From Seed to Success: The Journey of a Female Cannabis Entrepreneur

with Kyra Reed Founder of WEIC and Tanya Griffin CEO of oOYes

Welcome to our podcast celebrating the women who are blazing a trail in the cannabis industry! Join us as we sit down with 2 successful female cannabis entrepreneurs who have built thriving businesses in this exciting and rapidly evolving space. We’ll explore their journeys, hear about the challenges they faced, and discover how they turned their dreams into reality.

But it’s not just about the personal stories. We’ll also dive into the business side of the cannabis industry with female entrepreneurs, covering topics like cannabis business funding, marketing, and regulations. We’ll explore how these women are standing out in a crowded and male-dominated industry.

Scaling a business is never easy, and the cannabis industry presents unique challenges and our guests will share their strategies for scaling their businesses, the lessons they learned along the way, and the challenges they overcame.

So whether you’re a female entrepreneur in the cannabis industry or just curious about this exciting and rapidly evolving space, join us for insightful conversations and inspiring stories.

During our 60-min Webinar we will cover:

Get an exclusive peek behind the curtain as our guests share their raw and unfiltered journeys to success, from facing daunting obstacles to achieving their wildest dreams in this fast-paced and ever-changing industry.
We’ll cover a range of business topics relevant to the cannabis industry, including funding, marketing, and scaling strategies employed by successful female entrepreneurs.

Tune in to hear a lively and inspiring conversation and learn from successful female cannabis entrepreneurs who are standing out in a crowded and male-dominated industry.

Webinar Highlights

Her Inspiration for Joining the Cannabis Industry

00:15:38 – 00:18:56: Cortney Brown, Director for Growth at MediaJel, and Tanya Griffin, Founder of Water + Trees, oOYes, and Uh Huh Honey, talk about Tanya’s inspiration in joining the cannabis industry. Tanya transitioned from healthcare to cannabis due to the limitations she faced in the healthcare system. Coming from a background of building tech-driven healthcare solutions, she hit the ceiling – regulatory and financial constraints. Spotting an opportunity in the emerging cannabis industry, she made a pivot. Her desire to offer alternative, healthier options and to challenge stigmas around drug usage drove her entry into the cannabis industry. Initially, she focused on medical applications, aiding epileptic kids and those with PTSD. Tanya’s foray into cannabis was an extension of her commitment to serving women’s and family health needs.

Building a Community-Centric Cannabis Culture: Struggles, Triumphs, and the Need for Unity

00:29:29 – 00:34:15: Corney Brown, Tanya Griffin, and Kyra Reed, Founder of Women Employed in Cannabis, discuss their desire to build a community-centric cannabis culture. Kyra Reed shares the disparity between dispensaries and the need for cohesive unity from a community-based approach in downtown L.A. She touts community-building rather than individual brand-building as the primary driver of success for her organization, Women Employed in Cannabis (WEIC).

She directs some criticism towards dispensaries prioritizing profit over community engagement, with a stark observation of the neglectful customer service in many establishments.

Kyra expresses disappointment at the industry’s trend toward competitive, male-dominated, profit-driven attitudes, contrasting it with the positive experience encountered in dispensaries run by women.

Reflecting her commitment to fostering a supportive environment within the industry, she underscores the need for more inclusive dispensaries, particularly for women.

Balancing Compliance, Experience, and Profitability in Cannabis Dispensaries

0:34:15 – 00:37:49: Tanya Griffin explains female-centric dispensaries’ challenges and the intricacies of navigating the cannabis industry. She reflects on the difficulty of creating unique, holistic experiences within dispensaries while grappling with significant compliance and tax burdens. Using Illinois as an example, where dispensaries require substantial investments to open, she emphasizes the financial strains of establishing and maintaining these businesses.

Tanya notes the prevailing industry trends, noting the need for community cooperation to craft a distinct dispensary experience. Strategic marketing, authentic branding, organic growth, and demonstrated value are essential in building and sustaining cannabis businesses.

Acknowledging the differences between customer bases—those seeking quick, routine purchases versus those desiring a more holistic experience, Kyra explains the necessity of adapting business models to keep operations sustainable. She mentions the challenges of incorporating additional elements like spas or yoga studios alongside dispensaries, urging both men and women in the industry to maintain focus.

Cortney Brown concludes the conversation with a call for revenue focus in the initial stages of business building. She emphasizes the significance of everyone being a marketer in the competitive landscape of the cannabis industry.