054: Bringing Dope Cannabis People Together with On The Revel’s Lulu Tsui

06/21/22 • 66 min

The Green Repeal - A Guide to Cannabis Marketing & Advertising

With New York coming online as a major player in our industry, things are changing fast. New players are looking to enter the field at a rapid pace, and the decisions we make along the way could easily have lasting repercussions for operators and consumers nationwide. But as this industry grows, how do we make it the best it can be?

Today, we’re talking to Lulu Tsui. She’s the Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer at On The Revel, a company working to create curated educational and networking experiences for people breaking into the legal cannabis industry. At her company’s Revelry events and through the Dope People mentorship program, she’s working to help make the cannabis industry more inclusive, more collaborative, and more diverse.

Lulu is a designer with over 15 years of experience creating amazing technology, and she’s the president of the Cannabis Media Council, where she works to destigmatize and normalize cannabis use in traditional media.

In this episode, Lulu talks about the parallels between tech and cannabis, why she thinks New York has the power to transform the global industry in ways California never will, and the amazing things that can happen when you get like minded people together in the same room.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The unique challenges facing the cannabis industry when it comes to data and standardization.
Why Lulu is betting big on New York to shape what the cannabis industry of the future will look like.
How On the Revel is rethinking their conferences and events to inspire connection and create opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs.
How a COVID pivot led Lulu to create the Dope People series.
The logistics of getting a retail license in New York State right now.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/54

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

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The unique challenges facing the cannabis industry when it comes to data and standardization.
Why Lulu is betting big on New York to shape what the cannabis industry of the future will look like.
How On the Revel is rethinking their conferences and events to inspire connection and create opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs.
How a COVID pivot led Lulu to create the Dope People series.
The logistics of getting a retail license in New York State right now.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/54

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

Previous Episode

053: MJ Unpacked Recap & A Chat with Old Pal CEO, Rusty Wilenkin

Today, Rick and Jeff “unpack” their experience at the MJ Unpacked conference at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan as they share their thoughts, highlights, and the sights and sounds from the event.

At this high-energy event, they saw more deals get done than ever before, tons of new brands working to enter the space, and a huge number of opportunities taking shape as New York and New Jersey grow into the gigantic markets they’re inevitably going to become.

While they were there, they caught up with Rusty Wilenkin, CEO of Old Pal. In his words, Old Pal is aiming to create the “Bud Light of weed”–a cannabis product for the everyman that’s accessible, affordable, and simple, reminiscent of the era when weed was weed.

In this episode, you’ll hear more from MJ Unpacked and learn about a ton of exciting brands we discovered at the conference. Then, in our interview with Rusty, we get into how he transitioned out of the legacy market and invented a category, how he’s building a cannabis brand at a massive national scale, and his long game for growing Old Pal’s portfolio in a fast-moving industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Why the cannabis industry is maturing so rapidly, attracting more capital than ever before, and on track to skyrocket with legalization on the East Coast.
How Rusty defines the “core user” in the world of cannabis–and why so many brands aren’t reaching those people.
Why great brands often fail to achieve success at scale–and how Rusty learned from the critical mistakes he made in the first year of Old Pal.
What Old Pal is doing to get themselves into emerging markets as they open up.
What it means to launch the “Four Loko” of cannabis products–and why Rusty is so excited about it.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/53

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

Next Episode

055: Solving the Licensing and Regulatory Challenges for Canna-Businesses with Dr. Sherry Boodram

With so many new markets coming online in the next few years, there are more people than ever before looking for help with permitting, licensing, and everything else that comes with launching a business in a highly regulated industry.

When they need that help, they turn to people like today’s guest, Dr. Sherry Boodram. She’s the CEO and co-founder of CannDelta–a regulatory and scientific consulting company that helps clients navigate both the cannabis and psychedelic industries. Dr. Boodram and her team provide regulatory compliance advice to operate in the legal Canadian markets, and they also provide support to international jurisdictions, including the U.S.

Before launching CannDelta, she was actually a part of the Canadian federal government, serving as Health Canada’s Medical Cannabis and Controlled Substances Programs’ Senior Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Officer. She holds a Ph.D in Chemistry, an honorary B.S. in Biological Chemistry, and certificates in Cannabis Law and Regulation as well as Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and Quality Operations.

In this conversation, Sherry walks us through the hoops and hurdles facing people looking to break into the cannabis and psychedelics industries, the mistakes so many people make while trying to ensure that they’re operating legally, and the key differences between the established Canadian and emerging American markets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The most common mistakes that people make when trying to get cannabis licenses.
Why Shelly transitioned out of government to launch CannDelta–and what she’s focused on now.
The unique benefits of working with someone who knows Canada’s industry so well for anyone planning a launch in a state like New York or New Jersey.
Why medical approvals for psilocybin in a number of states are more likely to happen now than ever before.
Why social equity has to be such a big part of the American cannabis story–and how Canada failed to integrate First Nations peoples into its legalization.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/55

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