015: How Lantern Created a Cannabis Delivery Business with Meredith Mahoney

With the onset of the COVID-19, lifestyles all over the world have changed in major ways. More than ever before, people are relying on delivery services to get their groceries, meals from their favorite restaurants, alcoholic beverages, and a whole lot of other things. However, for many reasons, some of which might be obvious, cannabis is a particularly tricky product to legally deliver.

Meredith Mahoney is facing these challenges head-on. She’s the president of Lantern, a cannabis business solely owned by Drizly. Currently serving customers in Massachusetts, Lantern helps people shop by dispensary, find cannabis products suited to their unique needs, and safely and legally purchase directly from shops from the convenience of their doorstep.

Today, Meredith joins the podcast to walk us through how Lantern got started, the challenges of building an online business in a highly regulated space, and what the company is doing to grow over the next several years.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Why Lantern, as a software company and not a delivery business, doesn’t need to be licensed on a state-by-state basis in order to operate.
• How a business like Lantern differs from food delivery vendors in terms of pricing structure.
• How Lantern finds partners, retailers, and dispensaries to work with - and how social equity and economic empowerment are part of the company’s mission.
• What makes using Lantern a better experience than most dispensaries’ own websites.
• Why Lantern hasn’t yet rolled out in states like Colorado - and how federal restrictions help protect the company from competitors.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/15

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal