Harry Kazazian of 22Red: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a CEO

Don’t live someone else’s dream. Every industry has its own culture. But don’t let your industry’s power-players or their schemes define your own company’s goals. Lead your team to find your company’s sub-culture and live your own, unique dream. Take the cannabis arena — many who succeeded in the illicit marijuana market in the past, have now rushed into this new, legal industry. They want to play hardball and do quick deals. I’ve been in meetings where I sit back and observe the clashes of the two cultures. At 22Red, we’re all from the arts and manufacturing, and we started in the legal marijuana business from the very start.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Harry Kazazian, CEO of 22Red. Kazazian has come a long way since his hair metal days playing clubs on the Sunset Strip. Having launched several multimillion…