The cannabis industry may be a unique regulatory animal, but some traditional business know-how can go a long way when starting a marijuana-focused firm, say executives who recently made the leap into the field.
“Business is business,” says Charles Jones, chief executive of LucidMood, a company that makes disposable cannabis vape pens formulated for different moods. “Certainly, the regulatory framework is very different. You need to be more creative around business models and things like that. But it’s a business, and ours is a consumer packaged goods business.”
Jones, who previously worked in the leadership development arena, and Sensi Media founder Ron Kolb joined The Cannabist Show to talk shop with host Jake Browne.
The transition to a new industry and a new focus — business-to-consumer from business-to-business — was relatively seamless, Jones says, noting he selected an executive team with experience in areas such as packaged goods.
Building a strong team with deep knowledge was a critical step for Kolb in starting Sensi Media, publisher of a cannabis lifestyle magazine.
“We wanted to find the very best in each category,” Kolb says. “We have an editorial team that has almost 300 years of combined magazine experience.”
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