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From bootstrapping to market leader, Marianne Cursetjee of Alibi Cannabis shares her secrets to success. Learn how rigorous financial planning and focusing on core competencies led to sustainable growth. Her journey is a must-watch for cannabis entrepreneurs. #CannabisCPA #Entrepreneurship #StrategicPlanning #FinancialResilience

Trent Kitsch's entrepreneurial journey is a masterclass in seizing opportunities. His story is a powerful reminder that with curiosity, networking, and a willingness to take risks, anyone can achieve extraordinary success. Ted Lau dives in more 👇 #entrepreneurship #inspiration #business #startup #success #trentkitsch #saxx #dojacannabis

#entrepreneurship is lonely #cannabis entrepreneurship is even lonelier There's a very small group of people who understand what the cannabis entrepreneur is going through, it's an incredibly unique experience I'm not gonna list off the issues, we all know what they are What if there was a community where people understood what you're going through in the #cannabisindustry ? What if there was a community where you felt comfortable saying the scary sh*t out loud? What if there was a place where you could ask the BIG questions and get answers and support from people who have actually walked your path That's why I created the Elite Cannabis Operators Mastermind It's a haven for those of us who have chosen to walk this difficult path A curated group of people who are winning in the #cannabisbusiness who are willing to bare it all, the good and the bad It's a place to find camaraderie in the struggle, be vulnerable, ask big questions, discuss big topics, and build relationships with like minded folks who will support you and push you to be the best version of yourself This is a peer feedback group, the power is in the members We represent a cross section of the industry that you can't find anywhere else From legacy MSOs to asset light multi state brands on the plant touching side, from finance professionals to SEO wizards on the ancillary side, our members are the best of the best This is a paid group for a number of reasons, most important being; If you pay, you pay attention. We require a level of commitment from our members, the group only works if people show up and participate Our members show up and participate because they get value from the group every week We have some strategic additions we want for the group on both the plant touching and ancillary sides to round out our coverage of the industry In the interest of attracting the best candidates we are going to try something we haven't done yet This Thursday, the 25th at 2pm est, we will host our normal weekly call, however, this week we are inviting potential candidates to sit in and peek behind the curtain So, if you're a founder or executive of a plant touching or #ancillary business and you've been wondering what all the hype is about, and you want to take a look under the hood, this is your chance. Shoot me a DM for a quick vetting to be added to the invite

What's going down in mighty California? The biggest single Cannabis market in the world? Highly Capitalized Network-HCN interviews Matt Hawkins in this episode of Inside Retail with Marty Higgins only on #HCN. Matt is the founder of Entourage Effect Capital, a private Cannabis fund (formerly known as Cresco Capital Partners, LLC) focused specifically on making direct #investments in Cannabis. Matt is one of the most experienced and seasoned entrepreneurs in Cannabis for the last 10 years. He has been investing through his #EECFunds in to some of the biggest names in the #Cannabis industry. To be honest, I was hoping for a more positive #take on the Cannabis market from Matt. However, Matt is a no-nonsense person who doesn't sugar coat the problems. His honesty and #frankness must be refreshing if you're one of the investors in his funds. Matt correctly & accurately #enumerates the challenges in the market including over taxation, and over-regulation at the local level and 280e etc at the Federal level. Marty is the owner of #Urbana, a leading dispensary retail group in Norcal. He's also one of the first retail-consumption lounges in the USA. Marty is raising capital for his next #flagship consumption lounge at the site of Luka's - which was once one of Oakland's most popular restaurants. However, Marty also agreed with Matt sentiments the market is #challenging, that's why he's not just selling Cannabis any longer, as a former restaurant owner, Marty discusses how he is selling #hospitality through his San Francisco and Oakland consumption loungers. Indeed, Urbana's business model is pretty unique as their focus is on selling #experiences, which makes his business plan pretty #attractive to investors seeking to invest in something new & innovative in Cannabis. Indeed, as more and more young people turn away from alcohol, Marty's focus on hospitality through consumption lounges with events, food, drinks, etc. is looking more and more #prescient. Matt shared his next fund, his #4th, is open for investing soon. Please reach out to Matt Hawkins for more info. Marty's new #consumptionlounge opens this time next month! Marty also discusses how he is raising capital for his new lounges. Please reach out to Marty for more details. For this & many #interviews with people making an impact in Cannabis, stay tuned to Highly Capitalized Network-HCN here on LinkedIn, subscribe to our newsletter at highlycapitalized.com, and never miss an #HCNInterview in #Cannabis

At the beginning of 2023, I didn´t really understand much about acquistions, especially not within the retail cannabis industry. Because I´ve always been in the middle of plant touching entities, specifically at technology, media and events orgs, we were getting a lot of calls from both sellers and buyers. What we quickly realised is that there is really no playbook for M&A at the SMB level. Here´s what I´ve learned 12 months, 1000´s of conversations, tons of lost/slipped deals, and 2 officially closed deals under The CannAcquire Belt with many more in tow.... 1) No one sets their business up to be sold. -In the cannabis retail game, you believe you´ll be around forever. As a result, you might not prepare yourself with key pieces should you ever get to a point of wanting or needing to sell. -By the time you realize you want/need to, your ducks aren´t in a row. Preparing for acquistions early are key, specifically, ensuring you have your data room together will help speed up the deal, and give the acquirer what they are looking for. 2) There are signfiicant expectation gaps between buyers and sellers -Everyone wants a good deal, or whatever the deal they deem to be ¨good enough¨is -Timing, external market forces (such as increasing license caps), compelling event (i.e. what´s driving the urgency behind the deal) and mutual trust are key components in deeming what a ¨good deal¨looks like. There is no one size fits all, but when you do see enough of these deals being done, the market starts to show itself. That Adam Smith Character and his Invisible Hand Theory seems to just always ring true... 3) Understanding upside -Gross Margins, topline revenue, rent, payroll & EBITDA tell one side of the story. -On both sides, in the rush + constant noise, qualitative upside gets lost in the mix. Sellers: What aren´t you doing right now that perhaps a larger, more sophisticated process driven organization might come in and tweak to drive impact/payback immediately? Buyers: How can you leverage your technology, operational knowhow and top tier front line managers to accelerate sales/keep costs down once you take over? 4. Deal structures vary Cash is King- One thing we are learning to be good at is deliver cash in a market that has literally no cash. If you are a seller and want cash, be prepared to take a lower multiple. If you are open to stock, VTB´s or a combination, that multiple will go up but you assume risk. Many more learnings and musings as I continue to embark on this very challenging but fun & solution focused endeavor. More info can always be found in the CannAcquire Acquisition Accelerator: #acquistions #mergers #successionplanning #retail CannAcquire https://lnkd.in/gQaAe2sR

Simplifying cannabis entrepreneurship- one document at a time. Get Started Today- leafsheets.com #CannabisBusiness #LeafSheets #SimplifyingCannabisEntrepreneurship

Getting back from my 3rd Boston NECANN and here’s my thoughts 💭 - Love the event for its diversity & holistic representation of an industry. Unlike other shows; you see every part of the cannabis industry represented here. I love this & is why I plan to come back each year. - The cannabis industry seems to be in a better place than a year ago. People are looking at growth, pricing has somewhat stabilized, outlooks we’re positive. The grit and determination of the folks who make up this industry never ceases to amaze me. Just all around great people. - I found opportunity around every corner. I went in with no biz dev agenda but happened to meet some great people & in was able to set some clear next steps which I believe will help Pisgah Peaks Ventures continue to grow - Boston really has a unique feeling to it & I enjoy the city (even with 35 degree weather, 30 MPH wind gusts, and rain). The food, the culture, the walkability of the city can’t be beat. You know you’re in Boston when you’re there. - The variety of the events is always impressive. There are chill happy hours, full fledged concerts, bowling, happy hours at Cheers, brunches etc. - MA cannabis has done an excellent job of modernizing cannabis but also retaining the legacy culture which built the modern market. You see this reflected in the brands, the music, the events, etc. - It was a delight to meet the Vape-Jet team Carly Hoitt (Olsen) Sawyer Sheppard for the first time. I enjoyed seeing their machine in person. I could finally appreciate how user friendly it was + how compact the machine was for the first time - It was great to connect with Richard Lee IP for the first time. We’ve begun a partnership & am looking forward to our collective growth. It was also nice to meet Kelley Shaw-Wade IP as well! - The value of LinkedIn was reinforced. I met several people that had been following my account & the impact it had on our conversations was immediate. The effort I put on here felt recognized and this was a good reminder to keep pushing. - Had a blast going out on town with Michael Mejer & Vib Gupta (even tho we didn’t make that Bruins game 😂) I am terrible at taking selfies & I ran into dozens of people that I wish I had documented but just know I appreciate you & it meant the world to see you in person! Until next time Boston; it’s been real! Thanks for always throwing a great event

I’m all about throwing as much shit to the wall and seeing what sticks. You basically just gotta try as much as you can to see what’s viable for your situation. Trust me, it took me 5-10 stabs at trying to start a business to finally get something off the ground. And now that Delivered, Inc is off the ground, we’re experimenting as much as we can to see what we can do to drive growth. Which is why I’m pumped to launch our partnership with Jointly. Jointly is a game changer for cannabis consumers. Instead of just giving you a marketplace to shop on, Jointly harness the power of AI to give consumers a personalized, tailored shopping experience aimed at improving their relationship with cannabis. This is especially helpful to us because of our lack of budtenders. Given that customers place their orders online with us, we miss that golden opportunity that budtenders have to learn what the customer needs and then provide a recommendation based and even upsell. We completely miss these opportunities. But this is where (we hope) Jointly will shine for us. By using AI to listen to customers and recommend what’s best for them, Jointly is basically becoming the budtender of the future. Shoutout David Kooi and the whole Jointly team for putting together this badass software and THANK YOU for letting us be your inaugural Massachusetts launch partners!!! And huge thank you to Chris Faraone and the Talking Joints Memo team for covering this partnership (link to article in comments) 🙏🏽🙌🏽💯 If all goes well, we’ll have a couple more media partners covering this game-changing launch 👌🏽 Have a great week everyone, wishing you all nothing but fulfillment, peace, and success 💚 #massachusetts #cannabis #innovation #ai #newengland #masscannabis #worcesterma #health #cannabishealth #entrepreneur #founderlife #behindthescenes #weed #massgrass

Who will be the next Canopy Growth Corporation CEO? (Comment below and share your thoughts - please keep it positive: everything in this post is meant to be good vibes to all those involved) As it was announced on Friday, David Klein will be retiring from his tenure in the CEO seat at Canopy at the end of this fiscal year, on March 31, 2025. I have to admit, thinking about the various options Canopy must be reviewing for this role is more intriguing to me than it probably should be. Not only are our store networks of Northern Helm Inc. and J. Supply Co. customers of Canopy products, but I was fortunate to work at Canopy from 2018 to 2020, after Hiku (Tokyo Smoke) was acquired. This meant I had the opportunity to work under Bruce Linton for his final few quarters as CEO and David Klein for his first few quarters leading the business. The attached pic is the Tokyo Smoke coffee served with Canopy branded coco on July 3, 2019 at the Tweed Visitor’s Centre in Smiths Falls. We arrived at the facility that morning for a private grow tour sanctioned by Bruce, only to look at my phone as I got out of the truck and learn he was exiting the business that day (we still went on the tour, it was excellent; though sadly one of the last tours of that nature at the facility). In many ways, that Tweed Visitor’s Centre was the physical embodiment of Canopy for many folks during the pre-legalization and early days of legal rec cannabis in Canada: there were only a few companies speaking about cannabis as a normalized consumer packaged good. And I would argue there was no better compilation of cannabis history and education in Ontario than at the Visitor’s Centre: a celebration of those that pushed through prohibition to make legalization possible, while also showing how the plant had been used for good for hundreds of years by all sorts of cultures. Canopy was drawing out the vision of the future of the recreational cannabis industry for those inside and outside of the space. And because of that, Canopy became a massive draw of talent. They pulled from everywhere. I believe the next CEO will benefit from taking the excitement from the Linton era and the stability of the Klein era - leveraging a combination of both to meet customers’ interests and attract exceptional talent to fulfil those needs. It’s an exciting prospect. Not easy, but nothing worth doing is. Some key questions I think the next CEO will need to answer early on: What will the core focus be for the organization? What is the one area that Canopy will plant its flag and build around? US, Canada Rec, Medical, Europe, etc. Are there lines of business that make more sense to lean into or out of, based on the agreed upon focus? Amnesty for the past is always key in these discussions. Where will the head office be? Smiths Falls, Kanata, Toronto, Chicago, Rochester, etc. Anyways, I have no horse in this race, but organizational strategy is fun. Looking forward to seeing who you think it’ll be!

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