Revolutionizing Cannabis Careers: The Game-Changing Program Vangst, the largest recruiting platform in the industry has launched a program to support cannabis careers. Natasha Lannerd, the creator of the program, joins Kyra Reed to discuss her cannabis journey and the need for career advancement in the industry. The program, called Learn, offers training and professional development to help individuals advance their careers in cannabis beyond entry-level positions. Produced By PodConx Kyra Reed - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyrareed/ Women Leading in Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/women-leading-in-cannabis Natasha Lannerd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashalannerd/ Vangst - https://vangst.com/ Learn - https://vangst.com/learn Women in Cannabis Mentoring Program - https://hopin.com/events/roadmaptofunding/registration
Revolutionizing Cannabis Careers: The Game-Changing Program
Vangst, the largest recruiting platform in the industry has launched a program to support cannabis careers. Natasha Lannerd, the creator of the program, joins Kyra Reed to discuss her cannabis journey and the need for career advancement in the industry. The program, called Learn, offers training and professional development to help individuals advance their careers in cannabis beyond entry-level positions.
Kyra Reed - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyrareed/
Women Leading in Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/women-leading-in-cannabis
Natasha Lannerd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashalannerd/
Vangst - https://vangst.com/
Learn - https://vangst.com/learn
Women in Cannabis Mentoring Program - https://hopin.com/events/roadmaptofunding/registration
the largest recruiting platform in the industry has just launched an exciting new program to support your cannabis career. Today we're talking with Natasha Lanard, the brilliant woman who built it. Welcome back to Women Leading In Cannabis, where we get [00:01:00] real about what it takes for women to raise money in cannabis.
You can find us on the Pod Connects network on iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora. I'm your host, Kira Reed. If you like what you hear, subscribe to women leading in cannabis and leave us a good review. We'd really appreciate it. I wanna give a shout out to our patrons, the Panther Group, for their ongoing support of women in cannabis.
And their mission to close the funding gap women face when it comes to raising capital. Thank you for supporting this podcast and women employed in cannabis. All right. Welcome to this show, Natasha. Hi. It's good to be on. I appreciate you considering me for this. Oh, I'm excited about our conversation. So Natasha began her career in natural foods industry, working as a sales management professional for high growth trail ba, excuse me.
Working as a sales management professional for high growth trail blazing. Brands such as udi's, gluten-Free, and Simple. Mills [00:02:00] Natasha's first for what is with me today. All right. Natasha's first foyer into the cannabis industry was with Pax Labs Inc. Where she established the dispensary channel and launched the ERA vaporizer.
Following her time with Pax Natasha consulted for several distinctive cannabis brands such as Lord Jones Banks and Mary's Nutritionals. Prior to joining 1906 where she served as the Director of Business and Corporate Development until 2021, Natasha is currently the VP of Strategy at Vant and the co-creator of Banks to Learn a training and professional development platform designed to support career advancement in the cannabis industry.
In addition to her role at banks, she is also a mentor with the color of cannabis, bipo can and Illinois Equity Staffing. Natasha, it's so great to have you with my guest today. We met at [00:03:00] MJ unpacked a few months ago, and I was so impressed with your deep knowledge on the cannabis industry and your passion for helping women.
Uh, it was definitely a meeting of kindred spirits. So I'm really, really happy to have you on with me today. I know your background, but I'd love for you to share your cannabis story with my audience. Yes, I know it's such an awesome time to be catching up with you now. I felt like you and I, when we met, it was like, We came all the way out here to meet and be friends, so it's so awesome.
I love the like falling in friend love. That can happen sometimes in the cannabis industry, honestly. It's incredible. I think that that is one thing that has been super unique about being in this industry for going on nine years is obviously you make a lot of great business connections, but you also make a lot of great friends.
Like the amount of people who have become my. Closest friends and closest network. Like it's real. So it, it's an interesting, uh, it's an interesting industry in that regard. And I think that when [00:04:00] you are in this industry, it's hard and it's not easy and people are in the trench together and that's where the camaraderie comes from.
So, let's see, how did I find myself here? It's a story. Um, so let's see. I was in the natural foods industry. Um, my last. Uh, role was with Simple Mills, which is now a large baking mix and snack company, but it was not at the time. Um, and I had helped that founder take the concept from what was sold in a plastic bag on Amazon, uh, to being a national grocery brand in eight months.
And all the while I was doing that, um, I have, uh, I had, and I knew at that point I had one autoimmune condition and that was celiac for all my gluten-free people out there. Um, and I had developed what was referred to as a mystery condition for five years. And it took five years to get diagnosed. And come to find out I have a genetic condition that predisposes me to extreme [00:05:00] biotoxin illness.
And I got exposed to mold in a home that I did not know that there was black mold and they just painted over it. And I lived in that house. And so I got really sick because I have this genetic condition and I used to work 14 plus hours every day. I traveled every single week for six and a half years.
Um, and I, when I started traveling, I, uh, after I, I went through treatment and it was interesting. The ear, nose, and throat specialist was like, Your life is gonna change. And I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna take this medicine and my life is gonna change cuz I'm not gonna get on an airplane for 10 days. And then I'm, I'm back in the game and I did the treatment and I immediately got back on an airplane and was right back in my thing and I had a huge flare of the condition and I was like, oh no.
And I was very young. Um, I was in my mid. Twenties at literally at the height of my career, which was weird to be that young and at the height of your career and having a complete health meltdown. And it [00:06:00] was, uh, a huge wake up call for me that, and I think that, you know, a lot of your listeners will understand if any of them have gone through this, that like your wealth is your health and you can't do anything without it.
And I spent, um, a huge amount of time in my life being like, wow. Okay, so I, uh, was like, what am I gonna do with my life? For me to be a VP of sales of a, of a national brand involves living on an airplane. And so that means I'm not gonna be able to be a VP of sales of a national brand because I can't live on an airplane anymore.
And it was after Amendment 64 had passed. Um, and I am from Colorado. I've lived here. I was born in Colorado and one of my best friends actually had gotten into the cannabis industry. It, she, she is less, she's like four months ahead of me. And she was like, you know what? You might wanna get into the cannabis industry.
And I've been a long time consumer. I think, uh, I was a patron of the brand of Ziploc from a decently early age, and I was like, so, you know, I was no stranger to the game [00:07:00] of, of cannabis and. I was a huge fan of packs. I had the PAX one vaporizer with anyone knows who's old school, where you'd like have to pop up the top and it would come out and I'd have to clean it every week.
I literally would clean that thing, get high before I vacuumed. Like it was like part of my cleaning routine every, every Sunday. So I was a huge fan of that. And she was like, They're hiring for a territory sales manager. And that was like entry level job for me. Um, given where I was at in my career. She's like, you should apply for it.
And I applied for it and they called me within 24 hours. And I obviously interviewed, uh, was well qualified and got the job. And, uh, that was really interesting for me, going from where I was at, which was a business, the natural foods industry. And C P G in general is so formulaic at this point. You can be a startup company, but you're a startup company in a well-oiled.
Industry. Right. And that's something that I feel like we all know is very different here. You're a startup company in a startup industry, and that's what makes this interesting. So I got into the [00:08:00] cannabis industry. It blew my mind. It blew my mind. Uh, at that point, you know, the, at that point PACS had really only been sold in head shops, and so I helped them establish a channel strategy and I was the first person to own the dispensary channel and I validated it.
I went out and I. Crushed it in Colorado. We made a ton of friends and I was like, yeah, this is a viable pathway. And over the course of that, like obviously ERA had been developed and. Helped to launch that. And then I really, you know, kind of wanted to challenge myself further because that was, you know, I, I definitely put everything into it and it was very successful.
I built an awesome team, uh, when I left and went to consulting, and that's actually how I met Carson, uh, Helston, who is the C e O of Vxt. So I, uh, she was one of my first consulting clients and, uh, She had, she and I had met, and one of the things that I had helped her with was setting up a sales strategy, um, for banks and like the ways that, you know, they could really bolster their sales strategy.
And [00:09:00] so we came up with one that was based around how to really, um, not only attend trade shows, But to get business from trade shows, which isn't necessarily the same thing sometimes. Hmm. And so she and I, you know, have been on and off working together for five and a half years. Um, Peter Barum, who is the co-founder at 1906, and c e o, was another one of my first clients.
And he and I obviously hit it off famously. I was one of the first full-time employees at 1906 and was his right hand human for five and a half years until I left to join Vxt full-time, um, last, uh, October. So it's been an interesting run. I have definitely worked with a bunch of different people and it's been an honor to do so, and I've had an opportunity to.
Um, yeah, get involved in many different avenues of the, of the business, and this is my first, uh, real foray into education and something that I'm super passionate about. Well, we are here to talk about it, [00:10:00] so. Fill us in. What is the platform? Why did you build it, and what is the goal? So from the perspective of banks, what do you hope to see?
And from the perspective of cannabis career employees, individuals that are looking to advance themselves in this industry, what's in it for them? I'm gonna start with the question in the middle. Okay. And then weave it into, weave it in. So I think one of the biggest things, In general, and, uh, people I feel like are gonna know what I say when I say this cuz it's said all the time, is like starting with the why, right?
Like, why do anything? And when you're really clear on the why, the what, the, how, the, all of those different things usually become infinitely more clear. So let's start with the why. Um, after working at 1906, for five and a half years, and frankly again with my background in natural food, cpg. I think one of the things that I was seeing is that, um, you can get into the cannabis industry, but what is not clear is how you get ahead.[00:11:00]
Nice. You know, and I think that one of the things initially when the industry started, and keep in mind, this is a, this is a very young industry, and so the, the getting in has been the primary focus for so long, because that's all there was. There was no, you know, like we're all just getting into this thing and we're figuring it out as we go.
But Amendment 64 passed over a decade ago. Wow. It's time to pivot the conversation from getting in to getting ahead, because that's where we're at. And I think one of the things that I saw is like, again, I saw a lot of amazing people getting in. And it was clear, like, okay. And Vxt is amazing at helping people get in, right?
Like Vxt has helped more people get in than probably anybody. And you know, Carson and I, um, have again have had an ongoing relationship for five and a half years, and we would go out to dinner and frequently we would find ourselves having this conversation of like, what's next? And it's like, all right, well what's next is getting ahead.
How [00:12:00] do we get people from transitioning from not only getting them ahead, but how do we, you know, strengthen the Vxt offering, not only to the candidates, to the companies, but to the industry. And it's like, all right, we start to develop a strategy for getting people ahead. And when you zoom out right now, there's a lot of great platforms and they're all focused on one thing, and that's training bud tenders, and that's great.
And. That is one category of worker in the cannabis industry. It's not all of it. Right. There is a, there are a lot of people who would benefit from basic education, right? Just entry level stuff. The other thing that we got, uh, you know, that we have or have the benefit of seeing from the bank side is we don't only work with people who are in the industry today.
We have an entire audience of cannabis curious people who come to banks who might be an accountant in Branson, [00:13:00] Missouri, and they're like, what's this weed thing all about? You know, could I maybe work in cannabis one day? And the answer is yes, but if there's no, or any available information to explain to you what two 80 E is and how it impacts the cannabis business, you know, if, if you have an interview.
You're gonna be at a detriment that you don't know These, these things that are incredibly important and very specific to this industry. And so, you know, Carson has done an amazing job over the years, building out banks.com. And I encourage everybody, uh, on the pod to check it out. If you don't already have a profile built out on banks.com, highly recommend that you do.
Um, you can kind of put in your professional experience. You can also use it to search and find people that have very specific experience. Let's say you were looking, if you're an employer in Colorado, you wanna find someone with a badge. You can find people that are on banks.com. So check it out. Um, plug for that.
But one of the things since the, the platform is already built [00:14:00] online, we're like, okay, like, what if we added a, an education component that was open for everybody, not just for bud tenders, and not only open for everyone in the industry, but open to anybody who lands on banks.com, over a hundred thousand people.
We have over a hundred thousand people who are registered members of banks.com, but last year alone, over 500,000 people landed on that page, banks.com. And so the amount of traffic that we have coming to the site, we're like, you know what? What are we giving to them to get them to come back and again and again and again.
Because here's the deal. Up until this point, you might find a your dream job on banks.com, but you might have that dream job for a few years. What are we offering to you? The person who found their dream job on banks.com, that gives you a reason to come back. And the same could be said about, for somebody who is canna curious and is [00:15:00] maybe just checking it out and they wanna know what they need to do in their state to, to maybe consider a career in cannabis, right?
Like, what are we offering to them for them to keep coming back? And the number one thing that I think we could offer from, you know, from our position as a company, from our platform, so, Is an opportunity for people to find a place where they can educate themselves. Um, not only about brands, about products, about services, but even like, honestly, one of our most popular videos right now is the credential around like, can becoming a cannabis, you know, working in cannabis.
It's how to write a cannabis resume and how to network in cannabis. Interesting. That's our number one viewed video right now. And what does that tell you? That the majority of people that are coming and watching this aren't in the game today. And they wanna be, so that's, they're not budtenders today, but they could be bud tenders tomorrow.[00:16:00]
So that's a little bit of the, you know, kind of our theory around this is like, how do we evolve banks to be something that opens the door to being a gateway. To the cannabis industry for people who are in today to advance and learn something new. And then people who are curious about coming in, getting their foot in the water.
So it reminds me of what we did in, um, gosh, in 22 when we were working with Oak Street Young University, and the whole point of our monthly events was to kind of give that back room. Um, perspective on what is happening right now in manufacturing. What is happening right now in, uh, testing because there is, while there is the segment of people who are coming into the industry and the basics, what is the endocannabinoid system?
What is two 80, like the basic things you need to understand when working in cannabis. And then as you [00:17:00] grow in your position, you also need to understand, What's happening on the ground right now today? What policy was just passed? It's going to impact your position, what you are doing. So there's so much education that needs to happen.
For employees, for people who are working in the industry just to stay alive and relevant in their jobs. From a bud tender all the way up to a CEO executive, and there really has not been a way for people to even contemplate. Like I remember talking to people who are bud tenders to women who are bud tenders and I say, are you in the cannabis industry?
And they wouldn't even acknowledge. Or realize I am in the industry because they, they don't see a path for themselves. How can I stay relevant? How can I stay ahead of the game in this industry and, and what does a promotion even mean? What are even the opportunities that exist for me that I could build a career path here?
So I think what you're doing with banks is [00:18:00] just, there's a massive, massive need for this very basic understanding of how do you. How do you learn and how do you grow in this industry if it's something you want to do for the rest of your career. So, uh, my hat's really off to you. So tell us if this program has launched, we can access it easily just by going to angst.
And then what are some of the other projects that are happening as a result of this, this platform. I know you're working with the state of Colorado. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So what's interesting about this, and just before I kind of go into this, is that. What's interesting about this opportunity and what we're doing is that this can only be done by people in the industry.
Yes. We can't wait for somebody outside of the industry to step in and, and fill this role. Right. This is an industry coming together and like, I just wanna say like every single person that's partnered with us on banks learn and has supported us by, you know, putting their material on there. Like, just to give an [00:19:00] example.
Of course we have like a Wana Basics credential, but we also have something on there, you know, from Leaf Link. If you're a buyer, there's a video on how Leaf Link works. If you're a seller, there's a video on how Leaf Link works, right? Like this isn't just, this is so much bigger than just where it's been, right?
You know, in this little spot of brand education, it's industry education. So you know, that is one thing that we've really been focused on is how do we get the things that are the most ubiquitous in this industry on there. To build out our content base that way. So we've had a lot of success. There's a lot of like unique things that are on there.
We are getting ready to launch a partnership with work, which think about this, how many people are clocking in every day with work? A lot in this industry. They're the largest provider of HR services in the industry. We're gonna have a video that every employer can share with their employees demonstrating how this works.
So, you know, we like on the micro-learning feature, and I should say [00:20:00] like the focus of vxt learn in the public facing sense is really a focus on micro learnings. What do I mean by micro learnings? It's a trend in e education and it basically refers to the material being. Short to the point and always like sub five minutes, honestly, like given the, the success that you've seen with TikTok.
Overwhelming evidence shows that the majority of people are gonna find some sticky points in material. That's honestly like, and I've seen some, some studies on this cuz I nerded out. But it's like anything beyond five minutes. You're gonna kind of lose people in this, in this barometer of education. If you're going deep into subject matter, that's different.
But for people, just quick bites of knowledge is where you pick up the most audience. So at this point, everything that, you know, when people log on and they check out banks.com, you'll see very clearly the tab to see the trainings and to unlock those. They're all gonna be super short format, so you can learn on the go, right?
Like you're, you [00:21:00] know, like depending on if you're a public transit or right. Like you can pop one of these. You know, when you're waiting in line to get on the subway or you know, you have a few minutes at your lunch break, you can check it out. Um, so we also are, you know, kind of doing a longer form, um, offering.
And this is something that is really in partnership with, uh, this state. Vxt is partnering with, um, with the state of Colorado to help develop a body of content that falls into a very different. Type of material around technical assistance. So a few things to say about that. Uh, up to this point, states who have gotten into the cannabis industry, the most of them, except for like places like New York, honestly, I feel like is the trailblazer in this have been retroactively participating.
What do I mean by that? It means that the state, you know, amendment 64 is a great example of this. Over 10 years ago, the focus was, let's do this. And now the state is having to [00:22:00] retroactively turn around and say, okay, now we have to make equity a priority. Equity was not a priority the day one when the industry started in this state of Colorado, and I think a lot of states would see that too.
New York is probably one of the biggest outliers in equity being a priority from day one, and I applaud them for that. Moving on. The number one metric that states use to establish success of their involvement in equity in the cannabis industry has been around license ownership. Okay. License ownership is not the same thing as business ownership, and anyone in the cannabis industry knows what I'm talking about.
Absolutely. Right? So if your metric for success is, How many licenses have been granted, that is actually a false metric of success because that doesn't mean that those [00:23:00] people are operating successful businesses and when if the goal is truly generational wealth, you need a business to generate wealth.
Not a license. A license is the entry point, right? Like that's like baseline. Like you need lights, you need a facility, you need insurance, you need a license. But those are, those are ingredients in a recipe that is not the finished product. And so Exactly. The eggs. Exactly, it's the eggs. And uh, you know, I have been mentoring for, prior to coming on full-time at banks, you know, I have been mentoring.
With the color of cannabis as an organization I've supported for years, uh, bipo can, I'm a new, um, kind of addition to their mentor lineup. Um, I've supported Illinois EQU Equity Staffing with different programs and so I'm really passionate about mentoring and I love doing it, and it's not scalable. Right.
I will go teach a [00:24:00] class. I I mentor one-on-one. Anyone who, um, is in my class, I offer one-on-one time too, and people actively take me up. I, I do one-on-one sessions a lot. Um, but again, I, you know, I kind of started realizing, I'm like, man, it'd be really great if people could just log on and access a lot of this stuff.
Because one of the things that I've noticed as a mentor is that the number one thing that people come to me for, Is pointing them in the right direction of a specific point of information that they can't find on their own. Right. It's, how do I figure this out, right? And what makes me, you know, where my use is, is that I know who to connect them with, what direction to point them to.
And so I was like, man, we could actually make something, a piece of work that does this on demand. How cool would that be? And so that's exactly what we're doing. So I'm currently developing a technical assistance program that is, kind of, has a two-pronged approach. [00:25:00] Um, the first layer of the material is general subject matter.
Um, from how to handle a product recall. Seems pretty helpful to know, uh, what is two 80 and how is it going to impact your business, um, through to. Let's say you're a brand. What do you need if you approach a business to make a sale? Like what, what are the, the, what's the checklist for a B2B business? Um, you know, those types of very, kind of specific things through to more detailed information on how to select nutrients for a cultivation and, you know, those more vertical specific things.
So currently working on developing that with, um, and I'm not doing it alone, let's be clear. Everything done in this for me is done with the industry supply. You know, backing me. So every single category where, um, where I could find someone, I've subject matter experts from this industry giving their knowledge on their expertise.
So for example, I have Nick Richards from Green Spoon Martyr, [00:26:00] who is one of the leading tax attorneys in the industry. He's an expert on two 80 e. He is a subject matter expert on what I'm putting out there. And I went through for all of these different things that we're doing, and I'm getting subject matter experts.
Literally industry leaders so that not only are you learning from the best, you now know the best people to contact if you need further help. And are you looking for more partners? If anyone's listening that wants to contribute, are you open to taking on new experts or, uh, their content? So I think one of the biggest things about this is like this particularly body, body of content is going, it is pretty defined at this point, right?
Um, we are, we have filmed it, we're editing it, it's all getting put together. Um, so that in its own right is kind of a, is a closed chapter, and I see this as the beginning of what will be a body of content that could potentially be. A library of expertise. And like I [00:27:00] said, I feel like it's gonna take the industry to do this, right?
We need to educate folks about this. No one from the outside is gonna be able to do this for us. And so I would imagine that, you know, depending on the use of this and like the, the kind of feasibility, we already have conversations about different topics we wanna explore because frankly, it's a lot of white space out there.
Indeed. Is there anything else about the program that you wanna talk about before we move on? Not particularly this you know, program, but I do wanna go back to banks to learn the more like open feature that we have. We are actively seeking partnerships with anybody who wants to get the word out to not only people that are in the industry today, but people who could be in the industry.
I think one of the things Vxt has to offer. Our, our potential partners is quite possibly the largest audience of cannabis associated individuals that honestly, the [00:28:00] industry has, again, over last year alone, over 500,000 people landed on banks.com. If you have interest in getting out there and getting in front of people, we've got the platform for you.
Nice. Okay. Well, you heard it here. How do people get in touch with you if they're interested? Uh, they can drop me a note@natashaatbanks.com. Nice. Okay, so I'm gonna pivot the conversation because we focus here on funding and it's something that you have been through. So give us a quick background on where you've been involved in raising money, and then I wanna get into a little bit about your experience doing so as a woman in the cannabis industry and some advice that you might have for some of our listeners who are there themselves today.
So I kind of got into fundraising, uh, by accident. Just like the cannabis [00:29:00] industry and everything I've ever subsequently done since. Um, so let's see. Uh, as I had mentioned before, my background is in sales, um, extensively. I have, I have commercial and I should say commercializing ideas is primarily, I, I don't sell things that are well established.
I commercialize ideas and so I know what it takes to pitch. I've been very successful at selling widgets, and so I'm just gonna put that out there to the audience, right? Like transferable skills are real. Okay? So if you have sold a lemonade at a lemonade stand, Found yourself to be successful, you have what it takes to raise millions of dollars.
And let me kind of explain why. The number one thing when I used to work with founder CEOs that I would always coach them on is that people don't buy products. They buy stories. And people wanna see themselves [00:30:00] in your story. They don't wanna see yourself themselves in your bag of chips, right? Like, No one cares.
They wanna hear your story and they wanna see themselves in it as a part of that story. So we had, you know, been chugging along in 1906 and up to that point, Peter had been solely responsible for raising money and we kind of went through a dry spell and you know, as somebody who was his right hand human and confidant and literally on for the ride for everything, I was like, you know what?
I, I'm down to try, like, let's, let's see how this goes. Um, and I've never done it before, but I also have sold and commercialized things to pretty big success. Um, and I get, I get the, I get the premise of it, so why don't you give me a try? And I just wanna thank him for honestly giving me an opportunity to do so because it was a skill that, like, again, unless you're in the startup game or whatever, like you just don't get opportunities to do this kind of stuff.
Like I learned [00:31:00] so much working with him and I'm really grateful to him for all of the opportunities that he offered me. And this was probably one of the skills, like looking back on my tenure at 1906, that I am like incredibly grateful because this is a skill that again, is transferable and I'll be able to use my whole life.
So one of the things, you know, we had always been telling this story together, right? Of like if we were at events or whatever it was, and you know, so I started coming along. On, you know, in meetings with, with investors and we started telling the story together and it made a huge difference of like, you know, one of the things that people, you know, when you work with founders and CEOs, which has always been my thing, I've always worked alongside founder and CEOs, so that's kind of been my niche is like when you have that pair, you can bounce off each other.
You can fill in the weaknesses. One of the things that I found myself doing a lot in our pitches together is really [00:32:00] getting good at watching the audience and seeing where we lost them because they didn't quite have the background information. And being able to have the ability to stop the conversation and say it in a different way.
And until the click, don't just assume, like, that's the thing is like, do not assume that telling the story the same way is gonna, is gonna work because it's not. You have to be agile and you have to be prepared to tell that story in a different way every single time cuz the person you're telling it to is different every single time.
So we got really good at it and, uh, I, you know, kind of over the course of doing that for years helped him raise and the company raise over 25 million. Um, The, the largest check I personally secured was a million. Uh, and we had a lot of different investors, um, uh, cadre of them. Uh, you know, like, that's one of the things too, and I This is good for your audience to hear.
The majority of our money did not come from within the cannabis industry. Interest. I want, [00:33:00] I want everyone to hear that. I'm gonna say it again. The majority of our money did not come from within the cannabis industry. Why? Because, When you think about it, 1906 has been counterculture since day one when we first went out and started talking to people, let me tell you what I heard.
I was one of the first people to ever sell 1906, so this'll really put it into perspective how things have changed people. The number one thing I heard is no one wants a five milligram product. No one cares if it's fast acting. No one is gonna know why, like why put any plant medicines in it? People are just trying to get high.
So those are the, those are the three things that we heard. Let's be clear, we were the first brand to launch a five milligram product in the state of Colorado. It's a category now. We were the first brand to launch a fast acting product. It's a category now. And so when we went out to raise money from the cannabis industry, they didn't get it.
And so we had to get creative. Who gets it? Well, first of all, we knew [00:34:00] our audience really well. We knew who we were making products for, and we went to those people who we were making products for, and we asked them and they said yes. So I just want everyone to know that, like the other part about this, this is also something that I learned, which will be helpful for your audience, is that the pool of people who invest in cannabis, it's a small pool, and so you're going after the same people.
And let me just tell you those pe if, if it's, if you're not doing something that is like literally revolutionary, they're gonna compare you to the person they talked to the pitch before. So you are gonna have to up your game tenfold because you are literally pitching in a very, very competitive and a very, very repetitive industry.
There's not a lot of big ideas coming out of this right now, and that's my personal opinion, but, I've seen a lot of pitches, and again, there's not a lot of revolutionary ideas, so you need to be prepared for that. Yeah. I spoke with an [00:35:00] investor a few months ago who said, you know, if you've got a vape pen or a pre-roll or a sav, like don't even bother because it's all been done.
Where can you innovate? Mm-hmm. Yeah. You know, it's really gotta be something new. So unless you're in a brand new state with a brand new market where it needs to be filled with brands, It's gonna be very, very hard to find, especially in a state like California or Colorado. And that's why an idea. Yeah, and that's why like, I'll go back to what I first said.
The, if you don't have a new product, you better have a new story, right? The more similar your product is, the more unique your story better be. Okay. So to that point, you know, we're hosting a mentor program, the Roadmap to Funding Mentor Program, and we have 25 women that were taking through this program.
And I sat in on a session one day and I heard one of the [00:36:00] mentors say, I understand that you were brought into this industry because your child was sick and cannabis helped them and that motivated you. But you know what, we've heard that story before. A hundred times. Mm-hmm. So I'm curious, you know, what stories you are hearing that, that are setting it apart, setting that company apart.
Because a lot of us who are here, were brought in under similar, you know, our stories are really, really similar. So at some point though, they, they're not as potent. They're not as, they don't have the impact because, It's kind of everybody's story now. So what kinda stories do you mean when you say you've gotta be, you have something different?
What is a different story you've heard? So I'm gonna back up even further, especially because this changed my career and I feel like it applies and, and this is something that I spend a lot of time sharing just in general in life with some of my other endeavors as well, is that when you [00:37:00] sit down and you interact with somebody, I highly recommend that before you even sit down with them, that you do your research and that you know who you're sitting across from.
And not in a creepy way, but there's a lot of information about people. And so one of the things that's, that I feel like I wanna get the point across here is there's storytelling and then there's relational storytelling. Mm. So I know what I'm doing. And again, I might have a very similar story. How I relate to you is the unique part.
So it's good to know your own story. I hope you know your own story. I hope it's fantastic and that you've got it, you know, down back forwards left and right. And going back to what I was saying before, it's about the connection on the other end. So what I would suggest is that you know who you're talking to and you spend the first half of that conversation building rapport.[00:38:00]
And asking questions, because in that time, and again, it's all about, you know, being swabbed on this, right? Like, I'm not saying that you get out there and you're like, okay, I'm gonna get my, my little flip notebook and I check it off. No, that's, I'm, I'm talking about being smooth. We are smooth operators, right?
Women, that's what's up. So I suggest that you begin the conversation with listening instead of focusing on what you're gonna say. Get really good at listening because in those first few seconds, minutes, first of all, you're gonna understand the, the, the cadence with which that person talks and you should match it.
You're gonna understand their energy level with which you should match it. You're gonna understand a lot about the dynamic of that individual, and then you can match it. And then once you know how to sync with them, And you know a little bit about them, you use that time to relate your story, [00:39:00] not just to tell it.
That is, that is such great advice whether you are pitching an investor or applying for a job. Mm-hmm. And it reminds me too, of our first meeting, because we actually did not know each other. We didn't even know what each other looked like really. And we met at a restaurant in New York City and. Within a few minutes of talking, we were deep in the personal part of our lives and realizing things that there's no way we could have prepared for in conversation with each other until we actually were in front of each other, asking questions about each other's lives that were, it was very natural and very authentic, and I think it serves a really good example of being really present.
And really authentic because there's, there's only so much that you can prepare for, but if you're really feeling comfortable in who you are and you're there in [00:40:00] the moment and you're, you're attentive and you're willing to listen to the other person and try to find common ground without rushing right into your pitch, you're going to get yourself a much more receptive audience who's gonna probably be a little more invested in you.
Because if you can find things that you have in common, It is such an incredible affinity builder that it naturally just takes walls down. And I, you know, I, I really think our first conversation was exactly that. You know, we didn't know each other and through the course of, you know, 30 minutes of talking, we had to be basically ripped apart at the end because we found so many different things that we aligned on outside of cannabis.
So, you know, I haven't heard that specific advice when it comes to talking to investors. But it is absolutely so true because you may not even have a really strong pitch, but if you can get in and you can make that investor like you and feel a kinship with you, you're halfway there. [00:41:00] Well, and when you think about it, right, like investors are investing in you.
Yeah. You might make products, you might have a service. I mean, and you can fill in the blank, but like if I'm gonna write a check, I'm writing it to you. And you are the one I'm giving it to. And so that's, that's why I just like, you know, I, and I'm sure you have a lot of awesome people on here that are giving the nuts and bolts, and I could go through that, right?
Like have a good back, I mean all this other stuff and let's back way, way, way up. And you get to the root of the success of how I have no institutional experience raising money, and I successfully raised over 25 million. I did it this way. I love it. That's such great advice. We definitely need to have you as a mentor in our next, I would love to program, I think, give some really phenomenal information.
Okay. So are you ready for our final segment? She had my back. Yep. We're gonna hear about some [00:42:00] great women. Okay. So Natasha, my question to you is, What woman would you like to celebrate today? Who's had your back? And I'm gonna let you think about that while I read my submission today and when I come back we'll, we'll talk about a woman that you wanna celebrate.
Okay. So today we are celebrate, oh, hold on one second. Today we, uh, have a submission from Samara ATIs, and she wants to honor Shauna Dunbar, who started the N P O Edu Can Nation. That's a great name. She says in her fight as a mom to help her epileptic son, she took his health into her own hands. She recognized very quickly how little help and education there was for medical cannabis and went on a mission to change that with the help of two like-minded women.
EDU Can Nation was born today with a board of directors of six female volunteers, reputable partners, and affiliates. EDU CAN Nation is becoming Canada's [00:43:00] first association of certified cannabis educators in leading the way in standardized and responsible education. Edu. Edu Can Nation also just won the award for Educator of the Year at the Cannes Expo in Toronto, Canada.
Congratulations ladies. Shauna had dedicated hundreds of hours, worked with hundreds of patients, and is truly making a difference in the industry for patients and educators. Well done Shauna Dunbar, and thank you so much for bringing her to our attention. Samara. All right, Natasha. She sounds like a badass.
Maybe there's a connection we need here, but again, another woman who was brought into this industry. Because someone in her life was deeply impacted and cannabis was the answer. Right. It's really amazing how many companies that is. The origin story. Yes. [00:44:00] All right, Natasha, that's so important. Which woman?
So, you know, I just have to say, this was when you brought this up, I was like, oh my gosh. And you know what? It's really great that I'm panicking cuz there's so many. And not so few. So I just wanna put that out there and like, I also want to just like throw it out there if I haven't already propped out enough.
My girl Carson, first and foremost for always being someone who I could work with for five and a half years and for seeing a vision and believing in me to do it. Like I really appreciate that. Um, right, the person who hired you and brought you into my life. So thank you Carson as well. Yeah, big win. Um, the person that I wanna highlight for this though, like she was the first person to come to, and I think the reason why is because, First of all, I know this person from outside the cannabis industry.
We've been friends for over a decade, and uh, her name is Amy Rosenbach Eisenach, and she is the director of production and community kind of relations at Flower Hire. [00:45:00] And she does events and her background is actually in Hollywood. She made a film called Equal Playing Field, which is a film about women's soccer.
She is one of the most focused on female empowerment individuals I've ever met. It's at the core of everything that she does in work and in the world, and I felt like, obviously given this podcast, it was the most appropriate person to call out. I think one of the things that I've appreciated, she and I go way back and we've been friends and when she got into the industry she was like, What am I gonna do?
You know, like, how did I find myself here? You know, and I, I don't wanna go into her personal story, but she's been very touched by cannabis as a consumer. It helped her mom, um, with cancer like, Really, again, back to that thing is everyone has a purpose and she definitely has a very clear one when it comes to this business, but one of the things that I love is like seeing the community that she has built for women.
Um, if anyone who's listening has ever been to any of her events, they'll know what I'm talking about. She goes [00:46:00] out of her way to get women together in the room talking. Finding ways that they can work together for betterment of like everyone. And I just have been so impressed to see somebody who does this, literally made a film about it.
PS that's gonna be shown at the World Cup in Australia. Her film is gonna be shown. Yeah. The US Embassy is gonna be showing her film. So starting from being in Hollywood and finding a way to do this right, even before it was cool. And then translating that passion. For women and success of women into the cannabis industry and seeing somebody who literally had no background on this develop and build what she has and connect the dots with people, it's insane.
And so I felt for the purposes of this podcast, she would have to be always having my back. She's one of the most supportive people and has been my girl for over a decade and has brought, I know a lot of support to people in this industry. And so my girl, Amy Rose, that's what's up. [00:47:00] And I love the fact that she's kind of a competitor at a kind of a competiting competing company and that the bonds, you know, you started off our conversation talking about how many incredible women we have each met in this industry.
And I think every woman listening who has spent any time in this industry, Concur can concur with that. Um, but to also be able to recognize somebody who is potentially competition for you and support them as well is, it is such a beautiful part of the women of this industry and how we just push everything aside to really look after each other because different companies, competing companies, we really are in this together.
So thank you for sharing. And I, well, you know, one thing I'll say about that though, the competition thing is like, Flower hire and Vxt only compete in one arena, and that's in direct hire. We have a huge gigs business, which is very unique to Vxt. We now have an education business, which is very unique to [00:48:00] Vxt.
And what I love the most about it is that I attended every one of her events because she's my girl and I support her. And it was never a big deal. And I think that that's something that we all need to look at here of like the benefits of competition are real and the benefits of collaboration are real.
And in this industry, we do not advance if we only compete and don't have the skillset to collaborate. Do you know what that's called? What? Co-opetition? Oh yeah. There we go. And if you guys haven't been to her parties, let me just tell you, you dropped the competition too, because they're off the hook. I would love to go to one of her parties.
You're gonna have to introduce us. Oh yeah, lets get her on for a call. They're the best. All right. Well thank you so much, Natasha, for your. Today, it's been wonderful talking with you and learning about your new platform. Thanks to learn. I'm very excited to see it launch and participate with it. And thank you ladies [00:49:00] for tuning in.
Um, if you have not yet downloaded the roadmap to funding your guide on your funding journey, please go to. Uh, Panther Group co slash Roadmap to funding, and we see you here again next week for another conversation with women leading in.