Seed to CEO MJBiz

Justin Dye was brought into to Schwazze to help pivot it to a plant-touching business.
In this final episode of Seed to CEO, learn:
How and why Dye chenged the focus of the company How he decides which companies to acquire Why Schwazze remains focused on mature markets, like Colorado, instead of newer markets Who is Justin Dye?
Justin Dye is chairman and CEO at Schwazze. He cut his management teeth at Albertsons, the grocer, leaving as chief adminstrative officer. He went on to advise the PJ Solomon on investments in food, retail and restaurants. He also ran his own private equity firm.

Gary Allen has leveraged lessons from the high-tech and advertiisng industries to lead New Frontier Data as it provides the booming cannabis industry with accurate data on trends and insights.
The company now serves over 30 markets.

In this episode:
Discover the vision behind how big data can help in cannabis Learn how lessons from the tech boom and bust should inform your cannabis strategy Who is Gary Allen?
Gary Allen is CEO New Frontier Data, a data, analytics and technology firm specializing in the global cannabis industry. Gary’s expertise in operations, marketing and technology, applied to a high growth company in a fast-moving, emerging market, is perfectly aligned with this evolution of his 24-year career as an executive.

His career is founded in advertising technology. By the end of 2015, some of his former colleagues were entering cannabis, and he made the leap to join them.
 

Chad Bronstein started his first businesses in high school. He built an agency working with major brands, but things had gotten too corporate. So he took the leap to build Fyllo, helping cannabis companies market. Over time, he has built a method to segment and target audiences, while educating brands on regulatory constraints.
In this episode, find out:
The mindset needed to jump into a high-risk, new role How he used networking to speed up his education in the industry The importance of building a strong team How his businesses provides a crossover opportunity with mainstream companies How he makes decisions about acquisitions Who is Chad Bronstein?
Chad Bronstein is the Founder and CEO of Fyllo and Co-Founder/President and Chairman of Tyson 2.0. He entered cannabis after noticing how many cannabis clients were approaching his social media agency.

During his twenties, Ryan Smith had already started and sold two companies before he broke into cannabis in 2015 with the launch of his B2B technology platform Leaflink. One year later, he made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list highlighting software technology entrepreneurs, buttressing his wunderkind reputation. Seven years on, Leaflink operates in some 30 markets and has some 12,000 business customers.
In this episode of "Seed to CEO," you’ll hear what Smith did to get this far, including:
Spotting opportunity in the cannabis industry landscape Conducting market research Picking winning markets in which to operate Keeping a fresh perspective Who is Ryan Smith?
Ryan G. Smith is the CEO and co-founder of LeafLink, a B2P platform catering to the wholesale cannabis supply chain for brands, distributors, and retailers in 30 markets. In 2011 Smith founded his first business, a green office supply company named EcoCampus. And in 2013 he founded Trupoly, ant investor management relationship software business. Smith and his partner Zach Silverman founded LeafLink in 2015. Smith was listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2016 and LeafLink was named on Fast Company’s 2018 list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Enterprise. In 2021, LeafLink was named one of Inc’s Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America.

Greenlight, led by John Mueller, is one of the fastest growing multi-state operators in the United States, with operations in Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia, Illinois and South Dakota.


Mueller is executing an unusual strategy, buying licenses in "undiscovered" locations. 
In this episode, learn:
The logic behind his strategy Why he operates in off-the-radar locations How to adjust to changing conditions How he scores licenses Who is John Mueller?
John Mueller has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Acres Cannabis and Acres Cultivation, and currently serves as Principal of Mid America Capital. John brings extensive experience with state regulations and compliance in all areas of cannabis cultivation and dispensing. John has two successful decades of working with Federal and State regulatory agencies including USDA and FDA. John has served in all levels of executive management primarily in the cannabis, food, manufacturing, and construction industries.

Rebecca Colett spent most of her professional career in analytical and leadership positions at some of the best-known financial and tech companies in America, including Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, GE Capital, IBM, and Red Hat. But that didn’t quench Colett’s professional passion, so the Detroit entrepreneur and her business partner started a caregiving business, teaching themselves the craft of cultivation and product manufacturing. They learned it well enough that in 2019 they expanded that caregiving business into a licensed grower and product manufacturer – Calyxeum - that grows flower and creates edibles, concentrates, topicals, and other products, and employs 20 people. 
In this episode, Colett will share: 
-How she used her finance, tech and analytics background in cannabis  
-How she bootstrapped her business after an unsuccessful capital raise attempt 
-How to bounce back and raise capital successfully after not succeeding to raise capital the first time 
- How to scale a caregiving operation into a thriving business 
- How small businesses can use the power of branding to compete with big businesses 
Who is Rebecca Colett?
Rebecca Colett is the co-founder and CEO of Calyxeum, a cultivation and product manufacturing business headquartered in Detroit. Colett and her business partner LaToyia Rucker launched Calyxeum in 2019 after several years as registered Michigan caregivers. Colett has also served on the national board of National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws, and as Committee Chair for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Before cannabis, she launched a successful gym franchise, and held analytical and leadership posts at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, GE Capital, IBM, Red Hat and other well-known American companies.