Green Rush Ancillaries: “Bring in efficient partners” With Jason Webski and Roger Ralston
Bring in efficient partners — you can’t do anything alone, bring in smart people with different skillsets who you want on your side. This is the world’s next great industry, and the federal government wants to shut you down, big pharma wants to destroy you, your competitors are cut throat and well funded; this is a war, and you need the right people in the trenches beside you.
As part of my series on “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Cannabis Ancillary Company”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Webski. Jason is the CEO, Founder and owner of Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facility, Maryland Medical Marijuana Dispensary Facility, and Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Jason began his career working for UBS bank in Stamford, CT. Jason was responsible for Know Your Customer (KYC) analysis, researching and reporting background information on new clients and researching their corporate relationships to ensure compliance with rigorous banking regulations and anti-money laundering protocols. Soon after, Jason decided to pursue a PR and Marketing role and became an intern at the Miss Universe Organization, which at the time was owned by President Donald Trump. Jason worked his way up to Director of Marketing, working with tourism groups around the world to structure host site deals for the Miss Universe live shows. As CEO, Jason’s core role is interfacing directly with the Department of Business Regulations (DBR), the governing body responsible for overseeing the RI medical marijuana program, whom he has fostered a strong working relationship. In addition to making sure the facilities are compliant with regulations, Jason is responsible for securing funding and investor relationships.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of what first introduced you into this business or helped you get interested in the business?
My father struggled with heart conditions his whole life and quickly became addicted to opioids. Living in a household drastically affected by a physician prescribed drug always put me in a position to question the status quo, especially the notion of who an “authority” was. So I always had an inkling to learn about holistic lifestyle choices that could improve quality of life, marijuana was always part of that conversation.
After moving from Senegal to Los Angeles, I got to see first-hand how cannabis had become a part of many peoples’ lives. I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. It was not just an exciting industry, it is a movement, and I want to be part of that.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Interesting is a funny word. As an entrepreneur, many things interest us that may not be interesting for someone who is not running a business. Dealing with the federal government on accounting principles for a federally illegal product is interesting. Finding a health insurance company to work with you when your product is technically illegal is very interesting, even feedback from consumers about how our product is making their lives better is very interesting! My whole world is interesting these days.
When we were entering our first competitive licensing race in our first state, Rhode Island, on a medical marijuana cultivation license, we were terrified. We had no clue if we could win and we had each thrown our entire life savings into learning an industry, just for the chance to compete. There are a ton of variables in this industry that you need to achieve, an insanely high barrier to entry. One of the many barriers to entry is securing a facility to grow cannabis. You must grow indoors to control the quality of the product, and finding a landlord who is willing to work with you, with no debt, with zoning approval is a seemingly impossible task. After months of sleepless nights preparing our application for the state of Rhode Island we finally submitted by the deadline. Two days later we got a call from the landlord that he got an offer for a new tenant, and overnight our whole application went to hell.
We were completely defeated. How would we go back to the commission and get a special exemption to change our location? How would we find a new facility in time? And how in the world do we explain to everyone involved, from investors to potential employees, that we didn’t win? I remember locking myself in a room and writing down all of the steps I would need to achieve to jump this hurdle. It was really one of the first time I project planned — mapped out all the small steps needed to complete to succeed. I came to work the next day and delegated each step to the right person, and together, we knocked out each task in the road map.
I now project plan everything and make prospective employees project plan in interviews, it is the most valuable tool you can have when competing in such a regulated, high stress, fast paced industry.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we were building one of our first facilities, we kept having huge setbacks in our construction process. It didn’t make sense, as we managed construction projects for dispensaries and cultivation facilities in the past, but it was a nightmare. Specifically, our electric work seemed to take one step forward and two steps backwards every week. It was insanely expensive and very frustrating.
Finally, we did some due diligence and it turns out the electric company was owned by one of our largest competitors, and we were being sabotaged. I made the mistake of not doing my due diligence, and we will never make that mistake again.
Are you working on any exciting projects now?
Tons of exciting projects. We’re looking at acquisitions in DC and Massachusetts, applications pending in CT and NJ, even meeting with high level executives in Thailand for the launch of their medical marijuana program!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My first real Mentor, Paula Shugart, is a strong and confident woman who has a unique management style. I started my career at the Miss Universe Organization as her assistant. I was a horrible assistant. I would screw up every car booking, every flight. . . I just didn’t care enough to focus on things that felt so unimportant to me. But she saw talent in me, and one day she got the marketing department to include me on a brainstorm. She let me slack as her assistant to add value to another department. While she was tough on me, she believed in me. Within two years I was the head of marketing and drove revenues to the highest in the company’s history. We secured the first long term host site deal and the first licensing deal in the organization’s history.
She saw value in me but new my first role was not the right fit, she had the patience to give me a shot elsewhere I try to take the same approach with all my employees. Sometimes it’s the wrong task, not the wrong person.
This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?
Yes, this is a grassroots movement. Word of mouth is much more powerful than mainstream advertising. You also have to consider what is attractive about a cannabis brand. The fact that the industry is counterculture is what makes a brand cool, the same type of market positioning Apple embraced with their “think different” campaigns. By using cannabis, you are giving a middle finger to government, to authority, supporting the power of the individual, and embodying the more holistic lifestyle choices of the millennial generation. With this in mind, you want to run ad campaigns like Colossal Media, where they run street art ad campaigns. Or maybe you run a willy wonka style golden ticket campaign in your product where someone gets to come visit the “mecca”. Or maybe a graphic design competition with students across the country where they get to design and vote for your packaging.
You want to be interactive, young and innovative to break through.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?
Excite:
- Job creation
- Helping people feel better, both mentally and physically
- Breaking dated stigmas
Concern:
- Over regulation — when government has too much power, that power can be purchased
- Over taxation
- saturation
Can you share your top “5 Things You Need To Know In Order To Run a Successful Cannabis Ancillary Company”? Please share a story or example for each.
1. EVERYTHING you do is harder — workers comp, insurance, banking, everything! Make short term goals and beat them.
2. Bring in efficient partners — you can’t do anything alone, bring in smart people with different skillsets who you want on your side. This is the world’s next great industry, and the federal government wants to shut you down, big pharma wants to destroy you, your competitors are cut throat and well funded; this is a war, and you need the right people in the trenches beside you.
3. Cherish your employees — This sector has an untrained workforce and your employees need patience and care. With the evolution of a new industry we have a unique opportunity to redefine the workplace. Employees should not be replaceable– train them and give them the tools to succeed. I find autonomy is the key to employee happiness, give them the independence to flourish and they will never let you down
4. Nail your story — you will become the most popular person at every dinner party and everyone has an opinion. Learn to listen, but know your story. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
5. Don’t get high on your own supply! I am a big believer in discipline, I currently don’t use cannabis. Love your product but don’t let your opinion cloud what consumers are saying. Let the market dictate things, not personal preference
Aside from your particular vertical, which other cannabis ancillary industries to you think have very strong potential in the next few years? Can you explain why?
Delivery
Payment processing
Cannabis catering
Franchising — this is our model!
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Give them autonomy. Teach them how to project plan, step by step. Let them run the meetings, never correct them in front of other employees. Check in on weekly meetings but step back and give them room to succeed or fail. Support them, cheerlead them, and create a framework so they feel guided. Most importantly, have a vision and communicate that vision every day, all day. If an employee believes in the long-term goals, they will work their hardest to be a part of it. Make them aware of how important they are in achieving that long-term vision.
And lastly, DON’T CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO FAIL. Those who do not fail do not take risks, and companies that do not take risks, do not innovate.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I was once walking down the street in Los Angeles and I saw a young couple jump out of their car on a Wednesday night in front of a homeless man. They grabbed a brown paper bag out of the bag of their car and gave it to him. I was shocked. No organized group, no notoriety, just good people doing a good deed.
Could you imagine if each of us prepped 10 brown paper bagged lunches each week and threw them in the back of our car just in case? If 100 people participate, and give out 10 bags a week, that’s 52,000 meals being provided with no organization.
Once I know my business and employees are taken care of, I would like to spend some time in the philanthropic space, and try to leverage social marketing to help people.
