Seed to CEO

Being a small business in the cannabis industry is tough and getting tougher, especially with all the advantages that multi-state operators and other big businesses have over independent shops. But a small number of small cannabis businesses have succeeded, writing their own David and Goliath stories.  

One such entrepreneur is Hope Wiseman, founder and CEO of Mary and Main, a medical cannabis dispensary in Prince Georges County, Maryland. One of the youngest entrepreneurs in the business, Wiseman bootstrapped Mary and Main – in operation for four years now. 

Wiseman shares: 

• How she educated herself about the industry and mastered the application process
• How she funded her business plan, selected real estate, and found personnel to open her dispensary
• Why leaning into your base is the best way to survive tough economic environments
• Inventory management advice
• How to prepare for a possible recreational market 

Who is Hope Wiseman?

Hope Wiseman is the founder and CEO of Mary and Main, an independent medical marijuana dispensary in Prince Georges County, Maryland, that she opened in 2018 when she was 25. Wiseman is a graduate of Spelman College, where she founded the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and from where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Before cannabis, she worked as an equity institutional sales analyst at SunTrust Bank (now Truist), and was also a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons.   

Arkansas wasn’t on many people’s radars a few years ago when it came to cannabis legalization. But since legal sales started there in May 2019, Arkansas has proven to be a robust market, albeit with its challenges. One canna-entrepreneur making a go at it is Matt Shansky, who was climbing the corporate latter in the fitness space when his family queried him about breaking into the industry. Before long, he was converting a barn in Bentonville, which became The Releaf Center, the dispensary that Shansky runs today. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Shansky will talk about: 

• How he and his team educated themselves about this new industry 
• Why he and his team chose to pursue retail business instead of a cultivation or manufacturing business 
• Choosing the right location for your store 
• How to compete against MSOs. 
• Serving a rural community 

 Who is Matt Shansky?

Matt Shansky is a cofounder and CEO of The Releaf Center, a medical cannabis dispensary in Bentonville, Arkansas, near the Missouri and Oklahoma borders. A personal trainer by profession, Shansky once lived in Memphis, Tennessee and was climbing the corporate latter at a nationally known fitness company where there was “room to grow.” When family members came to him with the idea of breaking into the cannabis industry, he initially had reservations, but was intrigued by the opportunity and motivated by the mission to provide medicine. He and his team scouted other markets, hired consultants, and submitted a successful application that helped them launch The Releaf Center.  

Vanessa Gabriel is only 30 but has already launched three highly successful software companies, with the two most recent being in the cannabis industry. Gabriel sold her first cannabis business, an order-ahead platform called Greenlight Technologies, about a year after launching it, for a high nine-digit figure. Well capitalized, she launched her current company Drop Delivery in 2018. But Gabriel, a proud Filipina who’s also built a diverse company, also encountered plenty of rough patches and “No’s” on her road to success. In this episode, Gabriel shares: 

-How she identified the opportunity for both her cannabis software companies 

-How she navigated the sale of her first company 

-How she and her executive team keep operations lean at the ancillary company 

-Why a “slow and steady” growth philosophy has served her well. 

Who is Vanessa Gabriel?

Vanessa Gabriel is the founder and CEO of Drop Delivery, a delivery technology software business serving cannabis delivery companies and retailers in seven states. Gabriel founded her first company aSociete, a fashion shopping platform for millennials, out of her college dorm-room, in 2011. In 2017, she founded her first cannabis company, Greenlight Technologies, an order-ahead and digital loyalty software platform. Gabriel sold that business for a high nine-digit figure, which gave her the capital to launch Drop Delivery. And she’s still only 30.  

Keith Villa’s jump from craft beer to cannabis infused beer 

Keith Villa created Blue Moon in 1995 while working at Coors Brewing Company. Blue Moon became a massive success and changed the brewing landscape forever. After three decades of brewing, Villa and his wife, who has a background in civil engineering, leveraged their knowledge to create Ceria Brewing, a Colorado-based cannabis infused beer company, in 2017. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Villa shares: 

• How he and his wife came up with the idea for Ceria 
• How they conducted market research 
• Complying with trademarks 
• How they developed formulations  
• Why they partnered with a co-packer. 

Who is Keith Villa?

Keith Villa is the co-founder of and brew-master at CERIA Beverages Company, which makes cannabis infused non-alcoholic beers, as well as non-alcoholic. Before launching CERIA in 2017, Villa spent more than 20 years as the master brewer at Blue Moon Brewing Company, which he founded in 1995. Blue Moon became a pioneer in the craft beer world. Villa got his start with Coors after getting doctorate in brewing from Vrije Universiteit Brussel.  

Matt Walstatter and his wife Meghan were among the first cannabis retailers in Portland, Oregon and enjoyed early mover advantages for a few years. But Portland grew into one of the most saturated retail markets in the country, so the couple instead decided to focus on their nascent craft cultivation business. The problem? It also happens to be in one of the most saturated cultivation markets in the country. The Walstatters not only survived but thrived.

This episode of Seed to CEO is a must-listen for anyone competing in uber-competitive markets, and covers topics that include:

• Raising capital

• Selling your business

• Contingency planning

• Building efficiency into your cultivation facility

• Branding

• Being politically connected

Chris Beals landed unexpectedly at Weedmaps in 2015 but since then has taken the famed ancillary business public and grown it into one of the most recognizable brands in cannabis.

Beals spent his pre-cannabis life advising start-ups and deal-making in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and technology, but it took some tough on-the-job experience to prepare Beals for cannabis’ realities.

In this episode, Beals talks about:   

• The importance of due diligence
• How Weedmaps handles the problem of unlicensed operators
• Taking a boots-on-ground approach to learning about the industry
• Expanding
• Preparing for federal legalization

Who is Chris Beals?

Chris Beals is the CEO of WM Technology, the parent company of Weedmaps, one of the best known ancillary brands in the cannabis industry. An attorney by profession, Beals joined Weedmaps in 2015 as president and general counsel and took over as CEO in 2019. Before cannabis, Beals was a senior vice president with Colbeck Capital Management, where he focused on deal origination in the technology and health sectors; Deutsche Telecom, where was senior corporate counsel and data privacy officer who managed and advised deal teams involved in acquisitions and partnerships; and the law firm Covington & Burling, where he advised startup and technology companies on deal structuring.

Brett Heyman had led PR efforts at Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana before launching a line of clutches in 2010, named Edie Parker, after her daughter, that quickly took off thanks to vocal fans such as Lady Gaga, Solange Knowles, and Kate Hudson. Heyman followed-up with a successful line of home accessories but for her third act pivoted to cannabis, launching Flower by Edie Parker in 2019. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Heyman takes listeners on her fashion to flower journey, discussing:

How she leveraged fashion experience to break into cannabis

The importance of partnerships to the company’s overall strategy.

The challenges of operating in California

How to assess new markets  Who is Brett Heyman?

Brett Heyman is founder and CEO of Flower by Edie Parker, a three-year-old cannabis brand specializing in pre-rolls, prepacked flower, glass pipes and stash boxes. Before cannabis, Heyman led PR efforts at fashion houses such as Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana before launching her own very successful fashion label, Edie Parker. She’s also got a pretty killer country home in Connecticut that’s appears in magazine’s like Architectural Digest and Habitually Chic.

This former tech entrepreneur is shaking up the cannabis ingestible market, licensing fast-acting ingestible formulations to premium cannabis brands. 

Learn how:

Her interest in wellness led her to cannabis Azuca is using science to improve the cannabis experience Azuca's focus on quality runs through its brand How Rael thinks about scale 

Tim Schuler spent 15 years with Anheuser-Busch, “moving product from the manufacturer into consumer hands in another regulated market.” He sold 48M cases of beer a year. 

When Michigan offered medical licenses in 2015, he applied. “I knew where the market was going.” 

His company now focuses on concentrates and edibles, with a new drink mix. 

Learn how he is tackling key obstacles, including: Increasing costs Winning over retailers and budtenders

Direct to consumer marketing

Who is Tim Schuler? Tim built a career in Anheuser-Busch marketing and sales and invested in Detriot in a role building parternships for Palace Sports and Entertainment. Now president and COO of Detroit Edible Company/Cannalicious Labs, he supplies the growing Michigan market with innovative edibles and infused beverages.