Grassroots Marketing

Daron Babin, the co-founder of Cannabis Radio, is talking to Brandon Mills of Forefront Ventures. Brandon is a recovering tech entrepreneur who has been in the cannabis industry since 2016. He has spent the last 15 years of his career in the tech industry, having been a multi-time founder and CEO with some wins, losses, and battle scars along the way.

This conversation is between two people discussing the cannabis industry. Daron about his experience in the cannabis industry, stating he was one of the founding team members of a pre-roll brand in 2014 and since then has been running operations in California, Massachusetts, and Illinois. They both talk about how they are excited to be at the Benzinga event and explain that the event is a great opportunity for networking and making connections in the industry. 

This is a conversation between Daron Babin, co-founder of Cannabisradio.com, and Chris Piazza, from Canada Devices. Daron welcomed Chris to the special edition of Grassroots Marketing from the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference at the Fountain Blue Hotel in Miami. 

Chris talked about how he got into the cannabis industry, saying he had been involved with it since he got out of high school and had been a glass blower prior to that. Daron thanked Chris for the opportunity to talk and expressed admiration for the work they had done inside the conference despite the dull weather.

In this episode, Jill Ellsworth from Willow Industries is being interviewed by Cannabis Radio's founder Daron Babin on grassroots marketing. The two are speaking from the Fountain Blue Hotel in Miami and Jill is sharing her experience of her first day at Benzinga.  

Jill explains that it is a great opportunity to meet customers and top executives in the industry. She is excited to see how this industry bubbles up and shakes out. The two discussed what they are hoping to accomplish before the end of the show.

In this episode, Daron Babin is the host and he is joined by Kady Cravens to discuss the topic of compliance. Compliance is essential for staying in business, and it should be a top priority for everyone. The conversation takes place at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami, which is unfortunately overcast and windy. 

Daron and Kady discuss the importance of compliance for a successful business, and how it is the foundation of your success. They talk about how people should make compliance their number one focus and how it is the key to success.

Daron Babin, the co-founder of Cannabis Radio, welcomed listeners to the Benzinga Capital Conference edition of the show. Luke Scarmazzo was his guest, and the two discussed how the day had gone for Luke. Luke is at the conference representing The Welding Project and Mission Green Alliance, two organizations dedicated to the sustainable development of the cannabis industry. 

Luke shared his story and spoke about his experiences. Darren asked Luke about his mission and goals, and Luke expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity to meet and share his story with other industry professionals. The two concluded their conversation with Luke highlighting his commitment to the Welding Project and Mission Green Alliance.

This episode of the Grassroots Marketing podcast comes from the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami where our host, Daron Babin, interviews Successful Markita Heard. Markita is a mental health advocate who has partnered with NBA and NFL players to bring charity games for mental health awareness. 

She has used her knowledge of the cannabis industry to help bring awareness to the therapeutic benefits of the plant and to teach people about the healing properties of cannabis. She has also created educational materials to help people understand the importance of mental health and how cannabis can be used to support it. Marquita hopes to continue to use her platform to bring awareness to the healing properties of cannabis.

Producing Attractive Yields to Investors is the focus of Rob Sechrist, Co-founding President of Pelorus Equity Group, the leading provider of value-add bridge commercial real estate loans to companies in the cannabis sector.

While most other lenders in the space are hamstrung and have been failing to deploy capital, Pelorus – awarded best lender at the Benzinga Capital Conference last year – continues to bolster the cannabis ecosystem by consistently closing deals and deploying capital. Also in this presently capital-strapped space, Pelorus consistently produces attractive yields to investors – in 2022, the Pelorus Fund outperformed the benchmark cannabis ETF by 8,458 basis points and produced an internal rate of return of 11.90%.This can be attributed to the company’s unique lending model, extensive industry experience – Pelorus was the first dedicated lender in the cannabis space, and has financed roughly 15-20% of all cannabis-use properties in the US – meticulous vetting process and robust proprietary database.

Grassroots Marketing discusses Cannabis Brand Management Consulting with Eric Rogers, Co-Founder of LEVIA and a cannabis entrepreneur.

He is an innovator, storyteller and brand marketer who has helped leading brands like AT&T Wireless, The Home Depot, Goodyear and Aflac through times of disruption and change.

He started his career with Havas Media and Digitas where he helped Cingular rebrand to AT&T Wireless; transitioned The Home Depot from “You can do it. We can help.,” to “More Saving. More Doing.” When Vonage launched, Eric was a critical member of the team that began developing standards for e-commerce measurement.

Eric has also guided brands on the publishing side, creating engaging and authentic digital content to connect directly with consumers online. His love of both storytelling and data propelled him to partner with Bank of America to identify, engage and convert audiences using the Aol ONE platform. That project provided a single view of the customer across households with multiple screens, enabling brands to control the narrative regardless of format.

Eric’s marketing background was especially helpful when he decided to launch his own brand: LEVIA, a cannabis-infused seltzer. The inspiration to start this venture was sparked by a central problem: the desire to consume cannabis without smoking. He realized edibles were especially slow-acting for him, and often loaded with sugar. He started tinkering in his kitchen to first create a tincture, and later, using a sodastream, created and formulated the first three cannabis beverages for LEVIA. Rooted in simple, all-natural ingredients, have no added sugar, and most importantly, taste great!

Once the product was created, Eric and team also had to find a place to manufacture it, leading the team to complete a 6,000-square-foot manufacturing facility which houses the brand’s operations, complete with cannabis extraction lab and beverage production.

LEVIA, as we know it today, was born in February 2017 with the help of Cyr Creative. By 2021, the brand had explosive growth throughout Massachusetts featuring three products: Achieve, Celebrate & Dream.

By 2022, LEVIA focused on going national after being acquired by AYR Wellness in February 2022.

After a well-deserved break to spend time with his 3 kids, Eric created Rogers Cannabis Consulting, a platform that marries his marketing background and cannabis industry expertise. He loves being able to help other cannabis brands navigate the ever-changing industry regulations and avoid pitfalls to realize their dreams. He began this company with a focus on social equity participants in Massachusetts, but has since grown the mission helping brands across the country.

Guest Reporters Jonathan Bischoff and Erik Nilsen of Vrio speak with Joe Linne with Hemp Brand Builders and Earthmost Foods at NoCo Hemp Expo 2023.

Hemp Brand Builders was formed to facilitate and support a quality, sustainable hemp supply chain for food, fuel, and fiber. 

They represent several hemp and cannabinoid brands in the hemp industry, who follow all the requirements needed to work with mainstream retailers and distributors. 

Hempoint is Internationally Distributing EU Registered Hemp Seed and we learn more from Hana Gabrielová, a CEO / Consultant for farmers for Hempoint / KonopiUS.

Hana has over 20-years of experience in the hemp and cannabis industry and is the founder of Hempoint established in 2010. Hempoint engages in the following: distributing EU registered hemp seed varieties internationally, Hempoint food brand, farming and farmer contracting, harvesting, post-processing, and consulting. Hana is an international hemp consultant touching on several disciplines: farming, standards, manufacturing, food production, policy and regulations.... During the course of her career she has experienced a wide range of EU and international cannabis policy work and education focused on sustainability. Since 2018 Hana has been president of the CzecHemp cluster which is the leading association involved in the strategy of hemp and cannabis market development in the Czech Republic with goal to introduce hemp industry in the bioeconomy. In beginning of 2022 co-founded company konopiUS.com which imports hemp seeds genetics for fibre and grain cultivation from Europe for US farmers and offers them consulting. to Hana has over 20-years of experience in the hemp and cannabis industry and is the founder of Hempoint established in 2010. Hempoint engages in the following: distributing EU registered hemp seed varieties internationally, Hempoint food brand, farming and farmer contracting, harvesting, post-processing, and consulting. Hana is an international hemp consultant couching on several disciplines: farming, standards, manufacturing, food production, policy and regulations.... During the course of her career she has experienced a wide range of EU and international cannabis policy work and education focused on sustainability. Since 2018 Hana has been president of the CzecHemp cluster which is the leading association involved in the strategy of hemp and cannabis market development in the Czech Republic with goal to introduce hemp industry in the bioeconomy. In beginning of 2022 co-founded company konopiUS.com which imports hemp seeds genetics for fibre and grain cultivation from Europe for US farmers and offers them consulting.