Welcome to Cannabis School. I'm your host, Jesse Angeles.
And I'm Brandon Elder, and we're here to talk to you about
everything pertaining to cannabis from vape, flower,
edibles, strains and everything in between.
Welcome, welcome, welcome, everybody.
We are so excited. We have Jess from MJ Bizcon here
with us. We couldn't be more honored and
thrilled at the exact same time. We're going to be able to hear
about so many different things. But before I go really in detail
with that one, Brandis give us a proper introduction for Jess.
Oh, proper introduction. Yeah, tell everything, man.
Everything about. I don't know everything about
Jess. That's what she's here for.
Her favorite color is what? Black.
I mean, that's like, the best color, OK?
And her favorite food? Chinese food.
There you go. See, now we can go into the
proper stuff about business. So MJ Bizcon, Jess, Brandon,
tell us about MJ Bizcon, tell us about Jess, and then let's just
get right into the questions. Man, yeah, so this is their 12th
year of MJ Bizcon here. It started back in Colorado.
They had about 400 people. Last year they had over 30,000
people and it's been in Vegas since about 2014.
And this year they have notable guests like Martin Luther King
Junior, the 3rd. So they have some I know, I mean
the first one, Scepter and a hat.
I mean, they might make one. That'd be cool.
Specific for MG Biz Con.
That'd be cool. Like a big MJ over there and
it's green. Kind of glistening.
That'd be awesome. Don't love it till you try it.
Yeah, I know, right? So Jess, you're the CFO?
No. CRO CRO, yeah.
So I oversee the MJ biz brand and specifically the events as
well. So it's the experience Part 2.
So and she you're you're also in charge of the Chief Experience
Officer as well, right? Yes, exactly.
Yep. So basically all things MJ biz.
That's probably the best way to put it.
Just all things MJ biz, Yeah? So what inspired the creation of
MJ Biz? You know, it's I love telling
the story because the the founders who aren't full time
with the business anymore, but they started it.
Two women, Anne Holland and Cassandra Farrington.
In Colorado and Denver in 2011 and actually we started there
with the publication because they felt like we needed that
they could see the business side coming down the Pike and that
this was a real industry that needed love and attention and
also just the forum for people to get together and you know
entrepreneurs to grow their business.
So they started focusing specifically on the business
side, you know of course like? High Times was out there.
I mean there are a lot of consumer brands you know for for
media, but they said OK, we want to focus on seed to sale, you
know, cultivation, processing, retail and help people out for
all the things that they might need to run a business and
because they saw it coming. And then sure enough 2012 hits
and you know Colorado legalizes, that's the first year we have an
event and you know it just takes off from there and it's been a
wild ride ever since. That's way cool.
I I think about especially when they started out what it was
like for them thinking I mean it's a big bet because even
though it was growing, it's still a big bet and to see where
it's come to now, I mean I can only imagine because they are no
longer into the day-to-day operations kind of sounds like
you know maybe it was a buyout, A merger or whatever was that
happened like I would be hard it would be hard for me to leave
that baby. I mean, I I yeah, the founders,
they might, they might think differently of, like how the
events are running today as and when they used them.
Yeah, I mean it's they've they've been involved with the
progression. So you know, for them, I think
it's, it's definitely been a, you know, very joyous growth,
but as anyone who's worked in this space knows like.
In cannabis years, you know, 1212 years in cannabis years is
like 35. I swear.
I I mean because things are changing and moving so quickly
especially if you're you know being a media organization,
which we are primarily, we do have the event obviously.
But I mean we're we're turning out Daily News like monthly
magazine and and just keeping up with that and who who's in the
space, who's leaving the space. You know it's one year here is
in in cannabis in general. I feel like it's like 5.
They were. They felt like they it was about
time. So we were actually acquired by
a median events company that's headquartered in New York in
January of 22. So I stayed on with the brand to
continue to oversee things and now we have, you know, much
larger support from a bigger parent company.
The larger would have been sending more money, right?
Yep. Yeah, to put on a better event
for all of you guys, because it's, it's what it's about,
right? It's an experience and I mean,
you've got to be able to fuel that.
And it's so awesome that this company had seen the potential
that this has. They're like, man, we could.
I mean, not to sound like they're a bunch of greedy
bastards, but they are like we could milk this really well and
and really give the audience what they want, give the
consumers what they. Yeah, you know we look at it
every year just kind of like with the MJ Biscon side
especially. We sit down and start fresh
every year and you know there is no said it and forget it or
rinse and repeat because we have to look at like what does the
industry need from us. We don't take this, you know,
responsibility lightly to where we're trying to help and that's
at the end of the day the content and the connections that
we're trying to put out there. It's the the medium in which we
do that, you know, changes from print to digital to in person
events. But at the end of the day, we
have the same mission, which is really to help cannabis
professionals and entrepreneurs really succeed in this business.
Would have been some of the biggest like challenges with
putting on a cannabis focused event.
I mean the well, the elephant in the room is, is the legality,
right? Like when you are the large
world's largest cannabis business event.
They're you're under a microscope in a lot of ways and
so we need to make sure that we're doing things the right way
to because that that reflects on the industry.
You know, we want to show kind of more that the mainstream
event world and a lot of local and and state government
officials that like this is a very professional business and.
It's a fun one, but at the same time like we're here to do
business as well. So the big thing is just making
sure that we're working with all of our partners in Las Vegas and
then Clark County where Las Vegas is.
So we have some great relationships there and that's
that's been great. But otherwise it's just it's
moved so quickly, you know, between what's needed and you
know, we just with Ohio just legalizing this month, we have
really like had to stop and say, OK, well what do?
You know, people who are working in Ohio, what do they need now?
Because this is the new regulation, so do they need
sessions? Do they need meet ups?
So it's just constantly like being on your toes.
And I think that's kind of a little bit more unique to
cannabis than maybe an industry that's a lot more mature.
So you guys more or less act as the liaison and being able to
help these up and coming companies mature with the actual
business because as we know Brad and I both know, we're very
familiar with the cannabis industry.
It's almost like and I don't want to be crass about this, but
it's almost like a bunch of country bumpkin sitting on the
back of the pickup truck paying their guys right out of in cash.
They're like there you go, here you go.
They don't understand that this is a very mature business.
This is like a rodeo Dr. type of business is what we're trying to
achieve with it. We want high, high value brands
and not millions of them. We want centralized brands that
mean a lot to the consumer. So it's very young as far as
that part and you guys are integral into that part and
helping them to understand that it's not hand to mouth.
Well, you know, we certainly try.
And every year it seems to you can noticeably see the
difference between I think as things become taboo, the
stigma's kind of fading away. You also have more people
entering the space from other. Industries and other professions
who were bringing their skill sets that maybe they they had
somewhere else over. And I think one of the I just as
an example a couple years ago trying to think probably like
2018 we would have maybe one marketing advertising session
didn't really I mean it had you know decent turn out but it
wasn't you know blowing the doors off at all.
Fast forward now, we have a full day dedicated program around
marketing and advertising and branding.
We have breakout sessions. There are meetups like and
you're seeing the just the in general the job titles of people
who are registering and coming to the event for marketing
specialties is just skyrocketing.
And I think that that in itself is pretty indicative of what's
happening with the industry because as you said, like to
have this like you know, Rodeo Dr. Type brands, the the
marketing that goes around that especially with the regulations
still impacting cannabis companies, it's.
You've got to be on your game for it and and the competition
is steep so. Yeah, and that's why so many
cannabis brands are here for a minute.
And then they're gone. Yeah, I think, you know, it is
still a bit of a volatile industry.
You know, I would love to see things kind of mature in that
way, where they're able to, you know, be a little bit more
stable throughout the year, I mean for for them.
It is interesting too that I know several people that are on
my exhibit floor that they started the first year they
came. They they were an attendee and
they said, you know, I just really want to get into the
space. I want to see what it's all
about. Then they come back the second
year and they're like, OK, I have my business plan, I am
looking for capital, looking for funding this year, then they
come back the third year and they're like, all right, I have
backing. I have investors.
I'm ready to go now. And then to see them, then they
buy a booth, like a 10 by 10 booth and then to see them kind
of grow up with us and have these like really big impressive
footprints on our show floor. It's, it's been pretty cool, you
know, to to celebrate that with them because we've grown
together. You know, the MJ Biz was at a
hotel and then we outgrew the hotel and then we moved to the
Convention Center and like keep adding more space there.
So it's. There are, there are definitely
a number of people that we've we've grown up in this industry
together. Yeah, it creates almost like a
family, 'cause you're always there.
And if you're growing at each stage, yeah, I know.
I just, you know, and and knowing a lot about the
convention space as well, like, it's not cheap to play.
It really isn't. And you have to think about it
like I've worked with smaller cannabis brands on the marketing
side for branding and messaging and they've got these like, you
know, oh, it's cannabis. It just prints money.
Not so, not so at all. And when they get into that
mentality, it's like, OK, well what are you looking to invest,
have to really grow this because it's not just I have plants for
sale, it's you have to really put yourself as an outlier and
being able to attend an event like MJ Bizcon as an up and
coming company. I like how you said, like they
come check it out and then they go, yeah, I'm looking for
funding because they realize they're like, Oh my $5000 a
month marketing spend is peanuts compared to what these guys are
spending. I need to be in involved with
that, which forces them to create a real business plan
other than let's just sell, sell stuff that we think is cool.
Brian and I ran into one, like I'm not going to throw the guy
underneath the bus, but it was a product that he had.
He had was at this tiny little event here in Utah and it was
for like a dab rig station and it had all this.
It it just looked like something.
I'm like, that sounds like a lifestyle thing like you do on
the weekend. Like, that's that's cool for
you, bro. But you're not going to be
making millions. Nobody's going to beating down
your door for that. And I love that.
It's just such a a transition for them to understand that it's
like going to the pro leagues, right?
Coming to your event is going to like the Super Bowl of of
cannabis. So you're like this is what's
going on. These are the play by play.
You want to play in this game and get the ring, going to have
to play with the big boys, right?
So that's that's cool. I like it.
I'm going to, I'm going to start using that. the Super Bowl of
cannabis I love. I love it.
I mean it is, it does feel like the the kind of culmination of
the year. You know, we're always, you
know, that November time frame and what I love about it is
whether you've had a great year, you've had a bad year, like you
want to come to Vegas and you know, close out your year that
way. And so it's, you know,
celebration, it's commiseration and sometimes and then it's just
like setting you up for like, OK, it's a fresh start for 2024
and we're going to, you know. Figure out what partners we need
or what we need to buy or, you know, insert whatever.
But it's that's one of the things I love about it.
And I get jazzed because I get to see, you know, all these
people that I just adore and, you know, get to see them once
or twice a year. So it's a lot of fun for us too.
Brandon, you were touching on something right before we got
on. I'm talking about her personal
cannabis shoes, and from what I understand, you're late to the
show. Like me, you just showed up
late. Yeah, well, better late than
never, right? So how has that transition been
and and what was that event? Was it working at NJ Biz Con or
was it before that? You know, it was, it was right
around that time, I think I just, you know, hadn't hadn't
had a lot of exposure to it I guess.
And then once I I came over here, I had a.
An event background and I knew the the founders of MJ biz for a
while before actually coming over.
And as the event was getting bigger they they thought I could
help them out and luckily like you know, they thought so.
So once I started here and I started getting to read the news
all the time getting to really understand the industry and you
know honestly for me even that you know, stigma like started to
fall away. That thing, you know, I grew up
in. You know the 80s, nineties time
frame you know and I like I remember the the DARE campaigns
and you know all those things. So getting to like actually see
the research, see what's happening on the business side,
meet the people who were actually making these products
and getting this to understand it better.
I think it was just a, you know, a great door that had been
opened for me. I wish my my journey wasn't like
that. Brandon just brought me into the
fold. It was just like, hey dude, this
is going to help you in a month. I don't know about that.
Now here and here we are. So clearly, clearly goes on to
something. Yeah absolutely.
No, it's it's I think that's one of the things, the reasons why
we've loved being able to create this podcast for our audience is
our goal is to be able to reach new consumers, consumers that
are sitting right on the fence and you know thinking about MJ
Bizcon and all these companies over there and what they're
trying to do. We we created it for the the
fact to be able to one and inform customers and entertain
them in a sense. But at the same time being able
to give a gateway to these brands saying hey, you know
there are a lot of consumers out there that are looking for you
and being able to find the right ones to partner with.
I think that's been the most difficult for us as as you
probably seen that there are a lot of cannabis companies, but
there are a lot of just pretenders.
People are going to be here for maybe a year or two when they're
out because they think that's either going to be a buyout or
they're just going to run out of money.
Like they're going to have more plants than people to buy.
And they're like, I don't know what to do here or they have
products that nobody wants. Brandon and I have gone through
a dozen products that are just horrible.
What what tips do you guys have for like a first time Comer to
MJ Bizcon? Oh, I love this question
because. It's it's really exciting for me
when I get to see somebody who's there for the first time and
like their eyes get really big. And I think the general
consensus is that I hear the most is we didn't know it was
this big. And I mean that's just like,
it's a proud moment for us, but it's a proud moment for the
industry to say like, yeah, I know this, like this, this is
huge, so. The the tips I usually give
first timers. So first of all that the really
easy one is wear really comfortable shoes because it is
a it's a really big show floor and you're you're going to be on
your feet. So that's the first one that I
always give people. But secondly and we do a first
timers orientation the morning that the event opens so that you
can meet our staff, ask any questions, things like that.
But the thing that I would tell everybody is.
Make a plan The The biggest mistake I see people make is if
they just show up and think, OK, it's three days, I'll figure it
out between. It is so fast and furious that
like, you know what sessions you're going to go to know who
you need to meet, what exhibitors you need to go see on
the floor, and even down to like what what after parties are you
going to? Because there's so many every
night. I mean, it's just impossible to
get to everything. So it's it's super fast 3-4
days. And so just like, show up with
like all of that outlined and then, you know, just away you
go, 'cause it's, it goes by super fast.
I can imagine with over 30,000 people there last year, how many
vendors are like booths do you guys have there last year?
Right around 1400 companies that are exhibiting on the show floor
and and it varies every year. We do have a number of first
time companies every year which that's always great because you
can see like here's what's new but and they they go all out.
So there's a lot of really cool stuff on that floor.
It's. It is segmented now.
It wasn't for a while, but in the past couple years we started
segmenting it by. Just general product category
more or less so like cultivation services or processing and
packaging or retail and dispensary and business
services. So we try and do that so that
it's a little bit easier to to kind of find what you need and
where you're going. Yeah.
In the beginning, you know, we just were the way we were
growing it just, you know, all of a sudden one day it was like,
oh man, like I'm tired. I grow bullets to get around
this floor because it's just a lot.
Just get you like a. Segway or something, Yeah.
Yeah, exactly so. Little pulp art Mall cop hat.
There you go. You you might.
See me. So if you see somebody zipping
around on there, it's probably me.
It's just. Make sure you wave, they just
need to put a little harness on. Her and then have something
hanging from there and they just yank her up every once in a like
spider man and then they just plop her down in another area
just because of how it is. I don't know.
I might be out if that happens.
They get to go. Hey, Jess, real quick.
We need you to look at this. And they bring out this harness
and it's all connected to the ceiling.
You're like, I'm out. Hey, you know what?
I appreciate it. I'm done guys.
I can't do this. Anymore.
No, that is so. That is so cool.
I love that detail that you really take care of them, not
only as a vendor, but as a as a visitor as being able to come
see the show. It's that exact same feel like
it's like you said, three days, four days like that, gone.
And you're like, yeah, I've lost 6 lbs.
I don't even think I eat. And because you just want to see
everything, Yeah, it's man, it's it's super fast.
I know. I sleep for like a solid 12
hours afterwards. Yeah, like I'm just people out.
I need to do my own thing and chill, decompress, you know, I
always, I compare it to like if you're, if you're a runner and
like a marathon training. So like for us, you know, we're
training all year to get ready for this event and then you get
on site, that's our race and your adrenaline's carrying you
through. And then, you know, afterwards
you have that runner's high at first where you're like, I am
ready to do this again, like now, like, and then all of a
sudden it's OK, I need a nap. Pass out for 36 hours, get back
up and do it again. Yep, exactly.
Just. Running IV therapy like she gets
back, she just gets mainline with all this essential
nutrients. Everything she needs is coffee.
Yep. Yeah, there you go.
That mainline coffee? There you go.
That's so neat. We should have a reality show
that, you know, follows us around like the behind this
scene. I think that would be pretty
entertaining. Oh yeah.
I could make that happen one day, Might as well.
You know it's pre season stuff. It's a show.
It gets everyone excited for next season's drop, right?
So with the. Show What's the biggest change
that people can expect this year Change.
I think it's not so much a change as every year we're
adding to the event. So we have some new things that
we're doing this year that I'm I'm pretty excited to share.
First one is let's see no particular order.
We are partnering with Thrive Dispensary, which is one of the
Nevada brands and they are going to have a an activation or a
lounge on the show floor where you can meet with some of the
brands that they have in their dispensary.
And then you can do online ordering like through a kiosk
and we have shuttle buses running you, you know, down the
street to their actual. Dispensary.
Their actual dispensary, so you can pick everything up and and
then not have to be. Because if unfortunately, you
know, with the way that the law reads, we cannot have
consumption or, you know, actual cannabis products at the
Convention Center, that's not an MJ biz thing, that's a that's a
local and, you know, regulation issue.
That hopefully one day, you know we might see some change there,
but for right now we have to you know be good partners and and
follow the law. But this way we're actually
providing that transportation to try and make that a little bit
easier. Likewise, we also did, we're
taking over the Lexi Hotel, which if you're not familiar
with that, it'll reopen this year as Las Vegas's first
consumption friendly hotel. And so in the, the guest rooms
there, you can, you can smoke in your room totally OK there.
And where, 'cause you know if most of the Las Vegas hotels
don't permit that. So that's pretty cool.
And we have several brands that are doing takeovers and
activations parties at the pool and the bar.
And so that's going to be going on during the week too.
So like those types of things we're just trying to to add to
the event to try to have you know, just just make it a little
bit more enjoyable because we're all there to do business, but we
also, you know, want to have a good time as well.
That's cool though. Yeah, I.
Like that. It's like a Disneyland feel.
Oh, do you want to go get corn dogs and Turkey legs?
Oh yeah, mate, we're going to go over there.
We're going to get smoshed. We're going to come right back.
We're going to have a great time.
Like, that sounds awesome. It sounds like that thing you're
talking about in in Denver where you drive around and they had
dabs and all. Oh.
Yeah, it was the dab bus. I went to 420 out in Denver
years ago. Years ago.
Was that? I don't know.
Yeah, it was when I cut the tips of my fingers.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a table saw accident and
like sliced the three of these little middle fingers pretty
good. Yeah, and then there was AI,
think it was called the dab bus and it was $10 or $15.00 for an
unlimited night pass. And they were driving around
Denver and they had dab rigs on it you could smoke, they were
passing around joints. Everyone brought their own
stuff. There was like chalkboard walls,
all the on the inside, and people were drawing.
And then there was like an old school Nintendo set up at the
back and it just cruised around. Denver made, Yeah, I haven't
seen that. Yeah, it was wild.
That's some crazy Tijuana. I don't know.
How legal it is? I'm pretty sure it's not, but
yeah, I'm not sure it is. Either, but that was way like
early times in Denver. So yeah, it's gotten a little
bit more, I guess, like more. I don't know the right word.
Maybe main, mainstream or or just control, I guess, yeah.
Control. Definitely like a noose around
it. Like it's just running around
wild, Lawless. That's where it gives.
This, these types of conventions, a bad name if you
did that. So that's really cool that you
guys are offering at this year to be able to go, hey look, you
know, not only you can go over there and see dispensers, we'll
take you right there so you can consume.
But that hotel, that's bomb. Yeah, that's cool.
That's cool. They've done a great job with
it. You must have an.
Amazing ventilation system I I would guess I you know, I don't
know personally but they yeah they they've done a great job.
It was formerly the Artisan Hotel and then new ownership
took over and it reopened over the summer.
So and they've been fantastic partners and they are very
supportive of the industry which is great.
That's dope. Now I'm looking it up because
I'm curious what it looks like. Sounds cool, dude.
I mean, you come in and it's not going to look stonery at all.
It's just going to be awesome. They'll have bongs in the room,
you know that. Like it's cleaned.
Inside looks super unique. Yeah.
Well now we have to go down and check it out.
That's so. Cool.
So more more attention to making sure that the that the
attendees, both exhibitors and attendees are are being able to
really feel more of a concierge type feel.
For this event, that's that's way cool.
Yeah, and now I feel like I'm going to have to bring Crocs
Ugly ass shoes. You'll be comfortable.
Oh yeah, I know. Just tape a pillow.
To my ass. And then I'll just take a seat
once we get back up. That'd be perfect.
I support that. It's a good way to do it.
Pillows all around. Awesome.
What's been one of your least favorite trends in cannabis that
you've seen least favorite Oh well you know I would say least
favorite is you know our our hearts definitely go out to any
of the brands that you know are are struggling this year.
I think in the you know just the the wave that this industry has
been through a lot of UPS. You know of course for the for
many years we were all in that upward trajectory.
And I think in the past year or so like there have been more
businesses impacted by more of an economic downturn or you know
over saturation and just consolidation in general.
So I think that's you know that's been tough to see.
I'm definitely very hopeful and I'm hearing good things that you
know, hopefully by next year we'll start to see that upward
movement again. So for everyone, if they can,
you know, hang on, get through it now, I think they'll be in a
a much better place come come next year.
I thought she was going to go into I can't stand seeing
scantily dressed cannabis brands with their women around the the
booths just wearing bikinis, 'cause that irritates the shit
out of us 'cause it's like that, right?
Remember that? Remember that 420, the the Latin
girls over there going, oh how do you doing?
You know, it're just like no and and that is something actually
you know we do, we do address it you know with the show
specifically because there is a certain amount of
professionalism that we want to exude and that we want to be
part of our brand, you know and also just to help the industry
mature and move things along faster.
So we definitely have policies around what is permitted at the
event and it is designed to, you know, keep it focused on
business, keep it focused on what really matters and what's
really going to elevate everyone.
And to your point, there are certain certain behaviors or
things that you can see at maybe some other events that you won't
see at ours. We won't complain.
About that, yeah, that's OK. Yeah, I mean, you know, it just
kind of, it just cheapens the brand.
It really cheapens the brand. And yeah, we don't respect that.
Like when we we were at this tiny little 420 thing and like a
lot of the boots were very respectable, like they're hey,
this, we weren't tell you about our business.
But then there's just one where, you know, I I just remember and
and people will know they're going to be hearing this or
they're watching it right now. They're going to be like you had
this, like this woman over there who's dressed in a bikini.
It's all black hair done and she's got her kid hanging here
off of her hip. And the kids just looking around
with the bottle in his mouth and you're just like, this isn't
really what I want to see here. Like I learn about your.
Brand these brands like you, we had talked about the first like
in order for you to be able to be a long lasting brand, you
have to be taking yourself very, very seriously, absolutely.
And that's not. The market, that's not the
future market. It's a small segment of the
market even. Yeah even down to like what you
know name nomenclature for for different strains and things.
You know like you know I've definitely seen some out there
that are you know less than than reputable and I think you know
to your point about how they're they're portraying their brand.
You know if if we say that there's when we're trying to go
after a larger market you know consumer market you and the in
many years we had you know the the two ends of the spectrum.
So you had, you know, the very, the medical patient side and you
had the true, you know, enthusiast side.
But there's this like Grand Canyon in the middle of people.
And you know, what about the the mom who just, you know, after a
really long day gets home, makes dinner and then just wants to
relax and doesn't want to, you know, pour that glass of
Chardonnay, right. I mean that's that's obviously
an unfair stereotype in a lot of ways.
But at the same time, there are all these people that you want
to you want it to be inviting to them and you want to appeal to
them as well and make it something that seems good to
them and comfortable And and the more we can do that and by
eliminate you know how we portray brands, I think that
that's going to help a lot because we missed the.
Mark, a lot of the time when we are showing up with those types
of things and it's like it's not the, it's not what the industry
is. It's just a certain demographic
of it and what's been portrayed for the longest time.
And so that like Stoner culture or that takes away from a lot of
the business side of it as well because there are so many
functional, just everyday people who use.
Cannabis like a normal thing and instead of it being something
that, you know, like the Nancy Reagan era, that it fries your
brain and makes you really stupid, can be a tool or a
catalyst for many people. So.
And it's. Educating on that sense too.
It's it's coming into it with both eyes open instead of just
an assumption, which is how cannabis has been portrayed for
so long. It's just an assumptive that
you're a loser. It's a something that you're
never going to do it. But then if you go through the
line of very successful people in the world, I would say most
of them, if not all of them, are consuming cannabis in one form
or another because they see the benefits and.
Having conferences such as like this been the world's largest
and and being able to attract the brands, reputable brands all
goes back to that one. You can't just be, I mean maybe
you could but it would be it would be such a short lived
brand. If you just come with the
assumptions that these are all the things like attending, I
would say that to to up and coming companies that are
thinking about like what what do I really want for my cannabis
brand is to attend an event like this.
To be able to see what's out there, competition, but more or
less like how are they presenting themselves instead of
just having a cannabis brand. Brandon and I, we were part of a
grow years ago. That's kind of how we got into
all of this and that was some of the things that we had talked
about really want to get rid of the the common misconception of
people who use cannabis. We want people who are my age
and older who are like, yeah, like.
I mean, we just had a podcast this morning with this awesome
guy and he what, what, how old was Pat in his 60s?
Yeah, and. And he's just he's he's so
excited to bring his friends over that he goes cycling with
and he's going to introduce them into some of the awesome plants.
So it's just so cool, Very cool with that.
I I kind of want to you know as we're as we're wrapping this up
I just want to know like what are the things that.
You would like. To see personally because you've
seen so many brands, so many businesses come and go, when
you've seen some of the most successful ones that keep
showing up every single year. Can you give our listeners this
idea of what are the, the, the things that you see that make a
successful cannabis brand To be successful in this industry, I
think you you've got to have a really solid leadership team.
I will start with that. I think you know to have a
successful brand it's it's about manage manage the business and
you know we're we're in it because we we love what we do we
love the industry like don't ever lose that.
However make sure that you're also taking care like treating
it like a true business and and running you know being you know
more conservative with your your financials let's say or you
know, making sure you hire the right people And the right
people can look a lot like a lot of different things in this
space depending on what it is. And I know I've seen people
coming over for you know, so let's say you know the example
from earlier marketing. So let's say you're a marketer
for you know a a fortune 1000 brands and then you come over to
cannabis and all of a sudden it's like OK well the marketing
principles still apply. You still have the skill sets
and now you just got to learn how to, you know, Bob and weave
pretty much in in cannabis. But the ones I've seen that are
really successful do a great job of managing that.
And then when it comes to brands in terms of like how they're
perceived with I guess the consumer audience, the ones that
do really well, I think it comes down to how professionally they
manage their brand, what relationships they have to get
in what stores. And there it's a very much a
relationship driven business still at this point.
So I can't emphasize that enough.
And that's where things like you know, self promotional plug
here, but MJ Viscon coming there, you never know who you're
going to meet in the line at Starbucks or you know coming
onto the show floor. And that serendipitous
connection you know, is going to turn into, you know, a future
business partner or you know someone that's going to help you
out down the line. So I definitely go to events
like that as much as you can, yeah.
Every year MJ Biscon, make sure you're there.
Well, yeah, I. Mean.
And it goes to that one. It's always who you know.
It's not what you have. It's not how cool your tech is
or how awesome your extracts are.
It's it's all about those connections, making those solid
connections because they'll take you a long way, like the
opportunities for funding a bigger brand could see this up
and coming one going. We should just, we should
purchase them. Those things.
I guarantee those things have happened.
Those decisions have been made right.
I are on that floor. Oh, so many, so many.
I've heard a lot of stories just from from people I know that
that's that's where the deals get done, you know, and it's
because of who they know they're.
It's because of how they represented their brand, what
the reputation is in the industry and but yeah, a lot of
that. I have heard many stories of
that happening at MJ Biscon. I want to know I'm excited to
see what what we hear this year at the event because there's
always something, right? There's always a story, there's
always some breaking news. So I'm I'm interested to see
what it is. We're partnering for the first
time this year with Fairchild Events who were doing the MJS
which are International Cannabis Awards.
That'll be Thursday night at the Palms Hotel and that's a really
cool event that we're going to be able to give out tons of
awards for people who are doing amazing work in cannabis.
And it spans the whole, you know, it's not just brands, it's
also, you know, across the entire ecosystem.
And then there's a really fun after party that that's going
along with it. So that'll be new this year and
that's that's pretty cool. International.
So that's like all the global is that research as well or yeah.
And you know the the cool thing about MJ Piscon is just how much
it is a global meeting point. I think, you know at at peak
we've been around 78 countries represented at the show, which
is just huge when you think about like what legalization in
the world actually looks like. So that's a lot of people who
are driving things for. We're surprised when we pop up
in like the top charts in all these random countries and we're
like. They're listening, yeah.
Nigeria, Spain, you know, all throughout Europe, like all
these countries listen to us and we're like in their top ten of
their alternative health podcast is because it's really starting
to take a hold. Spain has been coming up like
constantly in there, so yeah. Italy.
Italy as well. Italy, Yeah.
Oh. Yeah, Italy.
Their laws have changed. Crazy.
You know how, man, this is so cool.
OK, well, MJ Bizcon. What?
What are the dates? How long is it going from?
We're kicking off November 28th and we're going through December
1st, so just a couple weeks away.
So for those celebrating Thanksgiving, yeah, those
celebrating Thanksgiving in the US, it's right after that.
And just you'll be able to hop on a plane to Vegas, Yeah?
We'll have the link down below where you can go and buy tickets
directly there, so follow the link and get a ticket and show
up there. Because you know, you might see
us there, guarantee we're going to be there, we are.
We're making sure that we're going to be there.
You guys are going to be able to see us.
We are so enthusiastic about the plan.
We are grateful for our audience and how much you could do.
Everybody go down there, click on the link, make sure that you
get your tickets 28 to December 1st.
That's a lot. Plus, you got to think about all
those after parties. And how many dispensers are
going to be around there? How many products are you going
to be wanting to check out right away, Go there, attend.
We we can't. We can't stress that enough.
Yeah, Thanks for jumping on Jess.
It was great chatting. Thanks for having me.
I'll see you guys in Vegas. Yeah.
We're super excited. All right, everybody, take care.