Blazing A U.S Cannabis Trail (II)
Recapping Trailblazers Ojai 2021
PLEASE READ: Blazing A U.S Cannabis Trail: Part 1 (click here) bc it’s a story!
The next morning arrived and I felt it immediately as I swung my feet from bed at the crack of dawn. I thought someone replaced my legs with a sandbags when I suddenly remembered the ass-kicking I took at Boot Camp. I may have mumbled something about Ben Affleck / Jamie Mendola as I rubbed my eyes and powered up my devices.
Our sector was getting pounded again; the cyclical bear seemed intent on exacting it’s pound of flesh ever since the U.S canna ETF $MSOS ran 173% from September 2020 - February 2021. It’s lost half that value in the eight months since and let’s be honest, the space certainly doesn’t act like there’s a catalyst coming in the next few weeks.
After chewing through my morning to-do’s, I headed to the Farmhouse for breakfast. That complex wasn’t there the last time I hosted a gig in Ojai and man was it special. Flagged on both sides by expansive rooms and opening into a large, plush, green field overlooking the mountains, it was the perfect setting to host our second day.
That’s when I ran into Denise Faltischek who hails from my hometown of P-Dubs, is one of my favorite peeps in the space and happens to run U.S / International strategy for Tilray. They’ve got a hankering for U.S canna to the extent the law allows and she came to Ojai to connect with U.S thought-leaders / decision makers. Smart move, D.
I spent the next few hours soaking up the wealth of human capital as they randomly walked by: Megan Kulick (Ayr), Tyler Neville (Corriente), Scott Grossman (Turning Point), Jared Cohen (Revolution), Whitney Conroy (Curaleaf), Eric Des Lauriers (Craig Hallum), Jeff Finkle (Arcview), Matt Mundy (RIV)—all of whom I woulda gladly spent more time with if there was enough time in the day…
…but the Wall Street All-Star Panel was about to begin and I wanted to hear Jackie Bryant’s discussion with Camilo Lyon (BTIG) Glenn Mattson (Laddy), Jack Mascone (Seaport) and Owen Bennett (Jefferies). The room quickly filled as I tried to position my phone, which was running out of batteries, for a Twitter Spaces / education.
[they spoke about how debt financing is getting better and more voluminous (Jack; me: debt almost always leads equities), how the quality of investors is elevating, how there’s a decent chance SAFE finds it’s way into the NDAA before year-end (Camilo) and there was broad agreement that the forward reward outweighs the current risk]
It was time for lunch and as I meandered toward the field, I ran into Karl Chowscano (4Front), Cy Scott (Headset), Hershel Gerson (Roth), Max Goldstein / Michael Kamins (OpenNest), Steve Kaplan (Ladenburg), Jeff Ragovin (Fyllo) and Robby Saady (Holistic)…
…all the while I was keeping an eye out for our friends from Verano, who sponsored the event but would be IN-N-OUT in less than 24 hours.
“George keeps us on a tight schedule,” Aaron told me as they briskly walked into the event 30 minutes before George was scheduled to speak. As a host, that sorta stuff def stressed the shit out of me but as an investor, I gotta admit: it turned me on.
[the MSO CEO panel, including my impromptu introduction, can be heard here]
With the meat of the content out of the way and an afternoon of activities on tap…
…I spent the better part of the next few hours setting up / sitting-in meetings / making the rounds. While I won’t detail who exactly was in those sit-downs, I’ll venture to guess some of them will result in meaningful change / mutual prosperity. I mean, that was the entire purpose of this endeavor: to demonstrate there’s strength in numbers and unity in community. (← always compliant / via best practices)
Hall of Famer Chris Webber and Jason Wild were up next to talk through their social equity partnership / aspirations and while the former has been the definition of a true friend / good man, I had never met Chris, only spoken with him on the phone. After spending some time with him and his partner Lavetta, I know he’s hell-bent on being the change that we all hope to see. I decided then I’d like to join them on this journey.
[the Chris Webber / Jason Wild discussion can be heard here]
[some of the more exciting conversations that I had after this talk was w the CEO’s of major US cannabis companies / how we could come together to support this initiative]
[“Doing well while doing good” was a common theme, as was something that JW said during that I can’t stop thinking about: “The truth always happens.”]
The rest of Tuesday was a bit of a blur as most of us had been at it twelve hours and it was still only 6:30 PM. Glass House and Jefferies sponsored some cocktails…
…there was a farm-to-table meal prepared by Chef Haru…
…there was a comedian, or so I’m told, as I spent the better part of the night outside connecting with stakeholders throughout the space… and there was a DJ (I heard).
Damn—it’s almost as if I planned the agenda myself; but I didn’t. It was the fine folks at Trailblazers who weaved together this terrific program / brought their grass-roots community in force.
It was Kim Dudine, who worked tirelessly / around the clock to ensure that everything was perfect.
And it was the people—both the original Trailblazer community and those who took me at my word that it would be worth their time, while and travel—that made this the retreat that it was / the stuff of legend.
The new and lasting friendships…
QT with clients and friends…
Meeting new friends and potential partners…
And reconnecting with the ones we love…
There would be more on Wednesday—a track on psychedelics, Sound Baths, workouts and the like, but I only had time to grab an early breakfast on the Farmhouse lawn as we had dogs / kids to return to. I’m glad I did though, as I met Andrew Hagstrom at Weedmaps and said goodbye to Team Verano, who were gone with the morning wind.
As my wife and I fetched our rental car, I said goodbyes to E-Pax, Meg Kulick and Ben Affleck / Jamie Mendola, and I watched as Aaron Edelheit and Andrew Thut headed to Glasshouse Farms in all it’s 5.5M square foot splendor. That made me happy; there were still connections being made; still business getting done. Friendships, even.
Before we began our 1.5 hour drive from Ojai to Burbank Airport, I managed to provide some valuable advice to my friend / client, Andrew Thut from 4Front.
“Remember,” I said, “Only one carry-on item per passenger is allowed on your plane back home. Choose wisely!”
At least he listened.
PS- my legs are still sore.
positions / advisor some.