After New York legalized recreational cannabis use at the start of this month, news of what this would mean for business and investors reached a fever pitch.
Sara Gullickson, the founder and CEO of The Cannabis Business Advisors, a company providing licensing and growth guidance to 10 clients across the country, has been in the industry since 2010, when medical cannabis was just starting to be recognized and recreational marijuana was illegal everywhere in the country.
After launching Dispensary Permits, her first consulting firm, at age 27 and starting several ancillary companies in the space, Gullickson sold Dispensary Permits and its portfolio of brands to a publicly-traded company in 2018. Today, Gullickson and CB Advisors President Maxime Kot help companies across the country navigate business opportunities both in cannabis and its derivatives alongside a complex system of licensing and regulation requirements.
We sat down to interview Gullickson and Kot about the opportunities that present themselves in a state that has recently legalized cannabis as well as what it takes to get a company primed to grow and potentially be traded publicly. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Is it harder or easier to secure a cannabis license and start a company now compared to a decade ago?
Gullickson: It was more taboo back then but probably also a little bit easier. As a rule of thumb, about five to seven people would apply for every one license that was secured. Today, that number is well over 20. The stakes are higher now that more people have gotten into the industry.
Kot: You now have more access to funding and other industry professionals that are taking this industry seriously. In that respect, it is easier but there is also more competition. Because you are opening up to mainstream businesses, there are larger corporations that also want in on this industry.
This is a heavily-regulated industry with laws that are constantly in flux. How does one run a successful business in such an environment?
Gullickson: You need to have a good legal team that is always keeping an eye on your compliance. [I’m in Arizona right now] and here they’ve rolled out not only a recreational program but also testing regulations. The changes that facilities have had to make in the last eight to 10 months are enormous. They have to factor wait times to get the testing of their products back in, and some of them have had to change their grow protocols to take into account things like pesticides, “natural” classifications and dosing.
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