This article originally appeared in the June 2018 issue of Cannabis Dispensary. To subscribe, click here.
Consider what can be accomplished in just 92 days.
In its 92-day orbit, Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite, traveled nearly 44 million miles, circling the globe once every 0.067 days. And while traveling 44 million miles in 92 days apparently isn’t impossible, opening three cannabis retail locations in that same time frame (in a brand-new medical cannabis market) certainly seems like it could be for the average business owner.
It was not impossible, however, for Chris Visco and Adina Birnbaum, co-owners of TerraVida Holistic Centers in Pennsylvania.
On Feb. 17, TerraVida opened its Sellersville location. Fast-forward to April 26, and patients were welcomed into the company’s Abington dispensary (its primary center). And on May 20, Visco and Birnbaum snipped the ceremonious red ribbon in front of their Malvern store. (All three municipalities are in far eastern side of the state.)
When the Russian satellite Sputnik blasted off Oct. 4, 1957, however, it wasn’t as if a few scientists showed up that morning, slapped it together and threw it into orbit. The launch was the culmination of hard work and planning—the same type of preparation that went into TerraVida’s grand openings.
Raising More Than Money
The story of TerraVida (which translates to “EarthLife”) officially begins June 28, 2017, when the dispensary was awarded its licenses. “One of the most difficult processes I’ve ever been through is applying for the license, winning the license, getting financial backers,” Visco says.
Finding the right investors was difficult for two reasons. First, “No one thought Pennsylvania would be a great market,” Visco says, citing concerns that many doctors and patients wouldn’t register for the medical marijuana program in the conservative state. “A lot of investors were very skeptical about getting involved,” she recalls.
To read the full article in Cannabis Dispensary's June 2018 issue, click here.
Top photo by Joe Skodzinski
