An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Dynamic Company Culture — Having different perspectives helps shape a more interesting and multi-faceted corporate culture that you wouldn’t have with a homogenized workforce. This helps to attract top talent with diverse viewpoints and backgrounds.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maxime Kot.
Maxime Kot is president and part owner of national consulting firm The Cannabis Business Advisors. A cannabis licensing and compliance expert with six years of direct industry experience, Kot has built a proven track record securing multiple cannabis licenses across 17 state markets. Kot’s strategic approach and in-depth knowledge on government policy and rulemaking has led her to excel in the highly regulated market. As president, Kot oversees client relations at The Cannabis Business Advisors and serves as company lead on projects involving application and licensing preparation, operational analysis, policy and procedures, and business development planning.
With a keen understanding of cannabis market trends, Kot evaluates new opportunities and builds complex business cases encompassing opportunity sizing, competitive strategy, functional requirements, and execution timelines for license applications. In addition to her professional expertise, Kot is a valued industry spokesperson who has presented at high-profile business and investor focused conferences, including MJBizConINT’L, MJBizCon Las Vegas, Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, and the Marijuana Industry Trade Association’s 16-week Social Equity Mentorship Program. Kot holds a Bachelor of Science focused in Marketing from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I started out as a Marketing Coordinator for a cannabis consulting firm. It was a natural progression after graduating with a marketing degree, but I very quickly found out I didn’t like it. Luckily, my supervisor realized I was very good at retaining information and had a thirst for knowledge. Starting from the ground up, she helped me grow into a consulting role for the cannabis space. My primary responsibility was learning state laws and compliance and then taking that knowledge and transcribing it in an easy digestible way for those new to the cannabis industry.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
During Pennsylvania’s dispensary applications in 2017, my business partner and I drove across the state for client meetings. One day, there was a snowstorm that caused major delays so we couldn’t stop by the hotel to get ready for our next meeting and had to improvise. I brushed her hair, sprayed on her perfume, got her lipstick and a change of clothes ready, all while she continued driving to get to our next meeting on time! Biggest takeaway: everyone thinks being in the cannabis industry and traveling for client meetings is glamorous, but more often than not, it isn’t. This industry has grueling hours and you still have to put a smile on even when you’re exhausted and running on no sleep or food. With that said, having a “ride or die,” colleagues who support you and always do what it takes to get the job done is so essential to thriving and enjoying what you do.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“The best portion of a good person’s life, their little nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” — Buddha
I don’t need to be in the limelight or receive praise for something I’ve done. I just want to know I’ve helped someone. A lot of what I do for a living is helping groups secure cannabis licenses and live out their dreams in this industry. Oftentimes, we are behind the scenes which I don’t mind. It gives me satisfaction to help my clients, especially when they are able to help others get access to medical cannabis, that’s what fulfills me.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
My mom taught me perseverance, which is necessary in this industry, she taught me, “When there is a will there is a way.” Sara Gullickson, founder of The Cannabis Business Advisors, who I have worked alongside for years, has taught me a lot about being a businesswoman, beyond the cannabis space. I witnessed her successes and downfalls and have learned a great deal from her. I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today, if it wasn’t for both of these leading ladies in my life.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There are a few things, one of the more important aspects is we started in the industry during its infancy stage. At the time, only a handful of states entertained the cannabis industry and much of our knowledge today is based on those formative years which included lots of trial and error, as well as successes of our own. Our women-led firm is rooted in hands-on experience in the cannabis space, knowledge you can’t learn from reading books and attending seminars. It makes us unique in comparison to many competitors, because we grew up with the industry. I believe there really is no better way to learn than living it yourself. Sara and I have also been successful colleagues for so many years, I feel like we balance each other out, to provide the yin and yang to this craft.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We are in the process of creating a product for new cannabis entrepreneurs. This product will be especially helpful for social equity and other diverse groups that can’t necessarily risk 250k in capital. Additionally, for our core business, which is custom solutions for cannabis business consulting, we are targeting markets with diversity programs to help them gain access to the industry. As a boutique firm, there are only so many markets we work with at a given time, so we strategically select areas with cannabis diversity programs like New York and New Jersey to assist qualifying groups in securing licenses.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We are selective with who we work with, when helping groups secure cannabis licenses. We want them to have the right intentions for the industry and have a plan to operate successfully. For us, we want to ensure that patients in medical programs or consumers in a recreational market are gaining access to cannabis the right way. Overall, our mission at The Cannabis Business Advisors is to help make cannabis a diverse, thriving, and legitimate industry with integrity. Our work has allowed groups with good intentions to open up cannabis businesses throughout the U.S. and help consumers in those markets have access to quality marijuana.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Dynamic Company Culture — Having different perspectives helps shape a more interesting and multi-faceted corporate culture that you wouldn’t have with a homogenized workforce. This helps to attract top talent with diverse viewpoints and backgrounds.
- Innovation and Creativity: Studies have shown that a diverse workforce leads to better decision making, problem solving and encourages creativity, whether it is an expansion of a new service or product.
- Consumer Understanding: For both B2B and B2C businesses, diversity helps companies better understand their customers, potential partners, and enter new markets.
- Lower Employee Turnover: Better employee retention is another benefit of having a diverse team. Companies that are more inclusive and cultivate environments where employees feel like they belong and are valued, experience improved hiring and lower turnover.
- Respected Reputation: Companies who are committed to building a diverse workforce are often viewed as being more socially responsible with a vested interest in something greater than profits alone. This helps foster a better reputation for the company and brand.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
With the pandemic, we realized the importance of finding balance in our work and personal lives. I think now more than ever business leaders need to lean into flexibility with their employees. Whether it’s more time off, or less time in the office. In my leadership role, I try to always lead by example and provide my team with essential training to gain their trust and allow them to thrive.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
As the executive/leader you need to be accessible to a certain extent with larger teams. Being understanding as well as being open to hearing feedback is how I’ve helped lead groups effectively. Not everybody thinks or reacts the same way, so having an open line of communication and establishing that up front will help streamline communication. This is especially important with diverse workforces. You need to be cognizant that team members might translate things differently because of their culture or upbringing. I am especially aware of this because I grew up in three different countries and speak four languages and have experienced misunderstandings firsthand — which ultimately helped my communication skills with a wider audience.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. 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 🙂
Oprah Winfrey and Wang Laichun, who owns an electronic manufacturing company that supplies parts to Apple. I’m always interested to learn how women entrepreneurs persevered in their success, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them; and how they keep abreast within their respective industries.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximekot/
https://twitter.com/thecbadvisors
https://www.facebook.com/TheCBAdvisors/
https://www.instagram.com/thecbadvisors/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecbadvisors/
Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.
Maxime Kot of The Cannabis Business Advisors: How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
