Thanh Nguyen of Good Company Tea: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business
…How stigmatized it can be when you say you work in cannabis and how many people scratch their heads on why you left a career for it. Think this comes with the territory and as a founder in this space; you really play the part of educator and advocate 90% of the time. It’s something that’s needed as we crystallize public opinion over time.
As a part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Thanh Nguyen, CEO and Co-Founder of Good Company Brands. With over a decade of executive expertise at the intersection of culture, creators and technology, Thanh’s innovative approach to brand and digital marketing has exponentially grown first-in-class communities like VSCO, developed legacy brands and artists at Warner Music and Atlantic Records, and cultivated authentic influence at YouTube. As a Vietnamese-American immigrant moving to the heart of technology culture in the Bay Area at age 5, Thanh has always operated with an open mind and been propelled by an insatiable curiosity about the everyday life of those around him. This philosophy has powered unique, award-winning programming leveraging the creator economy to enable “wanted” disruptions that fit neatly into daily niche culture.
Thanh graduated from San Diego State University Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path
I certainly feel like I zigged and zagged my way into the cannabis market but I’ve worked in creative industries for most of my career so it’s always been adjacent. I was also feeling a bit burnt out working in technology and wanted to challenge myself in creating tangible products so the opportunities and aspiration came naturally from there. Being a recreational user of cannabis and avid tea drinker; I just found a nice intersection for the two and it so happened to work out nicely.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
There’s certainly never a dull moment when you’re an entrepreneur; I wouldn’t say there’s one moment or story that sticks out but the overall journey and more importantly the process has been very unique and different than a conventional career. The biggest lesson we’ve learned is be ready for anything and be ready to adapt — be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think a lot of people can relate to this especially with everything happening this year. Having this mindset helps us put things into perspective and focus more sharply.
Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re very excited about our latest product launch; a limited edition blend called No 36˚. It’s our first collaboration and we partnered with the nonprofit ONEArmenia to develop a custom blend of Organic Armenian White Mint Tea. ONEArmenia’s mission is to support fair trade employment in the nation by launching double bottom-line businesses. The No 36° Blend brings Armenia’s rich history into the present moment and promotes the progress of generations to come. Fair trade projects like No 36° are especially important for the people who picked the white mint in and around rural communities hardest hit by Armenia’s economic struggle post-independence, so that they can create liveable incomes.
Community is a big focal point for us and partnering with a team that has such a strong purpose and mission really enables us to bring positive societal change through the lens of cannabis and our products. We believe creating high quality products that people want while also empowering others is the future.
A portion of all proceeds of the No 36° Blend sales will support ONEArmenia’s mission.
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?
It really takes a village to chase a dream let alone realize it. But, if I had to pick one person; I’d have to say my partner Jennifer; she’s been extremely supportive from the very beginning when we were still working on formulations in our kitchen to the first delivery of the final product (and tolerating our apartment being a storage closet).
She’s been my well of confidence and also our unofficial and unpaid event manager. Having the support of a loved one or someone you truly respect can really be a difference maker.
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?
Cannabis is an experience driven industry making it a big sandbox for companies to get really creative with their marketing. Given how nimble we are as a team; during the beginning of the pandemic and at the height of Animal Crossing we were able to create a digital experience of an existing event series that we had started a few months prior. We thought why discontinue the experience just because ppl can’t gather physically so we flipped something that was culturally relevant at the time and made it unique and tailored to our brand and product. It caught the attention of a lot of new customers that we generally would have never reached and also the media as well.
The key takeaway is dial yourself into culture in an authentic way and ideas will really start to blossom.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?
What I’m really excited about are the opportunities for innovation, growth and how this once niche market can really positively impact society and culture.
I think I share a lot of the same concerns with other founders in this space which are unwarranted regulations, bad actors, and too much greed. All of which will stifle the exciting parts of the industry and ultimately the consumer will suffer.
Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.
How challenging banking would be. We’ve been lucky enough to work with great partners that are transparent and on top of it but getting to where we are today took an incredible amount of patience, persistence and a lot of kind hearted people guiding us along the way.
The challenges around advertising and how limiting it can be on growth and scaling of your business. This is something a lot of us are challenged with but on the flip side it’s taught us to be a lot more creative and laser focused on how we grow our business and audience without breaking the bank for acquisition. The challenges have been a good force in function to how we think about not just growth but retention as a key measurement.
How stigmatized it can be when you say you work in cannabis and how many people scratch their heads on why you left a career for it. Think this comes with the territory and as a founder in this space; you really play the part of educator and advocate 90% of the time. It’s something that’s needed as we crystallize public opinion over time.
How fragmented and embryonic a lot of things are still. Cannabis is still a very young industry and with anything that’s in the early stages there are growing pains; infrastructure is still developing, there’s an old guard and new guard, things are a bit inconsistent or more convoluted than it needs to be. For us the roadmap was trial and error and surrounding ourselves with good hearted and like minded people.
Accept being the “weed guy” among your friends but also people that you meet. People will come to you for medical advice, free product and or both. What’s cool is that you’ll hear from people that you never thought would be into cannabis but they are. It’s a good sign so embrace it.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Be mindful and empathetic. Be a servant leader empowering your team which means enabling them to do amazing work but also failing smart in the process. Be the well of their confidence at times and the brand and company will thrive.
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. :-)
We really feel like Good Company and our community is a movement. Not all movements have to be loud and hopefully our quiet and subtle one can spark ideas for better products and ultimately better experiences. Our partnership with ONEArmenia shows just that.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
@itsthanh and of course @goodcompanytea and @onearmenia
