Editor's Note: I participated last week in a call for the national media as a promotional event for this upcoming panel. Some details from the call are below, as well as a link to listen to the full audio from the panel. I'll also be participating (remotely) on the panel this Friday (10 a.m. PT/12 p.m. CT/1 p.m., 1 p.m. ET).
[PRESS RELEASE] SEATTLE (September 15, 2014)--A roundtable featuring cannabusiness building design and construction experts previewed the upcoming Cannabusiness Accelerator, a one-day business-to-business conference to be held at the Silver Cloud Hotel Broadway in Seattle this Friday, Sept. 19.
Billed as “4 Events, 1 Day,” the Cannabusiness Accelerator includes a design and construction panel, a first-of-its-kind Washington State cannabis industry job fair, expo hall and industry networking to promote building and energy efficiency technology, job opportunities, safety and security in the legal medical and recreational marijuana industry. Full audio of the roundtable can be accessed here.
The Cannabusiness Accelerator is geared towards dispensaries and operators, and the business services that cannabusinesses utilize, including design and construction, security, budtender and employee recruiting and the latest energy efficiency technology to reduce operating cost and increase yields. Roundtable participants included Stan Wagner, CEO, Cannabusiness Accelerator; Nathan Mendel, Your Green Contractor; Noah Stokes, Founder/CEO, CannaGuard Security; Megan Stone, Principal, The High Road Design Studio; Brett Gilbert, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, Competitive Edge Engineering; Chris Walker, Heliospectra; and Noelle Skodzinski, Editor, Cannabis Business Times.
“Legalization of cannabis is a transformative event. Governments are working with business in a collaborative and nimble manner to address concerns,” Wagner said. “The business innovations occurring in this industry are creating new jobs and the energy efficiency innovations of the cannabis industry will likely flow into building more energy efficient schools and offices.”
Experts noted that the industry is on the verge of significant technological advancements. Chris Walker, General Manager of Heliospectra USA called LED lighting improvements “the largest technological offering that cannabis has seen” given the fact that grow facilities require an enormous energy load. Improved lighting can decrease other expenses related to fertilizer and heating, he noted. Nathan Mendel, President of Your Green Contractor, listed reverse osmosis technology, wind power and solar power among the technological innovations improving cannabusinesses’ bottom line. From a security standpoint, technology like cloud computing, user notifications and lasers can protect facilities against external and internal theft, said Noah Stokes, President, CannaGuard Security.
Stokes described a security landscape where big security firms don’t participate in the cannabis industry and small, specialized firms charge small businesses too much, or, alternatively, offer little more than cameras. He described this as an “anyone with cameras” approach that lacks the robustness of better systems. For example, Washington requires that dispensaries tape all four corners of a room in which marijuana is bought and sold. Stokes said that compliance with this regulation is easy, but true security is harder to come by. “You’ll see piles of product, piles of cash but you can’t identify anything,” he said.
The group also focused on issues encountered when opening a marijuana dispensary or grow facility. Several participants shared insights about how cannabusinesses can be good neighbors in their communities. New operations are subject to public hearings. Brett Gilbert, Principal of Competitive Edge Engineering, emphasized the importance of building relationships with authorities and the communities these organizations are seeking to do business in. Developing a good neighbor plan means “going beyond being a good neighbor to those around you to identifying who can support you by being a friend in that location,” he said. He recommended entrepreneurs identify their advocates and their enemies ahead of public hearings and practice empathy in understanding their detractors’ concerns. “What’s at stake for them in this?” he asked.
Industry speakers expressed the need for the marijuana customer or patient experience. “Interior design is about making these stores function to their utmost potential, be as profitable as possible and be revenue-generating machines that provide a gravitational experience for their customers,” said Megan Stone, Principal of The High Road Design Studio. Beyond the “classical notion of interior design of making the business beautiful,” Stone said dispensaries will easily save the $50,000 to $75,000 they invest in designing their business interiors well by avoiding costly renovations down the line. Stone and Mendel also emphasized the value of designing facilities that create memorable and marketable experiences for customers. “If you’re simply open on the corner and you don’t have that ‘mentionable’ experience, you don’t have that reason for your customers to come back,” said Mendel.
In 2013, the legally regulated medical marijuana business reported a $1.4 billion market. Noelle Skodzinski, Editor of Cannabis Business Times has observed marijuana creating an explosion of job growth in tourism, consulting, law, building, development, security, business training, insurance and media. Walker went so far as to call Seattle “Ground Zero” for industry hiring.
As much as the private sector is growing in sophistication and size, these entrepreneurs expect policy to keep pace. Stone, a six-year veteran of the industry, stressed that states new to recreational and medical marijuana are creating regulatory structures that benefit skilled entrepreneurs. “It may sound counterintuitive, but we want a regulatory climate that allows these businesses to operate, allows the cream to rise, and the best people to be awarded the licenses and the ability to carry this industry forward,” she said.
All participants agreed that the industry is gaining visibility in media and in the process, attracting better talent and more effective business models. Skodzinski cited this year’s Emmys, The New York Times series of editorials and a recent Simpsons episode as instances of marijuana gaining mainstream acceptance in public conversation. “Media covers what the public wants and media also drives public opinion,” she said. “The public has gone full-circle.”
“The industry is coming out of the shadows, out of the underground to be treated like a business,” said Mendel.
Expert Panel, Expo and Job Fair registration is now open and can be found at http://www.cannabusinessaccelerator.com/. Registration includes the expert panel, access to an exhibitor hall, job fair and a networking happy hour.
