Thinking Outside the Bud is a business podcast devoted to driving innovation in the cannabis space. During each episode, we speak with founders, investors, thought leaders, researchers, advocates, and policy makers who are finding new and exciting ways for cannabis to positively impact business, society, and culture. Have each episode delivered to your inbox by subscribing here: http://www.thinkingoutsidethebud.com/subscribe

Chris Ball is the Founder of Ball Family Farms, Inc., the first vertically integrated, minority-owned, Social Equity commercial cannabis facility in Los Angeles. Mr. Ball is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovative cultivator. The Southern California native began selling cannabis as a teen to put himself through college where he played Division 1 football. After a short stint as a member of the first iteration of R&B boy band, Immature, the UC Berkeley-educated athlete entered the National Football League (NFL). After his final season with the San Francisco 49’ers, Mr. Ball landed a contract with the Canadian Football League.

After touring nationally for years in a fun, but mediocre, college band, Will Read made the decision to hit the right-hand turn signal and merge into a slower lane of life - beginning, what would be, a transformational career with Apple. There, Will would not only understand basic principals in sales (and why people liked certain brands + products), but the importance of the "retail experience" and how that drives consumer loyalty. In 2014, Read took a research trip out to Colorado to better understand the emerging cannabis industry - and was floored by the general lack of product marketing that he witnessed. It was then Read recognized the need for a creative and digital agency devoted to helping canna-businesses to better engage with their customers.

Nathaniel Pennington, Founder and CEO at Humboldt Seed Company has been breeding cannabis and working to restore rivers and salmon populations in Humboldt County for over 20 years. Prior to taking on his role at Humboldt Seed Company, Pennington worked in salmon genomics, which gave him the background to understand the need for unbiased cannabis genomics research. Pennington founded Humboldt Seed Company in 2001 to provide strong cannabis genetics to the community that wouldn't require pesticides or fungicides. With a deep foundation in Humboldt County and a strong affinity for community he has founded several nonprofit organizations, most recently Nature Rights Council, an environmental organization led by Humboldt's indigenous youth. Pennington was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the agreement to remove four dams that blocked salmon runs on the Klamath River, thought to be the largest river restoration project in the world. He believes creative breeding is the way forward for craft farmers, and is passionate about ensuring that cannabis remains a plant for the people and not a corporate commodity. Pennington’s hope is that Humboldt Seed Company’s Pheno Hunt Program will deliver the strains of the future, providing medicinally valuable stable seed lines, and specialty strains that will invigorate the market.

Joel Allcock has been a licensed cultivator of Cannabis in his native state of Rhode Island since 2006, where he was a licensed medical marijuana caregiver tasked with providing medical grade Cannabis for his registered patients. In 2009, Allcock co-founded a group applying for the first state licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Rhode Island. In the course of preparing the application for operation of a dispensary, Allcock traveled to California, Colorado and other states with medical marijuana programs to observe large scale, commercial cultivation operations and learn from master cultivators in the field.

In 2012, his group was awarded a license to operate the first dispensary in the state, the Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center. Mr. Allcock was instrumental in developing the plans for the project. He served as Director of Cultivation, as well as overseeing the harvesting, drying/ curing, packaging and manufacturing / processing and procurement departments. As part of his duties he was responsible for writing operation manuals and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for these departments.

Jack Grover is the founder and CEO of Grove Bags, a provider of cannabis packaging specifically tailored for the unique physiology of the plant to create the perfect climate for cannabis preservation. After graduating from Babson College in 2014, Jack was inspired by his brother Charlie’s battle with cerebral palsy to enter the cannabis industry and create packaging that preserves medicine at its highest quality. Four and a half years later, Jack’s company Grove Bags continues its commitment to manufacturing products in the United States and has gained industry-wide praise for its proprietary TerpLoc technology. Jack loves to unwind from a long day at the office by spending time with the Grove Bags company dogs.

Kimberly Dillon is the founder of Frigg, a wellness line that tackles the impact of stress on the hair and skin, as well as conditions like Psoriasis and Eczema that flare up due to stress. The first three products include a hair potion, a face potion, and a calming sleep tea. She got her start in Cannabis as the CMO of Papa & Barkley, a Cannabis startup that she helped grow to a 30 Million dollar business in 2.5 years and whose products are #1 or #2 in their respective categories. Named a “Brand star” by Adweek for her story-driven approach to branding, she also serves as a mentor to the Initiative (cannabis accelerator) and is an advisor to a number of Cannabis and CBD Brands.

Mr. Utkhede has 22 years of experience in formulation and process development with a proven track record for solving difficult to formulate and manufacture products within aggressive timelines. He has extensive experience developing robust and commercially scalable manufacturing processes.

Josh Weiss is an IT visionary with more than a decade of experience in the technology and entrepreneurial/startup worlds. His love of technology itself is exceeded only by his passion for delivering IT solutions to empower artists, creators and entrepreneurs. The best part of his job is studying clients’ businesses, discovering their unique needs and then developing tailored solutions that enable them to grow. Preferring to eschew buzzy, jargon-y consultant speak, Josh provides technology and project management expertise through a human-centered approach that includes meaningful, productive conversations and collaboration. Josh has experience working with multiple private schools and charter networks for everything from E-rate infrastructure refreshes to cybersecurity training.

2019 National Law Journal “Finance, Banking, & Capital Markets Trailblazer” award winner, Senior Counsel Steve Schain chairs global cannabis law firm Hoban Law Group's Pennsylvania and New Jersey practice and chairs its Financial Services Group. With 17 offices and 52 lawyers, Hoban Law Group is only practice 100% devoted to cannabis and hemp law. Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Steve represents entities, governments and individuals in litigation, regulation, compliance, preparing and submitting license applications, entity formation, and drafting legislation.