ABOUT
My boutique service offers a unique blend of cannabis business experience & capital raise expertise. Whether you are seeking capital raise guidance or tactical advice, you have come to the right place.
What I Do
I use 20+ years legal expertise combined with 10+ years cannabis operational expertise advising, founding and leading companies to help today's pioneers guide their business through turbulent phases of enterprise development.
In newer markets, most my client focus is in Startups and Expansion activities. In more mature markets, where sudden market shifts threaten viability, there is more client focus on guidance to refine business operations, and in some cases Restructure.
To assist in my tailoring services to my client's needs, I'm able to bring in industry veteran experts targeted to specialty subjects that are common pain spots for my clients, including:
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Financial Planning & Analysis
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Tax Debt Repayment Plans
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M&A Structure & Negotiation
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Labor & Employment
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Commercial Dispute Resolution
Why I Do It
My life and business has been a series of such pivots, but always with an eye towards my core values of being of service while creatively solving challenging problems.
I began my cannabis career as a business lawyer, offering commercial guidance at a time when cannabis law was handled only by criminal defense attorneys. I was one of the first "business" lawyers to enter cannabis.
Some years later, I left the practice of law to cofound an edible company. At core, I believed that CPG quality cannabis goods were a powerful tool to challenge the way people thought about cannabis, to "legitimize" it. We developed the highest quality edibles, we tested our products and used sophisticated packaging - at a time when most edibles were untested Saran wrapped rice-crispy treats with dot-matrix printer labels. After a series of pivots, that enterprise has become Lowell Farms Co., a well known multi-state flower brand that nevertheless bears that same commitment to cannabis legitimacy.
I thereafter cofound Grupo Flor in Salinas, California to reinvigorate a landscape of dilapidated greenhouses into a landscape of cannabis greenhouses, economically elevating the local community. Today Grupo Flor is a California retail leader with multiple brands of flower CPG, including 2021 Emerald Cup winning infused pre-roll, Paletas. While the business has changed, the commitment to the local community has never wavered.
My current work carries on that spirit of service and creative problem solving. I use my expertise and experience to guide the next generation of operators from startup through maturity and all the turbulent periods in between.
In my eyes it's a perfect blend of advocacy and business.
How I Do It
It's actually pretty simple what I do. I share my expertise and experience with industry pioneers who are trying overcome obstacles to success.
There is a process I follow with all clients regardless of their evolutionary stage. I use it understand the business, diagnose problems and craft solutions. I focus on the following core components of each client business:
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Company Culture & Positioning
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Cash Flow
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Debt Stack
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Capital Stack
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Sales & Operations
All businesses have core challenges in one or two components of the business, regardless of their evolutionary stage. My work is to test my clients assumptions of what causes those challenges and creatively devise strategies to hurdle past obstacles.
It is not uncommon in the course of my counseling that I offer novel strategy adjustments that may seem a little crazy - at least until deeper consideration. But here's the thing - a cannabis industry has never before existed - we are literally making it from scratch. So, in that light, sometimes it does take a little crazy to create new things.
