to implement an immediate way to report customer feedback given to employees that is funneled up to you on a regular, recurring basis so you can make tactical and strategic decisions real time. It’s critical to be flexible based on your customers’ needs. Employees will be happier when customers are happy and when they can offer products they believe in.

As a career corporate employee, I’d advise other CEOs and founders to support single-payer health care (aka Medicare for All) in the United States to help employees thrive. Small businesses are at a severe competitive disadvantage for top talent because we simply can’t offer the kind of benefits large companies can. That, coupled with the fact that I want my employees to be physically and mentally healthy when they come to work, is reason enough to support single-payer health care.

It also makes economic sense from a corporate perspective. Companies can take the cost of providing those benefits off the books immediately, not to mention the HR complexity, with a single-payer system. I have no idea why small businesses don’t make more noise about this.

Of course, the most important employee who needs to thrive IS the founder. I can say from my own experience that I was discouraged in starting my company because of the high cost of private market health insurance and the lack of a public option. I don’t think I am alone. If you have a family and want to be an entrepreneur, you’re walking a tightrope on healthcare. It’s an unnecessary stressor. It holds back our economy.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I believe that everyone working to further the case for full legalization of cannabis is inspiring a movement. That movement is happening everywhere right now! When I was in college 25 years ago, I would never have imagined legalization would happen in my lifetime, or that it would even be a conversation for that matter! Seeing public opinion change on about cannabis as medicine is exciting!

Thanks to the federal government’s draconian policies on cannabis research, we don’t know all the science behind how the endocannabinoid system works. However, what we do know is cannabis is largely non-toxic. People understand this. For all the good cannabis can do with very few side effects, most people realize adults can make the decision to use cannabis on their own.

I can’t tell you how many grandmothers I’ve talked to who are looking to cannabis as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. Let granny decide for herself! I hope I’ve been able to influence friends, family, and people I meet in the public to embrace full legalization for this amazing plant. I believe the work I’m doing will bring the most amount of good to the most people, especially when they are free to grow and cook with it themselves. Who wants to be beholden to pill-makers when you can make medicine at home by yourself?

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I have a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, all @EDIYBLES.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you! It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about my experiences.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “Implement an immediate way to report customer feedback… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Regardless of your specialization, make it a point to educate yourself on all facets of the industry.” with Dana Leavy-Detrick and Fotis Georgiadis

Regardless of your specialization, make it a point to educate yourself on all facets of the industry. Everything is interconnected, and no doubt what transpires from a legal, policy, or financial perspective, will surely have impact on the way products are manufactured, marketed, and the discussions that take place around them.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dana Leavy-Detrick.With over 15 years of years of experience as a recruiter, certified career coach, and founder of a successful resume and personal branding firm in New York, Dana is an expert at helping professionals navigate career transition. She is the founder and director of Canna Career Partners, a brand strategy, resume writing, and career consulting firm specializing in the cannabis space. Dana and her team have helped thousands of professionals in areas like marketing, cannabis, design, technology, fashion, sales, and finance navigate career transition and develop high-impact marketing tools. Her advice has been featured in Forbes, Vogue, Mashable, Fast Company, The New York Post, Refinery29, and GlassDoor.

Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

I’m a New York-based entrepreneur and director of a cannabis career consulting company called Canna Career Partners. We launched about a year ago after seeing an uptick in requests through our parent company (Brooklyn Resume Studio) for resume and career guidance from individuals looking to break into the cannabis job market.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The last few months have been a great time for building our brand and serving this market. We’ve partnered with organizations in the New York area to educate professionals on what companies in the cannabis space look for in job applicants, and how to best position yourself for success in the market.

What’s inspiring about this industry is the diversity of people, skill sets, and stories that are coming together to move things forward and create a truly robust industry.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We haven’t really made any big mistakes…yet.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are looking at ways to connect job seekers and career changers with the tools they need to transition into the cannabis market, and to promote themselves to companies that are in need of top talent. We’re doing this through a couple of core services — resume development, LinkedIn profile development, cover letters and communications, and career/interview coaching. We’re also producing a lot of content focusing on career transition, resume development, hiring trends, and job searching in the cannabis space.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Not a particular person — but organizations like Women Grow, CannaGather, Cannabis Cultural Association, and others have been great resources for connecting, building knowledge, and staying abreast of what’s happening on a local and national level.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Many people who got into the cannabis space did so because of their own life-changing experience with the product, or direct connection to someone who benefitted from it. Unlike other industries, cannabis really has a component of social responsibility to it, which younger professionals find attractive. Despite the challenge of decades of stigma, it’s really emerging as a life-changing solution in so many capacities — from challenging big pharma, to shining a light on justice reform, and creating access to new business and career opportunities — particularly within underserved communities who have historically been most negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition.

As someone who works with thousands of young professionals and has a deep understanding of what matters to them from an employment and workplace perspective, that social responsibility component ranks very highly. People want to work for a company or within an industry where their impact is visible and lasting.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

See above regarding social responsibility.

Most Concerning:

– As the industry grows and sees an uptick in business and career opportunities, it also opens the door to dishonest business practices and individuals looking to make a quick buck. It increases the need for consumers to be diligent in researching products and brands that are reliable, tested, and proven in their effectiveness.

– Lack of consistency in regulation, based on the fact that the industry is still regulated on a state-by-state level, and lacks the cohesion of a federally-managed model. This puts businesses and consumers at risk.

– Unknown territory — will there be endless opportunity for new brands to prosper, or will the market quickly become saturated to the point where consumers become jaded by the overwhelming range of choices they have in products, brands, and services? How will reputable brands really be able to distinguish themselves, and what will be the best channels to engage those consumers in a way that fosters trust and engagement?

– Taking that a step further, the federal ban poses a unique marketing challenge to brands (and consumers, thanks to unfair bias) — as cannabis brands are treated unequally by social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Companies can pour significant time, resources, and money into building a strong brand presence, only to have their brand removed from the platform without warning. This has happened to several brands I know. It also inserts an enormous bias around what information is being communicated and made visible to cannabis consumers.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

As we continue to build our presence in this space, I can think of a few things I wish I had been told before building a business in this industry:

– Exactly Where New York State Stands on Cannabis Legalization.

One of the reasons we started this business in New York was in anticipation of a rapidly growing market based on impending legalization, which was originally slated for 2019. Since then, the state and our leaders have flip-flopped on plans to bring this to fruition — impacting businesses and job seekers alike. We know the reform is coming and the opportunities will be big — but it keeps us wondering whether we will see them sooner or later, and how to position our business based on that uncertainty.

– How to Speak to People About Cannabis — as both a Product (Plant) + an Industry

One of the challenges still remains working against preconceived notions about what cannabis is (as a CBD advocate myself, it’s not just marijuana and psychoactives), who its users are, and how diverse that customer base really is. Speaking about the product is very different from speaking about the industry — and many people can’t see past longstanding stigmas to understand the real business and economic opportunities.

– How NY State Regulates the Medical Sales Process

During a recent event, we learned from NY-based Curaleaf dispensary founder that — in order to sell cannabis products in the New York medical market — you have to have a hand in the end-to-end process, from cultivation/manufacturing through sale (from “seed to sale”). While I myself am not on the plant side of the business, this poses a huge hurdle to entrepreneurs looking to get into that space, and there’s little information yet as to whether that will remain the case once adult use is legalized as well.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Many companies focus solely on the granular details of their specialty, instead of taking a holistic view of the industry and educating themselves on a much broader array of issues around cannabis.

As a service-based business, we don’t touch the plant or product in any way. However, it’s still important be knowledgeable on the market, the product, the key players, and the changing legislation. In our field (career services), the more knowledge we can share with our clients — who are largely job seekers and career changers — the greater the value we can provide them, and the more equipped they will be to navigate this changing market.

Regardless of your specialization, make it a point to educate yourself on all facets of the industry. Everything is interconnected, and no doubt what transpires from a legal, policy, or financial perspective, will surely have impact on the way products are manufactured, marketed, and the discussions that take place around them.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

For markets like New York and New Jersey, the topic of social justice reform is a key part of the agenda, and within that, increasing access to business and career opportunities within the cannabis space. This is where I am most interested in creating impact — how can we reach a broader spectrum of people who offer valuable transferrable experience and skills, and connect them with the organizations in need of that talent? It’s a win-win on all sides, and something my company is closely examining as we speak with more and more professionals in the space.

Thank you for joining us!

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Regardless of your specialization, make it… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Create a culture of inclusion.” with Christine De La Rosa and Fotis Georgiadis

Create a culture of inclusion.It is so important that this industry create pathways to serve communities that have historically been left out of participating in the building of a brand new legal industry. We have an opportunity to co-create with them an industry that institutionalizes integrity and equity over greed and exclusion.”

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Christine De La Rosa, CEO of The People’s Dispensary, who is a transplanted Texan living and thriving in Oakland, CA. She is a social entrepreneur who has spent most of her adult life building businesses that creatively engage and employ the local communities that surround them. Two restaurants, two event production companies, an art gallery, a retail shop and a salon were part of her trajectory that led to co-owning successful cannabis businesses in both California and Oregon. She is a well-respected advocate and activist for the chronically ill, people of color, women, formerly incarcerated and the LGBTQ community. Christine is passionate about the industry that saved her life. Diagnosed with lupus in 2009 after a pulmonary embolism almost killed her, she spent five years unable to work or perform rudimentary functions due to her illness and the synthetic medications perscribed by her doctors. In 2015, she found cannabis as an alternative to treat her lupus. No longer bound to 11 pills a day or monthly infusions, she was inspired by her experience to open Benefit Health Collective in 2016, along with her three co-founders. Together they have grown a profitable multi-state dispensary and a national social equity model and enterprise now known as The People’s Dispensary. Christine believes that the cannabis industry has a mandate to serve not only its customers and patients but also the communities that have been most affected by the war on drugs.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

After a pulmonary embolism almost took my life in 2009, I spent the next six years in and out of hospitals, with the last three years requiring 11 synthetic pills daily (which included 5 different opioids) plus a monthly, chemo-like infusion at the hospital to treat my varied lupus-related ailments. Even with all that medicine, I remained sick and mostly unable to leave my house. In 2016, I went to a cannabis conference in Denver, CO that changed my life. It was the first time I was given an education on the benefits of CBD and THC specifically on how it relates to illness. Cannabis allowed me to manage my pain and inflammation in a more holistic way. It was my personal experience, leaving pharmaceuticals behind, that convinced me that others could and should benefit from this medicine. In 2015, I co-founded The People’s Dispensary because I wanted to help my community heal. Back then I had no idea that it would lead to championing equity in the burgeoning industry. However, I am grateful to be a community voice amid the corporate cacophony.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

An elderly man came into our store when we first opened in Oakland. He had severe arthritis in his hands so much so that the fingers could barely move and looked like gnarly limbs on a tree. He had come in to purchase marijuana flower because he said it helped him sleep. I asked him if he had ever tried a THC topical lotion for his hands. He said he hadn’t. I gave him a free jar of topical and asked him to try it. About a week later he walked into the store and he was giving me jazz hands with his fingers wiggling. He told me that his hands hadn’t felt this good in years. It was at that very moment that I realized that every person that came into the dispensary had a bigger story than wanting to get high. And I want to know that story so our budtenders and all our employees at every level are able to curate a meaningful experience for each of our customers.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I love cake. One day a new vendor showed up. I don’t normally deal with vendors or try the samples but our Director of Procurement and I were having a meeting when they showed up. They had with them a new edible that was a cake pop. They seemed super small so when they offered me one of the samples, I didn’t think about asking how much THC was in the cake pop. It took about 45 minutes but when it hit, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a full day of meetings but the most I could do was call my partner to take me home and tuck me in. My biggest lesson that day is do not try the samples during a work day.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Yes! I am working with a wonderful group of people to create the push for equity at the state and federal level. It’s called the #EquityDayOne initiative. We put together the initiative for New York and New Jersey who are creating new laws for adult use cannabis but are now shifting towards a federal campaign as we get closer to federal decriminalization. #EquityDayOne is about making sure that people of color, women and formerly incarcerated are able to participate on day one of legal cannabis. It appears that big corporate feels very entitled to own a majority if not all of this new and emerging industry. However, the legalized cannabis industry must, at its foundation, be equitable and accessible to those people and communities that were devasted by the war on drugs. As an operating cannabis company, majority minority owned, we uniquely understand the barriers to entry that can be written into legislation and regulation to make it harder for people of color, women and the formerly incarcerated to be successful. I am excited to be thought partners with people thinking about how to work through these issues and create an equitable industry for everyone.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Our company has four co-founders. The longest friendship is 29 years, the shortest friendship is about 12. We have been working together for over a decade, owned several businesses together and continue to really believe in each other and in us as a collective group of like-minded people. When we decided to create The People’s Dispensary, we had no idea the amount of effort it would take to build this business. There have been many times when I could not see my way forward and for each of those times one if not all of them have held me and us up. Each of us has a unique talent and strength that contributes to our success. We have that secret sauce that works.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

We don’t really do traditional marketing. Most of our marketing has been done by word of mouth. We are just starting to enter the phase of our company where we are considering hiring a marketing firm in the near future. I like clever and innovative marketing but what is more important to us is finding a firm that is culturally competent. I can’t tell you how many firms have pitched us who are almost zero percent diverse. With a company like ours, which is 100% LGBTQ owned and 75% women of color owned, that doesn’t work. Finding culturally competent marketing firms has been hard to find which I believe in this emerging cannabis industry will be key.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that excite me are:

1. Its ability to create health and wealth for many different types of communities.

2. The thousands if not millions of jobs it will create.

3. The number of people cannabis will help move away from opioids for pain management.

Three things that most concern me are:

1. That accessibility and affordability to cannabis as a medicine will be lost because the appetite by governments to gain tax revenue from adult use is all encompassing.

2. That black and brown people will be regulated out of the industry because of flawed laws.

3. That big Pharma and major corporations will squeeze out small business.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Surround yourself with the best people. And vet them thoroughly. I have had my fair share of encounters with yahoos who don’t know much about the business but really like to pretend they do. They will waste your time and your money if you don’t cut them loose quickly. Having the best people around you will keep your creative juices flowing.

2. Be ready to pivot. The industry is constantly changing so you and your company need to be nimble and move accordingly.

3. Build community. Community has been instrumental in our success. Cannabis culture has a strong history of helping communities find alternative medicine. We as an industry must fight the urge to make this a transactional industry.

4. Create partnerships with values aligned people. TPD would not be here today if we had not prioritized our partnerships and created an extended family of vendors, businesses and individuals.

5. Create a culture of inclusion. It is so important that this industry create pathways to serve communities that have historically been left out of participating in the building of a brand new legal industry. We have an opportunity to co-create with them an industry that institutionalizes integrity and equity over greed and exclusion.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Listen to your employees, they are literally your best asset. Empower them to help you shape how the company interacts with the customer. Employees are your best coaches and your most fervent ambassadors.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Our company is creating community reinvestment funds in each of the cities where we have a dispensary. Our goal is to donate 10% of our net profit from the dispensary back into the community where the dispensary is located in. How these funds will be used will be determined by the community. It is our belief that we cannot profit from cannabis without making sure that we are sharing those profits with community.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media? @mytpdnational and @mizchris across all social media

Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started: “Create a culture of inclusion.” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Olivia Alexander of Kush Queen: “People over profits; I have always paid people too much per hour because a business is the people who work there.”

People over Profits. I really believe in people over profits. I have always paid people “ too much” per hour. I have always heard to put the profits over everything because it’s a business. But a business IS the people who work there. Our business is not just the people who make our products, but the people who use them. We always put them first. You may temporarily drive up your numbers by cutting wages, but in the long run you will lose. You may save a little if you choose a non-organic ingredient over organic, but is that what people really want?

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia Alexander, the Founder and CEO of Kush Queen, a premier luxury lifestyle cannabis brand that launched in 2015. Renowned for providing quality, innovative cannabis wellness and lifestyle products, Olivia has become known as one of the industry’s top tastemakers, pioneering new areas of the space and creating trends at every turn. Olivia is an influencer, an advocate and a proud female contributor to the cannabis industry. Formerly a Beauty Queen who lived in Louisiana until the age of 13, she now has developed a name as the Kush Queen. You can keep up with her on the daily, here.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I was in college, I began using cannabis recreationally. Safe usage wasn’t shunned in my family, but supported, so I began learning everything I could about the flower. Shortly thereafter, I took a job as a budtender at a friend’s dispensary and loved it. I knew then cannabis was my destiny.

Before Kush Queen, I owned a company called The Crystal Cult, which made Swarovski Crystal vape pens. I started the brand with only $700 on Instagram. Within months, we had tens of thousands of followers and a healthy business. I designed a vape for dry flower/wax concentrates called “Kush Queen”. It quickly became our number one selling product. So many people would call the Cult and ask to buy cannabis from us. I realized that women really didn’t have much speaking to them in cannabis or a brand they could belong to. I then spent a few years working for other cannabis companies, mainly doing social media and digital strategy. When you go behind the scenes, you realize the issues with the products, the issues with customers, and overall I just felt like I could make better products. It took some time, because everything was self-funded, but overtime we created and formulated our products, starting with the bath bombs.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The truth is that as a start-up, self-funded brand in an emerging industry everyday is like being on Mr. Toad’s wild ride. I have been kicked out of my first real office for being in cannabis. I have had my bank account shut down. I have had my parents’ bank accounts shut down. My website has been shut down. The shut downs really stick with you because you feel the stigma and it shakes you. These were all my toughest days, but they make the good days better. They brought an overwhelming sense of gratitude for those people willing to do business with us.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It wasn’t at the very beginning, but as we approached a massive scale with our bath bombs things got really crazy. We had never scaled a product before and our work room was absolutely wild. We had a new blender, new formula, and had probably been out of our garage for only a month. On top of it, we had lots of new employees. The bath bombs were practically powder and were basically covering everyone with powder. We were laughing, we were crying, and it was mayhem. We made a sign that said, “Don’t cry over broken bath bombs” for the work room. It was really a moment that bonded us and we still laugh about it. The lesson we learned is that scale is a different monster than the first phase of getting our baby moving. Scale is what you dream of, but it’s also a beast you have to learn to tame. We had to learn to laugh through the pain and keep going.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Kush Queen is about to release our infused cosmetics. So we are very excited to see this project come to life. KINGDM Cosmetics is going to disrupt the beauty industry in a big way.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My mentor and friend Shanna Droege is a person I wouldn’t be here without. In the early days, I ran a creative agency and was working for other brands. I was in a meeting with Shanna and she asked me what was happening with Kush Queen. The answer was nothing at the time because I was too busy surviving to pursue the full dream. She told me to go for it. To stop making excuses and put all my energy into my own vision. It was with her help we started to get on the shelves of dispensaries in California and our THC products are exclusively distributed and manufactured in California by her company SOL Distro. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She has been in this industry longer than most and has championed women owned brands. More than that, she’s supported me in a way that isn’t just talk. It’s tangible and it’s given our brand so much, especially during the period of new regulations where young small brands have struggled to survive.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Clever and innovative marketing strategies are a dime a dozen, but what’s not is the ability to be authentic. This is what I think makes Kush Queen stand out among the rest. Our brand authenticity and dedication to what’s right in the world is what resonates with consumers these days. For instance, it’s a common occurrence with large legacy companies to talk diversity and inclusion, but most actually do very little to back that with action. If you say you support equality then show us with more than just a one off marketing stunt. Employ diversely and support different communities with employment, funding, and representation. Millenials like myself are coming into power and we can sniff out the difference between those who do it because they have to and those who do it because it is our divine purpose.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

1. Every day is new and exciting

Being in an emerging industry is truly the most exciting part. Every day something new is being created or something is changing. This is what I love the most. It’s like being on the edge of your seat and you’ll never ever know what’s coming next. In a world where most people are doing the same thing everyday, it’s a true gift.

2. It’s changing faster than we could ever imagine

I worked at a dispensary in 2005 and always told people it would change quickly, but even I didn’t expect it to move this fast. Cannabis is a runaway train and it has not slowed down. I knew millennials were all pro cannabis, but did not expect the large number of boomers to jump on the train. They have helped us move this movement forward at a rapid rate.

3. Innovation

It’s rare we get an opportunity to innovate and change the world. Cannabis is a social justice issue, grassroots movement, and medicine all tied into one. To see the innovation that lies ahead from new products, delivery methods, and technology- the potential is endless. There are tons of undiscovered cannabinoids and the future is bright. Oh, and maybe a couple self-made cannabis billionaires will be born too.

Most concerning to me:

1. Monopolies

It seems like everyone is being acquired or merging in order to survive or get more capital. We need cannabis to be a fair and diverse industry. We don’t need to give this industry to the top 1%. We need the cannabis industry to be as diverse as the people who use cannabis. Companies big and small deserve a place.

2. The environment

Our generation cannot and will not tolerate one more industry ready to destroy the planet. We must do away with the wasteful packaging and immediately do whatever we can to save mother Earth. Climate change is absolutely real and a massive problem our generation is inheriting. We can and must do better. We must use our voices to stop the wasteful over-regulated packaging for a plant. Then we need to focus all on sustainable solutions on all sides of the industry.

3. Fake News and the spread of misinformation about cannabis

Cannabis is a plant and what we are talking about most of the time is science. I have seen a ton of misinformation being spread not just on the scientific side, but the legal side. We need journalists to do due diligence. We need education over everything right now. Consumers are confused everyday and crave real information. We only get one chance to legalize this plant the right way and that starts with education.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing

There’s a huge zeitgeist of what other people are doing in cannabis and CBD. People love to send me products similar to mine or competitive brands. Early on, I was very wrapped up in what people were doing. This is no way to thrive, when you are constantly worrying about who’s doing what. Let it go. Do you, for you. Don’t waste your time on other people. Every moment is time you could be spending on your brand or idea.

2. People over Profits

I really believe in people over profits. I have always paid people “ too much” per hour. I have always heard to put the profits over everything because it’s a business. But a business IS the people who work there. Our business is not just the people who make our products, but the people who use them. We always put them first. You may temporarily drive up your numbers by cutting wages, but in the long run you will lose. You may save a little if you choose a non-organic ingredient over organic, but is that what people really want?

3. Follow your intuition

Your gut is speaking to you, so listen. So many times I wish I had followed my instinct. It’s speaking to you for a reason. Why are humans trained to silence it? It’s that magic sauce that can carry you through a tough situation. It’s going to help you build a better culture inside your business. Listen to your intuition.

4. Bootstrap

I really wasn’t told to bootstrap by anyone. Everyone told me I would need seed funding and then to start rounds as soon as I could. Instead, I just bootstrapped it. Sure, it went without fancy launch parties and swag, but we created abundance from nothing. Soon you will see some super funded cannabis companies fail because they will only be able to raise so much. You can’t endlessly raise money. You can however grow an organic business and bootstrap. I believe in bootstrapping and that so many good lessons lie in working with less. Abundance is great, but in survival mode, magic can happen.

5. Transparency is everything

Transparency is the future of capitalism. As millenials come into power, they will demand authenticity and transparency. This is a unique and fickle generation who won’t give our hard earned dollars to non-transparent companies. From the ingredients in your products, to the inside of your culture, be transparent. We are now in the age of “call out culture” and “scandal culture,” if you keep secrets, someone will find them.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Take care of your people. My very first employee was my mother, so she taught me everything I know about taking care of my employees. She left her job at Target to work for me. I will never, ever forget the way I felt the day she quit her job for my dream. There was a lot of uncertainty, but I knew I would do anything to make it work. My employees are all an extended version of my family. On Fridays we all move the tables in the production room and do yoga together. We have a culture leader, who treats them when I can’t. We have pay equity at our company and full transparency. Their success is my success. They know every day that I take care of them and do whatever I can to make this place a sanctuary. Employees spend more time at their job than at home, so take care of your people and they will take care of you.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would love to inspire a movement to circumvent the government and tie capitalism directly to the people and causes that need it most. Cannabis has taught me of the pitfalls of the government. The truth is that it’s wildly inefficient and unfortunately serving a small few. Sure, some brands have tried to tie products to causes that matter, but I would love to see a conglomerate for good. If our products were actually benefiting people, animals, and our planet directly, a lot of the major problems we are experiencing would be solved.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Connect with us @kushqueenshop or my personal @thelivalexander

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Olivia Alexander of Kush Queen: “People over profits; I have always paid people too much per hour… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A CBD Business”, with Joy Smith and Fotis Georgiadis

You can’t jump over the hurdle if you don’t see it. We were very aware of the ‘gray area” that continues to exist in the CBD space. This is why we’re hopeful for FDA industry standards. But we weren’t anticipating how the misconceptions existed outside of the consumer base. One of our main social media platforms actually took down our account during the holiday season, along with some others, under the assumption we were selling “pharmaceutical prescription products.” We were rightfully reinstated, and received an apology, but it was a wake-up call to be aware of any potential roadblocks no matter how obscure they may seem.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joy Smith, the co-founder of the Fort Collins, CO-based Joy Organics, a family-owned and operated business created to help dramatically improve people’s health and quality of life. Their mission is to create the most pure, organically grown, and bioavailable full spectrum cannabinoid products on the market at an affordable price.

Can you share with us the story about what brought you to your career path?

It was CBD itself that sent me down this path. My son recommended I try it. I was reluctant at first but when I experienced the results for both my sleep and pain issues, I was an instant convert. Where my hurdle took place what finding a brand I knew I could trust given that this is still a largely unregulated industry. So it was clear to me that if I was having difficulties then others were as well. That was my motivation. To create the highest quality, most rigorously tested product possible and make those results available to help eliminate concerns.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting thing we’ve discovered since launching the company is that because the industry is so new, it’s like the wild west when it comes to good, solid information and best practices on everything from product design to retail environments to customer education. You don’t have that problem when you’re launching a restaurant. There’s a lot of institutional knowledge already out there that can serve as a guide for what may work and what may not work. So we had to make our own answers, answers to questions we were getting from consumers, and answers to questions we were getting from our white label customers.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This is a tale about the challenges of having a very fast growing company. We have a monthly cocktail hour for our employees at a bar in Fort Collins. My son is our Chief Marketing Officer and works out of Ohio. He was in town that day and came to our cocktail hour. He noticed a guy come up to the bar and our private event and order something to be put on our tab. This was a complete stranger. My son thought the guy was trying to scam us out of free drinks and was about ready to kick him out of our party, when he introduced himself as one of our newest hires! We had been adding so many new employees that if you were away from the office for a few days you never knew how many new faces would be there when you come back! It’s a small example, but a good reminder to always be mindful about how quickly you are growing.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We recently had our biggest sale of the year and were able to incorporate a give-back program into that promotion. We raised enough money to feed 640 kids in Northern Uganda breakfast and lunch for an entire year. I’m planning on going out there to visit and report back about the amazing changes we’ve been able to help make. What was particularly exciting was how our customers responded. It wasn’t just about the sale. It was also about helping children in need. Everybody wins.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

When we started our first store here in Fort Collins, CO I had very little experience in retail and had to learn everything at once. My daughter came up for the summer and became the store’s manager for a little while. I could not have gotten through that time without her. She now runs her own Joy Organics shop in Austin, and I couldn’t be more proud.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

We’ve found amazing success with affiliate and influencer marketing. The excitement about CBD is building and a lot of our partners feel they are a part of a movement to improve as many lives as possible. I think that’s part of what has made it so effective. And because CBD companies are currently prohibited from advertising on Facebook and Instagram, it’s a great way to build a following and social media presence.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

I’m excited about the seemingly unlimited potential for healing that we’ve found in CBD. This is coming from a plant that has been used medicinally for thousands of years and we’re really finding ways to maximize its benefits. I’m also excited about the unknowns, and how much room for research and discovery there is in this space, and I’m excited about how many people are able to start their first business and see so much growth and success. There is such an emergence of entrepreneurialism, especially with women in this industry, and I really love seeing that.

My three primary concerns is the lack of regulation, the lack of consistency in products, and honestly, I’m really worried that Big Pharma will swoop in, assert itself, and limit the access to clean and effective products.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) It’s not always about self-promotion

We worked extremely hard to create the type of products that would stand out in a crowded space for their effectiveness. But we quickly realized that just having a great product wasn’t enough when there were still so many misconceptions about what CBD is and what it does. So we’ve taken on the responsibility of educating the uninitiated on our website and have done so in a non-promotional way. Our focus is on fact and not belief. We’re obviously hopeful potential consumers choose our products but we’re just as interested in making sure the real information is out there so people can make informed decisions.

2) When you’re on the inside — remember to look outside

With online sales such a crucial part of our business, as it is with so many companies today, it’s very easy to just look at numbers and forget that there’s human beings behind them. People who have made the decision to give you their hard-earned money in exchange for a product. And in the CBD space that product is personal. It’s about wellness. What we’ve done, which has been invaluable, is to maintain a brick and mortar presence. We have three stores in three states which not only provide additional sales avenues but the opportunity to personally interact with consumers. Not only can we educate and become involved in a customer’s personal needs or goals, but we get instantaneous feedback on a host of issues. What’s working, what we may be able to improve and the overall climate of the industry from the consumer’s perspective. It’s an important relationship and the more we know the better positioned we are to provide.

3) You can’t jump over the hurdle if you don’t see it

We were very aware of the ‘gray area” that continues to exist in the CBD space. This is why we’re hopeful for FDA industry standards. But we weren’t anticipating how the misconceptions existed outside of the consumer base. One of our main social media platforms actually took down our account during the holiday season, along with some others, under the assumption we were selling “pharmaceutical prescription products.” We were rightfully reinstated, and received an apology, but it was a wake-up call to be aware of any potential roadblocks no matter how obscure they may seem.

4) You are your business

My life’s work, both with Joy Organics and prior to the company, has been focused on helping and empowering others. I’m not the kind of person who takes a “Look at Me” approach and always felt that I was secondary to the bigger picture. But now I see the value of attaching a name and face to the mission. It can be hard for some entrepreneurs to put themselves in the public eye as the face of their company. But it can provide dividends in the form of trust, confidence and a personal connection.

5) Don’t deviate from your personal values

When you’re starting your business and bringing people on board, or even just researching, there’s a good chance you’ll be promised the moon by those who have ulterior motives. If you just listen to the promises, which almost always revolve around money, you might not notice that, “The road to wealth is fraught with traps and pitfalls.” Those traps often have dishonesty or manipulation at their core. It’s very easy for some who envision success and wealth to deviate from their personal values and beliefs. All I can say is don’t do it. Not only is it a bad business decision, because it will invariably come back to bite you, but it’s a bad personal decision. Getting up in the morning and going to work with a clear conscience and sense of purpose is a far better choice than considering how you’ll have to get out of a self-created mess or rob Peter to pay Paul. Honesty and integrity in business is not naïve. It’s wise.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Do everything you can to make employees feel valued. We all work hard, and we’re all running so fast. So being intentional about making sure that our employees are getting everything they need is a must. One example for how we do that is by offering every employee a subscription for a monthly massage at a local spa here in Fort Collins.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Definitely something healing oriented. I’m passionate about facilitating the healing of bodies, of relationships, and of communities, and would love to continue to incorporate all of those passions into what I do, and certainly into any movement I would create.

Thank you so much for joining us!

“5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A CBD Business”, with Joy Smith and Fotis… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You will have to prove your professionalism” with Jessica Billingsley

You’ll get marked with a scarlet “C.” I can be called many things — a businesswoman, entrepreneur, mom, daughter, mentor. When I joined the industry, I was instantly tarred with the cannabis brush. People in my daily life make assumptions about my use of the cannabis, instantly assuming I’m a pothead. I have to prove my professionalism.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Billingsley. Jessica is an early investor in one of the first legal cannabis businesses in 2009, Jessica co-founded MJ Freeway to fill a need to track and manage inventory in what is now the fastest growing industry in the U.S. Billingsley created a new technology category with the launch of MJ Freeway’s first seed-to-sale software solution in 2010. Since then, seed-to-sale cannabis technology has grown to a multi-billion-dollar global business. MJ Freeway is a market-share leader serving clients in 11 countries with commercial and government technology products, as well as data and consulting services. MJ freeway has processed more than $10B in legal cannabis sales. Jessica is the first woman ever from the cannabis industry to receive the prestigious 2015 Fortune Most Promising Women Entrepreneur Award. Jessica was featured in Cannabis Now’s Eight Cannabis Entrepreneurs to Watch, included in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Annual List of 100 Brilliant Companies, and was listed in Inc. 5000’s list of fastest growing companies in America for three consecutive years. Billingsley’s respected reputation has won her a board member seat for six consecutive years on the National Cannabis Industry Association. Jessica is recognized nationally as an industry expert and has been a frequent guest speaker at many industry events. She has been interviewed and quoted in many local and national media outlets including CNN Money, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, WIRED, CNBC, and Forbes.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

There are two chief reasons why people dive into this industry. They are either passionate true believers of the efficacy of cannabis or adventure seekers, excited to claim new territory. I consider myself an adventure seeker, although I rapidly became a true believer as well. I was one of three women in my college computer science program. I later saw an opportunity and invested in one of the initial license holders here in Colorado which was the first state to license and regulate cannabis businesses. It was in that business venture where the linkage between my computer expertise and the adventure in the emerging cannabis market came together. The industry had a need to monitor, manage, and report effectively and accurately on this unique product. Seed to sale technology is the solution, and MJ Freeway was born in January 2010, inventing the category.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company

I find new frontiers and evolution of the industry to be most interesting, particularly when I can see the writing on the wall for the future before others are able to read it. In December, I shared my 2019 predictions for the cannabis industry, one of which focused on the importance of Latin America. My instincts were validated during my recent trip to Colombia. I stood at the edge of our client, Pharmacielo’s, large production facility in the mountains above Medellin and looked out on a sea of green. The beds and fields extended as far as the eye could see, being fed by natural and electrical lights — generated onsite — that enhance the flowering phase. The result is the highest quality, greenhouse cultivated marijuana being produced at 15% — 25% of what it costs to produce in a high-volume greenhouse facility in Colorado or California. While I was in Colombia, it was also announced that another of our clients, Clever Leaves, was approved to be the first Colombian company authorized to export cannabis into Canada. This is an area of unlimited growth on an international scale that produces a high quality product. That’s an interesting combination.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson did you learned from that?

Let’s set the scene — it’s my first investment event. There’s fifty people in the room, all of whom are men. I wore a professional businesswoman’s attire, complete with a skirt and three-inch heels. I approach the presentation stage… look around… and there’s no stairs. I had to swiftly navigate how to get on stage with some semblance of grace and professionalism. Now, I’m well aware the world is not designed for women, and I always consider the presentation environment, including if I’m seated or standing.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Innovating solutions that solve our clients’ problems better than anyone else is one of my key drivers, so delivering advanced tech infrastructure creates undeniable excitement. We recently released MJ Platform’s 2.0 — OG Kush release, which is a major release of our flagship product. There’s no other technology solution that’s fully compliant across the entire supply chain with the scale to keep up with the industry’s growth. So, I am incredibly proud to be creating a blue ocean in terms of innovation, especially when it directly provides effective solutions.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Parents wear a lot of hats, and mine were also my mentors. They led by example as owners of a successful, mid-size, contracting firm, so the entrepreneurial spirit is woven into our family. I had living models of what it takes to run a business, an example of the commitment and drive to be successful, as well as the associated required high level of risk tolerance. I also picked up amazing insights by osmosis and being in the car or living room during discussions. Now as a business owner, they continue to provide mentoring, especially from a people perspective.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

As in many things, the blessings are also the concerns. For the cannabis industry, my three areas are international expansion, consolidation, and accelerated growth. Creating an international marketplace has the potential to generate expansive opportunities. However, it is all dependent on how it evolves. How do we build in labor considerations to protect workers? How does America stay competitive if cannabis isn’t legalized on the Federal-level unlike our Canadian neighbors and other trail-blazing countries? In looking at consolidation, elevating to the enterprise level supports delivery of better products with stronger consistency, but do we lose the cottage industry and craft products in the process? How do we consolidate and protect our small farmers and innovators of the industry? Last, the accelerated growth rate is exhilarating. Nearly every day this March there was a piece of legislation that moved forward at either the state or Federal level. Each state passage is a step towards ending prohibition and expanding growth. However, we need to ensure our industry grows in a way that supports representation. We must ensure those marginalized most by the drug war can pursue opportunities in the market. The challenge is the market is growing so fast they are being excluded.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

My advice to other leaders is to invest in and solidify your culture upfront. The culture and values you define will serve as your foundation and will be the bedrock upon which every aspect of your business will be built. It gives you a place to guide your employees in times of growth and/or decision, and it is measured or tested when you provide a feedback loop. I would also offer that clear accountability and metrics are important to the employee relationship. None of us can feel comfortable and ready to achieve without knowing how the time and effort will be measured. I’ve found that checking in on metrics closer to real-time is a particular need for millennials, so I’ve looked hard to find a balance between the immediate need to help them succeed while also keeping a larger perspective on the radar.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I am fiercely committed to stopping the drop of talented women in tech. Right now, our female tech talent pool leaks like a sieve and requires immediate attention. We’ve seen the campaigns to get girls engaged in tech. However, more than half — 56 percent — of women who enter the industry drop out of the workforce midway into their careers. Right now, there’s a smaller percentage of women in tech than 25 years ago, and almost exclusively men design the technologies on which we spend our time. This Women’s History Month, I launched the One Woman Challenge to ignite the discussion of parity for women in tech and to generate career supportive actions for women in business. The ask is simple — commit to one supportive career act for one woman. While the campaign launched in March, the effort lives on, and we will continue to look for answers to keep our talented women engaged and thriving in their careers. We know parity contributes to innovation, productivity, and profitability, making this is a cross-gender issue which affects us all.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) You’re going to have problems with your bank accounts, credit cards and insurance even if you’re an ancillary company.

This was particularly true in the early days of cannabis. We had issues securing bank accounts, obtaining merchant processing, and getting insurance. All these industries are heavily tied with the Federal government, so there was an inherent conflict in having us as customers. Keep in mind this is not all past-tense. There was a recent wave of merchant accounts canceled for some hemp or CBD proprietors. The oddity there is hemp was legalized under the Farm Bill signed in December.

2) There will be challenges in raising capital.

From the beginning of MJ Freeway, we saw an encouraging environment for raising capital. There was positive early growth, and we assumed equity investment would follow suit. We learned through hard work that our assumptions were wrong, so we had to pivot to securing bridge loans while continuing to work on equity investment. While there’s constantly news of the investment community interest in cannabis, the pipeline is still more limited than it is for traditional businesses.

3) Buckle up! This industry is moving fast.

The industry’s growth rate is at Autobahn speed with states changing legislation, as well as regulations, with great frequency. You have to be prepared to move at this rapid pace and provide your team with human and financial resources to accelerate pace.

4) You’ll get marked with a scarlet “C.”

I can be called many things — a businesswoman, entrepreneur, mom, daughter, mentor. When I joined the industry, I was instantly tarred with the cannabis brush. People in my daily life make assumptions about my use of the cannabis, instantly assuming I’m a pothead. I have to prove my professionalism.

5) Politics will have a direct impact on your income.

My livelihood is now based on the rate of glacial government change. Never in my life did I imagine I would become a single issue voter, but that one vote can mean new opportunities or protected banking options. Now, I fervently and intently invest my time in the election cycles, particularly at the state and Federal levels in addition to donating my time as a board member of the National Cannabis Industry Association to lobby for change and fair treatment at the federal level

Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started: “You will have to prove your professionalism” with… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Never count an investor as “in” until the deal is closed. When you’re fundraising, particularly in the early round(s), it’s easy to talk to 15 investors and get 10 of them who say they like the story. Then you stop looking for new ones and focus on those 10, only to find out 9/10 never materialize — at that point you’ve lost all of your momentum and need to start building a new list from scratch, which can be a major setback.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Milton. Joel is the CEO and co-founder of Baker Technologies. He has been involved in a number of early-stage startups, as an employee, a partner, an advisor, and a founder. As CEO of Baker Technologies, he is responsible for driving the company’s technology side of the business, including strategy, business development, and M&A activity. Joel started his career in business development after graduating from Colgate University. Since then, he has been helping companies develop growth strategies, fundraise, and execute operational success.

Can you share with us the story of what first introduced you into this business or helped you get interested in the business?

Baker officially launched in 2014 in the middle of the on-demand economy boom and I was living in New York City at the time, where I was building applications and advising early stage startups. Colorado had just passed recreational marijuana use, but there were still a lot of POS problems.

An order-ahead weed app seemed like a good idea, so we — me and my two co-founders, David Champion (now CPO) and Roger Obando (CTO — initially pitched Baker as an idea to order ahead. We knew there would be a lot of issues specific to the industry, and we saw there were few entrepreneurs with technical backgrounds trying to tackle them. As a result, we built a minimum viable product and then quickly realized there was a far bigger market and opportunity out there.

We were accepted into the 500 Startups accelerator in Silicon Valley in 2015. In 2016, we raised the first half of its seed funding (around $1.6 million) and refocused from an online ordering app into a set of tools for dispensaries. Today, Baker is being used by one-third of legal dispensaries in the U.S. With Baker, dispensaries are generating an additional 15% of revenue per month, raising conversion rates by 12x, increasing the average order size by 40% and doubling the number of repeat customers.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

This industry is full of surprises. From randomly running into friends from college at industry events to hearing amazing stories of how some of our clients got into the industry there’s rarely a day that goes by that isn’t interesting. One funny story I like to tell is back in 2014 (before cannabis was nearly as mainstream as it was today) I was working on an airplane and the person next to me must have seen something about cannabis. They asked me what I did and I told them. Within minutes, my entire row, and the rows ahead and behind of me were all talking about cannabis — people ranging from their 20’s to their 70’s were talking about how they liked to consume, why they enjoyed it, etc. Back then people viewed cannabis use as more of a secret, but as soon as someone broke the ice everyone came rushing in to join the conversation.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Mistakes are rarely funny, though they often prove good learning experiences.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

At Baker, we recently announced a merger with three other top cannabis companies in the U.S. and Canada (Briteside, Sea Hunter and Santé Veritas) to form a vertically-integrated infrastructure and technology cannabis company, TILT Holdings. Our vision through TILT is to provide value throughout the entire supply chain, from assistance with operations and capital support, to improving cannabis yield and growth efficiency or building and increasing customer engagement. TILT is here to help cannabis businesses effectively scale.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Partnership marketing and thought leadership content. Earlier this year, Baker spearheaded the production of a thought-provoking short-film with eight other leading cannabis companies on the Future of Cannabis Retail. It was a collaborative grassroots campaign that we debuted at a the MJBizConNext show in New Orleans last May.

We wanted to create something that everyone in the industry could relate to whether you are a business owner or consumer. It was a visual representation of the progression of the industry and communicated the future of the industry is reliant on working together to set a new standard for the industry.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

1. Rapid growth and development.

2. Every year revenue exceeds projections and states are changing their laws faster than we could have imagined.

3. Passion. Everyone in this industry is so passionate about what they do.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

It’s extremely important to be mindful of your cap table in the early days. When the company isn’t worth a lot and you’re struggling to get off the ground it’s easy to convince yourself it’s worth 2 or 3% to a really good advisor or partner who can help you — but, you never get that equity back! If all goes according to plan, years later you will look at the cap table and regret that decision, especially if that advisor or partner didn’t end up being as helpful as you thought.

Secondly, never count an investor as “in” until the deal is closed. When you’re fundraising, particularly in the early round(s), it’s easy to talk to 15 investors and get 10 of them who say they like the story. Then you stop looking for new ones and focus on those 10, only to find out 9/10 never materialize — at that point you’ve lost all of your momentum and need to start building a new list from scratch, which can be a major setback.

Lastly, I’d say to be forward thinking and not be afraid of change. In established industries it’s easy to get comfortable. In cannabis, no one is comfortable since everything changes so quickly.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I can be found on LinkedIn here and Twitter, @joel_milton, but the best way to stay up-to-date with our company is to follow @Try_Baker on Twitter and @try_baker on Instagram.

Thank you so much for joining us!

“Never count an investor as ‘in’ until the deal is closed” with Joel Milton and Fotis Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“If your brand sells CBD oil, you should create a library of content centered around commonly searched CBD questions” with Marissa Ryan and Fotis Georgiadis

For Cannabis brands, there are intense limitations on what you can and cannot advertise, both online and offline. There are huge restrictions on billboard advertising, on social media advertising, on search engine ads (PPC), etc. etc. There is not a limitation, however, on creating your own content on your website, or sharing that content with your manually-built email lists. You can write about cannabis until the cows come home on your blog, as long as you aren’t harming anyone or using information unethically. You can also build email lists centered around sharing your content, the only restrictions being that you must have permission to send emails. Two of the main channels we encourage all of our Cannabis brands to utilize is SEO and Email Marketing.

For SEO, brands should try to produce lots of strong, well-written content like blog posts, industry updates, case studies, product descriptions/product reviews, location-specific articles, etc. If your brand sells CBD oil, you might create a library of content centered around commonly searched CBD questions, like “what is CBD oil made from?” “Can I use CBD oil to treat _______”, etc. While generalized content is a good place to start, try to go deeper to really set yourself apart from the noise. You might write a blog piece titled “Using CBD Oil to Treat Migraines”, another titled “Migraines + CBD, what you need to know”, and maybe another titled “Research Study Finds CBD Oil More Effective Than ______ at Treatment Migraines”.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Marissa Ryan, Co-Founder of VisualFizz, a creative digital marketing company located out of Chicago, IL. She leads the marketing team in helping brands differentiate themselves and stand out from other marketing noise on social media, search engine marketing (SEM) channels, SEO channels, and other media advertising channels.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of what first introduced you into this business or helped you get interested in the business?

I’ve been in the marketing game for about 10 years, and I came from a family that owns a small business. I was first introduced to the Cannabis industry when one of my close friends was diagnosed with epilepsy and began to seek treatment with cannabis. In terms of marketing for cannabis companies and brands, I have experience in running ad campaigns for industries that are restricted or have legislation surrounding them that prevents them from advertising using traditional methods. This experience lends itself well to the cannabis space, especially in states without recreational legalization at this time.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I’m not sure if this story is “interesting” to anyone but me, but it is kind of funny! I specialize in SEO, which means that I try to make the brands that I’ve worked/am working under visible in the marketing space. Once, a potential client reached out to me personally for a freelance bid of a project AND via my company, VisualFizz, website, after finding both online when searching on Google. I don’t think the marketing manager knew that it was me behind the scenes of both, but I took it as a compliment of my SEO abilities!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

During my earlier agency years, I worked for an awesome company that provided hotel marketing all over the country. One of my hotels was located in Orlando, Florida, very close to a Disney Park. I included “10 miles from Disney!” in one of my PPC ads that I managed, and was promptly served a very scary looking Cease and Desist from Disney that was addressed to me personally (not my company). This prompted me to learn as much as I could about what hotels and hospitality brands can and cannot say in their PPC ads. Because of this, I continued to learn about the restrictions and limitations on advertising for specific industries, which obviously lends itself well to the cannabis space. Every mistake is an opportunity to realign and not only fix the issue, but to learn the cause and prevent roadblocks in the future.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are! At VisualFizz, we’re working on helping a paving company continue to expand their locations across the country. During the expansion process, it’s vital to ensure that a brand remains strong and doesn’t become diluted or confused with so many moving parts. We’re super excited to guide this particular client through the process of growing and expanding their business while maintaining a strong, dependable brand appearance.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

For Cannabis brands, there are intense limitations on what you can and cannot advertise, both online and offline. There are huge restrictions on billboard advertising, on social media advertising, on search engine ads (PPC), etc. etc. There is not a limitation, however, on creating your own content on your website, or sharing that content with your manually-built email lists. You can write about cannabis until the cows come home on your blog, as long as you aren’t harming anyone or using information unethically. You can also build email lists centered around sharing your content, the only restrictions being that you must have permission to send emails. Two of the main channels we encourage all of our Cannabis brands to utilize is SEO and Email Marketing.

For SEO, brands should try to produce lots of strong, well-written content like blog posts, industry updates, case studies, product descriptions/product reviews, location-specific articles, etc. If your brand sells CBD oil, you might create a library of content centered around commonly searched CBD questions, like “what is CBD oil made from?” “Can I use CBD oil to treat _______”, etc. While generalized content is a good place to start, try to go deeper to really set yourself apart from the noise. You might write a blog piece titled “Using CBD Oil to Treat Migraines”, another titled “Migraines + CBD, what you need to know”, and maybe another titled “Research Study Finds CBD Oil More Effective Than ______ at Treatment Migraines”.

For Email Marketing campaigns, we recommend hosting and attending informative events, partnering with other well-known brands in the space (think the Merry Jane’s and High Times of the world), and attending conferences to build up your email lists. Sharing your content, products, and promotions to your email lists allows you to reach people when you are not allowed to advertise to them.

Can you share your top “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Cannabis Ancillary Company”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. The industry changes daily — stay up to date. Cannabis is a space that changes fast. Just as with digital marketing, it’s your responsibility to stay in the know and understand the intricacies of what’s going on.
2. You are still in the cannabis space — plan accordingly. Let’s not forget that this is cannabis. There are lots of mixed opinions, lots of people involved, and lots of political opinions that come into play. Play it safe, err on the side of caution, and protect your personal information.
3. You are still a business — act accordingly. Even though this is weed we’re talking about here, you need to maintain a poised, professional appearance. I’ve seen some brands try to relate to their audience by using harsh or mean jokes, imagery, memes, etc. You are still a business; you must maintain a positive, supportive, customer-focused mindset, always.
4. You may need to rethink your strategy (maybe more than once) — that’s ok. Anyone that has been in business for an extended period of time knows that pivoting is critical to survival. Especially in an ever-changing industry, always look for opportunities to shift or pivot. Something you might not have even thought about could save you in the long run.
5. Content is still king — create lots of it. Especially in the digital age, your content that exists about your brand is key. So brag about yourself and all the wonderful things you do! Talk about your products, create podcasts about your brand, show some local pride. Share this with your blog, your social channels, and your email lists.

Aside from your particular vertical, which other cannabis ancillary industries do you think have very strong potential in the next few years? Can you explain why?

Advertising 3rd parties — As with any industry, the more players there are in a space, the more each player needs to differentiate from the crowd. Cannabis brands need to think about their brand presence and marketing in such a competitive space, and it’s important that cannabis brands partner with marketing companies that know how to navigate the grey space of the industry.

Delivery Services — between food delivery, alcohol delivery, ubereats, and all of the other millions of delivery services, it only makes sense that there will be cannabis delivery services. Some governments actually prefer a delivery service versus an in-store purchase as it prevents use of fake identification and leaves the store owners liable.

Subscription Boxes — subscription boxes have decreased in popularity slightly in 2018, but they are still extremely common and audiences love them. Subscription boxes allow brands to include samples and new products to test out popularity, and there is almost always valuable User Generated Content created when people “unbox” their subscriptions.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

It’s important to show your team that you care about the ethical way of running a cannabis business. Most people that are in the space are there for reasons that are personal to them. Offer good benefits, give people time off and sick days, and something I learned early in my agency years is to ask them for advice and recommendations. More often than not, they are down in the metaphoric trenches and have a different perspective of the industry than you might. It’s a team effort, and sometimes, new ideas and new perspectives can make all the difference in successful campaigns. Empower your employees, make them feel excited about the industry and furthering their education, and take care of them in the long term.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Linkedin is the best way to reach me, and I love having discussions on my posts! Feel free to reachout. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissaryan1/

I’m also on twitter; marissaryan25

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

“If your brand sells CBD oil, you should create a library of content centered around commonly… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started a CBD Business: “Education is key.” with Brent Agin and Fotis Geogiadis

Education is key. This industry is expanding fast, but not without many uneducated people making it difficult. What I am observing is that the innovation and creativity is a bit more aggressive than the education. Those that are focusing on the best ways to educate will have the fastest way to market dominance.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Brent Agin, M.D., the founder and CEO of Trim ® Nutrition. Early in his career he co-authored Healthy Aging for Dummies (Wiley Publishing 2008) and Superfoods for Dummies (Wiley Publishing May 2009) while he was establishing himself as a respected wellness physician within the medical community. His commitment to excellence and genuine compassion for his patients is reflected throughout his medical practice in Clearwater Florida. After receiving both his undergraduate and his medical degree at Michigan State University he completed his internship and residency at the University of South Florida in 2002. Dr. Agin excelled as a Division-1 scholar-athlete at Michigan State University and was named Academic All Big-Ten Team while playing soccer for MSU. As a health and wellness visionary, Dr. Agin has been interviewed on numerous radio shows, featured in various magazines and is a regular speaker for nutritional seminars and workshops. With a resilient passion for sports and nutrition, he developed a tireless commitment to the research and development of products that promote a healthier way of living. This passion naturally evolved into the inception of Trim ® Nutrition where he developed a superior line of both oral and Injectable nutrient supplements. His proprietary blends have been utilized in support of diagnostic weight loss, disease prevention and treatment, drug detox, anti-aging, and sports performance enhancement. Under Dr. Agin’s guidance, Trim Nutrition was selected as #706 of the Inc 5000 fastest growing privately held companies and #55 of top 100 health companies in 2012. Trim Nutrition has also recently expanded product development to target retail markets. Trim has established itself as a premium brand with customer loyalty and an extensive network across the country and abroad. With the health and wellness industry expected to show impressive growth over the next 5–10 years, Dr. Agin will continue to expand Trim into both the retail and medical health markets. Dr. Agin co-created the multifunctional Carb Revolution™ Program to act as a dietary guide for those looking to maximize energy, lose weight, improve performance, or aid in the treatment and prevention of several diseases. Carb Revolution uses intermittent fasting, low-level ketosis, carb cycling and exercise to provide a sustainable lifestyle approach to eating and exercise.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I got into medicine I immediately got “outside the box” of traditional medicine and focused on how I could help people look and feel the best they can. Traditional medicine has a focus on treating people when they are sick, while non-traditional doctors look at ways to not only treat disease but prevent it along with other medical therapies to improve vigor and vitality.

Traditional medicine uses mostly prescription pharmaceuticals for their treatments. Non-traditional doctors are able to use a wide range of supplements, dietary strategies and lifestyle as a large part of their therapies.

CBD is a natural fit for doctors with this approach to medicine. We use many herbs, vitamins and other natural occurring products with health benefits in place of pharmaceuticals to reduce chances of unintended side effects and drug interactions. CBD is a natural occurring chemical that has several established health benefits and a welcomed addition to our supplement line.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

My company has a focus on providing wellness products and services to those with wellness needs. It has been very interesting watching the way medicine has changed over the last 15 years. When I first started my company, a large percent of doctors and the general population were skeptical about us focusing on this niche they call functional, wellness, integrative or natural medicine.

Doctors did not agree with our approach nor did they believe that it was legitimate medicine. I went through years of criticism and questioning while building the business. We stuck to our principals and pushed onward. What is interesting is the shift in attitude that has occurred over the years with a huge interest in more natural therapies. Many doctors now believe in the power of these alternative therapies and are looking for ways to quickly change their practice models to include them.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was trying to do too much early in my career. In the beginning I was developing many products that worked great with our clients so I kept looking to what I could do next. When deciding on what products to make I always consider making products I will use myself. One product that popped into my head was to make my own protein bar. This is a tough and crowded space in the nutritional supplement market.

I went ahead and worked on a couple flavors of protein bars that took me almost a year to finally reach a recipe I liked. We went ahead with production and had our 50,000 bars packaged and delivered. We really worked hard to market these healthy bars and get them into consumer’s hands, but we quickly found that we had a lot of bars and were not selling them fast enough.

This is was not easy and we ended up having to give 11,000 bars to our local homeless shelter. This did not happen once but twice then I finally gave up on the protein bar industry. It ended up working out because we were able to help out many people that really could use healthy meal replacements, but learned right away that you cannot just makes something, put a label on it and it will sell…it is very hard work.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

As a doctor I am watching the alarming rise of mental illness and realize that finding more natural ways to treat it has to become a priority. Our company is working on an exciting project that targets mental health with a big part of that targeting our military and first responders that deal with high stress and increased diagnosis of mental illness. By using various medical therapies, lifestyle modifications and nutritional supplements we are seeing exciting results.

With consumers finally becoming educated on CBD and its health benefit along with how it is different from regular medical cannabis that contains THC, we have the opportunity to create really innovative and effective CBD based products. One of the promising benefits of CBD has been its effect on sleep, anxiety and depression. This is becoming a powerful component for us as we look to help improve mental health with the use of less medications that can have several unwanted side effects.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Success in business is rarely achieved alone. There have been so many important people that have helped me along the way. Much of my team has been with me for 10 or more years and have supported my mission, which has allowed me to explore and grow. Our growth is like many other great companies starting with little money, a couple of hard workers and hope. Looking back there are so many great stories surrounding our success and failures it is hard to pick one. It is true that you can achieve strength in numbers when you find the right team and it is so much more fun finding success with others.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Education is key. This industry is expanding fast, but not without many uneducated people making it difficult. What I am observing is that the innovation and creativity is a bit more aggressive than the education. Those that are focusing on the best ways to educate will have the fastest way to market dominance.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excitement

1. Health benefits that are clearly documented and clinically supported.

2. Cost effective options for those without insurance

3. Ongoing research

Concern

1. Lack of education

2. Lack of control on certain cannabis products — edibles

3. Greed

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Timing

I am glad that we have our foot in the door, but I saw the writing on the wall many years ago and wish we would have started our research and development earlier.

2. Education — Widespread lack of education on the industry even with the power of the internet and social media.

Everyone from my mother to current patients thinking that we are pushing marijuana at people by us supporting and offering non-THC based CBD products.

3. Regulations

When looking to expand our CBD based products, we are finding different interpretations of the laws both federally and state wide. There can be stiff penalties if you do not understand the laws, but the laws are changing so fast. We have been working months on regulatory issues with some of the companies we intend on working with slowing our progress.

4. Money

There is so much money being thrown into the industry that it can be hard for some smaller companies with good products to find success. Companies with deep pockets can advertise and market the small guys right out of the industry…similar to my protein bar experience

5. Greed

With every thriving industry comes greed. I can already see the signs of people trying to take short cuts and succeeding by finding cracks being formed from the speed of growth and confusion of regulations. False claims and poor manufacturing could really impact the industry and credibility.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Make sure your company mission is supported by the team. This industry should excite companies and employees as it is an opportunity to help people live better. We are at the infancy of the fastest growing industry so companies that are serious need to cultivate the right attitude to support potential fast growth. Pick the right people from the start that are educated on the business and ready to work hard.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

We are in a critical point in our society’s health. Disease is on the rise in all areas of health. Mental illness, including substance abuse are at epidemic numbers. My mission is to get people to feel the best they can mentally and physically. To achieve this, we need less medicine and more discipline and focus on healthy lifestyles. If society as a whole would just work on improving sleep, diet and exercise we could take a major chunk out of disease. For consumers, this should be their focus because for the most part lifestyle is free! Medicine is too focused on waiting until people are sick and prescribing too many medications rather than preventing disease through healthy living. Seems logical but yet we keep getting sicker.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I am off the grid! I have never found the time to keep up with social media so never got started. Readers can reach me through our company’s social media or email.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “Education is key.” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “If our customers are successful, we’re successful.” with Kyle Sherman and Fotis Georgiadis

There is no silver bullet and there are no shortcuts. My strategy is to develop strong relationships. A huge part of our success came from going directly to the customer and actually listening to what they had to say. It’s not a clever tag line that closes deals. Instead, we meet customers where they are at and shape our software platform to solve their everyday problems. We take customer feedback and our relationships very seriously. That’s what works. If our customers are successful, we’re successful.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kyle Sherman. Kyle is the Founder and CEO of Flowhub. A legalization advocate and entrepreneur, Kyle continually defines the company vision, strategy, and growth as Flowhub innovates the way cannabis retailers manage complex compliance mandates, supply chain data, sales transactions, and reporting. Kyle brings extensive cannabis industry experience to Flowhub, with previous experience working with notable brands such as Dixie Elixirs, Weedmaps, and Neos Vape Pens as a Chief Compliance Officer. Kyle has been named a Top 100 Cannabis Leader by Entrepreneur Magazine, 30 AND UNDER by Business Insider, and is an Associate Producer for the documentary “Weed the People” which aims to educate mainstream audiences about medical cannabis as a human rights issue. In 2014, Kyle lobbied the Colorado Department of Revenue to build the Metrc API, which is now the standard used for cannabis tracking in 11 markets. Kyle also serves as a Founding Director and Treasurer on the Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF) board, an organization focused on building an inclusive industry and passing the STATES Act.

Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was living in Los Angeles when a doctor recommended medical marijuana to help me sleep. I was amazed at how well it worked. I had no drowsiness in the morning, enjoyed a better quality of sleep, and had less anxiety. When I heard that Colorado would be legalizing adult-use cannabis, I immediately moved there because I saw the future of regulated cannabis. Through a variety of cannabis jobs, I ended up working as a compliance officer and got really interested in the state’s track and trace system, Metrc.

At this point, I knew I wanted to start my own cannabis software company that would solve the frustrations I experienced firsthand and create that bridge between the dispensary and the government’s system. It’s hard to believe that just five years ago in 2014, all compliance data points were manually tracked. I founded the company in 2015, raised a seed round in March and then launched Flowhub in 2016. Today, we’re helping hundreds of dispensaries across the United States simplify compliance and improve business performance.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Metrc is the system the government uses for enforcement and compliance of cannabis laws. I’m very proud that I lobbied for opening the Metrc API (application programming interface) so that third party applications like Flowhub could push data directly and save hours on manual data entry. Opening up the first software integration to Metrc has made it easier for dispensaries to remain compliant with government rules and regulations that seem to be constantly changing.

It took a lot of patience, but I learned so much about the government, the way it works, and how you can really make change happen. I’m now involved federally with Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF) as a founding board member and Treasurer driving forward legislation with the STATES Act. This important bill will allow each state to create their own policy on cannabis, and would address the industry’s banking and tax issues. Politicians on both sides finally are looking at us as a responsible and professional industry. It’s rewarding to participate in this movement.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I wouldn’t characterize it as a mistake, but it was funny. Apparently, it got out that employees in the early days at Flowhub would consume cannabis for brainstorming sessions or even just personal use. The comedian Jimmy Kimmel got wind of it and talked about Flowhub in his opening monologue. Listen, we’re on the same page as the industry’s customer base, and if Jimmy Kimmy wants to have a little fun with us, we are totally okay with that.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We sit on a tremendous amount of transactional data that tells the story about the acceleration of the cannabis market, new demographics, and consumer behavior. In both the medical and adult-use space, we’re seeing cannabis beginning to align with other conventional norms. In the same way that regular retailers learn from shoppers, so do dispensaries. They are learning that chocolate edibles sell well for Valentine’s Day and that Superbowl party planning involves a trip to your local dispensary (in addition to chips and guac). They know now to stock up on goods and staff up for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, now known as Green Wednesday because it has become one of the biggest shopping days for dispensaries. They know cannabis products are being used for a variety of wellness applications as viable alternatives to over-the-counter pain treatment and alcohol consumption.

We have a front row seat as consumers make decisions on what products to buy and have years of historical data demonstrating significant trends and changes in the market. We play a large role as an informer to our clients and will be able to help new entrants into the market as they choose which products to manufacture or decide where to open their next store. Our data also helps multi-state operators save time, money, and make more informed decisions as they expand their footprints into more states.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are three I would mention. First, Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management. She invested in my company when it was still just an idea. She is a Flowhub board member and someone I’m grateful to have on the team. Over the last four years it has been really hard to raise money in this space. She was an early venture capitalist specifically focused on cannabis and someone who’s provided invaluable mentorship.

Second, my parents. I was lucky to have very open-minded parents who raised me to think big. I was homeschooled for five years and during that time we traveled and explored extensively, which gave me a hands-on education. My parents were a huge part of giving me the ability to think outside the box. I’m grateful for that.

Last but not least is my co-pilot and wife Lindsey. She was there with me when we first moved to Denver. Lindsey was a huge part of why we were able to do this. She was eight months pregnant when we moved to Colorado without a plan, and, amazingly, she was happy to support this journey. As a sign we made the right decision, my daughter’s due date was 4/20. Now, with three kids underfoot, she is an incredible mom by keeping the homefront going strong. And it should be mentioned that she was also a huge part of our early (and continued) success. She drove around Colorado with me, meeting dispensary owners and closing those first deals, and last year, she joined me on a California dispensary tour where we lived in a van for weeks and visited over 50 shops. She’s a superhero.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

There is no silver bullet and there are no shortcuts. My strategy is to develop strong relationships. A huge part of our success came from going directly to the customer and actually listening to what they had to say. It’s not a clever tag line that closes deals. Instead, we meet customers where they are at and shape our software platform to solve their everyday problems. We take customer feedback and our relationships very seriously. That’s what works. If our customers are successful, we’re successful.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that excite me:

1. More patients are getting access to these products. I read with shock the other day about a pancreatic cancer patient in bed who was being searched by police officers for cannabis. He was taking it for nausea because he didn’t want to take opioids. Helping people is what gets me excited to go to work.
2. The explosion of technology and products throughout the supply chain. Innovation is happening rapidly from manufacturing to software to consumption methods and beyond. Something new emerges every day.
3. Participation and diversity of this space, especially women. We have a unique opportunity to be super inclusive in this industry. The best ideas are born of a diverse team. While cannabis is more inclusive compared to other industries with 27% female executive representation, we still have a way to go before parity.

Three things that concern me:

1. The illicit market continues to operate and in some cases thrive in states where legalization has allowed over supply to occur.
2. There are bad actors out there spreading misinformation about cannabis. That is problematic.
3. Banking solutions for our customers continue to be a big problem, and I wish we were moving faster to resolve it. The industry is moving faster than the policy making these days.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. You may work in cannabis, but at the end of the day, it’s still business. Flowhub was lucky to be in the industry early, but we remain a tech company at our core when all is said and done.
2. The business changes rapidly, but policy changes slowly. Companies are paying millions in taxes and still having a hard time getting a bank account.
3. Focus on one thing. There is so much to do that we often jump from one shiny object to the next. Focus your energies.
4. Be nimble and flexible. We learned to build our products to be agile and adaptable. Change is always coming down the road.
5. Solve one problem at a time. Early on we tried to solve all the problems with little resources. If I could go back, I’d focus on solving one thing at a time. When you try to “do it all,” you get distracted.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Check your ego at the door and hire amazing people. Hire the best people, even at the intern level, and listen to them. The best ideas may come from an intern or a senior executive. Our job as leaders is to build frameworks to get the best ideas to the surface and then drive the team to execute. Ideas are easy, execution is everything.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

The movement to bring safe cannabis to consumers. Drug dealers don’t check IDs, but we do (in a manner of speaking). We make sure consumers know where their cannabis comes from and they no longer have to resort to a mystery bag with who-knows-what inside it.

Thank you for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “If our customers are… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jane Technologies CEO Socrates Rosenfeld: “Everyone should do the things that help them get back in touch with their true nature, so we can begin to reconnect with those around us. You first need to find peace within yourself before you can spread it to others.”

Cannabis helped me to connect with myself again. I’m not saying that everyone should use cannabis, but I am saying everyone should do the things that help them get back in touch with their true nature, so we can begin to reconnect with those around us. You first need to find peace within yourself before you can spread it to others.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Socrates Rosenfeld, CEO of Jane Technologies, Inc., one of the cannabis industry’s fastest growing e-commerce companies.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of what first introduced you into this business or helped you get interested in the business?

A: I was first introduced to cannabis after I left the Army. Like millions of other veterans, I found the transition from soldier to civilian to be more challenging than expected. I found it difficult to bring down my intensity levels, and at the age of 29, I consumed cannabis for the first time. Cannabis brought me the sense of presence to find balance and to reconnect with my own self again.

At the time I was attending graduate school at MIT, cannabis was not yet legal in the state of Massachusetts — even for medical purposes. Knowing for myself the benefits of this plant, I believed strongly that technology could be the bridge that connected the people in need to the people cultivating, producing, and selling quality products.

Within a year of graduating, I had dreamt up what that software would look like. My brother (who is also an MIT alum) just so happened to know exactly how to execute that dream and iheartjane.com was born.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

A: MIT taught a class on our company, which was a very special moment for us. My classmates at MIT became my teammates at Jane. The very professors we looked to for guidance and insight were now using our model and our experience to teach their students. It was surreal.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

A: I make mistakes everyday — some more funny than others. I consider them iterations. Mistakes allow our company to learn, get better, and grow by making small constant adjustments. The secret is not to make the same mistake twice.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

A: In the last year we have experienced rapid growth and expansion, working with nearly 500 dispensary partners across 19 states and US territories.

We also recently partnered with CanPay, the largest legitimate payment solution for the cannabis industry to launch the industry’s first integrated online menu and ordering platform with payments for cannabis dispensaries across the country. This marks the first time that electronic payments have been available to cannabis patients and consumers for their online orders.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

A: I’m grateful for my team. Every single team member at Jane has a personal experience that spurred their desire to move this industry forward. They are fully committed to building powerful technology that can help people find the products that have such a positive impact on their wellness and overall well-being. My team truly appreciates this, and it is directly reflected in the products we build and provide to the cannabis industry.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

A: Yes. Build a great product first. Worry about the marketing second.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

A: The future of e-commerce excites me. Consumers are realizing that they can be provided the same level of convenience and curation as they would experience on Amazon, except that all the products they’re shopping for aren’t in a warehouse thousands of miles away — but actually sitting on a store shelf at a small local business retailer. We’re making this a reality for cannabis consumers, just like other companies are providing for consumers in other industries like restaurants, fashion, and cars.

All the innovation around product development is also very exciting. We have nearly 90,000 distinct cannabis items on our marketplace — from breath mints, to doggy treats, to CBD honey sticks — and it’s wonderful to watch consumers find exactly what they’re looking for.

My concerns for the industry have to do with intention. From top to bottom the intention matters. From lawmakers, to cultivators, to vendors, to ancillary businesses. The intention must be to bring safe and simple access to those who can benefit from the plant, then all the taxes and all the profits are an added bonus (rather than the driving force).

Can you share your top “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Cannabis Ancillary Company”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Love what you do: You can only master that which you are passionate about.
2. Be honest: Your reputation is everything.
3. Solve the hard problem: That’s where the value is.
4. Take care of the customer: Everything else will take care of itself.
5. It’s more than money: Create value first. Capture value second.

Aside from your particular vertical, which other cannabis ancillary industries do you think have very strong potential in the next few years? Can you explain why?

A: This industry is built on brick and mortar retailers who serve their local communities. The importance of developing relationships with their local consumer base is paramount for dispensaries, and I can see how loyalty and text messaging platforms will continue to be a critical piece.

As we move forward, the ability to understand the cannabis consumer will rapidly become the most important element. Consumer insights and other data analytics will play a large role in shaping what the future of this industry will look like.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

A: Invest in your people. We grow our business by fostering the growth of our employees. You can replicate products, but not people.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

A: Cannabis helped me to connect with myself again. I’m not saying that everyone should use cannabis, but I am saying everyone should do the things that help them get back in touch with their true nature, so we can begin to reconnect with those around us. You first need to find peace within yourself before you can spread it to others.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

https://www.instagram.com/_iheartjane/

https://www.facebook.com/iheartjanecom/

https://twitter.com/socheartsjane?lang=en

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Jane Technologies CEO Socrates Rosenfeld: “Everyone should do the things that help them get back… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“The best thing any CEO or founder can do to support their employees is to establish a mission and communicate a vision that engages everyone” With Tim Moxey & Fotis Georgiadis

The best thing any CEO or founder can do to support their employees is to establish a mission and communicate a vision that engages everyone. This industry is being driven by the people on the ground, the people making our products, getting it packaged, and driving it out to shops. They need to recognize that they are out on the cutting edge of a brand new industry and I do everything I can to make sure we remind every employee we have of this as often as possible.

I had the pleasure to interview Tim Moxey. Tim was living in the UK when he read an article in ‘The Economist’ about Washington State’s move to legalize cannabis. He became convinced that the socioeconomic benefits from a legal framework far outweighed the prohibition model and he promptly relocated to the U.S. to play take part in the seachange. In 2014, he and a fellow classmate from Tuck founded botanicaGLOBAL, a brand driven cannabis products company that would challenge perceptions of how cannabis and hemp could help consumers live a healthier, happier, and better life. Today the botanica brands are the most distributed in the United States and the company is continuing to grow as the market expands. Prior to botanica Tim founded nuun, a pioneering hydration company which spawned a new category in sports nutrition, and he built the specialist triathlon wetsuit company blueseventy. He began his career at the investment bank, Barclays Capital, before moving to strategic management consulting firm, Bain & Co. He holds an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

The moment the light bulb really went off for me was while reading an article in The Economist on marijuana legalisation and the current state of prohibition. In this moment of legalisation, we have the opportunity to bring cannabis out of the shadows and allow people to include it in their life in a helpful and well informed way. I realized that the only way the wide scale legalisation of cannabis would succeed would be if a well regulated market was successful in getting people what they wanted. With the experience of starting my first two companies, nuun and blueseventy, I could learn from those experiences and help lead the way in cannabis.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Something I was reflecting on the other day was how CBD has recently come to dominate the cannabis space on the national stage and how there is a mad rush now to get CBD products to consumers, both in existing and new brands. We were the first cannabis edibles company in Washington to look into CBD and start dosing our products with a blend of THC and CBD. Back then, some people on our team and some others out in the industry had some pretty compelling arguments for why we should source that part of the cannabis plant that wasn’t at the forefront of demand at the time but that clearly helped create a very different experience. Now, almost five years later, CBD has exploded onto the scene and we are now in a perfect position to help educate people on what we have learned in the years since we started integrating CBD into our products. We managed to pick up on a trend outside the norm at the time and now it will redefine this next stage of cannabis acceptance.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It was during our first year up and running in Seattle, I plugging away at writing our mission statement when I heard that there were some issues that our packaging team was dealing with. I really try to approach every problem by learning everything I can and then jumping in to solve it. So I grabbed a hairnet, ran out to the production floor and start packaging brownies with the crew. After packaging more brownies than I could count and a fair amount of frustration, I realized that in a fraction of the time I spent wrestling those brownies, I could have raised the issue with our production leadership and finished the mission statement, which would be much more impactful to the team than having me wrap brownies. But I am sure it gave the team a good laugh to see me wrestling with those brownies and it was a good learning moment to delegate the little things.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are always really excited about getting to dream up new products and sometimes we struggle to pick ones to focus on because we have an amazing team of people thinking this stuff up. One big project that has all of us really excited right now is getting our brands to lead the way in providing consumers with a trusted CBD product as people start to learn more about CBD and its accessibility. We are a cannabis company at our core and we have always worked with all components of the plant, so it is a top priority for us to engage people and help guide them as they explore all elements of cannabis, even if it’s a CBD only product.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I am truly grateful to my co-founder and co-CEO, Chris Abbott. He took a chance when we first came up with this idea to start a cannabis company and ever since we have worked very hard to balance each other out. Honestly, in this industry, with our goals and aspirations, I don’t think any single person could do what we have set out to do. We really want to re-imagine how people interact with cannabis in their daily lives and that is a vision that both Chris and I keep close everyday. I cannot count the number of times he has helped remind me of what we set out to do when the challenges seem a little harder than they do in a normal day.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

For our brands with THC products, we are really limited in how we can market them given the regulations state by state. Honestly, we recognize that our best bet to win over customers is to draw them in with a compelling story and brand, then win them over with the best product and experience they have ever had with an edible. We are very sensitive to the needs and feedback of our customers and I think that sort of approach would go a long way with larger legacy companies that might focus more on marketing and brand than the quality of their products.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excited

• One thing that is really exciting is the demand for quality products and brands in this brand new industry. It seems like a new brand or product launches just about every hour, but you quickly see which are going to stand the test of time and which will be forgotten in about a month or so. Our consumers are always looking for new products so we need to win them over and then keep them coming back.
• We are really excited to continue to see research into the health and wellness benefits of cannabis in all its forms. Even anecdotally, we hear from people on a daily basis that have found a way to use our products to provide some comfort or aid in their lives.
• I might be a little biased on this because we are primarily involved in edibles, but edibles and drinkables really are the most exciting segment of this industry. The opportunities are limitless and the demand to innovate is endless. We get to provide access to cannabis for people that would love something to eat or drink but might not be into smoking or vaping it.

Concerns

• There are a lot of barrier to cannabis research and, subsequently, barriers to educating both people inside the industry and consumers. We really hope that research opportunities continue to develop both at the state and federal level. No one wants research on cannabis more than people growing it and making products from it, it is in everyone’s interest to learn more about this amazing plant.
• One thing we have run into in a few of the states where our brands are available, is that even though cannabis has been legalized, the people in the industry are still viewed with prohibition biases. We understand it will take time to shift opinions, but if cannabis is legalized, then we should treat it and the people that work around it in a legal framework and not treated as an offshoot of the illicit market.
• Seeing opinions on cannabis change around the country and around the world is really promising and we have no reason to believe that it will slow down. But we hope that with legalization and acceptance comes concrete efforts to repair the damage done by the war on drugs. That work should be as important as the medical and recreational legalisation of cannabis.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

• Get good people on your team! As we have grown, having a core group of people in place who are dedicated to our mission and can provide a wide range of experiences to draw on has been key to moving us forward. We try very hard to bring in people to balance out our team and knowledge to create a really dynamic working environment.
• Always continue iterating. Some of our best products or brands are the result of constant iteration. Mr. Moxey’s Mints were the first cannabis mints to market and the first mint looked and tasted almost nothing like the current mint because we have iterated, iterated, iterated to get to a product that we are incredibly proud of and that has resonated with people around the country.
• Embrace the unknown. This industry changes on an almost hourly basis. You have to be prepared to venture into the unknown and be comfortable with not always knowing how things will turn out. That uncertainty can be stressful to some, myself included, but there is also some value in it. There are so many unknowns still as we find our way and, although that is a source of stress for many of us, we also understand it can help push us to open up doors we otherwise considered closed.
• Make sure you have a good time. It is really important to keep the fun and exciting things close. Some days really can be a beat down but I always center myself by remembering what we are working towards and the chance that I have been given to pursue this work with an amazing team of people. Even on the hard days, creating these brands, making these edibles, it is a lot of fun and I continue to enjoy the ride.
• Never lose sight of your mission. We started this business to try to change minds on cannabis and create brands and products that would connect people to cannabis in a way that had not been done before. That mission has a very real set of consequences in this country and around the world, so we always make decisions on how we can best continue to thrive in a regulated marketplace and push ourselves and those around us to succeed.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

The best thing any CEO or founder can do to support their employees is to establish a mission and communicate a vision that engages everyone. This industry is being driven by the people on the ground, the people making our products, getting it packaged, and driving it out to shops. They need to recognize that they are out on the cutting edge of a brand new industry and I do everything I can to make sure we remind every employee we have of this as often as possible.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I hope that I could inspire more people to reconsider how we all view cannabis. We essentially have a plant that has the capacity to help people in a meaningful way or provide an experience to people, and its use has been stigmatized over the last century in a way that has caused irreparable harm to real people. I really hope we can continue to learn and educate anyone who will listen on why it is time for a new approach and what cannabis can do for them.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

They can follow me on instagram (mr_moxeys_mints) where I try to capture a small slice of what it is like to run a cannabis business. It’s a bit bizarre to have my name out there on the brand like that, but my instagram page is much more focused on the journey and my opinions on cannabis than anything else. And I have found that it really resonates with people to put a name and a face to a brand, they see what we are doing and want to experience it right alongside us.

“The best thing any CEO or founder can do to support their employees is to establish a mission and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies.” with Ed Schmults and Fotis Georgiadis

In my opinion, being a large legacy company in the cannabis industry is a disadvantage. If you are a large company, it is challenging to build a brand in a new industry due to entrenched ways of thinking, legacy investments and processes, and firmly held customer perceptions about large company brands. Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies. It’s part of the reason large tech companies buy smaller business, why large consumer products companies buy the hot new company and why large legacy food businesses buy smaller start-ups.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ed Schmults, CEO of Calyx Peak Companies (www.calyxpeak.com). Ed Schmults has over 30 years of experience in global branded consumer products, omni-channel retail, product development, finance, operations, IT and green and socially responsible businesses. He has leadership experience at some of the world’s best-known consumer brands, including Patagonia (COO) and FAO Schwarz (CEO), where product quality and customer experience drive the brands’ success. In addition, Ed has strong operational experience having set up and improved warehouse, logistics and technology infrastructure at five different companies. Ed began his career in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Company. He spent three years in the New York and London offices working in corporate finance and M&A. Ed holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Yale University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us Ed! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

You could say my background before cannabis was traditional in nature — after getting my undergraduate degree in economics and political science from Yale, I got a job on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs, followed by business school at Harvard, and eventually landed executive posts as COO at Patagonia and CEO at FAO Schwarz. I never imagined that a role in cannabis would be in my future, but I couldn’t deny that I was drawn to the passion and innovation of this industry. Ultimately, I decided to make the jump into cannabis for the following reasons:

· Legalization at the state level was accelerating due to broad social acceptance

· Belief in the benefits of cannabis for medicinal and wellness purposes. I was stunned to find out how many people I knew were already using it.

· Social justice — there’s an opportunity for the industry to help those with a criminal record for possession of cannabis.

· Opportunity to help build a great brand in a new $50 billion industry and move customers from an unregulated black market to a market that is tested and taxed at a local level.

Today, my work with Calyx Peak Companies, a multi-state operator with over 280,000 square feet of cultivation, extraction and distribution facilities across multiple states, is helping bring these values to life. Our passion lies in bolstering entrepreneurs and businesses leading the legal cannabis revolution, like our house brand, Josh D Farms, a highly respected grower that offers consumers a direct and specialized link to one of the most popular cannabis varietals ever, OG Kush. You can’t deny this is an incredibly exciting time for the legal cannabis industry, and we’re lucky to have the support of forward-thinking investors that share our beliefs and values.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting thing for me has been the discovery that a huge number of people are already using cannabis and CBD products to help with anxiety, sleep, inflammation and any number of everyday conditions. I have really been astounded at how many people, upon finding out that I run a cannabis company, confide that they are users of the product. The market is huge and people are benefitting from cannabis every day.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I can’t really think of a funny one! Made plenty of mistakes, but nothing particularly funny.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Currently, Calyx Peak is expanding our presence across multiple states, build out our brands, and grow our business in California. We’ve been successful in growing our business through new license acquisition — both in states where we already operate and in new states. For example, one of our executives is part of a team that was recently awarded a provisional license to operate a dispensary in Santa Monica, CA. Through our Level 1 cultivation facility in Ohio, we have also obtained a processing license to go with our Tier 1 cultivation license, and recently conducted Akron’s first medical marijuana harvest earlier this year.

We’re also focused on hiring people who are smart and have the initiative and cultural fit to be successful at Calyx Peak. We recently appointed John Chiang, former California State Treasurer, and Dave Jones, former California Insurance Commissioner, to our board of advisors. Chiang’s banking background and Jones’ insurance expertise is going to be crucial for us as we look to expand in California and our other operating locales. We also just appointed Michelle Magallon, former GM of Bud and Bloom, as our Vice President of Sales.

Lastly, we’re ramping up on our branding, packaging and product development work, in addition to exploring opportunities to expand our retail footprint in the months ahead.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My Uncle Brad gave me my first summer job when I was 13 — I mowed the lawn and did odd jobs at the inn he ran with my aunt. On my first day, he took me aside and told me that because I was his nephew, the other employees would assume I got the job because I was part of the family. He asked me get to work early, work harder than everyone else and always ask “what else can I do” at the end of a task so that it would be clear to the rest of his employees that I deserved the job. This advice really resonated with me and has become the building block of how I approach leadership, business, and life.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

In my opinion, being a large legacy company in the cannabis industry is a disadvantage. If you are a large company, it is challenging to build a brand in a new industry due to entrenched ways of thinking, legacy investments and processes, and firmly held customer perceptions about large company brands. Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies. It’s part of the reason large tech companies buy smaller business, why large consumer products companies buy the hot new company and why large legacy food businesses buy smaller start-ups.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The 3 things that excite me about the cannabis industry:

1) The potential impact cannabis can have on people’s lives — for pharmaceuticals, wellness and recreational use.

2) The fascinating mix of people, backgrounds and talent who are working in the industry.

3) The tremendous opportunity to build lasting brands.

The 3 things that concern me about the cannabis industry:

1) Keeping cannabis away from minors.

2) The lack of traditional banking services and the amount of money being spent with seemingly little regard for normal business metrics like ROI.

3) The challenge of the lack of regulatory consistency among states.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) Regulation is crazy complicated and changes regularly in each state.

2) Related to the point above, packaging requirements are incredibly complicated, evolving and rooted in a last-century approach that requires everything to be printed on the package (rather than referenced online or via email with the opportunity for more thorough information).

3) The level of passion and dedication to cannabis has resulted in a group of very innovative and hardworking professionals.

4) Cannabis is an incredibly complex plant with significant research still to be done to understand its many possibilities. Yields, pest management, nutrients, lighting are complex subjects with profound secondary and tertiary implications for the business and consumer.
5) The license acquisition process is an entire business in and of itself.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Value business skills AND industry skills. Truly successful companies will combine both culturally relevant people who have been involved in the industry for a while, as well as new business people who can help grow and scale.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Lead your life as if a child was always watching you. This would force everyone to behave honorably, with kindness and love. There would be less anger, less dishonesty and more instances of people helping people.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Follow on Instagram — @eschmults

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “Consumers are looking to… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “The industry has turned a corner.” with Ryan Smith and Fotis Georgiadis

Recruiting, Now and Then — When we started LeafLink, candidates were hesitant to get into the cannabis industry, thinking it could be a blemish on their career. We used to hide our industry to access high quality talent. Now people are emailing us daily to get jobs at LeafLink; the industry has turned a corner.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Smith. Prior to co-founding LeafLink, Ryan successfully founded and exited two companies, one of which he sold to an NYSE public firm. Ryan brings his experience creating and managing B2B firms and online marketplace investing in a highly-regulated space to LeafLink as Chief Executive Officer. LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s standard platform for orders, sales and relationship management, has raised $14 million in investor capital. The platform went live in Colorado in March 2016 and now has more than 2800 retailers placing orders for over 950 brands across 16 territories. In 2016, Ryan was the first CEO of a cannabis-facing company to be listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. In February 2018, LeafLink was the first company in the cannabis space to make Fast Company’s 2018 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I have always been fascinated by marketplaces. When I was a kid, I would sell things around the house on eBay. My parents used to joke that if something was missing it was probably in my PayPal account. I started LeafLink in 2016 with my co-founder Zach Silverman, who was at eBay at the time, because we saw an opportunity to leverage our joint passion for marketplaces in the emerging cannabis industry.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

In the cannabis industry they say every year feels more like seven, so there’s been a lot we’ve worked through as a team. One of the things we get more excited about every day is not only how we’re growing but how the industry is growing with us. Rewinding about 18 months ago, I remember going to a sales meeting with a retailer in San Francisco, before cannabis was fully legalized in California, and when we sat down the first thing the CEO of the chain said was, “Don’t be worried, but we may have a police raid at some point during this meeting.” Since it was during the time of random raids and shutdowns in California, it was definitely interesting to kick off a client meeting that way. We knew the shop we were working with was operating legally, and they’ve grown to be a leader in Northern California, but exciting to see how far the industry’s come since then.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When we were first starting out and doing research in the space, just as we do now, we met industry professionals that were incredibly passionate about the plant and its products. In those early meetings there were discussions about the many chemicals/compounds and states that exist for cannabis products. For example, I remember one meeting where a new client discussed this powerful new technology they had created to produce rosin jam. That was one of the many conversations at the time where we were just writing down everything clients said so we could educate ourselves afterward, learning as much as possible to serve the LeafLink community.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Everything we’ve built at LeafLink, beginning with our core marketplace, has all come from client needs. When we first started the company we took a few ideas and then with client feedback built the first version of LeafLink’s platform. Since then we’ve stayed close with our clients, working together as partners on solutions we know they need. Aside from managing orders and purchasing, we know there are significant challenges around moving money and products in our space. Over the last several months we’ve begun exploring solutions around financial and shipping options that we’re looking forward to building out and bringing to the LeafLink community of nearly 1,000 brands and 2,800+ retailers.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Although I believe we are far from having achieved “success;” there is definitely far more to do than we’ve done, and one story comes to mind that helped us set our path. When we started LeafLink, Zach and I had no connections in the cannabis industry and were just curious to learn. Through a family friend I met Brett Harwood, a parking and real estate entrepreneur, with whom we shared the concept for LeafLink. He mentioned his cousin Andy, who lived in Colorado, was well connected in the industry and thought we should connect with him. We flew out to meet Andy who introduced us to Keef Cola, with whom we worked closely to build our software and who eventually became our first client.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Our industry is young and dynamic, which means it’s also very tight-knit. We build a lot of our marketing around tapping that strong network to generate referrals and word of mouth — which also traditionally create the best customers. Right now, over 50% of our demo requests come from word of mouth or referrals.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excite:

1. New states (we now call them territories, like Puerto Rico and Canadian provinces) coming online every month
2. Momentum for inter-state commerce
3. Institutional investors in public cannabis companies (in Canada) signal a growing maturity of the industry and will require solid performance from those companies

Concern:

1. The United States is falling behind Canada and other countries with federally legalized programs. As a capitalist nation we should be encouraging entrepreneurship and new business in the cannabis industry.
2. International markets aren’t as far along as press releases imply, i.e. some of the international “shipping” that’s being promoted is only a few grams of cannabis.
3. Beating ourselves yesterday; it’s important we continue to improve as a team while continuing to move faster.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Warm Industry — Our clients are incredibly engaged and have built very warm relationships with our team, but specifically our Product team. We’ve built out a Retailer Insights Board, and when one of our first Product Managers joined he said he was “shocked” at how willing our clients were to speak with him. In his earlier, more traditional industry, he said it was a constant game of whack-a-mole to get product feedback.

2. Build Together Mentality — Our industry is growing rapidly, maybe faster than any other, with new brands, retailers and technology entering the market every week. Regardless, there is an underlying, unifying, mentality around furthering legalization in new territories. The industry gets together every year in DC for NCIA’s Lobby Days to educate Capitol Hill.

3. High Level of Instability — We’re at a place in the industry where our clients’ bank accounts are getting shut down spontaneously. Others are using only cash to do business, creating considerable instability for these growing businesses.

4. Challenging Regulations — Every state has its own regulations that we have to learn to make sure our product makes sense there. Some states require different documents and testing associated with wholesale purchasing, other states have different tax structures to calculate along with orders.

5. Recruiting, Now and Then — When we started LeafLink, candidates were hesitant to get into the cannabis industry, thinking it could be a blemish on their career. We used to hide our industry to access high quality talent. Now people are emailing us daily to get jobs at LeafLink; the industry has turned a corner.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

We’ve found success by not only bringing in great new LeafLinkers, but also giving them a high level of ownership on their teams. More and more, we’ve begun thinking of each of LeafLink’s teams as their own startup within a startup. The majority of our executive team have founded their own companies or been a first hire at other startups so our trust level is extremely high on their ability to execute. There are few things we won’t try once and that level of operation has helped us grow quickly in new ways, pursuing new opportunities.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

In the mindset of the cannabis industry, I would want to inspire more cannabis research and legalization. The way I see it, there can only be benefits from more research into the effects of cannabis and the regulation that comes with legalization.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Follow LeaflLink on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook — we’re always posting updates.

Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “The industry has turned a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “Be very cautious when choosing a partner.” with Lex Corwin and Fotis Georgiadis

Choosing business partners. Both of my former partners left the company within the first six months for various reasons. My advice to people starting a business: be very cautious when choosing a partner. A start-up partnership means you are going to be with this person 12 to 16 hours a day every day. You not only have to get along, but you have to be sure you communicate well.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lex Corwin, founder and CEO of Stone Road Farms. Lex Corwin is the founder and CEO Stone Road Farms, a California-based line of luxury, organic, hand-rolled joints produced using the highest quality sun-grown NorCal cannabis. Lex founded Stone Road in 2017 with the intent of not only elevating the standards and expectations of the cannabis industry across the globe, but also to build a relevant lifestyle company that promotes wellness, transparency, and value. By launching the first-of-its-class Stone Road app, Lex created a unique rewards program that allows users to bid on various activities and experiences specifically geared towards the thriving cannabis community. By using points accrued from Stone Road product purchases, consumers can enjoy a wide range of events, from sold-out Hollywood Bowl concerts, to cannabis-friendly rooftop yoga in Venice Beach, to private art gallery openings in Beverly Hills. Raised in New York City, Lex moved to Portland, Oregon to attend college. While working towards his degree, he co-managed a boutique, family-owned medical cannabis cooperative. This experience allowed him to cultivate an intricate understanding of the benefits of the plant, as well as to obtain the knowledge necessary to create the best possible cannabis products. At the age of 23 he purchased a farm in Northern California and created Stone Road, making him the youngest cannabis CEO in the United States. Before launching headlong into Stone Road, Lex spent several successful years working in real estate development in Southern California. He is an investor in a number of thriving startups including Matchabar — the nation’s first matcha cafe whose bottled brand of tea is now sold at Whole Foods across the country. Lex is also a key financial component of The Light Phone, a Brooklyn-based telecom startup that has created a credit card-sized, social media-free phone with a 12-day battery life that recently raised over 1.7 million dollars and sold 7,000 preorders in its fledgling Indiegogo campaign. Currently, Lex enjoys life in Los Angeles, building his brand, and spending quality time on his NorCal farm.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

While attending college, I started working on a small family-owned medical cannabis cooperative in northern Oregon. I learned the basics of growing and working with the plant. With this knowledge and money saved from my years working in Oregon, I purchased my own farm in Northern California. Once cannabis legalization became a reality in California, I knew I needed to build a brand. The days of shady, back room deals were coming to a close and the cannabis industry had a deficit of mature, upscale brands. I recruited the lead designer of Snoop Dogg’s “Leafs by Snoop” line and flew her out to the farm to capture the natural beauty for our packaging. With our brand aesthetic nailed down, I started going shop to shop selling our products — and I’ve never looked back since! In the past year, Stone Road has grown over 65% in revenue and we’ve tripled the number of retailers we sell to. The overwhelmingly positive response we’ve received from customers and dispensaries is what energizes me to continue building this business and expand our product offering.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

While I don’t have a specific story in mind, I would say the people in this industry have been the most compelling aspect for me. From one of my first hires — a kid from Vermont who moved out West with nothing — even being homeless for a time — who has “Some Kind of Hate” tattooed on his knuckles (it’s a Misfits song…don’t ask me!) and turns out to be the kindest, most gentle soul.

Or the old hippies who are in their 80s and still managing their own organic off-grid farm…and an Emu farm. Or an older gay couple who when robbed proceeded to chase down their assailants in their pickup — one driving and the other standing in the bed shooting a shotgun. (They got their product back…)

The stories and lessons from the people who created this industry and are still here to share their tales are the most interesting part. They are the pioneers who were doing it when the penalties for growing a plant with healing properties could land you in jail for decades.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the better stories I can share concerns the farm I own in Northern California. We were getting tons of soil delivered for my 2017 season. My farm is up a long and twisting dirt road and it is very easy to get lost. The truck driver gets hopelessly lost and by the time he arrives, it’s around 10 p.m. and practically pitch black out. This also took place during the spring, also known as the muddy season.

He looks at the final turn which sits between a “soft” (aka very muddy and deep) spot and a steep hill and tells me there’s no way he can possibly make that turn. Knowing that him dropping the dirt 600 yards from my greenhouse would cost me hundreds in a rented tractor or hours of back-breaking labor I pleaded and offered him an extra $100 bucks to try. He reluctantly got back into his truck and started inching forward. As soon as he begins his truck starts to sink in the mud FAST. He hits it hard in reverse but it was too late… his truck is sinking deeper and deeper into the thick mud and also starting to slide down the hill! He immediately jumps out of his truck and starts to verbally eviscerate me.

I had no idea what to do. The driver’s eighteen-wheeler filled with 8 tons of dirt was sinking into an endless pit and he was furiously screaming at me in the dark. Luckily after 4 or 5 beers and a few spliffs I got him to calm down. At this point, it’s midnight and I called my amazing neighbor, who drove his Caterpillar back-hoe over. After an hour of pulling we popped his truck out of its muddy grave. My personal takeaways — trust the guy who has been delivering dirt for the past twenty years and be kind to your neighbors!!! Especially the ones with industrial construction equipment!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

I’m in the process of developing a CBD line, putting the finishing touches on a flower line, and expanding further into Northern California. I also have my sights set on other states, specifically New York, where legalization seems to be around the corner.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I wouldn’t be here without my father’s help. Not only has he helped me financially when I first started by company, but he’s been the best resource for business and life advice. He even flew out during my first harvest and donned the gloves and hairnets and helped cut the crop!

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Reward your most loyal customers. I wanted a unique way to reward our biggest buyers so I recruited a childhood friend to build out our Stone Road app, which was the first experiences-only rewards app in the cannabis industry — available on IOS and Android. Every product we sell has a QR sticker that when scanned in the app unlocks access to a world of experiences rather than just goods. This platform allows us to offer our customers tickets to cannabis-friendly yoga classes in Venice, Hollywood Bowl tickets, even surf lessons. The updated app also now has a full product guide plus a find-a-store feature.

The app saved the business — being able to access the data from our biggest buyers allowed us to discover that 78 percent of all app scans were from women, and more importantly, they were from three shops! I altered Stone Road’s brand identity to match the new information we gleaned from the app data. We started sponsoring every and any women-run, women-focused, or women-branded event. And soon this strategy worked. Our sales took off and now my biggest focus and challenge is rapid production ramping without sacrificing the Stone Road quality.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Things that excite me:

1. Federal legalization — being able to ship our products around the nation would be incredible. Also a business credit card!!!

2. Medical trials — getting scientific proof of the healing qualities of the plant rather than just anecdotal evidence.

3. The economic growth — we have only scratched the surface in terms of industry growth. Once federal legalization occurs and we can treat it like a consumer good rather than a drug there will be hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs created.

Concern:

1. A few large firms will monopolize the market, which is exactly what’s taking place in the Canadian market.

2. Pharma companies will use their immense lobbying power to rig the market to their benefit. Healthcare and capitalism don’t mix well. Look at the pricing model for life-saving drugs currently.

3. Big tobacco will start massive grows and push out all the small-scale artisan growers out of the market. How many craft tobacco growers do you know…

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Choosing business partners. Both of my former partners left the company within the first six months for various reasons. My advice to people starting a business: be very cautious when choosing a partner. A start-up partnership means you are going to be with this person 12 to 16 hours a day every day. You not only have to get along, but you have to be sure you communicate well.

2. Communicate openly with your team. You can’t do every job forever. In the beginning, I put in eighteen-hour days for weeks on end. Doing literally every job myself from managing the farm, rolling the joints, producing digital and promo content, managing the social media, keeping all the books and all legal compliance, all the while spending every day trying to open new accounts! I burnt myself out and now realize the importance of trusting your team and having open lines of communication.

3. SAVE MONEY! I spent too quickly in the start of my business. An incredible month could be followed by a month of almost no sales. You can’t predict the future so spend wisely.

4. Get to know every part of your business. Make sure you know how to do each job in your company so you can best assist the team members in that role.

5. Do what you know. When I was first starting sales a dispensary owner told me “wax is the future! you have to start selling that” — so I quickly brought a concentrates line to market…not knowing anything about concentrates! Not only did it distract me from our core product — pre-rolled joints — but I wasted nearly $10,000 and time I could never get back.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Support your employees. Get to know them as a person and what makes them tick. Remembering the name of their dog or kid so you can check-in with them is important. Surprising them by bringing their favorite lunch in. Making employees feel valued ensures that they will put in the extra effort to help the business.

Open communication. Sometimes the best ideas come from your employees. Making sure not to stifle healthy debate is vital to a successful operation. Each employee has a different mindset that can help you discover how different market segments will react to a new product. Also you want your employees to feel they can discuss anything with you. It creates a better working environment so when that inevitable obstacle surfaces you don’t have people wanting to jump ship but actually buckle down and help you grind it out.

Honesty and transparency. There’s a fine line between being 100% honest with your employees and being honest without over-sharing. If you had a less than stellar month and are not sure you’ll be able to make payroll. Let them know sooner rather than later so they can be prepared to wait a few extra days for their pay. If they understand the situation early on its much better than them finding out on payday that their hard earned check will be delayed. Lack of trust leads to poor engagement, lower productivity and higher employee turnover rates.

Recognize great performance. Everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work. Make sure you are not only praising the team but single out individuals that went above and beyond. A simple note is a great motivation booster. It helps to make sure each employee feels integral to the success of the business.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

A cannabis-related movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people is the burgeoning hemp industry. Industrial hemp has the capability to drastically change how we create most of our consumer products. The end of the plastic era for instance would ensure we could stop poisoning our oceans with non-biodegradable single use plastics. The advent of hemp pulp for paper would slow down the rampant pace of deforestation. Hemp based fuels would slow the climate change we are only starting to witness now. From building material, textiles, to food-products hemp can be applied in hundreds of ways. It’s easy to grow, inexpensive, and highly sustainable. With the 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp in the U.S we are going to see hemp widely utilized across a wide spectrum of mediums. My goal would be to help expedite the mass adoption of hemp across the world.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Our instagram: @stoneroadfarms

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A Cannabis Business: “Be very cautious when… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “There is very little knowledge about CBD” with Shelly Schneider and Fotis Georgiadis

Spreading knowledge about the products and educating customers will be a full time job. There is very little knowledge about CBD or what it does or how to find quality products. You will have to provide that information to people multiple times.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Shelly Schneider, President of 113Solutioncbd.com, an e-commerce company that provides only the highest quality products to take the guesswork out of shopping for CBD. She runs her business, loves to spend time with her children and husband, and loves living the life that she and her husband have created through purpose and hard work. She also loves to keep life as close to natural as she can and grows a large vegetable garden which is canned for winter, keeps bees and chickens, and makes homemade bread, wine, and cheese.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I became interested in CBD when a friend posted on social media that it had helped her lower her cholesterol by 50 points. I am a skeptic by nature but needed to get my cholesterol down so I contacted her and bought a bottle of tincture. After taking it daily for a week I noticed that my anxiety and panic attacks were gone. After a few months I stoped having endometriosis pain. If you know anyone with endometriosis, this is a huge deal. I became excited about these products and what it could offer. Upon doing more research I found out that the CBD market is similar to the wild west right now. It is really difficult to find a trust worthy product. This made me decide to start my own company so that I could offer high quality, 3rd party lab tested, hemp based CBD products that people could trust. We built 113solutioncbd.com based on our high standards of quality and wanting to make shopping for CBD easier.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I have had so many things happen since starting this company that it is hard to pick just one to talk about. The thing that I have found most interesting is that there is very little education on these products out there yet. This means that when I try to discuss my CBD business with people they either think I am a drug dealer or get very excited. I have found that people I would have never thought would be interested in CBD products are the most excited and some people that I thought would be interested are not. It is about finding your market and niche I guess. This also applies to other businesses that are or are not willing to work with me.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Right now, the only funny mistake I can think of was NOT funny when it happened. My developer had asked that I follow a link to purchase a plugin for my website. When I did that, everything was going great until I accidentally added my email address with an extra “A” after the @ symbol. When I realized my mistake and that it would mean never actually getting the link to download the plugin, I freaked out. I cancelled half of my order, sent the company an email, started a chat session, and messaged my developer all within 5 minutes. This resulted in me making everything much more complicated than it needed to be. My developer called and spoke to me about the incident. I learned that I need to take a deep breath and wait 30 minutes before reacting. Everything does not need to be done right this minute. Sometimes, it is better to sit back and reflect first. I’m just glad that I learned that lesson before it cost me more than a lecture from my developer.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?
I am working on a giving back campaign where I donate to a charity each month. I am very passionate about helping foster children and want to continue doing so through my business. I am hopeful to have the campaign up and running with in the year. It is important that 113 Solution gives back to the community because it is my passion to have a conscientious and caring company.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My biggest helper has been my husband, Nic. He has stood by me through the entire journey and I would not have gotten this far without his support. There are days when I feel like I have done everything wrong and want to throw in the towel and he kindly points out that this is the journey of an entrepreneur. My office is based out of my house and he also works from home so we have had many days where I bounce ideas off of him. He is like my coworker in some ways since I don’t have the usual office staff around me all of the time. For example, on a particularly hard day when I was first getting started I was overwhelmed. No one tells you all of the fine details you have to figure out when starting a business, and it can be hard. I had no idea where to start. Nic stepped in and helped me get moving. He helped me keep my eyes on the prize and reminded me that if it were easy there would be a lot more people doing it. He likes to tell me that if I don’t feel like I’m going to fail then I am not doing anything worth taking a chance on.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?
The reason that the industry is so creative with marketing is because it has to be. None of the standard marketing methods are allowing cannabis based businesses to advertise. That means that you cannot place ads on most social media, google, radio, etc. You have to be creative and dynamic to get the word out or you don’t get noticed. I am constantly trying to up my creative game. Some days, I think that it would be great if someone would just take my money. I am sure that there are a lot of other ways I could be marketing that I have yet to discover as well.
Large legacy companies don’t face as many hurdles with marketing but they could benefit from thinking outside the box a bit more as that is where a lot of today’s marketing is headed.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?
I think that this industry is exciting. We are sitting at the edge of a big movement that is just taking off and has so much potential. It is amazing to be a part of. However, there is still a lot of groundwork yet to be laid. It is also exciting to watch the public learn about CBD and then seeing customers find relief with the products. It is great, especially when they had been on pain pills that didn’t work or had no source relief before CBD. It is exciting getting to dig further into the industry and meet new people and network. I love learning more about what CBD is, how it can help, and the science behind it. It excites me that there are new research studies being done to see what the full range of benefits could be. This will help in so many ways, it is great.

It is concerning that laws are changing very quickly and you have to stay abreast of the new changes which can be difficult if you are a smaller sized company. It is also concerning that there is so much, well let’s just say so much mis-representation in the CBD industry right now. It makes it so hard for those of us that are trying to sell quality products when companies come in with products that are not what they claim to be and mislead customers. It makes it even worse as most customers don’t have much education on CBD to begin with so these companies have easy prey. I also worry about educating people on these products and how to be safe with them. I always tell people to check with their health care professional before starting any new supplement. I feel that you need to be safe with what you put into your body and I want others to make informed decisions.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Companies will not want to work with you. You will have a hard time finding an accountant, bank, web hosting, etc when starting this business. Even the SBDC turned me away and I live in Michigan.
2. When you do find service providers, they will give you a lot more hoops to jump through than a lower risk business. For example, our SSL gave us a very hard time when they tried to verify we were a real company. We were listed with our state as a company, we had a letter from our lawyer, we got a DUNS number and still they gave us a hard time. I never expected to have so much trouble.

3. Your family and friends will call you a drug dealer. You will have to explain it over and over again that, no, you are not a drug dealer. You do not sell marijuana even though they are both members of the cannabis family, they have different laws and guidelines for businesses.

4. You can’t advertise. No one wants your money. Not social media advertisers, not google, not your local radio.

5. Spreading knowledge about the products and educating customers will be a full time job. There is very little knowledge about CBD or what it does or how to find quality products. You will have to provide that information to people multiple times.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
You need to build a culture that works for your company. People stay with a company or leave based on the culture. It is so important. Treat them like you trust them and value them and they will be willing to treat you and your company in the same way. Even though you are busy, take time to know each person’s name and a little about them. I still remember a past job at a corporation with 5000 employees. The CEO and President both knew my name and remembered things about my life. They even followed up on stuff like asking if my new iPad had come in the mail yet. I wasn’t in management, I was just a standard project manager, but that culture still sticks with me. I think that as you grow it is important to keep that kind of culture alive. That is how you gain loyal employees. Good benefits and pay also help a lot.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

People are going to think that I am nuts but I think we need to all go back to basics a little bit. Step back, reflect. As I age and learn more about what actually matters in life I realize that many of us don’t get to spend our lives in pursuit of that. I want people to know that you can be simple, grow a garden, can your food, have fresh eggs, raise bees, and basically be really self reliant and still be a normal part of our world. You can incorporate giving back to the environment and spending time with your kids outdoors by having them help with the garden and prepping the food for storage. Cleaning the chicken cage. I would love to see more urban gardens and co-ops. I would love to see more suburban gardens and backyard living. I made a conscience decision to shift my life away from what was causing me stress and it has been scary but amazing. My kids are happier, my family is less stressed, we have more quality time together. You also don’t have to worry about organic because you know exactly where your food came from. My kids love going out and looking at the bee hives and getting chicken eggs. It is something I wish more people would do. Go back to nature. Much like anything worth doing, it is scary and hard at first, but just like starting a business it is worth it.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at the present time. Check us out and follow us for updates and educational information!

https://www.facebook.com/113solution/

https://www.instagram.com/113solutioncbd

https://twitter.com/113Solution

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp-0peoLRM7s4J0rj-2uw0A?view_as=subscriber

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “There is very… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A CBD Business: “Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies.” with Ed Schmults and Fotis Georgiadis

In my opinion, being a large legacy company in the cannabis industry is a disadvantage. If you are a large company, it is challenging to build a brand in a new industry due to entrenched ways of thinking, legacy investments and processes, and firmly held customer perceptions about large company brands. Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies. It’s part of the reason large tech companies buy smaller business, why large consumer products companies buy the hot new company and why large legacy food businesses buy smaller start-ups.

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ed Schmults, CEO of Calyx Peak Companies (www.calyxpeak.com). Ed Schmults has over 30 years of experience in global branded consumer products, omni-channel retail, product development, finance, operations, IT and green and socially responsible businesses. He has leadership experience at some of the world’s best-known consumer brands, including Patagonia (COO) and FAO Schwarz (CEO), where product quality and customer experience drive the brands’ success. In addition, Ed has strong operational experience having set up and improved warehouse, logistics and technology infrastructure at five different companies. Ed began his career in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Company. He spent three years in the New York and London offices working in corporate finance and M&A. Ed holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Yale University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us Ed! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

You could say my background before cannabis was traditional in nature — after getting my undergraduate degree in economics and political science from Yale, I got a job on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs, followed by business school at Harvard, and eventually landed executive posts as COO at Patagonia and CEO at FAO Schwarz. I never imagined that a role in cannabis would be in my future, but I couldn’t deny that I was drawn to the passion and innovation of this industry. Ultimately, I decided to make the jump into cannabis for the following reasons:

· Legalization at the state level was accelerating due to broad social acceptance

· Belief in the benefits of cannabis for medicinal and wellness purposes. I was stunned to find out how many people I knew were already using it.

· Social justice — there’s an opportunity for the industry to help those with a criminal record for possession of cannabis.

· Opportunity to help build a great brand in a new $50 billion industry and move customers from an unregulated black market to a market that is tested and taxed at a local level.

Today, my work with Calyx Peak Companies, a multi-state operator with over 280,000 square feet of cultivation, extraction and distribution facilities across multiple states, is helping bring these values to life. Our passion lies in bolstering entrepreneurs and businesses leading the legal cannabis revolution, like our house brand, Josh D Farms, a highly respected grower that offers consumers a direct and specialized link to one of the most popular cannabis varietals ever, OG Kush. You can’t deny this is an incredibly exciting time for the legal cannabis industry, and we’re lucky to have the support of forward-thinking investors that share our beliefs and values.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting thing for me has been the discovery that a huge number of people are already using cannabis and CBD products to help with anxiety, sleep, inflammation and any number of everyday conditions. I have really been astounded at how many people, upon finding out that I run a cannabis company, confide that they are users of the product. The market is huge and people are benefitting from cannabis every day.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I can’t really think of a funny one! Made plenty of mistakes, but nothing particularly funny.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Currently, Calyx Peak is expanding our presence across multiple states, build out our brands, and grow our business in California. We’ve been successful in growing our business through new license acquisition — both in states where we already operate and in new states. For example, one of our executives is part of a team that was recently awarded a provisional license to operate a dispensary in Santa Monica, CA. Through our Level 1 cultivation facility in Ohio, we have also obtained a processing license to go with our Tier 1 cultivation license, and recently conducted Akron’s first medical marijuana harvest earlier this year.

We’re also focused on hiring people who are smart and have the initiative and cultural fit to be successful at Calyx Peak. We recently appointed John Chiang, former California State Treasurer, and Dave Jones, former California Insurance Commissioner, to our board of advisors. Chiang’s banking background and Jones’ insurance expertise is going to be crucial for us as we look to expand in California and our other operating locales. We also just appointed Michelle Magallon, former GM of Bud and Bloom, as our Vice President of Sales.

Lastly, we’re ramping up on our branding, packaging and product development work, in addition to exploring opportunities to expand our retail footprint in the months ahead.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My Uncle Brad gave me my first summer job when I was 13 — I mowed the lawn and did odd jobs at the inn he ran with my aunt. On my first day, he took me aside and told me that because I was his nephew, the other employees would assume I got the job because I was part of the family. He asked me get to work early, work harder than everyone else and always ask “what else can I do” at the end of a task so that it would be clear to the rest of his employees that I deserved the job. This advice really resonated with me and has become the building block of how I approach leadership, business, and life.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

In my opinion, being a large legacy company in the cannabis industry is a disadvantage. If you are a large company, it is challenging to build a brand in a new industry due to entrenched ways of thinking, legacy investments and processes, and firmly held customer perceptions about large company brands. Consumers are looking to discover new ideas and products and are open to new messages from new companies. It’s part of the reason large tech companies buy smaller business, why large consumer products companies buy the hot new company and why large legacy food businesses buy smaller start-ups.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The 3 things that excite me about the cannabis industry:

1) The potential impact cannabis can have on people’s lives — for pharmaceuticals, wellness and recreational use.

2) The fascinating mix of people, backgrounds and talent who are working in the industry.

3) The tremendous opportunity to build lasting brands.

The 3 things that concern me about the cannabis industry:

1) Keeping cannabis away from minors.

2) The lack of traditional banking services and the amount of money being spent with seemingly little regard for normal business metrics like ROI.

3) The challenge of the lack of regulatory consistency among states.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) Regulation is crazy complicated and changes regularly in each state.

2) Related to the point above, packaging requirements are incredibly complicated, evolving and rooted in a last-century approach that requires everything to be printed on the package (rather than referenced online or via email with the opportunity for more thorough information).

3) The level of passion and dedication to cannabis has resulted in a group of very innovative and hardworking professionals.

4) Cannabis is an incredibly complex plant with significant research still to be done to understand its many possibilities. Yields, pest management, nutrients, lighting are complex subjects with profound secondary and tertiary implications for the business and consumer.
5) The license acquisition process is an entire business in and of itself.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Value business skills AND industry skills. Truly successful companies will combine both culturally relevant people who have been involved in the industry for a while, as well as new business people who can help grow and scale.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Lead your life as if a child was always watching you. This would force everyone to behave honorably, with kindness and love. There would be less anger, less dishonesty and more instances of people helping people.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Follow on Instagram — @eschmults

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading A CBD Business: “Consumers are looking to… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Mary’s List CEO Denise Biderman: “Empower your employees to be their best selves. If one way of doing something doesn’t work for them, help them see outside the box and find what works better”

Empower your employees to be their best selves. If one way of doing something doesn’t work for them, help them see outside the box and find what works better. Recognize their strengths and work around what doesn’t work. It will make them more efficient and in turn, things will work better for the company as a whole!

As a part of my series about “the 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business ”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Denise Biderman. Denise Biderman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mary’s List — a professional services marketplace for the cannabis community allowing businesses to hire freelancers and other service professionals on a project-to-project basis, wherever they are in the country. Denise practiced law in New York City for several years before transitioning her career into the cannabis industry, first as a licensing consultant and later with Mary’s List. Denise has consulted on licensing applications around the country as well as Canada and is a member of the National Cannabis Bar Association. She has been featured in publications such as Centennial Spotlight’s Women & Weed, Got a Girl Crush and Sensi Magazine Boston.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the CDB and cannabis space?

I am delighted to participate, thank you so much for the invitation!

A little background about myself…although cannabis has been a part of my life in some form for many, many years, this story begins about three years ago. In 2016, I was practicing criminal law in New York and was simply burnt out. It was nearly impossible to watch the system repeatedly take in people of color for drug offenses while others were making millions around the country. At around the same time, I was facing my fourth knee surgery: reconstructive surgery to graft cadaver bone into a hole in my knee. The recovery would be tedious; eight hours a day on a machine that bent and straightened my knee plus physical therapy three times per week. It was essentially a full-time job. I reconciled this as an opportunity to take a step back, to reflect on my life and where I was going. I was unhappy and wanted a change. Little did I know how much my life would change after that.

One thing was for certain, I knew that I wanted to avoid opioids for pain management after surgery. I started researching alternatives and read study after study about cannabis and pain relief. I had always been a strong advocate for medical cannabis. Around this same time, New York added “chronic pain” to its qualifying symptoms for their medical program. I soon applied for and became a registered medical patient in New York.

Using cannabis to treat my pain changed my life. I’d used it for insomnia and anxiety before, but having the option to use something grown from the earth that’s non-addictive to treat bone reconstruction? Well, it was within the first week of recovery that I knew I had found my calling. I decided to use my professional background to help others access this same medicine. I left the courtroom behind and pursued my dream to work in the cannabis industry.

Although I began dabbling with cannabis consulting around the Tri-State area & New England, I decided to move westward to continue my journey into the cannabis space and see what mature markets looked like. I packed up two suitcases and moved from NYC to Denver, then California as a licensing consultant, before finally coming back home to New York to launch Mary’s List.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

While falling down the black hole that is the internet, looking up incubators, accelerators, start ups, and anything related to guided fundraising in cannabis, I came across the “Second Annual Boston University Cannabis Start Up Competition.” First of all, the SECOND annual? There had been a first? Held at an incredibly prestigious institution like Boston University? I was living for it!

To apply, you had to 1) be an ancillary business supporting the cannabis industry (check!) — and 2) be a current student or alumni of Boston University. Luckily, my Co-Founder, Taylor Aldredge, is an alumnus of Boston University (double check!). Since we were heads down working day and night to get the site up and running, it was in the mere moments before my two best friends were walking down the aisle to get married that Taylor and I finished our application. A couple of weeks later, we were accepted as finalists.

The next month, we spent nearly 12 hours a day working on our pitch deck and consulting with our incredible advisors and the organizers of the competition, Jeffrey Zucker and Michael Bologna of Green Lion Partners.

On November 7th, 2018, surrounded by our amazing family and friends, we won the Second Annual Boston University Cannabis Start Up Competition and $10,000 for our company. Winning the competition was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me in my professional career and lit the fire for what Mary’s List has become today.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s funny how, at the time, mistakes seem to be very unamusing. But, when you’re about a year out, they’re hilarious! Unfortunately, I took some bad legal advice when I opened and dissolved not one, but TWO corporate structures before finally opening our third and current formation. The mistakes were expensive and frustrating, but looking back, all I can do is laugh!

The Lesson: trust your gut. My intuition told me that the advice was wrong, but I took it anyway because it came from a seemingly trustworthy source. I didn’t have much experience in corporate formations aside from a clinic I did in law school and studying for the bar exam. I assumed that the lawyer giving me advice knew better than me! I should have trusted that all the research I did was right, because if I had, I could have avoided costly mistakes, saved time and saved a nice chunk of change for other startup needs.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Yes, we certainly are! We have partnered with BrightTALK, an online webinar platform, to highlight professionals (particularly Womxn) in the cannabis industry. In honor of the auspicious month of April in cannabis culture, our first webinar series, “Trailblazing Womxn Changing the Face of Cannabis” will be held on April 24th, from 11am EST — 1pm EST.

Also, we have started to fundraise, which is unbelievably exciting. We are ready to take Mary’s List to the next level, implement new design changes to the site and expand our team from two people to as many as we need to help get people hired.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Absolutely. Amanda Ostrowitz of CannaRegs was the first mentor I ever had when starting Mary’s List.

We met at a National Cannabis Bar Association conference and kept running into each other at cannabis events. She made time for a call and heard me out on the concept of Mary’s List as well as the struggles we were going through.

Ultimately, she gave us advice and made introductions that helped lead us to sort out our banking. We wouldn’t be where we are today without her. I can’t thank her enough. When I asked her why she was helping me, she said very matter-of-factly, “Other women helped me get to where I am, and I wouldn’t be here without them. I can’t pay them back, all I can do is pay it forward. Just remember to do the same.” I couldn’t be more grateful to have such a powerhouse as a mentor and as a friend. I have lived by those words, supporting other women however I can.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I think the most compelling thing we do at Mary’s List is keep it real and stay authentic. The voice of the brand is very much a reflection of myself, and I want people to connect with that voice. I know this may not seem that innovative on the surface, but I think it’s something that legacy companies should keep in mind. People want to connect with the brand. They want to feel heard and they want to feel like they are part of something. People are smart and know how to sniff out BS from authenticity. We connect with our community and talk to them like they are our friends, because they are our friends. We’re transparent about the current state of affairs at Mary’s List, and by doing so, it’s as if they are growing up with us, watching a baby start to crawl to taking its first steps and so on. By empowering our community with knowledge, we empower ourselves. I believe this is what helps us grow, day-by-day.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Most exciting:

1. All the new science regarding this amazing plant and how learning about cannabis can help with all sorts of medical ailments from cancer to surgery recovery to pain management to anxiety. It’s incredible how versatile the plant is.
2. Watching women take ownership of this industry by creating their own companies and investments — I love this. It’s the best feeling to see so many women supporting each other.
3. The incredibly creative and brilliant people whom I meet making this industry possible: from incarcerated folks who have paved the way to legalization, chefs and event planners hosting underground parties, the attorneys suing the federal government for legalization, and everyone in between making this industry a possibility — I LOVE IT. I couldn’t feel more inspired every single day.
4. One last quick one! The fact that I can go into a dispensary and pick out something that can help soothe what ails me. I feel empowered that I can take control of my own health and well-being as easily as going to a grocery store or pharmacy.

Most concerning:

1. That millions of people of color are still in jail for cannabis convictions, while others are making millions selling the same plant. And, even when they get out of jail, their records bar them from entering the industry as license holders. Unbelievable. SMH vigorously.
2. The lack of diversity in the cannabis industry. Period.
3. Inequitable access to licensing. It concerns me that big businesses and money are pricing out small business owners in cannabis. It takes a lot of money to start a cannabis company and many people emerging from underground markets do not always have the finances, nor affiliations needed, to secure licenses. There needs to be more support around education and equitable access to licensing.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Be prepared to be persistent. Although we are an ancillary cannabis business, we are still considered to be in the business of cannabis. It was incredibly difficult to onboard a payment processor to do payouts for our professionals on Mary’s List. We went through 15 different payment processors before finally finding a company that would allow us to do payouts. We were met with the same hurdles that any plant-touching business would go through getting a payment processor, which is a lot. We kept believing there was an option out there for us, and the 16th processor was our saving grace. Always be persistent.
2. Startup capital is important, so get some and probably get more than you think! You’re going to need money to make money, especially in the cannabis industry. It’s expensive to be at events, set up your business, work with and hire the right partners to grow — the day-to-day adds up so be prepared because it could be a while before you start turning a profit.
3. The stigma is ALIVE AND REAL. Even though you could be building an ancillary company in the cannabis industry, you’re still in cannabis. There are people out there that don’t approve of cannabis as individuals or as businesses. For example, when we were in Las Vegas for MJ Biz Con, we needed to get something printed last minute. I had a company flat-out tell me that they refused to do any printing for me because I was involved in cannabis. They didn’t care if I didn’t touch the plant, and then they hung up on me.
4. Be prepared to be resilient: things are constantly changing for the cannabis industry. It’s an emerging market, this is all brand new, and we’re all figuring it out at the same time. One day won’t always be the same as the next. Be flexible and don’t let the hard days get you down.
5. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help: you can’t do everything alone. Make sure you have the right people in your corner, and that you build the right team. You want to have people around you that support YOU because every day is not going to be golden, and it’s incredibly beneficial when you can reach out for help.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Empower your employees to be their best selves. If one way of doing something doesn’t work for them, help them see outside the box and find what works better. Recognize their strengths and work around what doesn’t work. It will make them more efficient and in turn, things will work better for the company as a whole!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Wow, thank you! If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be to transition your professional skills into the cannabis industry. By working in the industry, you can help more people get access to medicine every day…it’s that simple. Whether helping a dispensary with a licensing application, educating people about the effects of cannabis, constructing a cultivation facility or helping trim the bud that a manufacturer uses to create a product, at the end of the day, cannabis is an industry that requires workers to help get products to market. I feel very lucky to do what I do every single day because Mary’s List is my manifestation of exactly that — I help people access medicine by helping people get the jobs to help this beautiful plant grow and flourish.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Instagram: @maryslist.co

Twitter: @maryslist_co

LinkedIn: Mary’s List

FB: maryslist.co

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Mary’s List CEO Denise Biderman: “Empower your employees to be their best selves. was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“I wish someone told me that this industry can be like high school” With Angela Ardolino, founder of CBD Dog Health

…That the cannabis industry would be like high school. I learned all about the industry in legal places like California, Colorado, and Canada where everyone is very open, supportive and helpful. But operating in a state where it just became medically legal, like Florida, is like the Hunger Games. It is so cutthroat, competitive, and catty. For example, Women Grow is an amazing organization which supports women in the industry; and as a feminist and long-time promoter of women entrepreneurs and leaders, I was naturally drawn to this group. But when I found my local chapter, I couldn’t get in. I called, emailed, and tried my best to become a member, but was shut down at every turn. I reached out to one of the national founders in Colorado to help me sign up, and within a week my fancy name badge came in the mail. The next month I put on my name tag and headed off to the Central Florida chapter meeting. When I walked in it was like I walked into the mean girls’ party in high school. A clique of women huddled and pointed and literally gasped at me. A bully even came up and tried to scare me away while the local chapter founder grilled me with questions — needless to say they were not welcoming. That chapter has since been shut down, but that was not the only occasion that I was excluded in cannabis circles. I have learned that you have to show up and demand to be heard and ignore those who are not supportive, because for the most part we all want the same thing: to get quality natural medicine to people and their pets.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Angela Ardolino, founder of CBD Dog Health. Ardolino has been caring for animals since she was 8-years-old and has operated a rescue farm for over 10 years. She is also the owner of Beautify the Beast a natural pet salon and spa, and the founder of CBD Dog Health. Angela is an expert in medical cannabis and has dedicated her life to providing all-natural relief for pets of all kinds. She has four dogs, plus four to 10 dogs at any time that she is fostering or boarding. You will never see her without a dog, chicken, goose, or bunny by her side, and her love of animals, combined with her sense of humor and ability to pivot, have made her one of the leading women in the pet CBD industry.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Originally, I was on a completely different career path. I was the owner of a successful parenting magazine in the Tampa Bay area and had previously founded the Miami Children’s Theater. I was constantly on the move, going to photo shoots and planning community events. But every morning, I woke up in pain and I was plagued by constant anxiety. In 2014, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I did not like the toxic chemicals being offered to me for treatment. I wanted to find an all-natural way to relieve the pain and stiffness, so I searched for natural alternatives.

Medical Cannabis, CBD in particular, worked miracles for me. It not only relieved my pain and inflammation, but calmed my anxiety and feelings of stress. Because of the relief I found, I knew I needed to share this knowledge. I sold my magazine and immersed myself in learning everything I could about medical cannabis — I even went on to earn my certification in the therapeutic use of medical cannabis from the University of Vermont. I became an activist to legalize medical cannabis in Florida, and dedicated myself to educating the public, doctors, veterinarians, and anyone who wanted to learn through my Canna Conference event in 2016.

My other major passion has always been working with animals, so when I discovered that cannabis medicine works even better on animals, I knew exactly what I needed to do. As the owner of a rescue farm as well as a grooming and boarding business, not to mention an avid cannabis advocate, I married my two passions and started CBD Dog Health. We launched in June 2018, and after hemp farming became legal in all 50 states we’ve expanded quickly to include additional product lines for dogs, cats, and horses. Now, I spend every day helping animals find relief with this miracle plant and I could not be happier.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I am constantly surrounded by dogs so there is never a dull moment. But I’d have to say that having a senior vice president of a major drug chain, as well as the pet buyers from a major brick-and-mortar and online retailer call ME to ask how to sell CBD, how CBD works, and if it is legal, is the most interesting thing to happen yet. Both companies called me around the same time, and I was humbled that they would seek me out for advice, and excited that we had shown big chains how important CBD is.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Back in the early days of starting our company, I was traveling back and forth between states where cannabis was legal and those where it was not. At one point I ended up flying to a state where it was not legal, with a suitcase inadvertently filled with cannabis products, mixed in with bags of our Salmon treats. It wasn’t until I opened the suitcase when I got home that I realized what had happened. I guess the smell of fish kept everyone away! (I do not recommend doing this, it could have been a much bigger issue!) I guess the lesson that I learned is to remember that although medical cannabis SHOULD be legal everywhere, we’re not quite there yet!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Always! We are currently working on our CBD Horse tinctures, treats, salves and meal toppers.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have been extremely fortunate to work with an amazing team since day one, but I think one of the people I am most grateful for is my business partner, Hernando Umana. Hernando was my former student at the Miami Children’s Theater, and he had (and still has) a successful career on Broadway. He had started taking CBD to treat his own anxiety while also giving it to his dog Blanche for her anxiety, and as a result he became passionate about learning everything he could about medical cannabis. He told me he wanted to be an entrepreneur and saved his money to invest in CBD Dog Health. It has been incredible working with my best friend and “partner in crime” every day.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Marketing CBD products, especially in the pet space, is difficult because you can’t rely on traditional marketing tools like paid social media ads. You have to ditch traditional marketing and you just have to be real and care about CBD, the customer, and the quality of your products.

We started out by filling a gap in not just one, but two billion-dollar industries — but we took the time do things right and not focus on profits. I, my rescue farm, and my mission are authentic, living brands that can’t be made up. Customers trust authentic people who create real products from natural resources that help their loved ones. Large corporations and even celebrities are hard to trust anymore, so our strategy is to be as genuine and transparent with customers as possible, without gimmicks or unrealistic expectations. You can’t get more legit than us!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that excite me:

1. The federal legalization of hemp. I want everyone to have full access to this incredible medicine.
2. Being an expert in the industry from the start and using that to educate as many people as possible — all while helping animals with the power of full spectrum hemp CBD.
3. Seeing the national conversation surrounding CBD and cannabis shift away from the traditional “Cannabis is bad!” argument to people demanding more research and being willing to talk about the positive aspects of medical cannabis.

Three things that concern me:

1. Federal legalization — On the flipside, federal legalization also means that there will be regulations and rules that may lump hemp in with marijuana plants containing over 1 percent THC.
2. Inappropriate regulations that can harm the smaller CBD companies to benefit big pharmaceutical companies who want a piece of the pie.
3. Inferior products flooding the marketplace (low potency, broad spectrum, isolates, additives, human products repackaged with a paw print on the label, etc.)

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. That I would be teaching doctors. I knew I needed to educate myself, so I enrolled in the inaugural class on Cannabis Science at The University of Vermont School of Medicine. That intensive program taught me everything about the biology and therapeutic uses of this incredible plant. Since Florida was still fighting to legalize medical cannabis, I felt driven to speak at conferences and teach doctors and veterinarians about how cannabis medicine works. I was surprised to learn that the endocannabinoid system is not even mentioned in their schooling or training, so I taught them and shared research along with my own success stories.
2. That I would be treated liked Narcos! People act like I’m hiring children to smuggle heroine across the “wall”. I knew when I entered the cannabis industry that it was going to be crazy, but when I went the pet and hemp direction, I thought it would be much easier because it was, and still is, LEGAL in all 50 states. I was wrong. I was dropped from online shopping platforms, blacklisted on social media, lost my payment processor three times, and was even abandoned by my original bank. As my credit card processors said, “You’re considered high-risk…you know, like porn. It’s legal, but no one wants to be their bank”.
3. That I would be judged so harshly by members of the community. I went from being a parenting expert to a cannabis expert, so needless to say there was push-back. People from the non-profit where I learned and taught parenting classes accused me of “telling kids it was okay to consume marijuana”.
4. That the cannabis industry would be like high school. I learned all about the industry in legal places like California, Colorado, and Canada where everyone is very open, supportive and helpful. But operating in a state where it just became medically legal, like Florida, is like the Hunger Games. It is so cutthroat, competitive, and catty. For example, Women Grow is an amazing organization which supports women in the industry; and as a feminist and long-time promoter of women entrepreneurs and leaders, I was naturally drawn to this group. But when I found my local chapter, I couldn’t get in. I called, emailed, and tried my best to become a member, but was shut down at every turn. I reached out to one of the national founders in Colorado to help me sign up, and within a week my fancy name badge came in the mail. The next month I put on my name tag and headed off to the Central Florida chapter meeting. When I walked in it was like I walked into the mean girls’ party in high school. A clique of women huddled and pointed and literally gasped at me. A bully even came up and tried to scare me away while the local chapter founder grilled me with questions — needless to say they were not welcoming. That chapter has since been shut down, but that was not the only occasion that I was excluded in cannabis circles. I have learned that you have to show up and demand to be heard and ignore those who are not supportive, because for the most part we all want the same thing: to get quality natural medicine to people and their pets.
5. That in marketing CBD, you have to think so far outside of the box that you can’t even see the original box you thought you were dealing with. As I mentioned before, hemp CBD is legal in all 50 states, but big companies like Facebook haven’t yet recognized this and continually deny us the ability to run ads, even going so far as to shut down and blacklisted pages of completely legal CBD companies. My team had to learn to adapt and pivot, but I wish someone had told me to save time and abandon my original ideas about marketing and buying ads, because none of it would be applicable for CBD. I have learned that when it comes to CBD, content and education are key; and even though social media channels won’t allow you to advertise, it is still possible to build a great following and become a trusted resource for your customers. You just have to enter the marketing space with a different mindset than you may have planned.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Find and cater to every employee’s strengths, encourage them to grow, listen to them, and let them know their value. If they have joined you in your CBD company, it was a risk for them too, and acknowledging that can help them know they are valued even when things go wrong or when the company has to suddenly change course. Reward them for their successes and help them reach their goals.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I want to inspire a movement I call PROUD 420: exposing cannabis users as the successful, healthy people they are! I hope to get rid of the stigma surrounding cannabis by educating everyone on the health benefits for all living beings. Healthy, active people can be cannabis users — it could be the mom in the grocery store or the business man giving a killer presentation, but everyone has felt the need to hide. So, on April 20, 2019, I am hoping to inspire #Proud420.

Removing the stigma surrounding cannabis use and the legalization of all cannabis (marijuana and hemp) would help EVERYTHING — the economy, jobs, the environment, and most importantly help all of us heal naturally. I would love to make every 4/20 a day for all kinds of people to be able to stand up and say that they are cannabis users and are proud.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

www.angelaardolino.com @angieardolino www.facebook.com/angelaardolino

@cbddoghealth #healingnaturally #proud420

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

“I wish someone told me that this industry can be like high school” With Angela Ardolino, founder… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One is only as productive as one’s last inspection. In the first three years, Health Canada paid us unscheduled visits with surprise inspections about once a month. When they arrived, they required our full attention so all other activities for Compliance and the COO had to stop, and the day was shot. A failed inspection would be a huge setback and possibly shut down operations until compliance was reestablished (by another surprise inspection). It kept us on our toes and inventory was always up to date but, as a result, I have had more inspections — as a person — than any other person in the Canadian industry not employed by HC (and we passed all of them). The other thing that arose from these inspections is that the HC inspectors became VERY knowledgeable. They are very smart people tasked with improvised responsibility.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD or Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Hamish Sutherland. Hamish is Founder and Co-CEO of White Sheep Corp, a cannabis company based in Toronto which is building the largest global footprint of low-cost cGMP cannabinoid production capacity in the industry. Hamish’s Scottish ancestors (highland shepherds) have served him well in being a custodian of hundreds of millions of investor dollars over the last three decades. A hands-on team builder, operations and marketing executive, Hamish is one of a rare few who has actual plant-touching experience in building a successful cannabis company, having passed more than 50 surprise inspections led by the excellent specialists at Health Canada. As the founding COO for Bedrocan Canada, Hamish delivered over $1.5 billion in returns for shareholders. He was responsible for the first legal international transfer of live cannabis plant material across any international border, as well as the “greenfield” construction and commissioning of the first large state-of-the-art automated facility (52,000 sq. ft.) in suburban Toronto. The facility, subsequently acquired by Canopy Growth (the largest cannabis company in the world), was the most reliable production facility in the Canopy family. Hamish has built start-ups on three continents and consulted to established brands including: Upper Canada Brewing Company, Bid.Com, Coopers & Lybrand, and ResearchNow. In addition, while working with the Australian government, he was responsible for establishing 17 offshore companies entering North America for the first time and guiding over $100-million of direct investment and acquisitions between Australian and Canadian companies. Hamish is a Professional Engineer (Engineering Physics) in Ontario, earned his MBA from Schulich School of Business, and was the Chair of the Little Geeks Foundation. He loves basketball, sailing and helping everyone achieve their potential.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Before cannabis, I was a marketer and strategic business developer in the tech industry where I delivered a few decades of professional international sales, marketing and operations experience. Nothing specific to cannabis. As a family guy who is passionate about basketball, I befriended the families on my son’s basketball team and met Marc Wayne, the founding CEO of Bedrocan Canada and a true medical-cannabis advocate. At our quarterly breakfast meeting catch-up, when Marc was close to earning a license, he found himself in need of a “person in charge” (PIC) to cover the gaps while he had to travel. It was a great fit with my engineering, consulting and international experience so I offered to help. Ultimately, helping a friend in need lead to my role as founding COO at Bedrocan. Working with and building the team there has been a highlight of my work-life with a terrific opportunity to learn so much, build exceptional teams with exceptional people, and contribute to a regulated system that brings real benefits to patients across Canada, and now the world.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When the industry was new, and we were the only facility in operation, there was interest from media in having a look around. During one visit, a journalist reached into her pocket to reveal some “product” she has purchased the day before at an illegal dispensary (for media research!) to investigate its quality and similarity to our cannabis. This was a huge problem for two reasons: 1) All cannabis in my facility was properly recorded and located — this was extraneous and could have led to a serious inventory issue and, while unlikely, a license suspension; and, 2) Contamination is the biggest concern in a cannabis facility and pollutants of any kind (especially on “dope”) could jeopardize an entire operation. Note to self: beyond hairnets and shoe covers, ask people if they have dope in their pockets before you let them in to your facility!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When we built this state-of-the-art facility, we underestimated that geese are heavy, ungraceful birds that look to land on flat surfaces with water accumulation, like, say, a roof of a large cannabis factory, no matter the time of day or night. So, a gaggle of 20-pound birds, landing on your roof that is outfitted with vibration sensors can trigger an alarm at 3:00 am. (I have no idea what party the geese were leaving when they arrived so late in the dark, or perhaps they just wanted cannabis!) Alarms blaring, the security company reported a roof break-in underway — at a cannabis facility — which generated notable concern from the police. Within minutes they arrived to investigate in those wee hours and we made great haste to be there to greet them. The police wanted to go in, and we wanted to know the cause of the alarm, but because contamination is our greatest concern, we have to minimize and document all entrants into our facility. Ultimately, we acquiesced and showed them around, only to discover the honking bandits on the roof. It was funny, but only after we assured the security of the building and prepared our report to Health Canada. If there is a lesson, it would be that unexpected stuff happens in every industry, but in cannabis, with high security and compliance, one has to plan for as many contingencies as one can imagine. Also …geese are not light, nor graceful.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

At White Sheep, our focus is on building compliant-friendly facilities in low-cost global areas where infrastructure (mechanical, power water and human) is inexpensive and readily available. Our global analysis guided us to southern Africa — with a benevolent climate, experienced work force, and access to licenses and land. The prior experience of our executives in Africa led us to identify a superlative — not just competent, but exceptional — regional team that provides us with a dominant land assembly and excellent local partners. Through this team, we identified a strategic group in another jurisdiction with whom we are expanding our proposed footprint in a second country in southern Africa. We have major global projects in four countries that are specifying, building and growing cannabis at scale — 3,500,000 sq. ft. (35 ha) in Eswatini, 300,000 sq. ft. in Lesotho, 4,300,000 sq. ft. (43 hectares) in Brisbane, Australia, and 300,000 sq. ft. in Trois Rivieres, Canada.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Absolutely — the success of a cannabis operation is largely dependent on its quality assurance program. Cannabis is for human consumption and improves the quality of life for many patients and consumers. Doing this efficiently saves money, and time. My personal mentor at Bedrocan was our QAP, Judy Magner, of Draco Associates. The key to Judy’s magic was her professionalism, patience and deliberate approach, teaching a novice team about the critical importance of documentation and records to achieve compliance. Having had the best teacher, we ultimately added her daughter to our Bedrocan compliance and quality team — again, without whom, we could not have been as successful. The infamous story is that in the very early months, Judy proposed a series of documentation requirements which, at the time, and in the absence of compliance training, seemed absurdly detailed. Initially I responded, “That’s not happening …,” and of course, we needed all of this documenting. The key is to hire people smarter than you, and then listen to them.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Yes, but I am not giving them away …Ha!!! Look, every jurisdiction permits different levels of communication with the target audiences, but there is a real difference between advertising and marketing. And we also have the nuanced category of education. The key is to assess how your target audience is prepared to respond to messaging and work on their level, not necessarily yours. The other consideration is that the regulators, who may be perceived as constraining your communication efforts, are also doing the best they can with new, unproven, untested regulations for a new industry and new consumers. They are not the enemy, but rather another target audience for the “how” of your messaging — and their buy-in and support can affect your success. Consider strongly their priorities and rationale — be creative and mindful.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excitement:

1) As a Canadian, and a patriot, I marvel at the initiative taken by the intrepid pioneers of our sector, forging an entire industry that was created by a legal decision rather than designed policy (Supreme Court). The ability of Canadian companies to lead global regulation, compliance and capitalization, and to destigmatize an historically misunderstood plant, serves as a fine example of true entrepreneurism. The US leads on CPG products, branding and retail, but Canadian companies have the advantage in capital and regulation as new jurisdictions become legal around the world;

2) In Canada, it will be tremendously exciting on the day that patients and consumers are able to buy cannabis from sites where it is cultivated (“Farmgate”). Consumers see legalization only through a lens of accessibility. The closer the access, the greater the convenience. The excitement will come from the certain development of farmgate dispensaries for small licensed producers in Canada where consumers will have a real up-close and personal contact with passionate, sincere and devout cannabis cultivators and service professionals;

3) For those in capital markets and who revel in deals, there is great excitement about the almost-certain imminent consolidation, aggregation and acquisition of smaller companies and assets. As financial challenges greet companies in myriad circumstances, this will provide a treasure-trove of mergers and acquisitions. It will be a very exciting time — and will likely include aggregation of US companies that will treat Canada as the 51st state, as a few US MSOs have already.

Concerns:

1) The supply/demand gap in every global jurisdiction may be wider than currently perceived because the apparent “funded capacity” as we know it today may not be realizable due to the challenges facing cannabis cultivation. Crop losses, contamination, pathogens and powdery mildew management are serious factors which can hinder supply. Figures to date are only estimated predictions. It is a lot harder to grow cannabis (legally, without the use of banned supplements and pesticides) than all but the most inside of insiders can fathom;

2) How sustainable are the small-cap companies, given the fickle nature of the capital markets to continue to fund them? Regulation and licensing in many jurisdictions can create distribution challenges that stress cash flow management, and this is taxing on investors;

3) Governments are prone to move the goal-posts. Elections in Canada and the US over the next 16 months, as well as elections in international markets, can all throw curves at the executives of our industry. From regulation to standards, from cultivation to distribution, from marketing to labels, everything can change.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) Compliance is hard.

Our compliance team assumed fantastic responsibility for our tasks and reporting protocols, and it has led to my belief that I hold my company and my teams to today: cannabis is a compliance industry, not an agricultural industry that suffers compliance. Detailed, comprehensive, and specific. Cannabis companies will only be successful with a corporate culture that fully adopts meticulous compliance without cutting corners.

2) The marijuana community is uncommonly passionate.

At one point in the early days of the legalization, an individual made social media attacks on several of our managers. We decided to meet him at a Starbucks where he berated us on our product quality and how “the man” was taking over the industry. He was an honorable guy, passionate about his weed, but not at all satisfied or supportive of good people trying to do good in a formal corporate organization.

3) There is a lot of pressure on being a Person In Charge (“PIC”).

For about a year and a half, we had only 5–6 PICs. By law, they must be present in each room where cannabis is present when work is being done. So, with multiple rooms, and only a few PIC’s, this resulted in all day shifts, 6 days a week, and no days off. A violation of having no PIC in-room (with full video coverage), or a mistake during cultivation, could jeopardize the success of an entire lot. The pressure was intense. I am eternally grateful for the stamina of my team, (particularly Steve and Cailey!). The industry is relieved that HC recently identified the genuine risks in a facility, versus the previous concerns based on unfounded fears — this has led to more rational and reasonable PIC requirements.

4) One is only as productive as one’s last inspection.

In the first three years, Health Canada paid us unscheduled visits with surprise inspections about once a month. When they arrived, they required our full attention so all other activities for Compliance and the COO had to stop, and the day was shot. A failed inspection would be a huge setback and possibly shut down operations until compliance was reestablished (by another surprise inspection). It kept us on our toes and inventory was always up to date but, as a result, I have had more inspections — as a person — than any other person in the Canadian industry not employed by HC (and we passed all of them). The other thing that arose from these inspections is that the HC inspectors became VERY knowledgeable. They are very smart people tasked with improvised responsibility.

5) The proof is in the paperwork.

One of the most compelling learnings was not so much a particular event, as a series of small educations from my QAP. The central lesson, and the one I take forward, is that regulated or medical cannabis (not marijuana or weed or dope) is all about compliance. The simple practice is, “If it is not written down, it didn’t happen”.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Common to almost every business — hire engaged workers who are able to fully participate and respect the documentation and records processes. I don’t mean they have to be passionate about documentation, but they should be sufficiently passionate about the product or service to care about the entire business. The critical success factor is the ability to do what is necessary, even if it is a little tedious at times. For many, the rigors of compliance are very hard to accommodate. The fact is, every employee is responsible for operations and compliance, because every mistake matters. It is not just up to the compliance officer. Every employee has the physical ability to destroy a crop or batch through malice or accident. And every employee likewise has the ability to compromise inspections by recording things inaccurately and improperly. Leadership actually arises at all levels in a cannabis organization — nurture those leaders throughout the organization with the necessary business-culture priorities.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I commend those people who are leading clinical research efforts, and other noble causes, but I am most looking toward those who will focus on the consumer market and recognize that dosing is a deeply misunderstood part of the consumption process. For example, most of the time, when we open a bottle of wine or liquor, we keep the lid so there is no pressure to consume the whole thing. With a joint, however, the practice is for individuals to smoke the whole thing, not to save some for later. For medicinal purposes, consuming a whole joint may not be necessary, but as a social process, this is the norm. Mini-(not necessarily micro)-dosing using vaporizers or precision distillates, is an alternate way to get an appropriate quantity of cannabinoids to a patient without wastage or excess. For edibles, there is the very real risk that consumers who do not experience immediate effects, due to a delay in onset, can end up taking more before realizing the initial impact, which leads to surprise and sometimes negative outcomes. Consumption is also very specific to each individual and it is hard to predict quantities and effects. We need more conversations and information about dosing. Go slow (especially with anything you haven’t tried before) until you figure out what works for you.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

On twitter at @Hamish_S and @whitesheepcorp

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

“One is only as productive as one’s last inspection” With Hamish Sutherland & Fotis Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “As much as it might feel like work, lean into networking”, With Ashley Lewis and Meredith Schroeder

Lean into networking. As much as it might feel like work — meeting other founders or potential advisors along your journey will be critical when you’re in a pickle.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashley Lewis and Meredith Schroeder, of Fleur Marché. Co-founder and CEO Ashley Lewis is a seasoned brand strategist with a proven record of translating concepts into revenue-driving businesses. Before Fleur Marché, she launched the wellness business vertical at goop, overseeing the launch and roll out of goop’s acclaimed vitamin line as well as the growth of its clean wellness shop (it was there that she first became obsessed with CBD). Prior to that, she was at ClassPass where she launched the Los Angeles business as the LA GM and subsequently oversaw the business development function, working on partnerships with Nike, Reebok, Sweetgreen, Outdoor Voices, and others. She began her marketing career at Mattel as a brand manager on the Barbie Global Brand Team, working on the fashion & beauty business. Ashley has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Communications and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Co-founder and CCO Meredith Schroeder has extensive merchandising experience in building and scaling retail platforms for female consumers and is a veteran at curating and building fashion brands for women. Prior to Fleur Marché, Meredith ran the fashion business vertical at goop, encompassing the buy strategy for third-party contemporary and luxury brands, and served as the lead merchant on goop’s own private label brand. Under her management, goop’s fashion business was the largest vertical, inclusive of RTW, Activewear and Accessories, growing over 3X in revenue within two years. Before goop, Meredith was deeply entrenched in retail businesses spanning mass retail (Macy’s), vertically integrated wholesale businesses (BCBG), e-commerce fast fashion (Nasty Gal), and concept luxury retail stores (Maris Collective).

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path? (Meredith)

It happened very organically for me. I became invested personally in the category in the last couple years, once I learned that cannabis was a wellness tool, not just a recreational drug that got me high. I swapped cannabis for other medications in my own life and shared my experiences and product obsessions with my own community who in turn became believers in the category, under new context. I realized there was a clear opportunity to create a retail experience for women (specifically, novice women) on a bigger scale that was beautiful, sophisticated and elevated — an experience that didn’t exist at the time.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? (Ashley)

Right after we launched, Anheuser Busch invited us to come speak to a group of its craft brewers about CBD, marketing to a female audience, and the trends we were seeing in the cannabis industry. We weren’t really sure what to expect but got to the conference and found ourselves in a room packed to the gills with real dudes — beer drinking, overall-wearing, tough guys whom, at first glance, we thought would be completely bored by us. But, to our surprise, they were hanging on our every word. They were desperate to understand how to market their products to women and couldn’t get enough from us in terms of how women shop, how they evaluate products, what they care about when making a purchase, etc. It was really fascinating, and really fun. We only had an hour but could’ve spent the entire afternoon with them.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that? (Ashley)

When we first launched the beta version of our site, we sent a welcome email to all of our friends and family, plus a few potential investors. Along with information about why we started the company and the site, we offered everyone a discount on their first purchase…but we forgot to include a discount code, anywhere. It wasn’t until we started getting emails asking about how to redeem the discount that we realized our mistake. Ooops…

Are you working on any exciting projects now? (Meredith)

Can’t really give many details, but we’re in talks with one of our favorite non-CBD retailers to pop in to a couple of their locations and help their customer understand how CBD can apply to them in ways that they care about. It’s really on-brand for us in terms of audience and how clearly wellness ties in to the entire activation. It’s also a great way for us to dip our toes into the retail waters.

We’re also working on a really fun potential activation for Coachella, that would give people much quicker and easier access to CBD. But again, we’re being tight lipped until it’s real…

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story? (Ashley & Meredith)

Drew Baker, founder of Funkhaus — an amazing digital creative agency — was our first real believer and is the reason we got this thing launched in the first place. Drew and Funkhaus have created the online experiences for some big brands in cannabis (they’re currently working on the launch of Prohbtd’s new site) as well as non-cannabis brands like ICM, Ridley Scott, and Imagine Entertainment. We were excited to be connected to him, just to pick his brain on the cannabis space and the opportunity for CBD ecomm. We called him for general advice, he had all these ideas and was so helpful and so enthusiastic about what we were doing. A week later, he called back and said he wanted to give us our first check, just because he believed in us as founders and loved our idea. Not only did he give us the money to get started, but then also connected us to a bunch of other investors, which is really how our fundraising got rolling. Without him, there’s no way we would’ve been up and running as quickly as we were. We owe him a lot!

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting? (ASHLEY)

Mostly, we’re just trying to get in front of people. We know that events are the highest touch way to engage a potential customer, so we’ve tried to make the events we do much more intimate. We prefer to (literally) get into living rooms with groups of friends, talk to them about CBD, answer their questions, and help them discover products that can address their specific needs. It gives them the best sense of who we are as a company, the authenticity of our brand, and the fact that they can trust us. While this isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, it will get much harder at scale (who’s to say that the two of us will always be available at each of these events, how do you keep things intimate and authentic as you grow?).

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you? (ASHLEY & MEREDITH)

We’re excited about:

1. Better research — the more research that comes out about CBD and cannabis, the more evidence we have of its ability to really help people and the more our “trusted experts” like scientists and MDs will start to incorporate cannabis into their practices. Not only will the research help make cannabis an everyday wellness tool, but it will make it easier for the reluctant audience that we specifically target to get on board. [ASHLEY]
2. De-stigmatization of the industry — similar to what I mentioned above, I’m excited for the normalization of cannabis and the evolution of consumer thinking about what it is, what it does and who uses it. It’s not JUST a recreational drug that gets you high (even though we fully support that use of it), it’s also something that should live harmoniously in your medicine cabinet or on your kitchen shelf. I’m really excited for the day when consumers feel totally comfortable speaking up about how they’ve used CBD, how it has helped them. I expect that we’ll soon overhear conversations with all types of consumers (across the country) comparing their favorite CBD brands vs. just whispering to each other about whether or not they’ve tried it. [ASHLEY]
3. The evolution of product formats and the improving quality of products that have been on the market for a while (with a staggering number of female lead brands I might add!). With more science, comes more inventive products, very excited to continue to see this evolve. [MEREDITH]

I’m concerned about:

1. Bad actors flooding into the CBD space — as more companies enter the CBD space, there is more potential for bad actors, who aren’t focused on quality, transparency and standards. It’s really important to set the bar high in those areas, so that the consumer never has reason to distrust this space.
2. Volatility of the regulatory landscape — with every passing day it feels like there is a new set of regulations. While we’re prepared to weather whatever comes our way, it would be great to have some sense of stability in terms of the regulations, so that we can build our businesses accordingly.
3. Proliferation of bad information — we’ve really made it our mission to clarify and demystify information about CBD, what it is, what it does, and how to know if it’s legit. As CBD becomes more readily available to a wider range of consumers, we want to make sure that these consumers have the right information, know what they’re buying, and are set up for success.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each. (ASHLEY & MEREDITH)

1. Because this is such a new space (or at least, a space that’s taking on a totally new form), there aren’t a ton of guide posts, rules or warnings. Anyone getting into this industry needs to be prepared for ambiguity and feel comfortable forging their own path and operating in the grey. As regulations are continuously changing, we’ve gotten really comfortable rolling with the punches, not taking any twist or turn too seriously, and feeling confident that if we do what we’re focused on doing, things will work out. [ASHLEY]
2. Figure out payment processing first! When we first started, there was a lot of hearsay about companies that were getting unceremoniously shut down for seemingly no reason. Once we dug into this, we learned that the was a very clear reason: these companies hadn’t found the appropriate payment processing partners. Because cannabis is a “high risk” item, it requires a “high risk” payment processor, who knows that the business deals with cannabis and is willing to underwrite it. [ASHLEY]
3. We were lucky enough to get ahead of this, but definitely get a strong legal team. The laws change so quickly, it’s critical to stay on the right side of things. [MEREDITH]
4. Do your own research. There is a tremendous about of misinformation out there. We spent SO much time really understanding the category and the science with a fine-tooth comb, so that we could curate the best of the best and dispel a lot of confusion as it pertains to CBD and its benefits. [MEREDITH]
5. Have a point of view! As everyone rushes to be part of the cannabis craze, it’s going to get pretty crowded out there. We’ve always focused very clearly on a specific mission, a specific audience and a specific problem we’re trying to solve. If you don’t have that, you’ll risk blending in with everyone else. [ASHLEY]

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

1. Almost everything is fixable (so don’t waste too much time freaking out). [ASHLEY]
2. Your mood/confidence/belief in yourself will literally ping pong from amazing to horrendous each day (and sometimes multiple times in a day) — don’t worry, that’s normal. You’re doing great! [ASHLEY]
3. Ask for help! You don’t get points for knowing how to do everything yourself. As soon as you run into a roadblock that you can’t get around yourself, started thinking about who can help you figure it out. [ASHLEY]
4. Don’t let yourself get paralyzed by your task list. Taking things one thing at a time, will have a whole new meaning. [MEREDITH]
5. Lean into networking. As much as it might feel like work — meeting other founders or potential advisors along your journey will be critical when you’re in a pickle. [MEREDITH]

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

ASHLEY: Kindness — corny as it sounds, I think the world would just be better if we all tried to be a bit more kind; whether to someone you pass on the street or your worst enemy.

MEREDITH: Rebranding cannabis to women who think it’s not for them.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@fleurmarche (IG, Twitter)

@shopfleurmarche (Facebook)

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “As much as it might feel… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “Keep track of customer stories; They can inspire and energize your team” With Jason Neely, President of Stratos

Keep track of customer stories. Over the past 4+ years, our team has been moved to tears by customer stories on a number of occasions. These stories inspire and energize our team, and they can help to center your mind when the waters turn choppy. I wish we had all of those stories in one place.

I had the pleasure to interview Jason Neely, COO, President and Founding Partner of Stratos. Jason has long possessed a desire to help people. As a formulation scientist for 20 years, Jason built medicines to ease people’s suffering. He worked for several large pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies developing medications under DEA and FDA scrutiny. With his discipline and scientific prowess, he quickly became one of the top formulation scientists in the country. When he learned about the healing potential of cannabis, he decided to put his business and science skills to work creating the best products on the market. Leading a team of scientists, manufacturers, sales people, marketers, and growers, Jason built Stratos — one of the most well respected consumer brands in the Colorado cannabis market — as well as Stratos CBD, a hemp and CBD product line.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Five years ago while chaperoning at my nine-year-old son’s elementary school dance, I struck up a conversation with my neighbor and fellow dad. He was in the cannabis business, and at the time, I was in the pharmaceutical industry, which we both had experience working in. Our conversation eventually turned to the marketwide issue of cannabis-infused products not being consistent in potency and dosage, unreliable for customers, and in need of an upgrade from a quality standpoint. From there, we decided to link up and change the game together.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

One of our customers had been given some very grave news from his oncologist — he was given two months to live after being diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. After this news, he felt he had nothing left to lose and decided to give cannabis a try, and started taking Stratos tablets after a budtender recommended them. Two months later at a doctor visit, the doctor was surprised to see him and after taking a close look at an x-ray, he asked, “What have you been doing?” The tumor had reduced significantly. Now I’m not saying cannabis is a cure for cancer, but this was the only thing he did differently, and it helped him. Hearing this news made me hopeful that what we were doing truly was helping people.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Many of the mistakes were NOT funny in the moment, but there is one I can laugh about now. When cannabis came up for the vote in Colorado, I voted no. This stemmed from my lack of accurate education around the medical potential of the plant. Even funnier than that vote, now I’m actively advocating for more access.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Since founding Stratos five years ago, we have created tablets, tinctures, and a salve that are infused with THC and CBD. These products quickly won over consumers and patients and you’ll see them on most of the dispensary store shelves in Colorado. This year we added on to that expertise by creating CBD tablets that can be bought online and shipped anywhere in the country. Creating innovative products are always at the top of the list — we have several product ideas in R&D and we’ve done preliminary work with a few lesser known cannabinoids. The more we learn, the more we understand how much potential this plant contains! In the coming months there will be new hemp, CBD, and THC products hitting the market — be sure to check www.stratosthc.com and www.stratoscbd.com for updates.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are two immensely important figures who continue to aid me on this journey. The first is my dad. He cut his teeth in business and has been incredibly supportive. The other is an executive coach who I’ve worked with for several years, even before undertaking cannabis. These two people help identify my blind spots, encourage me, and provide solid business advice. When we needed to make changes in our finance operations, my dad flew out to give hands on guidance for next steps and helped bridge the gap while we were in transition.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

At Stratos, we are built on the foundation of helping people and our brand aims to bridge the gap between playful and serious in the cannabis space. This matches our product positioning, which manifests as informative, visually interesting executions that can appeal both to people looking for an elevated experience and people seeking relief. We also keep our marketing simple, clear, and concise. Our most valuable insight comes when we listen to what consumers, providers, and people say that they need, then create new products to fulfill those needs. From an activation standpoint, we believe education is key. We’ve worked with clinicians to provide education to groups who we understand can benefit from cannabis. Our marketing strategies have ranged from creating Cannabis 101 classes for senior education to starting a special run club for cannabis enthusiasts. All of these initiatives have been well-received and offer new education and lifestyle approaches that the market was craving!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Excite:

1. Research — There are many studies that have been done and the results are exciting. We see incredible anecdotal evidence of our products helping people reduce suffering. With expanded research, more people with similar conditions can learn about and access cannabis.
2. Consumer Education — People were told so many negative things about cannabis for so long. It’s only natural for some people to show up with a lot of questions and a healthy dose of skepticism. We see this as an opportunity to educate around the plant and inspire a paradigm shift towards cannabis in general.
3. Clinician Adoption — When most people are sick, they go to doctors and follow their advice. It is common for patients to turn to cannabis only when they feel they are out of options. While medical training traditionally does not include cannabis medicine, this is very slowly changing. We have partnered with doctors who have done their research and are linking the best of western and non-traditional approaches when treating patients.

Concern:

1. Taxes — Cannabis businesses aren’t able to write off any deductions because of 280E, which can leave tax rates as high as 70%. This limits our ability to pay employees what they could earn working in a different industry. For our team members, it has to be about more than the money. Our employees are committed to the mission, so we’ve been very fortunate in this area.
2. Regulatory Uncertainties — Whether it’s a new state adopting (or rejecting) medical or recreational legalization, working through the details of the Farm Bill, and a never-ending stream of regulatory updates, the only constant we can rely upon is change. It’s no mystery that any burgeoning cannabis company is concerned about federal legalization allowing large corporations to usurp the market share of smaller companies that have been here since the beginning.
3. Intellectual Property — Our products and marketing approach have been revolutionary in the cannabis space. We know other brands are closely watching what we’re doing. Unfortunately, the ability to legally protect those assets is limited.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Find a great tax person. Working with 280E unwisely has broken some cannabis companies. This is one of the main challenges we face as an industry.
2. Expand beyond THC quickly. We introduced some of the first CBD edibles on the Colorado market based on requests that we heard from dispensaries and end users. There appears to be an incredible amount of potential in the other facets of the cannabis plant. Investing in research and developing innovative products that are first-to-market is critical for survival.
3. Brace for continual, rapid change. The heat in this kitchen is always on, and you’ll need to prepare yourself to stay focused and keep going. Our team has adapted to this well, and it shows in the way our store environments, customer preferences, and revenue streams continue to evolve. Our team listens and works to pivot quickly when we see the need.
4. Keep track of customer stories. Over the past 4+ years, our team has been moved to tears by customer stories on a number of occasions. These stories inspire and energize our team, and they can help to center your mind when the waters turn choppy. I wish we had all of those stories in one place.
5. Enjoy it. Our team runs lean, which means we all stay busy. I make a concerted effort to regularly bring the team together to share stories, update them on new developments, and zoom out on what we’re building. It is refreshing to step back, take a bird’s-eye view, and to share laughs with the team.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

This is an industry that moves a mile a minute, and you won’t get anywhere without a good team behind you. No doubt about it, your biggest asset is your team, and people thrive when they are appreciated and given opportunities to grow. Like many others, my previous work environments involved office politics, and individual skill sets were often underutilized and efforts underappreciated. From day one, I vowed that the Stratos culture would be different. It is important that every single team member knows how valuable they are. Every employee has something to offer, and they deserve the opportunity to succeed. We consciously cross train team members to empower them to help each other. This includes the leadership team. We recently had a packaging change and everyone came in on a Saturday to knock it out. We instill more than ‘do your job well’. This is a value system.

Since the start of this company, my habit has been to say “thank you” instead of goodbye to each team member at the end of the day. Now, you’ll find most of our team saying “thank you” to each other before leaving for the day.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The devastating effects of opioid addiction are well-documented. My previous professional roles revolved around developing opioid drugs only to see them over-prescribed rather than for the acute supervised care for which they were designed. For these reasons, I left the pharmaceutical industry to translate my formulating expertise into developing products that can help people and assist in reversing this crisis. If I could inspire a movement, it would be for people to embrace CBD as an option to help in the opioid crisis. CBD is non-psychoactive and does not alter mental or physical functionality. Studies have shown it can help with opioid withdrawal and that it shows promise as an alternative option for those with chronic pain. Obviously, any patient should follow the instructions of their doctor and I am not advising anyone to stop taking their prescribed medication, but it is nice to know there are other options to consider.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

https://www.facebook.com/stratosthc

https://www.instagram.com/stratosthc/

Websites:

www.stratosthc.com

www.stratoscbd.com

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business: “Keep track of customer… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

…you do not know what you think you know. There’s a saying that if you’ve been in this industry for a couple of years you’re a dinosaur. The reality is that cannabis goes back tens of thousands of years, and in our communities here on the West Coast, is a multi generational discipline.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing James Whitehead. James is the Strategic Director at Pasha Brands and CEO of CBD Therapeutics. James is a trailblazing entrepreneur gifted with an uncanny ability to identify emerging market opportunities matched with business savvy to drive success. He confidently pushes boundaries and ideates innovative approaches in new market fields, generating multi million dollar revenues. With extensive knowledge of national, provincial and municipal legislation as well as policies and procedures, he regularly sought out for opinions on marijuana utilization and sales. He is adept at working with municipal councils to present business and rezoning proposals as well as community minded with compassion for the less fortunate, regularly fundraises for charities and develops a truly diverse staff. After planned acquisition of his start up enterprises in 2018, James joined Pasha Brands as Director of Strategy, responsible for developing forward looking path to market, and relationship strategy for the company. Equipped with a sweeping 20 year background in the cannabis sector, spanning cultivation, retail, extraction, product development, direct to consumer sales, CBD supply chain vertical integration, media spokesmanship, activism and outreach; James actively supports the executive committee in its planning, and execution of corporate objectives.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

In 2001 I was in a rollover motor vehicle accident in which I broke my back and sustained multiple other serious injuries. Over a course of four years I had to relearn how to walk and ultimately repair to the point where I could consider joining the workforce. Since this time I have been in five other major motor vehicle accidents, none of which have been my fault. In my process of recovery, spanning close to two decades, I discovered that cannabis worked for me much better than any other intervention.

Four and a half years ago I started the dispensary with the insurance proceeds from my most recent accident. I started very humbly sleeping in the back and bagging all of the cannabis myself. I slowly grew the business to have 3 locations and over 100 employees. During the course of helping people over several years I learned that CBD was the most effective cannabinoid at managing many conditions. I then started to reach out to hemp farmers, ultimately vertically integrating Canadian hemp, and created Canada’s largest direct to consumer CBD company based around education and high-quality Canadian CBD. We went on to serve tens of thousands of Canadians and help many people improve the quality of their lives naturally and safely.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When I started CBD Therapeutics, I had a mission to improve the quality of CBD in Canada. Since that time I have had hundreds of people literally in tears telling me the difference that the product has made in their life — everything ranging from small children with epilepsy who are now without seizures to veterans who have been using a walker for 20 years able to not use the walker at all. It would be too difficult to land on one story. The overarching theme is that at this point in my life helping others has been the single best decision I ever made.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

There’s a story about a hemp farmer in Saskatchewan who sold me over $100,000 worth of CBD biomass material that ended up being worthless. Turns out, he was a local high school football star and trying to get paid back resulted in most of a small town telling me to go kick rocks.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are currently working on some of the first direct to consumer and adult use cannabis products for Mexico under the CBD therapeutics banner.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I am particularly grateful to my younger brother. My younger brother suffered a serious head injury when he was young and I have been his primary caregiver for most of my adult life. He has taught me the patience and perspective necessary to be kind to others despite my naturally lazy attitude. The challenge of supporting him has ultimately made me a better person and has giving me most of the skills that have made me successful in the space.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Our platform is based on a direct to consumer educator model, which is unlike anything else in the marketplace. We’ll be bringing back this educator marketplace soon within Mexico, Europe and hopefully the United States.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Three things that most excite me about the cannabis industry are:

• the fact that it’s brand new;
• the total lack of supply, which means that there is tons of growth to occur;
• the short list of companies that are actually producing, which suggest that they’ll be many, many, more to rise to the top.

Three things that concern me most are:

• the greed and lack of connection to the plant that I see represented within the industry. especially within certain companies;
• that the black market, which is really the repository of talent in this space, will remain on the sidelines for too long the nature of the cannabis marketplace will change fundamentally forever;
• there’s an under representation of minorities and women in the space and I would like to see that improved.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

Five things that I wish someone had told me before starting the cannabis business are :

Number one, you will get ripped off. The countless number of purchases I’ve made which were of low-quality or not what I asked for are too numerous to count. Developing a network of trusted providers is the most important thing for someone getting started.

Second, people will not understand what you do. Routinely I am met with people who think that essentially I’m a drug dealer however I am committed to improving the well-being of the lives of many people around me.

Third, you do not know what you think you know. There’s a saying that if you’ve been in this industry for a couple of years you’re a dinosaur. The reality is that cannabis goes back tens of thousands of years, and in our communities here on the West Coast, is a multi generational discipline.

Fourth, it would take you literally a lifetime to learn what one or two of the best growers in your town know. Don’t discount the skill that goes into cannabis.

Finally, the industry is not diverse. Cannabis right now is largely a male dominated space. If you are looking to enter an industry that is inclusive, this is an area that you will need to put money and effort into. However, this is one of the greatest opportunities.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

My best advice for a CEO is to select the very best person that you can and start that assessment by looking at that person as an individual. Once you know that you have a person with the right heart and the right attitude, assess if their skills will help you in the area that you require. If you believe that this person is the right fit, make sure to get out of their way and let them excel.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would choose to inspire people to clean up plastic from all of the world’s natural environments. I go once a week to the beach, usually smoke a really nice joint and pick up garbage for a couple of hours. It’s amazing that me, as one person, can clean a large section of beach. When I go back there’s always plastic laying out as the sea continually brings more to land. If everybody could just take an hour or two out of their life every week and go and pick up garbage we would mitigate so much of the habitat destruction and social environmental issues associated with our overconsumption of plastic goods.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

The best way for readers to follow me on social media is via my Facebook.

“In this industry, you do not know what you think you know” With James Whitehead was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started a CBD Business, With Corey Mangold Co-Founder of Gigasavvy

If I could inspire a movement that would have the most impact on people around the world, it would be to develop a standardized manufacturing and testing protocol to be adopted globally. If we all adhered to the same level of testing, regulations, seed-to-sale tracking, and emissions testing, it would better ensure that no matter where in the world you are, your consuming cannabis safely and don’t have to be concerned that this amazing plant is going to cause you harm because of how it was grown or how it was made. Consumer safety is incredibly important to me and I would love to help develop a global standards program.

I had the pleasure to interview Corey Mangold. Mr. Mangold is the Principal and Co-Founder of Gigasavvy, a leading southern California creative marketing agency. He has established a thriving agency that has launched and managed campaigns for Toshiba, Knott’s Berry Farm, Johnny Rockets, Hi-Chew Candy, Tenet Healthcare and Northgate Markets. Mr. Mangold has also worked tirelessly to create a thriving culture at Gigasavvy that has been recognized, 3 years running, as a “Top 10 Places” to work in Orange County. As the President and Co-Founder of Orchid, Mr. Mangold brings 18 years of start-up experience and a knack for developing successful companies. Mr. Mangold’s vision and extensive experience in marketing/advertising, branding, design, sales and product development has already established Orchid as the new brand to beat in the market.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

What led me into the cannabis industry is a culmination of nearly 30 years. I was developing business ideas and strategies from a very young age. At the age of 18, I began my first venture in the software development industry and built and exited companies in Northern California until landing in Southern California in 2007. In 2008, I started my most recent venture before Orchid Ventures, a nationally respected advertising agency Gigasavvy. During my 20 years of building businesses from the ground up, I began pursuing my passions, which led me to cannabis. For nearly 15 years I hadn’t used cannabis, and after suffering major anxiety and daily panic attacks, I began using both THC and CBD-based products. I began to see major improvements in my daily life, and the stigma of cannabis in my household died a quick death. I began viewing cannabis as a medicine, and not a recreational drug like alcohol or tobacco. Through my own studies and research, I developed a keen understanding of manufacturing processes with cannabis and began to better understand the levels of quality. This understanding led my partner Rene Suarez and I to create a brand with a sole mission of creating the highest quality cannabis products in form factors that would lead to a great user experience.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Building a company in the cannabis industry is not for the faint of heart. Many interesting things have occurred along the way. One of the funniest was in 2017 when I was on a road trip through California and had to stop by our manufacturer’s facility to pick up some product samples. Driving down the road, my co-worker and I realized that we were driving to what used to be a state prison to pick up cannabis. We realized a state prison had been closed down and turned into a licensed cannabis manufacturing facility, and I was there to pick up marijuana. The irony in that had me laughing for a good bit.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made when first starting was thinking that this was going to be like any other business or industry I have been previously involved in. I thought “business is business.” Well, I learned quickly that being involved in an industry coming out of prohibition while still having a massive black market was not only difficult but very frustrating at times. You think you can just send someone an email, or a calendar invite, or conference bridge to find out that these forms of communication are foreign to some of those that have been involved in the industry for years. I had to learn very quickly how to communicate effectively and also do proper due diligence before engaging with any partners.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Here at Orchid Ventures, we are working on a lot of exciting projects. We just launched on the public markets in March, and are deep in the trenches right now building up revenues and developing new product lines and brands. I’m very excited for what the future holds, and we are working tirelessly to turn our dreams into a reality.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

During my life-long career as an entrepreneur, I’ve had a lot of time to develop relationships with great mentors, but none as significant as my own father. My dad, now retired, has been a CFO of mid-size companies for 40 years. At a tender age of 4, I began watching the stock tickers and working on taxes in pencil with my dad. I knew at a very young age that my dad had a special mind, and I needed to absorb as much as I could from him. When I was 14 years old, he started his first venture in the artificial landscaping industry building water features and artificial rockscapes. I watched him struggle through the years of infancy in a new company, to landing major contracts with Disney. I also watched him struggle through collecting on accounts receivables and the other very important aspects of business. When I was a senior in high school, I was blessed with my now 21-year-old daughter, Katelyn. I had a choice to either go to college and become an employee, or go out on my own, carve my own path, and build my first company. I chose to become my own person and develop my first company. My father was there behind me and supporting me every step of the way. He’s been a great sounding board and has always given me great advice that I have been able to put into action. I wouldn’t be here without my father.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

When it comes to marketing in the cannabis industry there are definitely unique approaches that must come into play to be successful. With my relationships and experience with Gigasavvy, we have unique access to marketing platforms and technologies that will enable us to be innovative on the marketing front. When it comes to marketing in this space, you have immediate blockers from Facebook/Instagram and Google. Hopefully, those restrictions will be removed once marijuana is descheduled and legalized federally. Until then, the biggest gap is the POS (point of sale) platforms that are in use at the retail level. In other industries where you can collect POS data, have Beacon at store entries, you can better build out an accurate attribution model and track from a display or mobile advertisement being shown, to tracking that person into a store, and tracking the sale itself or conversion. Without this technology in existence at the cannabis retailer level, marketing becomes very difficult and risky. Most companies are heavily relying on billboards, print, and other traditional methods that are very difficult to track and to tell if your campaign is successful or not or what the actual return on investment is.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The three things that excite me most about the cannabis industry are the global expansion, regulation, and legislative changes that are beginning to occur, scientific testing and medical research, and product development with lesser-known cannabinoids and terpenes. The global markets are expanding quickly, with new countries legalizing cannabis and import/export, which will entirely change the industry and move us into a global marketplace. The medical research is very exciting because the younger generation of doctors and research scientists have a keen interest in cannabis due to its amazing characteristics and application as a potential game changer in the medical industry. We are already seeing articles of cannabis being used in opioid treatment and recovery, which is very exciting to see. As for product development, as more medical research is compiled and more research into other cannabinoids, we’re going to see amazing products developed for weight loss, sleep & anxiety, and a host of other medical conditions where THC-V, CBG, CBN, etc., will offer great benefits.

There are several things that concern me regarding the cannabis industry. First and foremost is the ever-growing black market. In California, we are seeing major issues with lack of enforcement, and hundreds if not thousands of illegal storefronts in Southern California alone. Consumers heavily frequent illegal shops as there are no taxes being collected, so a consumer’s cost for products is much lower. This year the state of California will miss out on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue due to the black market. With most of the major brands selling to the black market and the number of black market retailers, enforcement is my biggest concern. When all these stores go away, and companies like WeedMaps stop advertising these illegal shops, all the revenue will have no choice but to go through the legal markets and be taxed appropriately. The second concern is the slow speed that the United States is moving towards full national legalization. If we don’t make changes quickly, then the rest of the world is going to engage in import/export and create a global market with the U.S. sitting on the sidelines watching. The third biggest concern I have in the cannabis industry is the removal of the stigma of cannabis and educating consumers around the world. To remove the stigma, we first need all the major cannabis companies to adhere to good morals and business ethics and be a source of inspiration and not a stain. To remove the stigma, we have to build credibility with consumers and non-consumers and educate on the benefits of cannabis, cannabis marketplace, and the overall development of cannabis as a viable product that may offer great benefits to people of all ages.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. I wish someone told me how expensive it would be to build up infrastructure. When we started Orchid, we did a small raise with friens and family, and underestimated how much would have to go into scaling the brand. From day one, the demand was much greater than we could supply, which made access to capital incredibly important. We were also naive in thinking we could simply raise more capital through traditional resources which aren’t readily available currently in the U.S.
2. I wish someone told me how to compete on an unfair playing field, while some companies like Orchid adhere to all regulations, and while many don’t. It’s like owning a MLB franchise and all your players are clean, but many teams you compete against are on steroids.
3. I wish someone told me how important due diligence would be when trying to find good partner companies. Fortunately things are evolving quickly and more and more companies are entering the cannabis industry from other industries, but in the beginning, it was very hard to find partners that had the business acumen, and ability to scale in a rapidly growing sector.
4. I wish someone told me how much ego comes into play in this industry. Most people you meet in this industry are the best grower, or the best extractor, or the best retailer. This again is slowly going away, but in a new growth sector, often people feel they are the best because data isn’t available to show them otherwise. Now with more regulation and testing and SOPs coming into play, people are beginning to be humbled and realize that we all still have so much to learn.
5. I wish someone told me that I would have to effectively lobby for legislative action to enforce the laws so the black market doesn’t thrive and steal away from the legal market. I was very ignorant in believing that all the cities and counties would immediately shut down all the illegal operations, and those missed revenues would funnel through the legal markets and provide amazing revenue to the county or state thus providing more public services and benefits. I now realize how important lobbying for effective and meaningful legislation is critical.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

I would advise other CEOs or founders of cannabis companies to embrace the modern business culture and learn how to best work with millennials. Millennials are very misunderstood, and in fact, are incredibly hard working and smart. With Orchid and Gigasavvy, I’ve learned how to properly manage people in a way that utilizes their strengths and minimizes the need for micro-management. Hiring someone that is an expert at their job, and staying out of their way so they can do it, is very important when managing young or veteran professionals.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If I could inspire a movement that would have the most impact on people around the world, it would be to develop a standardized manufacturing and testing protocol to be adopted globally. If we all adhered to the same level of testing, regulations, seed-to-sale tracking, and emissions testing, it would better ensure that no matter where in the world you are, your consuming cannabis safely and don’t have to be concerned that this amazing plant is going to cause you harm because of how it was grown or how it was made. Consumer safety is incredibly important to me and I would love to help develop a global standards program.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Readers can follow me on Instagram @OrchidCEO or @CoreyMangold.

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started a CBD Business, With Corey Mangold Co-Founder… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Seed Technology CEO Matthew Cutone: Operate with authenticity and transparency, with Fotis Georgiadis

I am sure this will sound cliche, but hire people who are smarter than you and do your best to empower them. It’s very inspirational to witness your team solve problems and “grab a hold of the controls”. Don’t just hire smart people, but treat them like family. Start-ups are a grind. Especially in the cannabis industry, if you don’t have the right people in your corner, you will neither thrive nor survive. Operate with authenticity and transparency. If you don’t, these very smart people will “smoke you out” and be onto their next venture.

Matthew Cutone is the founder and CEO of Seed Technology, the third business he has partnered in and the second he has founded. Previously, he helped lead Horizon Technology from 10 employees and $5m in revenue to over 130 employees and $100m in revenue. In 2007, he co-founded Horizon Display, which brought him closer to the retailer and end user. Horizon Display has created interactive experiences to enhance the retail environment for clients like Tesla, Nike, Acura and Drybar. He’s always had a huge passion for solving real business problems with digital technology, and his prior experience makes him uniquely suited to navigating the developing cannabis industry. He and the Seed team are on a mission to make shopping at a dispensary the same as any other store by coupling self-service with credible education.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

While I’ve owned several technology companies, technology itself isn’t what gets me out of bed every morning. My passion really lies in solving business problems using digital technologies. My other company, Horizon Display, has been creating digital and interactive experiences for the past 10+ years for Fortune 500 companies like Tesla, Nike, Acura, etc. Our applications have helped customers travel the learning curve on products as well as enhanced the retail experience. Several years ago, we created an interactive consultation that essentially matched a user to the appropriate hair care product. It was, and continues to be, a huge success in providing self-service for the customer and significant sales lift for companies like Drybar. I knew we could repurpose this educational software and recommendation platform for other industries. After testing several markets, it was clear that there was an opportunity in the cannabis industry to provide credible education through a digital application.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

What’s been most interesting is the sense of community that the cannabis industry has. In all of the other industries I’ve been in, everyone’s eating each others’ lunch and cutting each other’s throats. Yes, this is a competitive business and you need to be prepared for that, but I have never experienced an industry with such excitement and optimism. It is very refreshing. I have had many people take time out to help me and I am always looking for ways to pay that forward.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Like many other people out there who are discovering or rediscovering cannabis, I have a couple of failed attempts at consuming edibles. One Friday at the office, I was able to make it through the workday, but had to have my wife pick me up… She was obviously super proud. Another less- than-stellar experience was at the San Jose airport. I could not for the life of me figure out exactly where I was supposed to stand in line to board my flight. I’m pretty certain I freaked a few people out. How hard is it to understand the basic chronology of numbers? Apparently very, when you’ve had an edible on an empty stomach.My advice? Always start low and go slow when it comes to edibles. Or maybe just go with a different consumption method.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Always. On the client/dispensary side, we have begun working with some very large multi-state operators (MSOs). The MSOs always introduce a level of complexity that I personally find interesting. Each state has its own laws and challenges, which then forces you to solve unique problems. With software, you can address them with much more agility. This is also benefits our existing customer base because it keeps the product evolving, as all Saas platforms should.

We are also exploring some exciting projects with our strategic partners. Technology leaders in the space have a responsibility to find ways to integrate and work with one another, as that ultimately unleashes the unrealized value in a dispensary’s software stack. We are working on a robust integration with springbig, a loyalty communications platform, to create a dashboard where customer insights can be aggregated.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are a lot of people… starting with my employees. I have an unbelievably talented and passionate team. This is a grueling industry. Their fight and drive helps to fuel me on a daily basis.

I would also have to say my Dad. I get my business acumen, worth ethic and endless curiosity from him. At an early age, he told me to study economics, which acquiantatied me with markets. It also taught me how important it is to be relentless about the customer experience. My first job in corporate America was at TJX Companies, parent entity of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, & Homegoods, where my Dad was an executive. They initially offered me a position in the Marketing Department. I went home thinking he would be excited, but it was clear that he was disappointed. While marketing is a critical function of any business, he told me to go back and tell them that I wanted to be in the trenches — learning the ropes, running the business, making decisions and taking risks. The next week I was making multi-million dollar decisions on where women’s activewear should be shipped based on the region’s sales performance and market trends. At the age of 24, I quickly learned how to make business decisions and understand risk.

Last but not least, my wife. She’s the CEO of my favorite business… my family. Any entrepreneur would agree, endless support at home is more critical to the success of any company than is ever given credit. She has been the best. I cannot thank her enough.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Due to the infancy of this industry (in legal terms), many of the marketing and sales efforts have been more analog and organic than expected. We have spent 10+ years perfecting and executing a digital marketing strategy, and while we certainly deploy this, we have had to fall back on old school tactics. Trade shows, print ads, cold calls, pounding the pavement, etc. Fortunately, I love this kind of grind. There is no faster way to understand an industry than to be in it’s trenches, day in and day out.

We will always look for ways to be innovative in our approach to the market. It’s critical for successful scale. But right now, I am enjoying the grind and the rapid learning that comes with it.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

1. Federal legalization and the fact that we are literally participating in history.

Cannabis is 100% medicine… health, wellness… call it what you want. I am seeing it firsthand with my friends and family. Federal legalization will introduce much needed research and accelerate the rate at which people are safely introduced to this plant.

When I recruit new employees to the company, I ask them if they are advocates for progressive legislation. This is literally history in the making and something that excites me greatly.

2. People improving their lives through alternative medicine.

As mentioned, cannabis is 100% medicine. There are tangible health and wellness benefits. The more I get involved in this industry, the more I am exposed to people who are changing their lives in remarkable ways because of this medicine.

3. The sense of community.

I mentioned it before: there is a real sense of community in this industry. You will not find an industry with as much perseverance and community. People are excited to help one another and are genuinely invested in helping people discover the benefits of cannabis. They are also excited to be part of an industry that arguably offers more potential upside than any other in the world.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. How challenging this industry is.

This is by far the most challenging industry I have ever been in. It is hard enough as it is to run a successful business. Now try doing that in an industry which is not legal on a federal level. You can’t get a loan, put your money in a bank, manage payroll in a traditional sense, etc. There are so many other aspects of a cannabis business that need to be managed in a unique way that it can create distractions to the job at hand.

2. Identify what you want to be in this industry and stay laser focused.

We are fortunate that we have not strayed too far, but we did step outside our

“lane” a couple of times. This can be very dangerous.

3. Don’t be overly reactive.

You need to be careful about product feedback and what you do with it. Every state is a different market and has its own needs, nevermind completely unique laws. You can’t be all things to all people. What one market says about your product may not apply in the other markets. Be nimble and agile, but be selective on how you evolve your product and make sure you clearly understand how that development will resonate with various markets.

4. Be careful what you say “yes” to.

As a startup in any industry, you want “wins”, customers and certainly cash flow, but you have to be careful to what you say “yes” to. This is even more so the case in the cannabis industry. Cannabis is still very nascent and there are a lot of problems yet to be solved. They may look exciting and promising, but that could not be the case if solving them doesn’t align with your company vision.

5. Find someone with industry success and hire them.

Finding an employee, or even a business partner, with with real industry success (not just relevant experience) is invaluable.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

I am sure this will sound cliche, but hire people who are smarter than you and do your best to empower them. It’s very inspirational to witness your team solve problems and “grab a hold of the controls”. Don’t just hire smart people, but treat them like family. Start-ups are a grind. Especially in the cannabis industry, if you don’t have the right people in your corner, you will neither thrive nor survive. Operate with authenticity and transparency. If you don’t, these very smart people will “smoke you out” and be onto their next venture.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I have to say, being a business owner in the cannabis industry is exactly that. I am huge fan of progressive legislation and overall acceptance. This industry is pushing the limits in all those areas.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I am not very active on social media outside of LinkedIn… if that even qualifies as “social media”. Please reach out to connect and feel free to follow me. We are always sharing cannabis-related business articles of relevance and poignancy. And definitely follow seed’s instagram page (@seedtechnology).

Thank you for joining us!

Seed Technology CEO Matthew Cutone: Operate with authenticity and transparency, with Fotis… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The cannabis industry is an incubator in a lot of ways, by not being able to leverage traditional platforms it forces organizations to come up with something unique to generate awareness and adoption.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Cy Scott. Scott is co-founder and CEO of Headset, Inc., turning retail data into real-time cannabis market insights. Headset helps companies in cannabis succeed by promoting better decision making via market intelligence offerings and operational insights in a sleek, intuitive and easy-to-use package. Prior to founding Headset, Cy co-founded Leafly. Since Leafly’s inception in 2010, Cy helped grow the site into the world’s leading cannabis information resource, a model of a successful ancillary brand in this new emerging industry. Along with his work at Headset, Cy founded a monthly Cannabis Tech Meetup hosting cannabis entrepreneurs and technology developers, which has now expanded into multiple regions throughout the US. Cy’s favorite strain is Tangie.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Back in 2010 my co-founders and I saw this incredible opportunity in the cannabis space that was emerging in California at the time. California was the first market to legalize medical cannabis back in 1996, but there was a type of inflection point that happened. A proliferation of dispensaries started popping up everywhere and access to cannabis was more and more obtainable, in a loosely regulated environment. People were even starting to invest in things like lab testing without it being mandated!

Visiting a dispensary could be overwhelming. You were presented with what seemed like an infinite variety of different strains of all different qualities with different effects. Given we had some experience with building for the internet consumer, we decided to create Leafly — a platform for people to share their experience with the different strains, which we aggregated and presented back to others, giving consumers the ability to make better decisions about the cannabis they purchased.

As the industry has matured in just a handful of years since, we’ve seen a maturation of the businesses and organizations that are operating in the space and a real demand for analytics to drive business decisions which led us to develop Headset, an analytics company focused on retail-derived metrics.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting? That’s a tough one!

There are a lot of ‘firsts’ that happened as this business expands into a massive industry and those firsts have been amazing. Maybe it was the first time that a publication like the New York Times allowed Leafly, a cannabis company, to do a full-page advertisement. Or maybe it’s seeing an entire country (Canada) legalize adult-use cannabis for the first time.

Another great first was seeing traditional consumer organizations, like Constellation Brands make headlines by investing in cannabis operators.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

A funny mistake from early on was on one of our first sales calls with Leafly. We went in with an embarrassingly low number we’d agree to during negotiations — the bare minimum we’d be happy with. It was such a low number I can’t even say it out loud. When we started to discuss pricing for the service, we put the question to the client on what they think it might be worth to them they opened with a number 30x what we were willing to take. It was very eye opening in the context of negotiation, but also in how valuable what we were developing was.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Headset is the latest and greatest. We’re an analytics company focused on delivering data that can drive business decisions for organizations in the cannabis space. We work with retailers and dispensaries in the US and Canada and present an aggregated view of what’s selling in the marketplace.

Our most popular product is our market intelligence service, Headset Insights, which enables organizations to understand the competitive landscape, identify opportunity and measure brand ranking and performance. We aggregate the data in real-time from the retailers, so companies can make decisions based on data immediately. This is incredibly important in an industry like cannabis, which moves very quickly, with new players entering the market constantly, new markets opening up and new legislative changes happening frequently.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There have been a lot of believers and backers along the way: investors, partners, advisors, acquirers, family, friends. that I am grateful towards for getting me this far. It is tough to pick just one. I don’t think I could’ve gotten this far without my co-founders, Scott Vickers and Brian Wansolich. We’ve been working together in some capacity for the greater part of 12 years at this point, on three different projects and we still get along. We have a diverse set of strengths, weaknesses and skill sets. Having co-founders that complement and challenge each other is critical for success.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Exactly right, it is very much a dynamic environment and it forces organizations to be creative with marketing strategies. Given some of the limitations we have in the US, where cannabis adoption continues to expand, the typical marketing levers especially in the digital front like Facebook or Google can be very challenging.

The cannabis industry is an incubator in a lot of ways, by not being able to leverage traditional platforms it forces organizations to come up with something unique to generate awareness and adoption.

Some areas that are working well in this vertical, that may translate well into other industries, is connecting and working closely with the sales staff that promotes your product. In the cannabis industry the sales associate, or budtender as they are commonly referred to, commands a significant amount of purchasing power, particularly for newer consumers who are still navigating the brand landscape. A marketing strategy that connects directly with these associates can be invaluable for operators, as they are informed on your product and will be more likely to recommend and present to the consumer. This is an example of a marketing strategy that can translate relatively easily, and there are a host of others around analytics, supply chain and business processes that can translate nicely too!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The most exciting things about the industry are:
1) The continued acceptance of cannabis legalization around the world
2) New markets opening up internationally and in the US
3) Traditional businesses jumping into the space

The most concerning things are:
1) The lack of change at the US federal level — fingers crossed
2) Banking issues
3) Keeping up with all the different markets!

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Everything is new
In a traditional SaaS business targeting a vertical, there are clear leaders and established organizations. With cannabis everything is new and you don’t know who will be the winner, let alone around this time next year

2. Market fragmentation
Building for cannabis, particularly as an ancillary company, enables you to scale more easily than a licensed producer or processor in a given market. But every market is different and has its own set of rules which can prove challenging to navigate

3. Things move fast!
New licenses, new rules, new markets, new entrants, new businesses! It goes fast so be ready.

4. Traditional VC investment is getting there
While it is getting there, VC was pretty hard to come by for this space in 2010. It’s much better now, but traditional funds are still slower to move into the market

5. There are a lot of events
So many markets and so many events, which means a lot of travel.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Invest in growth — both as an organization and as a team. Build a platform for your employees to constantly be learning and improving. They will thrive and your organization will thrive.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If you are in a market with legal cannabis, go visit a store. Talk to the staff, learn about the space. I know it can be quite intimidating for some, whether its related to the old stigma or fear of the unknown or even just looking silly asking questions I think the best way to further normalize cannabis is to experience it for yourself and then talk to all of your friends and family!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I’m on Twitter posting infrequently but lurking constantly @cy_scott and stay up-to-date on market trends by following Headset at @headset_io

Thank you so much for joining us!

Five Things I Wish I Knew Before Leading a Cannabis Company, with Cy Scott and Fotis Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hire excellent people. Don’t skimp on paying for experience. It is better to pay someone more money who gets the work done in half the time. We’ve spent more time running in circles because we failed to invest in human resources. Align yourself with people smarter than you. Take advantage of their perspective.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kurt Forstmann. Kurt is the Hemp Division VP at Dixie Brands (Aceso). Kurt is an expert on the commercialization and sale of hemp supplements. Kurt has worked in the cannabis space since marijuana was fully legalized in Colorado. Since 2012, his focus has been on the Hemp-CBD side of the industry, developing hemp-infused products for people and pets. He is expert in the complexities of product development from sourcing to selling CBD. Kurt is truly a CBD, hemp and cannabis pioneer and a business builder for rapid growth brands. Strategy, product development, commercialization and supply chain for high-risk products in dynamic regulatory environments are specialties of his.

Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My background is project-based business, including commercial real estate and renewable energy, which requires extreme entrepreneurial skills. Because these industries are project-by-project, you literally need to launch a new business every 2–3 years. This requires everything from writing a business plan, raising money, organizing a team, designing a product and building it into a physical reality.

All big businesses start out small, and there’s usually an entrepreneur in the middle of it who got things going. Basically, I’m good at executing ideas and wearing a lot of hats. Sure, we hired people as we gradually became more successful, but it definitely took a lot of heavy lifting by a small group of dedicated people to get things off the ground.

Regarding my current path, I kind of “fell” into my current role about seven years ago when the founders of Dixie Brands asked for my help to bootstrap this new concept called “CBD” into their existing “THC” business. The timing was good for me because renewable energy was getting pummeled in the financial markets. I was looking for a change. The Dixie team presented me with some basic product prototypes, rough concepts, and the opportunity to bring it to life.

I lead a VERY small team through the paces commercialization and eventually brought this business and products to market. Even though it was a totally different industry, I found myself applying the same skills that I had developed in earlier careers. Because of my extreme entrepreneurial skills learned in project-based businesses, I embraced the challenge presented to me and agreed to come aboard to help launch the first nationally distributed CBD nutritional supplement in 2012. It’s been a fun ride ever since.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting story is seeing an industry I helped create go from $0 to $500M (New Frontier Data) in five years; and it’s expected to grow to $20B by 2022 (The Brightfield Group). In our first year, the demand for our products was so high — we hit $1M/month in sales pretty quickly. We realized at that point that we have an effective monopoly as we had the only CBD product on the market.

This was a good thing and a bad thing as we had more customers than we knew what to do with, yet not enough manufacturing ability to keep up with the heavy demand. Of course, other CBD companies quickly entered the space after we launched, and we’ve been giving back market share ever since. However, the market opportunity is big enough now, that even owning a little piece of it is significant. Being part of the early days of hemp and CBD, witnessing it’s amazing growth, and knowing where it’s headed is definitely the most interesting aspect of my story.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?

There are too many to list. Unfortunately, the mistakes I’ve made in business have been costly rather than funny. CBD is an emerging industry and keeping a lid on trade secrets is paramount to staying competitive. Hemp (and cannabis) at that time was disadvantaged, in that we can’t apply for patent protection, due to federal illegality. I was naïve when I first got into the space and viewed the sector like a social experiment rather than a financial enterprise.

No one was expecting this growth story. Very early market participants like myself tended to freely exchange ideas and concepts for the “better good.” One time I shared a new idea with someone outside of the industry for a method to prepare hemp oil. About 4 months later that person had entered the space and brought the idea to market. I’m not saying they or someone else wouldn’t have come up with the idea independently, but we definitely helped shortcut this guy’s path to market. Suffice it to say, we were shocked for being scooped, but fortunate in that they botched the launch and didn’t see much success.

Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

To keep my mouth shut!!!

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

A lot of excitement these days comes from launching our business internationally in places like Australia, Canada, Japan and Latin America. These locations are in early innings of market lifecycle compared to the US. It is exciting to participate in ground floor launches in countries that are just getting started with cannabinoids. Also, having to localize products for each market is very educational as certain ingredients and terms may not work from country to country. For example, Aceso (the name of my company) is the English language name for our product market in the US, and it refers to the Greek goddess of herbal wellness; yet in Mexico, Aceso could be translated as meaning an “emotional outburst” in Spanish. Clearly, we plan to make some changes before launching in Mexico.

Also, our innovation pipeline is exciting as we’re launching a dissolvable tablet version of our CBD drink mixes. The fizzy tablet is very convenient, because of its small size and comes in three flavors. To the best of my knowledge, we will be first to market with a plop-fizz-chill solution for waters and beverages.

Finally, we are undergoing several clinical trials with major universities to help develop products by analyzing safety and efficacy. One of these trials is ‘gold standard’ meaning, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized for over 80 canine subjects; while another trial is just with a handful of endurance athletes in an informal clinical setting. This is exciting for a few reasons: it allows us to develop products that are validated by science; it allows us to publish interesting 3rd party research to educate the general public about hemp’s safety; it is a small first step needed for pharmaceutical development, which is where I think the industry is ultimately headed, for better or worse.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’d like to thank my parents who taught me about faith and perseverance. Not religious faith, but faith as in doing something you believe in and being passionate about it. There are several times when I’ve thought about throwing in the towel, but under the wise counsel of my father, I remained patient and stayed the course. He’s now retired but had a successful career in real estate in his prime.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Not that I’d want to educate a larger competitor about what works for us, but we connect with our audience via compelling content. We consider ourselves an educational leader in hemp (and cannabis) by providing science and learning content through published articles, blogs, white papers and webinars. We design this content for multiple audiences, including curious public, resellers and healthcare professionals. Our process involves scientists, doctors, patients and subject matter experts. This team is first class; and our longevity in the field lends us an ‘authenticity’ that is hard to find at other cannabis companies.

8. Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis/CBD industry?

CBD is going CPG. Hemp is expected to be a larger market than medical marijuana due to its recent legalization via the Farm Bill. As market access increases, more and more specialty and mass market retailers, including food, drug and convenience stores are onboarding hemp. I am seeing this occur on a weekly basis and hemp’s national footprint in general retail, versus traditional distribution channels of MMJ dispensaries and ecommerce, is growing rapidly.

Hemp is truly going from niche to mainstream and transforming into a bona fide Consumer Packaged Goods (‘CPG’) category. CBD is already growing at a rate faster than when fish oil first came out and will be stocked on store shelves like any other mass marketed supplement like multi-vitamins, and ultimately OTC drugs like ibuprofen. CBD companies are seriously stepping up their levels of quality, safety, compliance, marketing and merchandising to stay competitive in this new environment.

Helping people. Since I started in cannabis, a day hasn’t gone by when I haven’t heard from a customer whose life we changed for the better through cannabinoids. My favorite story is that from a veteran of Iraq whose vehicle hit an IED, broke his back, and left him with chronic neuropathic pain since the war. After cycling through every pain killer and enduring all their nasty side effects, the vet finally began experimenting with CBD. He was ultimately able to fully get off pharmaceuticals and manage his pain and depression using CBD. He has repeatedly told me that ‘CBD saved his life’. His last check-in was to tell me he had “gone on a ten mile walk for the first time in 10 years.” His pain had subsided enough whereby he could get active again and start exercising. Hearing that story brought tears to my eyes and gives me the spiritual bread to come to work every day knowing that we’re making a difference in people’s lives.

Innovation. The industry is evolving rapidly. As more and more sophisticated participants enter the market, new technologies will be introduced that improve performance, delivery and bio-availability of cannabinoids. A lot of these technologies will be transposed from the nutritional supplement and pharmaceutical world. I am excited to see how the industry evolves with the help of more and more major market participants getting into hemp and cannabis.

9. Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The lack of clear regulations in the CBD industry. Technically speaking, the CBD industry lacks a clear book of rules and isn’t tightly regulated. Players have traditionally relied on a patchwork of federal, state and local regs and case law to advise operations. The best operators use ‘proxy laws’ such as the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act or ‘DSHEA’ which is the FDA’s guidebook for nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, since there are no defined national standards for CBD, it’s likewise exceptionally easy to enter the space with a very low cost of entry and compliance. This is great for the entrepreneur, but not so good for the consumer, who’s safety should be their number one concern. However, this should be changing in near future as the FDA, who now has clear jurisdiction over hemp products, will promulgate a more precise set of laws and establish legal pathways for companies to participate in the category.

Big pharma. I’m concerned that pharmaceutical companies, their lobbyists and government agencies are going to make it very expensive, and therefore hard, for a majority of hemp companies to stay competitive. I’m fearful that one of the natural outcomes of the FDA taking over regulatory jurisdiction of hemp will create an uneven playing field for market participants and only those companies with unlimited resources can play. I do not want to see the ‘clock turned back’ on the hundreds of small businesses who launched the hemp/CBD category on their backs at great risk and ‘paved the way’ for big pharma to take over. This would be a miscarriage of justice and it feels like the industry is likely headed in this direction, particularly if you look at past precedent for similar products.

Mainstream consumer brands. Similarly, larger consumer product brands are jumping on the hemp/CBD bandwagon due to Farm Bill passage. It is very easy for a large brick and mortar retailer with 5000 points of distribution to put any size hemp company out of business overnight, even if they launch with inferior products. Because of their distribution footprint, they have a captive audience of millions of consumers walking in and out of their stores daily. They can convert this foot traffic pretty easily with CBD products branded under their own name. If you look at popular grocery items such as olive oil, toilet paper or peanut butter, ALL mainstream retailers have their own branded product on the shelves that are usually priced lower than the name brand competition. This is another sad reality of hemp going mainstream, but one we all need to deal with. This is a real threat to our industry and independent companies need to band together to provide a ‘category solution’ for these major retailers that incorporate outside brands.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis/CBD Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

Raise more money than you think you need. Because we did not expect our crazy growth curve, we had no way of knowing the level of resources required. Good problem to have. If we had raised only twice the amount of capital originally intended, we would have significantly accelerated our market growth and been able to get out in front of several competitive brands. The demand in CBD is insatiable. Basically, everything you make you sell. Marijuana enjoys a similar dynamic. Therefore, you are only restricted by ‘scale’. If we had raised more money at startup, we could have been much further along than we are now. Of course, money came later from private and public offerings once we made a name for ourselves, but we would have liked to have condensed that runway to get to profitability quicker.

Create a scalable supply chain. Like I said before, we have never anticipated the crazy growth and likewise underestimated our supply chain requirements. We planned too small when we launched and got caught in a supply and demand imbalance. In nascent industries, the supply chain simply doesn’t exist. You have to build it from scratch and seldom can plan for an industry with rapid growth. For example, we experienced an average monthly growth rate of 30% for the first couple years at www.therabis.com. We literally ran out of ingredients several times and weren’t able to fulfill orders, which set us back with customers. Therefore ‘overplan’ for supply chain even if you don’t expect to reach that volume until later.

Hire excellent people. Don’t skimp on paying for experience. It is better to pay someone more money who gets the work done in half the time. We’ve spent more time running in circles because we failed to invest in human resources. Align yourself with people smarter than you. Take advantage of their perspective.

Be who you are — promote your own brand rather than do a market study to decide who you want to be. Great brands are unabashedly original, they do not imitate. Focus on what you do best, what do you do better than anyone else, and share it with the world.

Do something innovative. As a company, we consciously try to out-innovate the competition. If you look at CBD tinctures, they are the most popular format in the market. They are also close to becoming a commodity because price is the primary means of differentiation. The tincture market is a race to the bottom regarding profit margins. If you create something novel or that doesn’t exist, you can own that market and give yourself a long runway before competition enters. For example, we launched our CBD fizzy drink mixes at www.acesohemp.com which is first of its kind form factor, but I know competitors are on our heels!

Marry a forgiving spouse. If you plan to get into this business and hope to generate success, expect to work long hours and spend a lot time away from your family. Without may family’s patience and strong support, I would have never got to where I am.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Invest in culture! The cannabis industry is growing at a torrid pace, drawing comparisons to the dotcom industry. Tons of competitors, lots of capital, not enough talent — makes for a challenging climate that fosters turnover. While compensation and job titles are important to attract new employees, culture is the most important differentiator when making a choice between employers. A candidate with high skills can demand excellent pay at any company, but their decision will be based ultimately on cultural fit and how they integrate within that company’s unique sense of identity.

The best cultures are companies who “know themselves” and make their employees feel safe, needed and connected. This is especially critical when looking at the current volume of mergers and acquisitions occurring in the cannabis sector. I personally see many decisions in cannabis made solely for “financial” reasons (ie: revenue, profit margin, etc.). While those reasons are totally valid, the decision-making rubric needs to expand and include “people reasons” and “culture reasons.” You will see, particularly with the Canadian cannabis firms who are M&A’ing like made, those companies who do the best are the ones who prioritize culture. Look for cannabis companies that have an actual position designated for “Director of Culture” to win the long game.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Cannabis is a spiritual plant with therapeutic power. My professional crusade is for a ‘cannabis democracy’ that empowers people to put health back into their own hands. Cannabis has been part of the ‘people’s pharmacopeia” for millennia. Medicinal use has been referenced in hieroglyphics to imperial burial tombs, and even in the bible, as “holy anointing oil.’’ When it is incorporated meaningfully into a daily health regimen, along with proper diet, exercise and meditation, I believe we can truly heal our self from the inside out.

There is an emerging medical theory called “endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome,’’ whereby the impact of modern diets and increasingly industrial environments prevent us from experiencing optimal health. Our bodies include a biologic system called the endocannabinoid system (‘ECS’) that synthesizes ‘endogenous cannabinoids’ on demand when inflammation and pain are present. A healthy ECS helps maintain homeostasis.

By not ingesting cannabinoids regularly, we impair the performance of the ECS, which has been shown via peer reviewed research, to control these critical body functions of pain and inflammation, as well as energy and emotions. Without regular stimulation of the ECS, we put our bodies at risk and out of sync, while compromising our immune systems. The result is we get sicker quicker and longer. The theory purports — we need to ‘supplement’ our ECS with plant-grown cannabinoids like CBD because we just aren’t getting enough in our current diets. By supplementing our diet with cannabinoids (ie: CBD) we encourage a state of optimal health and homeostasis. Keep in mind this is a new theory. It’s not dogma (yet). However, I feel there is truth to this theory, and by democratizing cannabis, you reinforce the idea of putting health back into people’s hands.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-forstmann-bb75036/

https://www.facebook.com/kurt.forstmann

Thank you so much for joining us!

“Consciously try to out-innovate the competition.” with Kurt Forstmann and Fotis Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Ray Landgraf and Fotis Georgiadis

Don’t take the simple things for granted, like access to banking. I knew from the get-go it would be challenging in ways it hasn’t been for me in other industries, but I had no idea at what level. The recurring theme here is that none of this has been done before. Everything takes more than twice as long, and that coupled with the everchanging landscape of government movement and regulations, makes it even slower.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ray Landgraf. Ray founded Island in 2014, with the goal of building a great company around a great brand in an industry with the potential to change the way we live — cannabis. Island’s flower is seasonal and single strain, sourced from a network of small farms across California. Widely recognized as a leader in manufacturing, compliance, and technology, Ray has built industry-shaping infrastructure while inspiring moments of happiness with customers. Prior to the cannabis industry, Ray helped build several technology companies. He most recently served as VP of Global Business Development and head of Authentication and Verification Solutions for Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) where he was responsible for developing, launching and scaling data-driven SAAS solutions and applications for global commerce and trade. Ray began his career in private equity and asset management with roles at Viking Asset Management, a boutique private equity firm, and Fisher Investments, a global asset management firm with over $50B under management. He is an active investor, advisor, board member and partner including positions in Kaya Ventures, Eaze, Faxon Holdings, Emotive and Malbec Labs (acquired by Facebook). He holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a Corporate Finance emphasis from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

It was 2 things really-

1) I was born and raised in California, so I never thought the plant was this scary or evil thing. As we saw the opportunity to work with cannabis evolving it was really interesting to be part of a discussion that could bring these possibilities to light.

2) There’s no more of an exciting entrepreneurial pursuit on planet earth. I believe in the space and the time of it and really believe in the product.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Many people may not know this, but Island headquarters in Redondo Beach is actually in the old Body Glove headquarters. I’m from California, and when we were looking to expand, I passed by Dive N Surf, which is a local surf shop that has been serving the community for over 60 years. I noticed they had a space for rent above the shop and inquired about the listing, no concept of how big or what the space looked like. I was blown away by the space and the view, and thought it was the perfect place to build the Island brand and team. They were getting offers from law firms and all sorts of other companies. Coming in as a cannabis brand, I had to convince Billy, the son of the founder of the Body Glove brand, we were a real business and wanted to build something really special in their old home. Also just the idea of building a California brand in the very place an iconic California brand like Body Glove was based was just so perfect. Billy, having never smoked a cannabis product in his life, took some convincing. Our COO Brandon and I brought our families by, had a lot of talks with him and really worked on getting him comfortable with the idea. Now it’s one of the coolest, most interesting things about our office. We even kept a conference room dedicated to the Body Glove legacy which is basically a museum full of a huge shell collection, original surfboards, artifacts and body suits.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I can definitely say that we learned about product quality the hard way — when we first started sourcing products, there was a network of essentially weed brokers and dealers and probably the closest I’ve been exposed to growing before that was when a buddy in college had a closet growing operation, so when you go from buying an eighth with that college mentality to buying real weight in a fluid market where you have different product types and growing technologies, as the new guy you get pitched a lot of bullshit and we had to work pretty quickly to learn how to identify what types of product it was, how old it was, just more fundamental characteristics and attribute of the plant which we weren’t really testing for at times and didn’t really have data on, which led to a couple interesting experiences.

Here’s a fun story — we were prototyping our filtered pre-roll product and I was going to different dispensaries and legal limit was an ounce. So I go hunting for the cheapest ounce just for prototyping I could find, and at this point I didn’t have close enough access to cannabis the way I did in college days when I could just make a phone call to get access to the best deal, and so I went to a family friend who we knew was a broker for a decade and told him I was trying to prototype this product so I can show it around. I just need more than an ounce because I’m prototyping 40–50 filtered pre-rolls and an ounce isn’t enough for where I need to go, so I asked for a little bit more product. I’m thinking she’s going to bring maybe a pound over or something like that, and she shows up at my door with 2 hefty trash bags full of weed and is like, “is this going to be enough?” Suffice it to say we never even made it through all of that material in prototyping — but it definitely illustrated a funny disconnect of where the industry is and where we were.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Of course — we’re building Island! We’re about to enter the CBD space with flower and other products that we can’t discuss but are really excited about and feel will compliment all the amazing products that we have in our THC line.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I really can’t say there was one particular person. I am grateful to a lot of people. The important thing here is that we’ve been very humble about what we don’t know and have been lucky enough to have an incredible network of people to help us with what we don’t. For us, it’s really about surrounding ourselves with good, smart people. When we don’t know something, we ask the best person in our network for advice. And that’s what really helped build this brand.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

We only started to really turn on marketing this year, hiring a VP to build the team. Prior to that, we only really focused on making a great product that consumers would love. To say we had a marketing strategy is probably a bit of an overstatement — we didn’t have any marketing. We focused on the product and production of that product, to ensure it was exactly what we wanted it to be before really getting it in a bigger way. Even now, with very limited reliable consumer data, we’re really all about building a brand with integrity and transparency.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The 3 most exciting

1) We actually get to shape the industry because it’s so new, and there’s no playbook for what or what not to do, and so we get to put our mark on a full white space, which is really cool.

2) We get to impact what we view as a social justice issue, specifically around criminal justice and how cannabis laws have been applied unfairly. I think the industry in general is working to overcome those things.

3) In a similar vein on the medical side, cannabis is everywhere in California, so for a lot of us who grew up here, it has been around us and in our lives for a very long time and so we never thought it was this dangerous thing that the Reagan administration and other administrations made it out to be, but I will say that in college we never did it for the medical benefit of it, and one thing that I’ve been really excited about with studies and research that has been conducted over the years, we’ve actually been able to demonstrate that there really is medicinal value, even more than we even know about today, so we’re really excited about the future of cannabis as a medicine that doesn’t have to come from a pharmaceutical company. This plant is all about making lives better in more ways than we even imagined.

The 3 most concerning

So I wouldn’t call these are concerns as much as challenges were working through. Like any startup building a business, our job is to overcome challenges, the biggest of which I’d say are:

1) Capital

2) Regulatory

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1) Don’t take the simple things for granted, like access to banking. I knew from the get-go it would be challenging in ways it hasn’t been for me in other industries, but I had no idea at what level. The recurring theme here is that none of this has been done before. Everything takes more than twice as long, and that coupled with the everchanging landscape of government movement and regulations, makes it even slower.

2) Hire quickly and plan for a ramp up period. In the beginning, four years ago, there were only three of us, doing just about everything from start to finish. During our second 4/20, Scott (Ray’s brother and current Island VP of Partnerships) and I were literally doing everything — fulfilling orders, checking inventory, delivering…had I known Scott and I would be sitting at my dining room table pulling an all-nighter rolling joints, I probably would have hired more people sooner. That being said, you always have to hire smart. We’ve had our fair share of employee nightmares from fake heists to staged robberies. We even had a driver who totaled a brand-new truck in his first week, and that was after he put the other one in the shop because he took out a fence post (also in his first week). Needless to say, there was no second week for him.

3) Overcapitalize because the floor can fall out from under you at any point. Picture your over-cap state and go even heavier. Because the due diligence on cannabis was basically non-existent, it takes a lot of time.

4) There’s a Jack Handey saying from SNL called tricking kids that goes “I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I took him to an old burned-down warehouse…he cried and cried, but I think deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke.” I have been to that burned down warehouse countless times. I’d get so excited at the prospect of finding an amazing new partner, only to find out it was total BS. Like most black markets, cannabis had (and still has) its fair share of tricksters and swindlers. In this vein I’d say to always be vigilant so you can weed out any con-artists and stay on the right track.

5) Be prepared to spend every cocktail party talking about what you do the second anyone asks. For the first six years of my marriage, my wife, being a public defender, got all the questions. She had the most interesting stories to share. Now it’s my turn. Everyone wants to hear about it.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Care about your people. When you’re building something like a true lifestyle brand, you’ve got to take care of the people that are doing that along with you. Everyone on the corporate team is bonus incentivized. Everyone across our corporate and manufacturing employees has access to health benefits. In an industry, where prior to regulations, there was a lot of unfair treatment companies could get away with, we never cut corners and always valued our employees particularly at manufacturing where we have always paid well above minimum wage. We’ve never taken advantage. Don’t lose sight of the importance of your employees because you can’t do it alone.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I feel like we’re already doing that. Everyone who’s building a business in cannabis is part of a movement. We’ve all taken a lot of risks and swallowed a lot of uncertainty to build enough space. If anything, it would be great to have tools that would help us accelerate that. We’re also giving people more access to the great benefits of this plant that we truly believe in and increasing the opportunity for other people to enjoy it as well. We’re making it a more mainstream product that is will become universally available without the stigma and without having to overcome obstacles in order to get it.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

My personal Twitter handle is @RayLandgraf and Island’s handles are @FindIsland across Instagram and Twitter. You can find us on Facebook @IslandCannaCo.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Ray Landgraf… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started a Cannabis Business, with Billy Levine and Fotis Georgiadis

For a little while I wondered whether we did ourselves a disservice by not including CBD in the name of our business. But now I can honestly answer: How do you get people into a CBD shop? Don’t call it CBD. We’re the only CBD store in the area that doesn’t have a name association with the plant. We’re the The House of Kombucha and we don’t even say CBD. We’re located in a shopping center a few doors down from Lululemon — a high end yoga clothing store. Our name and location differentiate us and makes us less intimidating which I’m thankful for. We are not selling vapes or buds, we are not a head shop. We are a boutique concept store bringing quality local products to the community. I can get people in here that I know for a fact do not want to walk into a head shop.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Billy Levine. Billy is a native of Rochester, NY where The House of Kombucha is located. Billy also owns and operates KOGA Rochester, the only Bikram yoga studio in the area and KOGAbucha, one of the only certified organic and non-alcoholic kombucha’s on the market. A graduate of the School of Management at the University of Buffalo, Billy is happily married and has a 10-year-old daughter.

Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

In 2016, I stumbled upon a Bikram Yoga Studio in Rochester, NY. Learning that it was the only Bikram studio in the area and had such a large following I decided to investigate what made it so special. With Bikram, people’s lives were being supplemented, they were being enhanced by this type of yoga practice. Clients came from all different fitness backgrounds: runners, weight lifters, rope climbers- and their health and wellness routines were enhanced by Bikram. I was a little apprehensive about buying the studio at first since I had no previous experience in this industry, but the manager of the studio at the time brewed a strong, delicious, fruit-infused kombucha and gave it away to members. It struck me that I could buy this studio and make my mark on it. We changed the name of the studio to KOGA and began offering kombucha after class by the bottle or the growler. After a long tedious Bikram session — one in which you’re sweating, dehydrated and delirious — it was important to provide members something enjoyable to rejuvenate their system.

After establishing success distributing KOGAbucha in our own studio, we set our sights on having it in all the local yoga studios, fitness centers, and the grocery store, enjoyable for the entire local community. A challenge we had was I wanted control over the amount of alcohol and sugar in the product. During this time, I was approached by the Buffalo Fermentation Plant about an investment opportunity to purchase a machine called a Spinning Cone Column (SCC). The high velocity of this machine spins out all the ethanol from the drink- allowing us to create a certified, non-alcoholic kombucha. The spinning also creates terpene. Terpenes are used in the flavoring of hemp extract and the manufacturing of oils. That lead me to meet another SCC investor, the owner of Vitality CBD, who now manufactures my house brand of hemp extract sold as KOGA CBD. I really like what they do. It’s bottled in Buffalo and I’ve been able to bring some fantastic CBD products to my local community.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

January was a crazy month for my business. Not only did we successfully brew and bottle our first batch of non-alcoholic KOGAbucha, but we also launched a beverage line of Hempbucha which people are loving! On the heels of that we opened a brick and mortar boutique called The House of Kombucha where we sell our kombucha as well as CBD products. We carry nationally recognized CBD brands such as Lord Jones, local favorites such as Vitality CBD as well as our KOGA private label products. We have a wide variety of cannabis products, from edibles, tinctures, oils, to bath bombs and pet products.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early on I invested in refrigerated coolers to distribute my KOGAbucha to other gyms, health food stores, and yoga studios. I thought that by simply slapping some of our branded stickers on the sides of the coolers that it would make them look all fancy and I thought that the sticker was all I needed. I was wrong. The coolers just sat there, and I came to realize that in the health and wellness industry you really need someone there on-site to explain the benefits of these products. I think that is where the magic of The House of Kombucha comes in. It’s an educational spot. You can come in and ask questions. It’s an important face to face interaction and because of the knowledge I’ve built up I’ve been able to educate people and guide them to purchase the best product for their individual need.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?
I am so excited about our water-soluble products. As you may know, 70% of our bodies are made of water. Using nanotechnology, we break down the CBD crystals into a form that our bodies can ingest and absorb easier than drops of oil under your tongue. If you’re using CBD oil, how much is ingested and goes through your system to be metabolized by your body? With water-soluble you know exactly what you’re getting. It’s a full spectrum product — which means we are using the whole plant and you are going to experience the entourage effect- when the many components within the cannabis plant interact with the human body to produce a stronger influence than any one of those components alone — it’s a synergistic effect. I’ve learned so much getting involved in this business.

I’m also excited about a new 1500mg cool mint flavored product we have coming to market. Even when dissolved in a drink, some people think the taste of CBD is strong, so this mint flavor will make it more palatable for those folks. Not quite like a bite of cherry pie but not quite like sucking on a hemp plant either, somewhere in the middle, if you will.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are so many people who have helped me along the way. Howie Jacobson introduced me to the folks at Buffalo Fermentation which also led me to meet Perry Hill, co-founder of Vitality CBD. It feels like a lifetime ago that I worked in sales, but something I learned during that phase of my career was the value of relationship building and surrounding myself with people who are always working towards the “next best thing”. These guys are passionate and inspire me to keep thinking big.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Working with Emily Kyle, a nutritionist and local TV personality we landed a 5-minute spot on Good Day Rochester (FOX-13WHAM). Emily is a trusted local influencer and she was able to share the benefits our products have on your health and wellness. Hours after the KOGA-focused segment aired, we had folks walking into House of Kombucha wanting to learn more and try our products.

We also recently added some new lab-authenticated educational posters into our store explaining some of the science behind the cannabis plant. What I’m able to do is educate people on their level, show them the science, explain the studies and how these products are going to help them. What does Broad Spectrum mean? What does Isolate mean? CBD is an important supplement and there is a huge educational gap. These are conversations I can have as a small business owner with my customers, helping them to feel more confident about what they are purchasing.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The things that concern me are also some of the things that excite me, but I’ll try to answer these questions!

Three things that excite me:

1. When Sephora announced it would begin carrying Lord Jones. That was a huge breakthrough into mainstream markets.
2. 2) The recent announcement that Martha Stewart would be teaming up with a cannabis company.
3. 3) My customers. I talk to people from all walks of life. Ex-athletes. Seniors. People suffering with PTSD. My storefront allows me to talk to people with various levels of education when it comes to CBD and its benefits. Some customers are CBD fanatics, some have never heard of it or have a negative perception of CBD. I get excited about the educational forum that I bring to my community within the walls of The House of Kombucha.

Three things that concern me:

1) Misconceptions about CBD products. We have a lot of work here to do on educating the public on the difference between THC ad CBD.

2) CBD misuse. When marijuana is legalized, I worry that folks who smoke think that they are ingesting enough CBD to help aid in whatever function they are trying to manage. I think that’s a mistake. So as the marijuana grows, I think the importance of CBD might be misconstrued.

3) The flood to market of so many CBD brands. I care and respect this industry and the people it serves. There are people hawking CBD products who haven’t taken the time to put the care and respect into their product, into the research. I hate the thought of someone having a bad experience with a sub-par product and then avoiding CBD all together.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. DO IT SOONER! I am so happy how my business has evolved from yoga, to kombucha to CBD, but I just wish the universe brought me these opportunities sooner.

2. For a little while I wondered whether we did ourselves a disservice by not including CBD in the name of our business. But now I can honestly answer: How do you get people into a CBD shop? Don’t call it CBD. We’re the only CBD store in the area that doesn’t have a name association with the plant. We’re the The House of Kombucha and we don’t even say CBD. We’re located in a shopping center a few doors down from Lululemon — a high end yoga clothing store. Our name and location differentiate us and makes us less intimidating which I’m thankful for. We are not selling vapes or buds, we are not a head shop. We are a boutique concept store bringing quality local products to the community. I can get people in here that I know for a fact do not want to walk into a head shop.

3. We recently started selling CBD online and that has provided some challenges. While we have a greater reach in distribution, selling online does not allow me to have that 1:1 customer interaction that I prefer. I had a customer this month who was not happy with her purchase. I feel like if I could have guided her before her initial purchase, I could have steered her down the right path for a more desirable selection for her personal need.

4. We’re not made of oil, why are we putting oil in our bodies? How much of it is really getting absorbed? Does it really permeate? I don’t have any complaints, but I’m trying to get out of oils. I will probably keep a few on the shelf but, water soluble JUST MAKES MORE SENSE. Personally, my go-to product is a 1500 or 1800 water soluble CBD. I think there will be a big shift away from oils and more towards water soluble CBD solutions.

5. There are buyers everywhere. 19 years ago, when I was starting in sales, I noticed I could bring stuff to people and talk to people that were not approached before. There’s a market. Those people are buyers!

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Respect and appreciate each of their individual talents. Invest the time to mold people and create a happy environment. Demonstrate how business should be conducted and how services should be rendered, in a way that you would do. Train people. Be hands on. Have them watch you. Spend time. People really are creatures of habit. I know it sounds generic but use your talents to hone their talents and create a combined effort.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I can already envision a KOGA Life Movement. Ultimately, I would like to build a KOGA Center which would house a CBD outlet, a Bikram hot yoga studio and a KOGAbucha bar all under one roof. Imagine that you’ve just ended a killer Bikram Yoga session, and now you need to rejuvenate your body with a cold kombucha. Before you head out you pop by the CBD section of our center to stock up on your favorite edibles or water-soluble CBD. You’re happy, you’re healthy and you’re living your best KOGA life.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

https://www.instagram.com/thehouseofkombucha/

https://www.facebook.com/hokroc/

https://www.hokroc.com/s/shop

https://www.instagram.com/kogabucha/

https://www.facebook.com/KOGAbucha/

https://www.instagram.com/kogarochester/

https://www.facebook.com/kogarochester/

Thank you so much for joining us!

Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started a Cannabis Business, with Billy Levine and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Lindsey Holthaus and Fotis Georgiadis

Know how to adapt quickly: suppliers take longer than expected, farmers run low on flower and raise prices, payment processing is near impossible to get. It’s a new industry, regulations change, there isn’t a set price on the product, banks are hesitant to lend. We’ve had accounts shut down, we’ve paid ridiculous fees for payment processing. It’s all about being nimble and having a backup plan (2 bank accounts in this case) to keep it moving.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsey Holthaus, CEO and Co-Founder of Plain Jane, a CBD company that provides non-addictive alternatives to tobacco. Lindsey holds an MPP from American University and has previously worked as a public health policy analyst for the Maryland General Assembly. She is from Baltimore, Maryland.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I quit my job to travel for a few months and met some friends that were trying to start a business. They were 2 young MIT grads that used to grow weed out of the basement of their fraternity. They were trying to decide between a tech company and a weed company. When they decided on weed, I convinced them to do CBD instead.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The guys were bootstrapping the company and decided to move to Oregon to live on a hemp farm so they could be closer to the product and save money on rent. They paid a guy for an RV with literal gold. By the time I came up to the farm to join them a few months later there were 3 of us living in a 250 square foot RV on this farm with no bathroom or hot water. It was like being back in our college dorm rooms with a weird Farmer twist.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Once we paid $1,000 to a farmer for flower and it was a complete scam (sort of funny, sort of sad). We learned to (almost) never pay before actually seeing what we are getting.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We really like to be in tune with our customers and listen to what they want. We’re working on a few new product roll-outs in the next month or two. We’re also talking with UFC fighters, rappers, veteran organizations. CBD really cuts across society. Many people are interested in seeing how they can be part of the industry and benefit from it.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Debby Goldsberry runs a free class at Magnolia (a cannabis dispensary in Oakland, CA) for cannabis entrepreneurs. She’s a wonderful person and gives a lot back to the community. She met with us on a few occasions to help introduce us to the industry and understand what it was like to be an entrepreneur. We’re grateful for her advice and example.

Similarly, there are many other business owners that worked with us before we had any sort of significant sales and went out of their way to help us.

Johnny, Dawn, Jay, Mark, Austin and many others, we’re truly grateful for your continued support.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Working with hemp, all of our marketing strategies have to be creative because we are left out of some of the traditional marketing industries. We got Evan’s girlfriend’s facebook ad account shutdown twice, while she was an employee at facebook.

We’re a small company, so we tend to run small tests and scale up what works instead of spending a lot of time or money on something that isn’t a sure thing. Being small actually really helps us in a way that big companies cannot really compete with. For us, since we’re handling customer interactions, social media accounts, manufacturing and production, and product development, things come together much faster. We can talk with customers, learn what they want, and create new products much faster than any large company. I think larger companies have yet to realize the advantage of having employees wear multiple hats and thoroughly integrate with the entire business.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Most Exciting:

1. Passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. It’s now completely in the clear to ship CBD products. We bring donuts to our postal office.

2 All of the new and unique products coming to the market. No one knows what’s going to happen but everyone knows it’s going to be a large market.

3. The rebirth of cannabis science. Research being done on the potential benefits of cannabis including other cannabinoids like CBN and CBG. We’re just at the tip of the iceberg.

Most Concerning

1. Bad actors. The industry is still in its infancy and because of this it’s still lightly regulated. It’s really easy for companies to be dishonest. I’ve heard of people using fake lab results or of products containing virtually no CBD. It’s really easy for those companies that are dishonest to take advantage of consumers.

2. Regulations. Regulations can be great (refer to concern #1)..but sometimes regulations can be too strict, squeezing out the honest actors with good intentions. I hope we can find a good balance between keeping consumers safe/holding bad actors accountable and allowing enough flexibility in the market for the rest of us.

3. Overcoming the legacy of marijuana prohibition. So many people use the products and need the products, they are vital to them..but they don’t like the association, it’s a real fear. They could be arrested on suspicion that it’s “marijuana”. It’s overcoming .a long and damaging history, not as bad as cannabis but there is still stigma.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. It’s going to be difficult finding a place that will rent you space: Before the farm bill passed, we couldn’t find one place to rent to us because we sold hemp. I even offered to pay double the asking price for monthly rent and I still couldn’t secure us a place (mind you this is in Oregon of all places)

2. Assume no-one yet knows what CBD is. I thought because I knew what CBD was before the company started, it’s a relatively known thing. This is definitely not the case. I’m constantly explaining what CBD is anytime I tell people what I do because they hear Hemp and think it’s THC.

3. There is still a lot of stigma around Hemp, domestically and Globally. We’ve had US customers ask for delivery to a different name or address because they were scared someone would think they were buying THC. Internationally, even though CBD was just legalized in Japan, I asked a friend to find out the regulations for me and he wouldn’t even let me talk about it because someone might think we were talking about THC (which carries a minimum of 5 years in prison for using). You have to be okay with people thinking you are a “Drug dealer”. Our friends are either like “what are you they doing?” or they think it’s kind of cool.

4. You’re going to have to get creative with marketing: Many of the “traditional” marketing tools like facebook and instagram don’t allow promotions from hemp companies, making it difficult to compete, so you have to find ways to get creative without getting your accounts flagged and shutdown

5. Know how to adapt quickly: suppliers take longer than expected, farmers run low on flower and raise prices, payment processing is near impossible to get. It’s a new industry, regulations change, there isn’t a set price on the product, banks are hesitant to lend. We’ve had accounts shut down, we’ve paid ridiculous fees for payment processing. It’s all about being nimble and having a backup plan (2 bank accounts in this case) to keep it moving.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

We’ve been truly blessed to have some great people working with us. I’d say allow your employees plenty of autonomy. I always promised that when I ran a business, I would never micromanage the people that I hire. Hire good people, that you can trust, and you’ll (almost) never have to worry about managing them.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

We started our company to provide a non-addictive alternative to tobacco and provide an affordable alternative to some pharmaceutical drugs. People use our products to relieve stress and anxiety, the same reason they use addictive drugs like nicotine or drugs with harmful side effects like pharmaceuticals. Making products accessible and affordable can go a long way in improving the quality of lives for many people. Unfortunately I think mental health, including anxiety and depression which cause people to need products, goes unaddressed way too often in our Country (and globally). Stress, anxiety, and depression can be caused by a myriad of things, from pesticides in our produce to violence and trauma in neighborhoods. The way we live our lives, treat our planet and each other has to change before we can make real strides in global mental health.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Our Insta @tryplainjane

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Lindsey… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Dr. John Oram and Fotis Georgiadis

Keep focused. Decide on a strategy and stick to it. The business culture in the US is one of controlled risks. Hedged bets. But that is antithetical to true entrepreneurship. A true entrepreneur has an idea or strategy and strives daily to make it happen. This takes guts and dedication. Do your homework, decide on your strategy, and ignore the noise. People will pull you in different directions. They might call you crazy. But what truly successful entrepreneur hasn’t been called crazy at some point. So, I guess my advice is to live and die by your strategic vision. You will either make it big or not.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. John Oram, Ph.D., CEO & Founder of NUG, an Oakland-based, vertically-integrated cannabis company with strong historical growth and performance. Founded in 2014, NUG continues to expand and diversify its portfolio, which includes world-class R&D, state-of-the-art cultivation, extraction, and distillation facilities, one of California’s largest wholesale cannabis distributors, and the new, unparalleled NUG retail store experience.

Can you share with the ‘backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis space?

My background is in science: I earned Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in environmental chemistry and engineering from the University of California Los Angeles and bachelor’s degrees in analytical chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. I also worked as a scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute before transitioning into the cannabis space in the early 2000s. In 2009 I was able to fully connect my background in chemistry and engineering with my experience in the cannabis market by co-founding CW Analytical Laboratories to establish standardized testing and certification protocols for medical cannabis to ensure quality and safety. NUG was born in 2014 and we haven’t looked back — it has become one of the largest and fastest-growing cannabis brands in California with revenue, staff and output all consistently increasing.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

A new story begins every day. We have been involved in this industry in some capacity or another for over ten years now. You would think we have seen it all. But that is not the case. This industry is moving so quickly that every day brings new challenges and new stories.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Unfortunately mistakes for start-ups are never funny. We try to be as efficient as possible and thus have not taken on much investor capital. That can be good (e.g., preserves equity) but can be challenging in that mistakes can be costly. We don’t have the luxury of paying our way through mistakes. So, we strive to make as few mistakes as possible.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My two original partners helped me immensely. I really could not have built a business without them. They are Dr. Robert Martin (CW Analytical) and Jamie Besaw.

Dr. Martin is a brilliant microbiologist with a long record of providing quality testing for consumer goods. He and I started CW Analytical in 2008 with the intention of brining standardized quality assurance protocols to the Cannabis industry. At that time there were no scientific methods for analyzing cannabis products; we had to develop them ourselves. Those same methods are in use in some form or another by every major cannabis lab in the country.

Jamie Besaw was involved with us during the early days of CW Analytical. He was, and still is, one of the best cannabis cultivators in Northern California. He helped provide the material we needed to develop our laboratory procedures. He was also an early adopter of product testing. His involvement helped build initial interest, and eventually full adoption, of lab testing for cannabis products.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

The industry used to be entirely word-of-mouth. We started there. Then we started adding the media that would allow us — mostly small local rags. Of course, social media is important for building brand engagement. Instagram is our primary platform. We do a lot of billboards and glossy magazine adds. More recently we started contributing articles to national magazines and newspapers and will be presenting at national and international conferences.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry?

Taxes, regulations, and the unlimited future. I know it is weird to list taxes and regulations as two things that excite me. Especially when I also list them as two things that concern me (see below). But the fact that we are being taxed and regulated means cannabis is a game changer for those of us that have been working for normalization for years. We are now a legitimate industry, one to be reckoned with. We are paying our dues and we are providing great products and great services. This leads me to my third most exciting thing, an unlimited future. I truly believe that the sky is the limit for the cannabis industry. There is no telling where we are going from here. But I am excited about the growth of the industry and the innovative products and services that are in our future.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Taxes, regulations, and the black market. Taxes and regulations are a business challenge that I am actually thankful for. They both mean that the industry is here and we have a pathway towards normalization and acceptance. However, the taxes in California are simply too high. A State excise tax of 24 percent is levied on all cannabis products that enter the marketplace. Add local taxes and sales taxes and the consumer can see a combined tax rate of near 40 percent on their receipts. This is simply too high. The result has been the growth of the black market in California. It is very difficult for legitimate businesses to compete. It has created a situation where only the well-capitalized businesses will survive. It is a feeding frenzy for venture capitalists and private equity groups. They can, and do, use their capital to change the shape of businesses and their products. And not always in a good way. Fortunately, there is a solution: the State can lower taxes (even just temporarily), simplify regulations, and enforce regulations against the black market.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Control expectations.

The cannabis industry has too much hype surrounding it. And the hype leads to unrealistic expectations on growth and profit. In actuality, this is a difficult, highly-competitive, cut-throat business. One must enter with eyes wide open. If you are chasing the quick buck, you are in for a big surprise.

2. Surround yourself with good people.

Work should be enjoyable. You need good people that you like to be around for that. And when work is not enjoyable you still need good people around to help you navigate the mess. And by good people I mean in all aspects; you need people you like to be around and people who are not afraid to give you tough advice. It all starts with good people.

3. Talk to an attorney and accountant first.

Don’t wait until the last minute to get legal and financial advice. Spend the time and money up front to organize the legal and financial aspects of your company. This will save you many headaches in the future!

4. Develop a solid strategy and stick with it.

You are probably interested in the cannabis industry for its perceived endless opportunities. Don’t make the mistake of trying to do everything. Pick a lane. Develop a solid strategy and work diligently to make it all happen.

5. Buckle up … it’s going to be a long bumpy road.

It is not all roses in the cannabis industry. Be ready for a crazy ride. Every day will present new challenges. Keep your head on straight. Don’t take things too personally.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Keep focused. Decide on a strategy and stick to it. The business culture in the US is one of controlled risks. Hedged bets. But that is antithetical to true entrepreneurship. A true entrepreneur has an idea or strategy and strives daily to make it happen. This takes guts and dedication. Do your homework, decide on your strategy, and ignore the noise. People will pull you in different directions. They might call you crazy. But what truly successful entrepreneur hasn’t been called crazy at some point. So, I guess my advice is to live and die by your strategic vision. You will either make it big or not.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Yes, 2019 is shaping up to be an extremely exciting year for NUG and we’re undergoing an unprecedented period of growth. February saw the rollout of new products utilizing our highly pure extract including NUG Gummies, a line of micro-dosed edibles, and NUG Refined, a new line of concentrates that are both potent and consistent. We are also opening our first retail store in Sacramento, which is led by an all-women management team, and plan to open four additional retail locations across California this year complete with sophisticated designs never before seen by the industry. NUG is one of the first brands to oversee our products every step of the way, from the cultivation and extraction to the in-store experience, and we are looking forward to the continued elevation of the brand.

Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Dr. was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Aaron Riley and Fotis Georgiadis

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Riley, the President of CannaSafe, the first ISO accredited cannabis lab in the world. He holds an Bachelor & M.B.A. from Jacksonville University, where he earned his way through college on a football scholarship. A seasoned entrepreneur who runs a luxury car dealership in FL. He brought his business acumen to the cannabis industry, taking over as President of CannaSafe in late 2016. Under Aaron’s leadership CannaSafe recently won Testing Facility of the year award for CA by dope magazine.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I spent 2 years doing heavy research and DD on the industry before deciding to do the lab. From 2014 I visited 5 legal states, a number of different business from retail to cultivation to manufacturing. Ultimately I decided to focus on testing and had the opportunity to buy in to a business.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Funniest story, mistakes aren’t good to advertise. We had this guy come up and say, “ If I send you a pound to get tested how much of it are you going to send me back after testing it?”

Testing only requires several grams…

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

Always. A 20,000 sq ft facility in Silicon Valley. We are also investigating acquisition of a couple labs in Nevada.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Bill Scrogins, He is one of my partners. Him and I met and bonded over getting ripped off together by my former neighbor. https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattstroud/latitude-360

He has another successful business and has helped me develop in business and personal life.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Yes we do a lot of fun marketing.

We have 3 departments: Education lab videos, and funny videos(Blunt Justice, etc.)

We are also doing a client appreciation event called the Canny’s.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Most exciting:

1. We get paid to be around cannabis and don’t have the risk of getting arrested!
2. The growth, its amazing and exciting.
3. The people.

Concerns:

1. The Black market, the taxes and cost of regulation has been high and has encouraged the black market to continue to thrive.
2. Federal Government, still an unknown when and how it will be legalized.
3. Taxes.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

I wish someone told me how long it would take everyone to follow the rules, it still hasn’t happened.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

1. Don’t get high at work
2. Learn all the regulations that pertain to what you are doing.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The #safeAF movement. I’d like to help progress consumer safety. My other passion revolves around helping entrepreneurs develop and be successful.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@cannaSafe on instagram

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business, with Aaron Riley and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.