Highly Objective

Dai speaks with Jason on the NY and MA and Brandon on What's happening in Germany and Europe more broadly as it relates to regulation, licensing, and M&A.

Jason Adelstone is an associate attorney in Vicente Sederberg’s Denver office, where he focuses his practice on federal and international policy, impact litigation, corporate and business law, and cannabis regulatory compliance. From advising clients on international policy reforms—especially as it relates to obligations under the three international drug treaties—to drafting contracts and performing market analyses, Jason is a valuable resource for his clients.

Brandon Kurtzman is a partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP, focusing his practice on regulatory and licensing matters in Massachusetts and New York. Clients turn to Brandon for representation and assistance with navigating medical and adult-use application processes, preparation and submission of national merit-based license applications, ongoing compliance and regulatory matters with the Cannabis Control Commission, and regulatory due diligence in connection with M&A deals. Brandon is also a member of VS's national merit licensing team, where he served as the lead attorney for competitive marijuana licensing projects in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, and Virginia.

Paul leads the lending strategy, investor relations, and investment opportunities as well as assist with M&A strategy for Safe Harbor. Penney was previously CIO  of KreditForce Capital, a merchant bank focused on emerging growth industries including cannabis, where he managed a portfolio of both public and private equity positions as well as senior secured debt investments. He also served as a strategic advisor and board member to some of the nation's notable cannabis brands and vertically integrated public and private companies including Sunday Goods, Humboldt Farms, Stiiizy, Kikoko, TapRoot, and Kush Co. Prior to KreditForce, Paul became the first U.S.-based analyst to provide official research coverage on the legalized cannabis sector as a Senior Research Analyst and Managing Director at Northland Capital Markets. 

In 2010, Scott Palmer and Kristi Palmer were inspired by a visit to a local chocolatier and soon started crafting the first Kiva Bars in their home kitchen. They didn’t realize it at the time, but they weren’t just creating a premium edible product, and soon after, a top 3 CA Distributor in Kiva Sales & Services. Dai chats to Kristi about starting Kiva, Why Distribution in addition to Brands, AR, Geographic Footprint, Innovation, Competition, New York, and the current Capital Markets.

Zach Lipson is Co-Founder and CPO at dutchie, the leading e-commerce and point of sale provider for the cannabis space. As a Product Designer and Product Manager by trade, Zach is driven by beautiful design and solving complex problems in innovative and elegant ways, using technology and design. 

We talk through buy vs. build with regards to Dutchie POS and Dutchie Pay, Data, How dutchie thinks about aligning itself with cannabis retailers, and more.

Dubbed 'The World's Strongest Pre-Rolls', Presidential is renowned and loved as the producer of the #1 ranked Infused Moonrock Blunt and is one of the top-selling brands in California. We speak to Everett on his background, Presidential's suite of products, collaborations, growth, and funding.

The recently launched product aims to take the cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic spirit market "to the moon" with three SKUs (Jalisco Agave, London Dry, Kentucky Oak).

Darnell Smith is a CPG and alcohol industry veteran and cannabis entrepreneur, innovator and advocate. Smith is the founder and CEO of MXXN, a non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused spirits brand that is evolving today’s cocktail culture and disrupting the alcohol and cannabis industry. MXXN is the first product launch of MOJO Ventures, which is part of the digital + creative consultancy MOJO he founded that has done extensive work for Procter & Gamble Ventures, Barcardi’s Incubation group, PepsiCo and more. Prior to founding MXXN and MOJO, Smith was a Senior Digital Transformation Lead at Infosys Consulting working with the likes of Adidas, Ralph Lauren, AB InBev, Novartis, GSK, Pfizer, AMEX and more. Prior to that, Smith worked for over a decade in various agency and client side roles focused on innovation and commercialization for the likes of Diageo and Pernod Ricard.

Founded in 2013, Jetty is one of the true originals in the California cannabis market. Jetty began its operations in San Diego with a focus on craft and innovation while applying a strict adherence to compliance, fiscal responsibility, environmental concerns, and community commitment. Today, Jetty’s 65-plus employees work at the company’s 14,000 sq. ft. Oakland headquarters and various other locations throughout California. The company continues to focus on its state-of-the-art production facility, utilizing the latest technology to create industry-leading extracts including award-winning Solventless Vape, Live Resin Vape, and other products.

Bespoke Financial has announced an integrated partnership with BLAZE. The partnership establishes an embedded lending product providing cannabis retailers access to Bespoke’s financing at the click of a button within BLAZE’s Dispensary POS software. We speak on how the partnership came about, benefits to retailers, and how it works.

Gary Santo brings more than 25 years of experience in Consumer Credit, Financial Services, Gaming and Technology, Higher Education and Pharma. He has held a variety of senior-level positions at The First Marblehead Corporation, Fitch Ratings, International Game Technology (IGT), Lantheus Medical Imaging and, most recently, Columbia Care.

Abner Kurtin is the Founder and CEO of Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) and the Portfolio Manager for JM10 Partners Fund. Established in 2018, JM10 Partners operates two private equity funds that invest growth capital into the cannabis industry. Kurtin has been managing opportunity capital for over 20 years. Prior to AWH, he was the founder of K Capital Partners, a multibillion dollar hedge fund and Ca2 Group a high end real estate development firm in Massachusetts. He started his career at The Baupost Group and served as a member of the Presidents Council of Massachusetts General Hospital and Chairman of the Hill House.