Seed to CEO

When Jill Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Willow Industries in Denver, looked to bring her food and beverage safety knowledge to this new industry, she noticed a huge gap in the process of getting safe, clean cannabis to consumers: a “kill step” to eradicate pathogens. Legalization might be spreading rapidly, but testing is still trying to catch up – and the lack of regulations at the time Jill launched Willow required the creation of such a step. In this episode, Jill talks about how initial process failure eventually led to a product and process with global aspirations. She shares:

• The steps she took to figure out the best mechanism to meet a broad industry need.
• How she blended bootstrapping, outside investors and debt to finance her startup.
• Why consumer safety should be front of mind for any cannabis entrepreneur – and how it helped her land investors.
• How she figured out the best operating model for her company.

Who is Jill Ellsworth?

Before getting into cannabis, Jill founded and ran Vibrant Earth Juices, a producer of cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices. That experience in nutrition was critical to Willow’s formulation. She also founded and led Vibrant Earth Distribution, whose alcoholic kombucha was sold in Whole Foods Market and Kroger before she decided that driving a truck just wasn’t for her and sold the business to Sunrise Beverage.

Oakland, California-based Harborside is one of the oldest cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. But when the company went public a few years ago, it had to adapt to some new challenges – and new challengers. In 2020, for example, a group of disgruntled shareholders challenged leadership and ultimately overturned the board of directors. In this episode, Matt Hawkins, Harborside’s chair and interim CEO, talks about how the company faced the new challenges and laid the groundwork for future growth.

Matt shares:

• The different challenges that private and public companies face.
• Why going public isn’t always the best option for companies.
• Steps Harborside has taken to become a fully vertically integrated platform cannabis company in California.
• How to navigate the complex regulatory environment in California.

Who is Matt Hawkins?

Matt Hawkins currently wears several hats. He is the founder and CEO of Entourage Effect Capital (formerly Cresco Capital Partners), a cannabis-focused private investment firm, and he also serves as chair and interim CEO of Harborside, one of the most iconic businesses in the marijuana industry.

Before Cresco, Matt was a partner and president of a private real estate investment company that acquired real estate-owned and nonperforming loans from banks and financial institutions across the country. He was also co-founder of San Jacinto Partners, a fund focused on the bulk acquisition of single-family residential assets. He got into cannabis early, after seeing opportunities related to real estate in Denver.

Lilach Mazor Power, CEO of the Giving Tree Dispensary in Arizona, launched a vertically integrated medical marijuana operation in 2012, successfully navigating a market beset with strict rules and hostile politicians. And then, when voters legalized adult-use cannabis in the 2020 election, Lilach thought she’d have time to prepare for the transition. Arizona had other ideas.

In this episode, Lilach talks with MJBiz CEO Chris Walsh about:

• How she pivoted her operations from medical to recreational in less than one week.
• The financial, legal, real estate, organizational and workforce demands of launching a cannabis business.
• Surviving unrealistic business plans, human error and the race to the bottom on prices.

Who is Lilach Mazor Power?

Lilach grew up in Israel before moving to the U.S. in her mid-20s. She spent many years in the restaurant industry but held a lifelong dream of owning her own business. When Arizona legalized medical marijuana, she saw her opportunity and founded Giving Tree Dispensary. Since then, Lilach has become one of the best-known leaders on the national cannabis industry landscape. Her first piece of advice: “If you meet people that say that everything is good, they haven't been humbled and they're going to get humbled on your dime - walk away.”

After investing in and launching several cannabis companies, Jim Makoso took time during the COVID-19 pandemic to reflect on where he next wanted to turn his focus. The result? Flowe Technologies, a platform and system for researching and developing CPG products in cannabis. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Jim talks about why he left a promising career in finance for the riskier marijuana industry and how his experience has led him to what he sees as the “future of cannabis products.”

Jim shares:

• The sacrifices he made to pursue the cannabis dream.
• How he leveraged partnerships to mitigate the risks and costs associated with new cannabis ventures.
• What he thinks is still missing from the cannabis product development process.
• Why the future of cannabis is dependent on better research.

Who is Jim Makoso?

Jim is a business-development specialist and serial entrepreneur. He has served the past five years as vice president of Seattle-based Lucid Lab Group, which operates within the cannabis extraction and processing sector. Jim sits on several advisory boards, including MJBiz’s Editorial Advisory Board, and is vice chair of the NCIA Scientific Advisory Committee. Recognized by his peers as an extraction and processing technologies specialist, he regularly contributes to print publications in addition to speaking at some of the largest industry events around the country.

The cannabis industry got the band back together this week! MJBizCon 2021 met together in person in Las Vegas for the first time since 2019.

In this special episode, we share insights from featured event speakers who previously appeared on our show, including:

• Chris Ball, CEO, Ball Family Farms
• Berner, CEO, Cookies (Due to his cancer diagnosis, Berner was unable to appear at the event but still appears in this episode.)
• Nancy Whiteman, CEO, Wana Brands
• Denise Mink, owner, Med Pharm
• Wanda James, CEO, Simply Pure

After her brother was arrested and given a 10-year sentence for cannabis possession, Wanda James knew she had a mission. She opened her first Colorado dispensary with her husband in 2009 to help advance social justice and provide medicine to those in need. Today, James and her husband own and operate Simply Pure - “America’s most political dispensary” - in Denver.

In this episode, Wanda shares her insights on:

• How staying true to your values can benefit a business’ bottom line.
• Why it’s important to be politically connected in cannabis.
• How to leverage non-cannabis skills to thrive in the marijuana industry.
• How to set yourself apart and compete in a mature market.

Who is Wanda James?

Wanda has been a mainstay in the legal cannabis industry since its emergence and has helped shape much of the landscape on which it operates today. Before cannabis, she was a military officer and corporate sales and marketing executive. Wanda is also one of the inaugural inductees into the MJBizDaily Awards Hall of Fame for her work in pushing the cannabis industry forward while building a successful company.

When marketing maven Lisa Buffo broke into the marijuana industry in 2014, she had lots of questions concerning compliance, regulations and other issues, but there was no place for a cannabis marketing professional to find an answer. So she created that place herself, nurturing a series of marijuana marketing meetings that became the Cannabis Marketing Association. Today, the organization has nine “communities” across the nation and a growing membership.

In this episode of Seed to CEO, Lisa shares:

• How she identified the need for a marketing association and how what she did can be used as a model for other professional groups.
• How her event-driven cannabis industry adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• How to strategically scale an organization such as the CMA even as new markets are still getting off the ground.
• Why marketing really matters in cannabis.

Who is Lisa Buffo?

While Lisa’s focus these days is on marketing, she has broad experience in multiple sectors, having worked with several business incubators, including as a program associate at Canopy Boulder, where she helped launch its first class of startups. She is also founder and co-chair of the Marketing & Advertising Committee at the National Cannabis Industry Association and speaks extensively about marijuana in the media and public forums. Before cannabis, Lisa worked for Bizdom and LaunchHouse, technology business accelerators in Cleveland and helped bring more than two dozen software startups to market.

Ross Lipson had built and sold his second online food-ordering company by the time he was 25, but when he decided to launch a B2B online ordering platform for cannabis - Bend, Oregon-based Dutchie - he jettisoned his previous experience, saying it’s better to start with a “fresh slate” because cannabis is so different. The philosophy paid off. Today, Dutchie serves roughly 4,500 businesses in every legal U.S. market and Canada.

In this episode of Seed to CEO, Ross talks with MJBiz CEO Chris Walsh about how he built Dutchie, including:

• Why being relentless and humble are keys to getting buy-in from investors and partners for a new idea.
• The problem of trying to rely totally on experience.
• Why it’s important to understand your weaknesses as much as your strengths and build a team that fills the gaps.

Who is Ross Lipson?

Ross Lipson embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, from selling candy in elementary school to founding his first online food-ordering service in college. By the time he was 25, Ross had sold his second online ordering system, Grub Canada, and was looking to explore his own life. Until he went to purchase cannabis for himself in Bend, Oregon. There a new idea was born.

Ross credits his success to a supportive family - including a truth-telling older brother who is also his co-founder - and being passionate about cannabis.

Starting a cannabis retail business with only $50,000 may seem impossible, but that’s how Seun Adedeji got his start in the Oregon adult-use market at just 23. Today, the 28-year-old's Elev8 Cannabis has locations on both coasts (Oregon and Massachusetts) and plans for further expansion. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Seun talks with MJBiz CEO Chris Walsh about how he leveraged lessons from some early foibles to become one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the U.S. cannabis industry.

Seun shares:

• Why owning real estate rather than renting provides a better foundation for growth.
• How to partner with growers even when upfront cash is tight.
• Why being the COE – chief of everything – is a bad idea.
• Why community participation and engagement is critical to success.

Who is Seun Adedeji?

Seun came to the United States from Nigeria as a child and embraced the entrepreneurial spirit by selling candy to his classmates at school. He stepped up to selling marijuana and got arrested at age 13. Today, a legit Seun operates retail stores in Oregon and Massachusetts – and he’s not even 30. He’s closing this year with a renewed sense of energy and gratefulness after returning from his first visit to Nigeria in 21 years.

While cannabis brand Cookies started modestly in a garage in San Francisco, today it is a global empire, with a presence in 11 U.S. states and three countries (with two more on the way) and selling more than co-founder Berner could have ever imagined. In this episode of Seed to CEO, Berner talks with MJBiz CEO Chris Walsh about how he built Cookies into one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

Berner shares:

• How integrated social media and noncannabis products, such as clothing, helped to build awareness of the brand.
• The role partnerships play in Cookies’ successful and rapid expansion.
• Why genetics are critical – but keeping a tight handle on who has access to them isn’t.
• His 100-year plan for keeping Cookies exciting and thriving.

Who is Berner?

Born Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., Berner comes from working-class parents in the San Francisco Bay Area. He dropped out of high school to pursue a music career, which eventually landed him a contract with Taylor Gang Records. Berner started Cookies Clothing to get out of the illicit cannabis game, but ultimately ended up leveraging its success to help build the Cookies cannabis brand.