From Pot to Popular

Social equity and the cannabis industry go hand-in-hand. Given cannabis’ controversial and discriminatory past, it is essential for leading operators to give back to communities that have been the most impacted by the War on Drugs. In this episode, Gary Santo, CEO of TILT Holdings, talks about his company’s unique approach to partnerships and supply chain and delves into the historic partnership TILT has created with the Shinnecock Nation of New York. He explains how MSOs like TILT can do more for social equity than just donations, and can go further by creating sustainable solutions that bring marginalized communities into the cannabis space and help them thrive for years to come.

As brands grow in scale and expand into new markets, it can be challenging to maintain a consistent level of product quality. All too often, expanding is a big risk for businesses—executives need to be strategic in order to help their product succeed in new markets. Vishal Rungta, CFO, President, and Co-Founder of C3 Industries, is an expert on successful brand expansion and quality control. In this episode, Vishal gives his insight on developing a unique brand experience and the importance of having a foundation of high quality products. He emphasizes the need for consistency throughout all operations in order to scale in a manner that does not sacrifice quality and elaborates on his strategies on expanding into new markets.

Despite its presence as a major emerging industry in the United States, cannabis has long lacked a key component to legitimizing its place in the mainstream business community: streamlined banking. In this episode, Len Tannenbaum, Founder and CEO of AFC Gamma, discusses his journey to becoming the head of the largest NASDAQ-listed cannabis investment firm and an influential figure in cannabis banking. Len explains AFC’s goals of bringing tailored expertise into the cannabis banking space and the need for safe, efficient institutional banking to support cannabis as the industry continues its rapid growth.

How does a brand go from being a startup to the largest MSO in its industry? In cannabis and beyond, it takes intelligent leadership and a constant feedback loop with consumers to grow to such impressive heights. In this episode, Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, talks about how Trulieve prioritizes connecting with their consumers to ensure customer trust and allow the business to take root in a variety of markets. She discusses the necessity of embracing the changes and fast-paced nature of the industry, innovating based on consumer feedback and adapting to the many different types of markets throughout the states.

Legal cannabis businesses are being met with unmatched consumer and investor interest as the industry continues to mature, but many companies are still hampered by archaic regulations. Many entrepreneurs in the space continue to advocate for sweeping regulatory reforms, but which laws will actually allow cannabis companies to operate like their mainstream counterparts? In this episode, Jigar Patel, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of NorCal Cannabis Co., discusses the advantages of having legacy knowledge of the cannabis industry in the state where the legal market began. He explains the changes he hopes to see in terms of the tax reform that would free industry operators from the red tape of regulation.