As the East Coast’s markets are set to come online, major excitement is brewing.
Creative, experienced, eager parties are ready to make the move into the green rush. As projected numbers for total addressable markets get released, many believe this is their gold rush and are flocking to throw their hat into the ring.
We have fielded numerous calls with experienced, successful individuals looking to apply for licenses and use their outside industry experience in cannabis.
Some of the conversations sounds like this.
“I have been successful in X and am confident that it will apply to Y.”
Those statements are never met with disagreement from our side and are usually followed up with a simple, “does anyone on your team have a “Green” background?”
The response 99 out of 100 times is “is that necessary or important?”
Necessary? No. Important? Likely.
Allow us to explain…
Cannabis is hard.’
Challenges exist inside cannabis that are hard to truly understand until you’re in the space.
Go-to platforms that are typically used for selling products may not be an option. For example, if you are starting an ecommerce brand that’s Direct to Consumer, you can forget about using Stripe.
If you are looking for standard, non-plant touching insurance, prepare yourself for 300% markup.
Looking for an SBA loan to finance your operations? No can do.
This is where experience is valuable.
The learning curve of the industry is steep and the velocity at which organizations operate is hyperspeed. These variables are counterintuitive.
Layered on top of that is the inability to receive basic funding, making decisions regarding capital extremely critical.
East Coast businesses won’t just be competing with new, inexperienced players, they will be up against some of the biggest MSO titans in the space.
Their experience in understanding how the cannabis game is being played allows them to navigate these landmines swiftly.
That being said, does having a green background matter? Absolutely.
The bottom line is, if you want to be successful, you need to understand the rules of the game, and most of the time that means dealing with challenges and learning through experience. Solutions for all your obstacles exist. They are just not readily seen until you’re navigating the unknown path forward.
Editors’ Note: This is an excerpt from our Monthly Playbook. If you would like to read the full monthly playbook and join the thousands of others you can sign up below.
