Blunt Business

The Highest Common Denominator Elevating Your Base Self with Roger Obando, Cannabis/Tech Entrepreneur, and Activist. Our guest is a technologist who has spent the majority of his career getting novel ideas from the whiteboard to reality. He is a Cannabis/Tech Entrepreneur, Activist and a Published Author of a new book, The Highest Common Denominator-Elevating Your Base Self. Roger came into cannabis as a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in software development and consulting in both the enterprise and start-up world. His book is The Highest Common Denominator Elevating Your Base Self. He refers to the book as “a testament to rising together, to reaching higher, and to intersecting at the best version of ourselves, in service of equality, of opportunity, and of optionality.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Cannabis and hemp consumer insights and strategy with Laura Albers and Ben Woo co-Founders of Oasis Intelligence. Today's guests have created new cannabis and hemp consumer insights and strategy firm, thus filling a much-needed void for marketers with actual consumer insights based on a 20,000 person strong research tracker across the US, with global to follow. Oasis Intelligence represents the voice of the consumer, a critical piece of the puzzle that’s been missing until now. Understanding and having empathy for the real people purchasing products means businesses can better align their product portfolio and marketing with consumer demand.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Online stores for the CBD industry with Mark William Lewis Founder/CTO of Netalico Commerce. Our next guest specializes in web development of online stores for the CBD industry. With eight years of eCommerce development experience working with Magento, Shopify, and WordPress design. Netalico Commerce helps eCommerce companies grow their businesses for years through smart development and data-driven design. National Retail Foundation reports sales from CBD-based products are expected to increase by 700%, making it a near $5 billion market. With a variety of retailers (from lifestyle and beauty to food and beverage) infusing CBD within their products, this is a trend to keep top of mind in the year ahead. While the future of eCommerce can yield many uncertainties, one trend stands out. Success is inherently tied to anticipating the changing preferences of consumers and delivering an experience consistent with their wants and needs.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https:/

Natural hemp oil products with Nick DiFrancesco, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for PūrWell. Our next guest represents a company focused on providing pure, natural hemp oil products that promote general health and wellness. PūrWell utilizes a medical-focused approach to CBD whereby they have created pharmaceutical grade, custom formulations for specific ailments for the medical community and consumers alike. Its pharmacist-formulated tinctures include cannabinoid-rich, whole-plant hemp oil, organic MCT oil and are vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free and alcohol-free. PūrWell recently introduced PūrSlēp, a game-changer in the sleep industry.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Top Cannabis Private Equity Fund with Larry Schnurmacher Managing Partner of the Phyto Partners Cannabis Venture Capital Fund. Our next guest is a managing partner for a Cannabis venture capital fund recognized by Forbes as a Top Cannabis Private Equity Fund which has invested in over 30 privately held Cannabis businesses. He was a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley but he then researched the growing cannabis industry and left Wall Street to be a part of it. Their firm’s portfolio touches nearly every vertical in the cannabis supply chain, but it largely focuses on the ancillary companies that support licensed operators. Investing around $20 million in more than 30 ancillary cannabis companies.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The National Cannabis Risk Management Association with Rocco Petrilli, chairman of NCRMA and NCRMA CXO, Tamala McBath. The vision of the NCRMA is to offer innovative risk management services that will enable our members to thrive from seed to sale in the emerging cannabis industry. NCRMA surveyed the association's 2,000+ members to hear their thoughts on some of the top risks facing the industry as we turn the corner into 2020. The media perception of the industry often skews negative, which affects companies’ abilities to obtain permits from local governments, gain broader public acceptance, or buy insurance.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Phyto-nutrient nutritional products with Todd Davis CEO and Chairman of CBD Unlimited. Our next guest’s company is a premier provider of phyto-nutrient nutritional products for humans, cats, and dogs. November last year, the USDA published its interim final rule for the regulatory framework for the production services of hemp. The Rule provides requirements that should be clear across the industry for all retailers, hemp producers, and federal regulators as it relates to economic, social, and political inquiries. The proposal recommends states in America, as well as Indian Tribes, submit federal and regulatory plans in their specific territory for hemp production services. Reasons for this come from the recent rapid growth and high demand for CBD, leading to an increase in hemp production as well as the increase in hemp prices.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Insuring Cannabis Companies with Laura Bianchi, Managing Partner of Bianchi Brandt & Hale. Our next guest has been a featured guest on Cannabis Radio, including co-hosting our coverage of a historical 2016 election night. For the past decade, she has worked with cannabis and hemp-based businesses and can speak to various related topics. On Aug. 20, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced that federally insured credit unions may offer financial services to legal hemp businesses, a promising step toward legal banking for the broader cannabis industry. Although the Treasury Department has published guidelines for banks to provide services to the cannabis industry (including marijuana, hemp, and products derived from marijuana and hemp, such as CBD), financial institutions have been slow to work with businesses in the industry due to the contradictory legal status of cannabis—particularly marijuana at the state and federal level.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy &

Cannabis cash and products with Todd Kleperis, CEO of HARDCAR Distribution. Our next guest is the CEO of the nation’s leading secure logistics provider and distributor of cannabis cash and products, operating in ten states and Washington D.C. From Cash In Transit (CIT) to Cannabis Distribution, Cannabis Banking, Secured Cannabis Storage, Cannabis Financing, and Cannabis Transport, HARDCAR has all aspects of the cannabis market covered while continuing to reinforce compliance and public safety as the industry grows.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Environmentally conscious cannabis enthusiasts with Troy Ivan, CEO Of ExtractCraft. Our next guest runs a company that's helping economically and environmentally conscious cannabis enthusiasts get the most out of their plants. Extract Craft is a manufacturer of two at home ethanol extraction machines for concentrates and botanical oils of a wide variety. The Source Turbo and EtOH Pro. They are ethanol recovery appliances are easy and safe to use in the home or small business and make achieving high-quality extraction achievable for everyone! These appliances work under vacuum, with low heat, to recover almost all the ethanol for reuse, paying you back and paying for itself every time they are used.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Customized nano-emulsions for infused products with Vertosa CEO Ben Larson. Our next guest runs an innovative cannabis technology company providing customized nano-emulsions for infused products. Ben's company was originally Nanogen Labs until he rebranded under a new name, Vertosa. The new name embodies best-in-class products, service, and scientific expertise while paving the way for long-term vision and growth. VERT speaks to both green and truth – in line with our roots in cannabis and dedication to being the best partners to our customers. OSA, Spanish for the female bear, portrays our strength and proud California roots, with an important nod to the power of the female cannabis plant.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Scientific research for plant cultivation with George Hodgin CEO of Biopharmaceutical Research Company. Our next guest is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a former Navy SEAL Officer and the CEO of Biopharmaceutical Research Company. This past August, the federal government announced it would begin processing dozens of pending applications for permission to cultivate the plant for scientific research. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's decision comes after several years of delay for some applicants and a lawsuit filed against the agency by one cannabis researcher.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Supporting the compliance, transparency, and growth of cannabis businesses with Ashley Manning (Business Development Manager) and Adrienne Uthe (VP Sales & Marketing) for the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. Today we learn about the First Self-Regulatory Organization for the U.S. Cannabis Industry, the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. The NACB’s mission is supporting the compliance, transparency, and growth of cannabis businesses in the U.S. Led by a team of government, legal, banking, and data security experts, the NACB helps member businesses establish voluntary national standards that address critical issues such as advertising and financial integrity. Licensed owners of a cannabis dispensary, grower, or any other ancillary business may apply to become a member. The NACB recently announced the adoption of National Standards on Laboratory Testing and Product Integrity. These standards are designed to protect consumers and demonstrate to regulators and the public that NACB members

The new multifaceted Cannabis Industry with Michael Apstein founding partner of Primary Growth Partners. Our guest has served on both for and non-profit boards, as an expert witness, has won numerous industry awards, and been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Success, Money, and on NBC’s Dateline. He is especially proud to have mentored executives and entrepreneurs towards their own success with several former mentees now serving companies as CEO. Well-known cannabis brands are doing things right from a marketing perspective.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Creating iconic global brand strategies for cannabis with Conrad Lisco, Chief Marketing Officer of Fyllo. The company my next guest represents combining agency experience creating iconic global brand strategies with SaaS platform go-to-market rigor to accelerate growth and help brands and publishers realize the full potential of cannabis. Fyllo was founded and built by a team of former ad-tech employees and uses algorithms to track the changing landscape of cannabis laws around the U.S. Because brands can be penalized for advertising in states where products are illegal, the platform prevents digital ad impressions from showing up in places where they’re banned at the state or local level. Fyllo’s CannaBrain marketing technology ingests and interrogates billions of data points, allowing brands to safely build and execute advertising campaigns while also enabling publishers to create and monetize compliant ad inventory.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.

The beneficial effects of hemp products with Nick Womack Director of business development at GA Xtracts. Rapidly shifting regulations have resulted in a landscape where manufacturers are left without a trusted and ethical standard for reliably sourcing CBD. The founders of GA Xtracts are working to secure the long-term sustainability of the CBD industry by establishing connections with the FDA and university research groups to identify the most effective quality standards. GA Extracts shares a vision to become a multi-faceted global leader in the industrial hemp business. They want to empower people with natural and safe products. GA believes pharmaceutical style processes and approaches to industrial hemp and the extraction of the molecules found inside this amazing plant.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Vaporization technology and it's future with Mladen Barbaric, Founder/CEO of Airgraft. We're joined by the Founder and CEO of a company that designs, develops, and sells vaporization hardware and software. They describe themselves as a responsible vaporization technology company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The company has launched the Airgraft Clean Vaporizer, which includes cannabis concentrate pods, and an app to control the actual vaporizer. Made of polished ceramic, Airgraft elegantly conceals a suite of technology features that give control and transparency to users. The system introduces consumable pod traceability, enabling Airgraft to optimize vapor, remove burn and perfectly serve different plant oils.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Craft cannabis brands with Jamie Shaw Chief Communications & Culture Officer of Pasha Brands. Our guest works for Canada's largest organization of craft cannabis brands. Shaw is a founding partner of Groundwork Consulting, a co-author of the first Lift & Co. Retail Cannabis Training Course, a cannabis career training instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and sits on various boards and advisory committees, including the BC Independent Cannabis Association. One of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s justifications for legalizing recreational cannabis was choking out the black market. Regulated alternatives to black-market weed would, in theory, draw customers away from the criminal organizations selling it: similar ideas ended alcohol prohibition in North America.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Building an integrated portfolio of cannabis retail and more with Brian Baca, CEO of ikänik Farms, Inc. Our guest is the CEO of a new company working on building an integrated portfolio of cannabis retail dispensaries, cultivation facilities, offering iconic, inspiring hand-crafted cannabis brands, delivered in an unsurpassed retail experience. When we look at cannabis becoming a global emerging commoditized market in the future, we actually took a step back. As opposed to taking a traditional MSO approach – which everyone else has done, and I think it’s very overworked – we needed to really look at what the big picture is…and the big picture, if you really want to be a player, is global positioning. You can’t really compete unless you have equal footing. Brian recently received all necessary licenses required to begin the construction of a cannabis camp in Adelanto, California. This base camp will significantly enhance Ikänik’s ability to serve key verticals such as cultivation, extraction, and distribution

A consistent consumer experience and cannabis product with David Kessler SVP Horticultural Solutions, TriGrow. Our guest is part of a company that has created a solution to deliver a consistent consumer experience and cannabis product. Their software and hardware solutions will standardize and help to automate the cannabis cultivation process. TriGrow’s cannabis cultivation solution hardware and software are meant to standardize and automate cultivation. The software solution allows for a consistent product regardless of the location of the cultivation facility so that MMJ’s customers can have a similar consumption experience no matter where they buy the product. Not unlike McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. The consistency is also beneficial from a business standpoint as it gives the grower some predictability and that allows the company to have reliable information which helps with business planning. Green Market Report reported on the grow facilities, but what set this one apart was the vertical stacking of the Tri