The Ganjapreneur.com Podcast

Jonathan Menkes, who specializes in trademark counseling and brand protection at Knobbe Martens, recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt for an interview that focuses on what cannabis entrepreneurs can and should do to protect their brand and other intellectual properties, including specific products and even strains. In this interview, Jonathan offers advice for avoiding trademark infringement lawsuits, explains the history behind some of the biggest trademark infringement cases in the cannabis industry, discusses the small differences between trademark and copyright law, and more. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/jonathan-menkes-cannabis-product-trademarks/

In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, Jontae joins our host TG Branfalt for an interview that covers the origins of NatureTrak, his transition into the cannabis space from a more mainstream tech background, and explains NatureTrak's decision to release its software free-of-charge. Jontae also shares his thoughts about social-equity programs that level the playing field for disadvantaged communities most affected by the war on drugs, offers advice for tech entrepreneurs hoping to make it in cannabis, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/jontae-james-offering-free-to-use-cannabis-compliance-software/

Travis Howard is the founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Shift, a Colorado-based cannabis producer and product manufacturer. Travis recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt for a conversation about his experience as an attorney in the early days of Colorado's cannabis market, his transition to entrepreneurship, and the journey of founding several cannabis companies. In this interview, Travis offers a candid look at the current state of cannabis, talks about the difference between the entrepreneurs who make up the majority of today's cannabis industry and the big investment dollars that are starting to come into the industry, where he expects the industry will go in the coming years, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/travis-howard-the-business-of-normalizing-cannabis/

Activism, healing, empowerment — these are important foundations for the Sisters of the Valley, a group of self-described cannabis nuns in Merced County, California that grow and distribute CBD products including salves, tinctures, oils, and more. After the recent release of a documentary highlighting the sisterhood, founder Sister Kate joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to share her story and address some misconceptions perpetuated by the film. In the following interview, Sister Kate discusses her unique life story, talks about founding the religiously unaffiliated Sisters of the Valley, describes her many advocacy efforts and success stories, shares some of her more painful struggles, and a whole lot more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/sister-kate-forming-a-sisterhood-of-cannabis-nuns/

Lindsey Mintz is the owner and managing partner of Smokin’ Gun Apothecary, a prohibition-themed and self-described “late-night” cannabis dispensary located in Glendale, Colorado. Lindsey is also a co-founder of Arcanum, a hemp CBD company that focuses on creating approachable CBD products for athletes, including unique offerings like CBD-infused kinesiology tape. In this Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode, Lindsey and our host TG Branfalt dive into a discussion of Colorado’s retail cannabis industry and the day-to-day operations of running a cannabis dispensary. We hear about the Smokin’ Gun Apothecary’s brand mission to spread cannabis education and Lindsey shares some of her experiences as both a cannabis business operator and current city council member for her local community. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/lindsey-mintz-combining-cannabis-education-retail/

Peter Vogel is the CEO of Leafwire, a cannabis business-focused social media platform known commonly as “the LinkedIn of cannabis.” Peter recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to talk about what separates Leafwire from other social media platforms, the importance of networking in the cannabis industry, how software and technology play an important role in the industry’s success, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/peter-vogel-connecting-cannabis-entrepreneurs-and-investors/

Kristen Yoder is CEO of cannabis business advisory firm Soil to the Oil and hosts The CannaBS Detector podcast. As a veteran of California’s cannabis industry with professional experience in nearly every facet of the business, Kristen joined our own podcast host TG Branfalt for a chat about the state of cannabis as it moves out of the gray and into the heavily restricted legal marketplace. In this interview, we hear Kristen’s 14-year story of exploring the industry — from starting as a dispensary worker, advancing into cultivation, then edibles manufacturing, then as a project manager, and eventually becoming an independent strategic business advisor — and she shares important truths about the industry that may be hard to hear for entrepreneurs or investors who are considering a career in cannabis. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/kristen-yoder-calling-out-bs-in-the-cannabis-industry/

Dr. Leslie Apgar and career entrepreneur/investor Gina Dubbé are co-founders of Blissiva, a Maryland-based dispensary with a scientific approach to cannabis medicine and an emphasis on providing women with cannabis-based relief; Blissiva is perhaps best known, however, for designing and manufacturing particularly approachable vape pen products. The two recently joined TG Branfalt on the Ganjapreneur.com podcast to discuss how, as business partners, Gina and Dr. Apgar made the leap from mainstream business and medicine into the medical cannabis industry. They also share stories of overcoming industry obstacles and finding success as women entrepreneurs in cannabis, their thoughts about Maryland’s medical cannabis regulations, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/blissiva-bridging-cannabis-and-womens-medicine/

Ezra Soiferman is a renowned Montreal-based photographer, documentarian, and worked as the world's first cannabis artist-in-residence for Tweed. He recently joined our host TG Branfalt for a conversation about how he became familiar with the medicinal qualities of cannabis before the term "medical marijuana" was widely known, what it means to be an "artist-in-residence" for a cannabis brand, and how cannabis legalization has affected culture in Canada. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/ezra-soiferman-appreciating-cannabis-and-hemp-with-art/

Dr. Jon Cachat is the Director of Laboratory Science & Undergraduate Research at Hocking College — the first institute of higher education in Ohio to satisfy the state’s medical cannabis testing lab needs. In the latest episode of the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast, Dr. Cachat is welcomed back to the show by our host TG Branfalt to discuss the new and rigorous academic program. In this interview, Dr. Cachat describes the wide variety of students who are drawn to the program, how he has honed the curriculum to focus on more than just the chemistry of testing cannabis products, and his perception of how higher education institutions have changed their tune in recent years towards the rapidly growing cannabis industry. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/dr-jon-cachat-training-future-cannabis-lab-techs/

Don Andrews is a serial entrepreneur who owns multiple smoke shops and ancillary cannabis retailers in upstate New York. Don’s latest project, Upstate CBD, is launching soon as the state’s first CBD brick-and-mortar retailer that will offer a host of different products including CBD-rich hemp flower. Don recently joined our host TG Branfalt to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and the hardships he’s faced both as a minority business owner and working adjacent to the highly stigmatized cannabis industry. In the interview, we learn about Don’s strategy for persevering through prejudice, how he builds friendships with his customer base, and why he works only with local artists and refuses to sell imported glass products. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/don-andrews-bringing-cbd-flower-to-new-york/

Liz recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to discuss her strategies for recruiting mid-level to executive leadership candidates for the cannabis space. This interview covers Liz’s recruitment strategy — which relies on long-term, trust-building partnerships between herself, clients, and candidates — as well as her liberating transition as an executive recruiter for other highly regulated industries to launching her own firm with a specific goal of working with cannabis companies. According to Liz, the best cannabis candidates should bring a passion for the plant, perseverance in their work despite regulatory challenges, and an eagerness to make some sacrifices for an opportunity to help shape the nascent cannabis industry. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/liz-gehl-executive-recruiting-for-the-cannabis-industry/

Morgan Fox is the Media Relations Director for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the largest cannabis trade organization in the U.S. Ganjapreneur is a Sponsoring Member of the NCIA and we encourage all businesses operating in the cannabis industry to join and support organizations that lobby for sensible cannabis policy. Morgan recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt for a wide-ranging interview covering recent cannabis reform progress in legislatures at both the state and U.S. federal level. In this interview, we hear about the work that the NCIA is doing to benefit cannabis entrepreneurs, what the NCIA’s top priorities are for 2019, what business owners and advocates can do to help support progress on these issues, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/morgan-fox-a-federal-cannabis-policy-update/

Rick Thompson is a cannabis advocate, citizen journalist, and organizer of the Michigan Cannabis Business Development Conferences. His efforts helped see Michigan’s 2018 cannabis legalization initiative to a successful finish last month. Rick recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to discuss the 2018 elections and to give an insider’s look at the road map for Michigan’s inbound adult-use cannabis marketplace. In this episode, Rick shares experiences from the state’s unsuccessful 2012 and 2016 legalization attempts, talks about the state of Michigan’s current medical cannabis system, and offers advice for activists in other states who are considering tackling a legalization voter initiative of their own. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/rick-thompson-michigans-long-winding-road-to-cannabis-freedom/

Korey Rowe is the documentary filmmaker behind Mile Marker, a powerful investigative film that follows Korey on a journey across the continental U.S., stopping for interviews with veterans suffering from PTSD along the way. Korey joined our host TG Branfalt before Mile Marker’s release to talk about making the film and the experience of military combat veterans in the United States. In this interview, Korey discusses how veterans would open up to him about their experiences returning home, how medical cannabis has helped him and countless other veterans maintain their mental health, and more. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/korey-rowe-helping-veterans-ptsd-cannabis/

Tom Howard is an Illinois-based attorney who specializes in banking and cannabis business, and he is an author who has written two works of historical fiction about the prohibition of cannabis. In this Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode, Tom joined our host TG Branfalt to talk about the state of the cannabis industry; the hurdles that cannabis professionals, entrepreneurs, and attorneys still face; whether or not the industry should be concerned about a federal crackdown, and a whole lot more. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/tom-howard-many-hurdles-cannabis-commerce/

Afzal Hasan is the President and General Counsel for CannaRoyalty, a Canada-based investment firm with cannabis acquisitions in Canada, California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, and Puerto Rico. In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast, Afzal joins host TG Branfalt to discuss his transition into the cannabis space as a high-level corporate attorney; the strategies being used to grow CannaRoyalty’s business acquisitions; the state of the cannabis markets in Canada, California, and beyond; his recommendations for identifying a winning cannabis investment; and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/afzal-hasan-cannabis-industry-investments-and-acquisitions/

Dr. Jason Pirozzolo is a co-founder of The American Medical Marijuana Physicians Association, a collection of physicians and medical researchers who advocate for increased understanding and acceptance of cannabis as medicine. In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, Dr. Pirozzolo joins podcast host TG Branfalt to discuss how mainstream medicine and medical cannabis have begun to intersect, the myriad potential benefits of medical cannabis for professional athletes, why medical schools’ curriculums are taking so long to adapt to the latest cannabis research, and more! For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/dr-jason-pirozzolo-helping-doctors-understand-medical-cannabis/

Franco Brockelman is the CEO and co-founder of Releaf App, a digital cannabis journal that enables users to record and share their cannabis consumption experiences so they can better experiment, track, and understand their relationship with the plant. In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, Franco joins our host TG Branfalt to tell the personal origin story of Releaf (Franco’s own mother was the app’s original beta tester), discuss the lack of reliable patient data in the cannabis industry, and talk about some of the interesting and unexpected data points the company has gleaned so far. For a full transcript: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/franco-brockelman-collecting-and-analyzing-cannabis-patient-data/

It has been four years since adult-use cannabis legislation took effect in Washington and Colorado, and in that time the market landscape has evolved and shifted at breakneck speed. As emerging markets in California, Canada, and elsewhere begin to take off, entrepreneurs are bound to face even greater obstacles and competition. In this special edition of the Ganjapreneur podcast, Headset co-founder and CEO Cy Scott joins Ganjapreneur co-founder and COO Noel Abbott for a conversation about how the first adult-use markets have evolved and matured over the past few years, and what entrepreneurs in emerging markets can learn from the market data that now exists. Learn more about Headset at http://headset.io! For a full transcript of this interview: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/cy-scott-how-data-can-help-startups-navigate-emerging-cannabis-markets/