Welcome to Cannabis School. I'm your host, Jesse Angeles. And I'm Brandon Elder, and we're here to talk to you about everything pertaining to cannabis from vape, flower, edibles, strains and everything in between. Welcome, welcome, welcome, everybody. We are so excited. We have Jess from MJ Bizcon here with us. We couldn't be more honored and thrilled at the exact same time. We're going to be able to hear
about so many different things. But before I go really in detail with that one, Brandis give us a proper introduction for Jess. Oh, proper introduction. Yeah, tell everything, man. Everything about. I don't know everything about Jess. That's what she's here for. Her favorite color is what? Black. I mean, that's like, the best color, OK? And her favorite food? Chinese food. There you go. See, now we can go into the
proper stuff about business. So MJ Bizcon, Jess, Brandon, tell us about MJ Bizcon, tell us about Jess, and then let's just get right into the questions. Man, yeah, so this is their 12th year of MJ Bizcon here. It started back in Colorado. They had about 400 people. Last year they had over 30,000 people and it's been in Vegas since about 2014. And this year they have notable guests like Martin Luther King Junior, the 3rd. So they have some I know, I mean the first one, Scepter and a hat.
I mean, they might make one. That'd be cool. That'd be cool. Specific for MG Biz Con. That'd be cool. Like a big MJ over there and it's green. Kind of glistening. That'd be awesome. Don't love it till you try it. Yeah, I know, right? So Jess, you're the CFO? No. CRO CRO, yeah. So I oversee the MJ biz brand and specifically the events as well. So it's the experience Part 2. So and she you're you're also in charge of the Chief Experience Officer as well, right? Yes, exactly.
Yep. So basically all things MJ biz. That's probably the best way to put it. Just all things MJ biz, Yeah? So what inspired the creation of MJ Biz? You know, it's I love telling the story because the the founders who aren't full time with the business anymore, but they started it. Two women, Anne Holland and Cassandra Farrington.
In Colorado and Denver in 2011 and actually we started there with the publication because they felt like we needed that they could see the business side coming down the Pike and that this was a real industry that needed love and attention and also just the forum for people to get together and you know entrepreneurs to grow their business. So they started focusing specifically on the business side, you know of course like? High Times was out there.
I mean there are a lot of consumer brands you know for for media, but they said OK, we want to focus on seed to sale, you know, cultivation, processing, retail and help people out for all the things that they might need to run a business and because they saw it coming. And then sure enough 2012 hits and you know Colorado legalizes, that's the first year we have an event and you know it just takes off from there and it's been a wild ride ever since. That's way cool.
I I think about especially when they started out what it was like for them thinking I mean it's a big bet because even though it was growing, it's still a big bet and to see where it's come to now, I mean I can only imagine because they are no longer into the day-to-day operations kind of sounds like you know maybe it was a buyout, A merger or whatever was that happened like I would be hard it would be hard for me to leave
that baby. I mean, I I yeah, the founders, they might, they might think differently of, like how the events are running today as and when they used them. Yeah, I mean it's they've they've been involved with the progression. So you know, for them, I think it's, it's definitely been a, you know, very joyous growth, but as anyone who's worked in this space knows like. In cannabis years, you know, 1212 years in cannabis years is like 35. I swear.
I I mean because things are changing and moving so quickly especially if you're you know being a media organization, which we are primarily, we do have the event obviously. But I mean we're we're turning out Daily News like monthly magazine and and just keeping up with that and who who's in the space, who's leaving the space. You know it's one year here is in in cannabis in general. I feel like it's like 5. They were. They felt like they it was about
time. So we were actually acquired by a median events company that's headquartered in New York in January of 22. So I stayed on with the brand to continue to oversee things and now we have, you know, much larger support from a bigger parent company. The larger would have been sending more money, right? Yep. Yeah, to put on a better event for all of you guys, because it's, it's what it's about, right? It's an experience and I mean, you've got to be able to fuel that.
And it's so awesome that this company had seen the potential that this has. They're like, man, we could. I mean, not to sound like they're a bunch of greedy bastards, but they are like we could milk this really well and and really give the audience what they want, give the consumers what they. Yeah, you know we look at it every year just kind of like with the MJ Biscon side
especially. We sit down and start fresh every year and you know there is no said it and forget it or rinse and repeat because we have to look at like what does the industry need from us. We don't take this, you know, responsibility lightly to where we're trying to help and that's at the end of the day the content and the connections that we're trying to put out there. It's the the medium in which we do that, you know, changes from print to digital to in person
events. But at the end of the day, we have the same mission, which is really to help cannabis professionals and entrepreneurs really succeed in this business. Would have been some of the biggest like challenges with putting on a cannabis focused event. I mean the well, the elephant in the room is, is the legality, right? Like when you are the large world's largest cannabis business event.
They're you're under a microscope in a lot of ways and so we need to make sure that we're doing things the right way to because that that reflects on the industry. You know, we want to show kind of more that the mainstream event world and a lot of local and and state government officials that like this is a very professional business and. It's a fun one, but at the same time like we're here to do
business as well. So the big thing is just making sure that we're working with all of our partners in Las Vegas and then Clark County where Las Vegas is. So we have some great relationships there and that's that's been great. But otherwise it's just it's moved so quickly, you know, between what's needed and you know, we just with Ohio just legalizing this month, we have really like had to stop and say, OK, well what do? You know, people who are working in Ohio, what do they need now?
Because this is the new regulation, so do they need sessions? Do they need meet ups? So it's just constantly like being on your toes. And I think that's kind of a little bit more unique to cannabis than maybe an industry that's a lot more mature. So you guys more or less act as the liaison and being able to help these up and coming companies mature with the actual business because as we know Brad and I both know, we're very familiar with the cannabis industry.
It's almost like and I don't want to be crass about this, but it's almost like a bunch of country bumpkin sitting on the back of the pickup truck paying their guys right out of in cash. They're like there you go, here you go. They don't understand that this is a very mature business. This is like a rodeo Dr. type of business is what we're trying to achieve with it. We want high, high value brands and not millions of them. We want centralized brands that
mean a lot to the consumer. So it's very young as far as that part and you guys are integral into that part and helping them to understand that it's not hand to mouth. Well, you know, we certainly try. And every year it seems to you can noticeably see the difference between I think as things become taboo, the stigma's kind of fading away. You also have more people entering the space from other. Industries and other professions who were bringing their skill sets that maybe they they had
somewhere else over. And I think one of the I just as an example a couple years ago trying to think probably like 2018 we would have maybe one marketing advertising session didn't really I mean it had you know decent turn out but it wasn't you know blowing the doors off at all. Fast forward now, we have a full day dedicated program around marketing and advertising and branding.
We have breakout sessions. There are meetups like and you're seeing the just the in general the job titles of people who are registering and coming to the event for marketing specialties is just skyrocketing. And I think that that in itself is pretty indicative of what's happening with the industry because as you said, like to have this like you know, Rodeo Dr. Type brands, the the marketing that goes around that especially with the regulations still impacting cannabis companies, it's.
You've got to be on your game for it and and the competition is steep so. Yeah, and that's why so many cannabis brands are here for a minute. And then they're gone. Yeah, I think, you know, it is still a bit of a volatile industry. You know, I would love to see things kind of mature in that way, where they're able to, you know, be a little bit more stable throughout the year, I mean for for them.
It is interesting too that I know several people that are on my exhibit floor that they started the first year they came. They they were an attendee and they said, you know, I just really want to get into the space. I want to see what it's all about. Then they come back the second year and they're like, OK, I have my business plan, I am looking for capital, looking for funding this year, then they come back the third year and they're like, all right, I have backing. I have investors.
I'm ready to go now. And then to see them, then they buy a booth, like a 10 by 10 booth and then to see them kind of grow up with us and have these like really big impressive footprints on our show floor. It's, it's been pretty cool, you know, to to celebrate that with them because we've grown together. You know, the MJ Biz was at a hotel and then we outgrew the hotel and then we moved to the Convention Center and like keep adding more space there.
So it's. There are, there are definitely a number of people that we've we've grown up in this industry together. Yeah, it creates almost like a family, 'cause you're always there. And if you're growing at each stage, yeah, I know. I just, you know, and and knowing a lot about the convention space as well, like, it's not cheap to play.
It really isn't. And you have to think about it like I've worked with smaller cannabis brands on the marketing side for branding and messaging and they've got these like, you know, oh, it's cannabis. It just prints money.
Not so, not so at all. And when they get into that mentality, it's like, OK, well what are you looking to invest, have to really grow this because it's not just I have plants for sale, it's you have to really put yourself as an outlier and being able to attend an event like MJ Bizcon as an up and
coming company. I like how you said, like they come check it out and then they go, yeah, I'm looking for funding because they realize they're like, Oh my $5000 a month marketing spend is peanuts compared to what these guys are spending. I need to be in involved with that, which forces them to create a real business plan other than let's just sell, sell stuff that we think is cool.
Brian and I ran into one, like I'm not going to throw the guy underneath the bus, but it was a product that he had. He had was at this tiny little event here in Utah and it was for like a dab rig station and it had all this. It it just looked like something. I'm like, that sounds like a lifestyle thing like you do on the weekend. Like, that's that's cool for you, bro. But you're not going to be making millions. Nobody's going to beating down your door for that. And I love that.
It's just such a a transition for them to understand that it's like going to the pro leagues, right? Coming to your event is going to like the Super Bowl of of cannabis. So you're like this is what's going on. These are the play by play. You want to play in this game and get the ring, going to have to play with the big boys, right? So that's that's cool. I like it. I'm going to, I'm going to start using that. the Super Bowl of cannabis I love. I love it.
I mean it is, it does feel like the the kind of culmination of the year. You know, we're always, you know, that November time frame and what I love about it is whether you've had a great year, you've had a bad year, like you want to come to Vegas and you know, close out your year that way. And so it's, you know, celebration, it's commiseration and sometimes and then it's just like setting you up for like, OK, it's a fresh start for 2024
and we're going to, you know. Figure out what partners we need or what we need to buy or, you know, insert whatever. But it's that's one of the things I love about it. And I get jazzed because I get to see, you know, all these people that I just adore and, you know, get to see them once or twice a year. So it's a lot of fun for us too.
Brandon, you were touching on something right before we got on. I'm talking about her personal cannabis shoes, and from what I understand, you're late to the show. Like me, you just showed up late. Yeah, well, better late than never, right? So how has that transition been and and what was that event? Was it working at NJ Biz Con or was it before that? You know, it was, it was right around that time, I think I just, you know, hadn't hadn't had a lot of exposure to it I guess.
And then once I I came over here, I had a. An event background and I knew the the founders of MJ biz for a while before actually coming over. And as the event was getting bigger they they thought I could help them out and luckily like you know, they thought so. So once I started here and I started getting to read the news all the time getting to really understand the industry and you know honestly for me even that you know, stigma like started to
fall away. That thing, you know, I grew up in. You know the 80s, nineties time frame you know and I like I remember the the DARE campaigns and you know all those things. So getting to like actually see the research, see what's happening on the business side, meet the people who were actually making these products and getting this to understand it better. I think it was just a, you know, a great door that had been opened for me. I wish my my journey wasn't like
that. Brandon just brought me into the fold. It was just like, hey dude, this is going to help you in a month. I don't know about that. Now here and here we are. So clearly, clearly goes on to something. Yeah absolutely.
No, it's it's I think that's one of the things, the reasons why we've loved being able to create this podcast for our audience is our goal is to be able to reach new consumers, consumers that are sitting right on the fence and you know thinking about MJ Bizcon and all these companies over there and what they're trying to do. We we created it for the the fact to be able to one and inform customers and entertain
them in a sense. But at the same time being able to give a gateway to these brands saying hey, you know there are a lot of consumers out there that are looking for you and being able to find the right ones to partner with. I think that's been the most difficult for us as as you probably seen that there are a lot of cannabis companies, but there are a lot of just pretenders.
People are going to be here for maybe a year or two when they're out because they think that's either going to be a buyout or they're just going to run out of money. Like they're going to have more plants than people to buy. And they're like, I don't know what to do here or they have products that nobody wants. Brandon and I have gone through a dozen products that are just horrible. What what tips do you guys have for like a first time Comer to MJ Bizcon? Oh, I love this question
because. It's it's really exciting for me when I get to see somebody who's there for the first time and like their eyes get really big. And I think the general consensus is that I hear the most is we didn't know it was this big. And I mean that's just like, it's a proud moment for us, but it's a proud moment for the industry to say like, yeah, I know this, like this, this is huge, so. The the tips I usually give
first timers. So first of all that the really easy one is wear really comfortable shoes because it is a it's a really big show floor and you're you're going to be on your feet. So that's the first one that I always give people. But secondly and we do a first timers orientation the morning that the event opens so that you can meet our staff, ask any questions, things like that. But the thing that I would tell everybody is.
Make a plan The The biggest mistake I see people make is if they just show up and think, OK, it's three days, I'll figure it out between. It is so fast and furious that like, you know what sessions you're going to go to know who you need to meet, what exhibitors you need to go see on the floor, and even down to like what what after parties are you going to? Because there's so many every night. I mean, it's just impossible to get to everything. So it's it's super fast 3-4
days. And so just like, show up with like all of that outlined and then, you know, just away you go, 'cause it's, it goes by super fast. I can imagine with over 30,000 people there last year, how many vendors are like booths do you guys have there last year? Right around 1400 companies that are exhibiting on the show floor
and and it varies every year. We do have a number of first time companies every year which that's always great because you can see like here's what's new but and they they go all out. So there's a lot of really cool stuff on that floor. It's. It is segmented now. It wasn't for a while, but in the past couple years we started segmenting it by. Just general product category more or less so like cultivation services or processing and packaging or retail and dispensary and business
services. So we try and do that so that it's a little bit easier to to kind of find what you need and where you're going. Yeah. In the beginning, you know, we just were the way we were growing it just, you know, all of a sudden one day it was like, oh man, like I'm tired. I grow bullets to get around this floor because it's just a lot. Just get you like a. Segway or something, Yeah. Yeah, exactly so. Little pulp art Mall cop hat. There you go. You you might.
See me. So if you see somebody zipping around on there, it's probably me. It's just. Make sure you wave, they just need to put a little harness on. Her and then have something hanging from there and they just yank her up every once in a like spider man and then they just plop her down in another area just because of how it is. I don't know. I don't know. I might be out if that happens. They get to go. Hey, Jess, real quick.
We need you to look at this. And they bring out this harness and it's all connected to the ceiling. You're like, I'm out. Hey, you know what? I appreciate it. I'm done guys. I can't do this. Anymore. No, that is so. That is so cool. I love that detail that you really take care of them, not only as a vendor, but as a as a visitor as being able to come see the show. It's that exact same feel like it's like you said, three days, four days like that, gone.
And you're like, yeah, I've lost 6 lbs. I don't even think I eat. And because you just want to see everything, Yeah, it's man, it's it's super fast. I know. I sleep for like a solid 12 hours afterwards. Yeah, like I'm just people out. I need to do my own thing and chill, decompress, you know, I always, I compare it to like if you're, if you're a runner and
like a marathon training. So like for us, you know, we're training all year to get ready for this event and then you get on site, that's our race and your adrenaline's carrying you through. And then, you know, afterwards you have that runner's high at first where you're like, I am ready to do this again, like now, like, and then all of a sudden it's OK, I need a nap. Pass out for 36 hours, get back up and do it again. Yep, exactly.
Just. Running IV therapy like she gets back, she just gets mainline with all this essential nutrients. Everything she needs is coffee. Yep. Yeah, there you go. That mainline coffee? There you go. That's so neat. We should have a reality show that, you know, follows us around like the behind this scene. I think that would be pretty entertaining. Oh yeah. I could make that happen one day, Might as well. You know it's pre season stuff. It's a show.
It gets everyone excited for next season's drop, right? So with the. Show What's the biggest change that people can expect this year Change. I think it's not so much a change as every year we're adding to the event. So we have some new things that we're doing this year that I'm I'm pretty excited to share. First one is let's see no particular order.
We are partnering with Thrive Dispensary, which is one of the Nevada brands and they are going to have a an activation or a lounge on the show floor where you can meet with some of the brands that they have in their dispensary. And then you can do online ordering like through a kiosk and we have shuttle buses running you, you know, down the street to their actual. Dispensary.
Their actual dispensary, so you can pick everything up and and then not have to be. Because if unfortunately, you know, with the way that the law reads, we cannot have consumption or, you know, actual cannabis products at the Convention Center, that's not an MJ biz thing, that's a that's a local and, you know, regulation issue. That hopefully one day, you know we might see some change there, but for right now we have to you know be good partners and and
follow the law. But this way we're actually providing that transportation to try and make that a little bit easier. Likewise, we also did, we're taking over the Lexi Hotel, which if you're not familiar with that, it'll reopen this year as Las Vegas's first consumption friendly hotel. And so in the, the guest rooms there, you can, you can smoke in your room totally OK there. And where, 'cause you know if most of the Las Vegas hotels don't permit that. So that's pretty cool.
And we have several brands that are doing takeovers and activations parties at the pool and the bar. And so that's going to be going on during the week too. So like those types of things we're just trying to to add to the event to try to have you know, just just make it a little bit more enjoyable because we're all there to do business, but we also, you know, want to have a good time as well. That's cool though. Yeah, I. Like that. It's like a Disneyland feel.
Oh, do you want to go get corn dogs and Turkey legs? Oh yeah, mate, we're going to go over there. We're going to get smoshed. We're going to come right back. We're going to have a great time. Like, that sounds awesome. It sounds like that thing you're talking about in in Denver where you drive around and they had dabs and all. Oh. Yeah, it was the dab bus. I went to 420 out in Denver years ago. Years ago. Was that? I don't know. Yeah, it was when I cut the tips of my fingers.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a table saw accident and like sliced the three of these little middle fingers pretty good. Yeah, and then there was AI, think it was called the dab bus and it was $10 or $15.00 for an unlimited night pass. And they were driving around Denver and they had dab rigs on it you could smoke, they were passing around joints. Everyone brought their own stuff. There was like chalkboard walls, all the on the inside, and people were drawing.
And then there was like an old school Nintendo set up at the back and it just cruised around. Denver made, Yeah, I haven't seen that. Yeah, it was wild. That's some crazy Tijuana. I don't know. How legal it is? I'm pretty sure it's not, but yeah, I'm not sure it is. Either, but that was way like early times in Denver. So yeah, it's gotten a little bit more, I guess, like more. I don't know the right word. Maybe main, mainstream or or just control, I guess, yeah.
Control. Definitely like a noose around it. Like it's just running around wild, Lawless. That's where it gives. This, these types of conventions, a bad name if you did that. So that's really cool that you guys are offering at this year to be able to go, hey look, you know, not only you can go over there and see dispensers, we'll take you right there so you can consume. But that hotel, that's bomb. Yeah, that's cool. That's cool. They've done a great job with it. You must have an.
Amazing ventilation system I I would guess I you know, I don't know personally but they yeah they they've done a great job. It was formerly the Artisan Hotel and then new ownership took over and it reopened over the summer. So and they've been fantastic partners and they are very supportive of the industry which is great. That's dope. Now I'm looking it up because I'm curious what it looks like. Sounds cool, dude. I mean, you come in and it's not going to look stonery at all.
It's just going to be awesome. They'll have bongs in the room, you know that. Like it's cleaned. Inside looks super unique. Yeah. Well now we have to go down and check it out. That's so. Cool. So more more attention to making sure that the that the attendees, both exhibitors and attendees are are being able to really feel more of a concierge type feel. For this event, that's that's way cool. Yeah, and now I feel like I'm going to have to bring Crocs
Ugly ass shoes. You'll be comfortable. Oh yeah, I know. Just tape a pillow. To my ass. And then I'll just take a seat once we get back up. That'd be perfect. I support that. It's a good way to do it. Pillows all around. Awesome. What's been one of your least favorite trends in cannabis that you've seen least favorite Oh well you know I would say least favorite is you know our our hearts definitely go out to any of the brands that you know are are struggling this year.
I think in the you know just the the wave that this industry has been through a lot of UPS. You know of course for the for many years we were all in that upward trajectory. And I think in the past year or so like there have been more businesses impacted by more of an economic downturn or you know over saturation and just consolidation in general. So I think that's you know that's been tough to see.
I'm definitely very hopeful and I'm hearing good things that you know, hopefully by next year we'll start to see that upward movement again. So for everyone, if they can, you know, hang on, get through it now, I think they'll be in a a much better place come come next year.
I thought she was going to go into I can't stand seeing scantily dressed cannabis brands with their women around the the booths just wearing bikinis, 'cause that irritates the shit out of us 'cause it's like that, right? Remember that? Remember that 420, the the Latin girls over there going, oh how do you doing?
You know, it're just like no and and that is something actually you know we do, we do address it you know with the show specifically because there is a certain amount of professionalism that we want to exude and that we want to be part of our brand, you know and also just to help the industry mature and move things along faster.
So we definitely have policies around what is permitted at the event and it is designed to, you know, keep it focused on business, keep it focused on what really matters and what's really going to elevate everyone. And to your point, there are certain certain behaviors or things that you can see at maybe some other events that you won't see at ours. We won't complain. About that, yeah, that's OK. Yeah, I mean, you know, it just kind of, it just cheapens the brand.
It really cheapens the brand. And yeah, we don't respect that. Like when we we were at this tiny little 420 thing and like a lot of the boots were very respectable, like they're hey, this, we weren't tell you about our business. But then there's just one where, you know, I I just remember and and people will know they're going to be hearing this or they're watching it right now. They're going to be like you had this, like this woman over there who's dressed in a bikini.
It's all black hair done and she's got her kid hanging here off of her hip. And the kids just looking around with the bottle in his mouth and you're just like, this isn't really what I want to see here. Like I learn about your. Brand these brands like you, we had talked about the first like in order for you to be able to be a long lasting brand, you have to be taking yourself very, very seriously, absolutely. And that's not. The market, that's not the
future market. It's a small segment of the market even. Yeah even down to like what you know name nomenclature for for different strains and things. You know like you know I've definitely seen some out there that are you know less than than reputable and I think you know to your point about how they're they're portraying their brand.
You know if if we say that there's when we're trying to go after a larger market you know consumer market you and the in many years we had you know the the two ends of the spectrum. So you had, you know, the very, the medical patient side and you had the true, you know, enthusiast side. But there's this like Grand Canyon in the middle of people.
And you know, what about the the mom who just, you know, after a really long day gets home, makes dinner and then just wants to relax and doesn't want to, you know, pour that glass of Chardonnay, right. I mean that's that's obviously an unfair stereotype in a lot of ways.
But at the same time, there are all these people that you want to you want it to be inviting to them and you want to appeal to them as well and make it something that seems good to them and comfortable And and the more we can do that and by eliminate you know how we portray brands, I think that that's going to help a lot because we missed the.
Mark, a lot of the time when we are showing up with those types of things and it's like it's not the, it's not what the industry is. It's just a certain demographic of it and what's been portrayed for the longest time. And so that like Stoner culture or that takes away from a lot of the business side of it as well because there are so many functional, just everyday people who use.
Cannabis like a normal thing and instead of it being something that, you know, like the Nancy Reagan era, that it fries your brain and makes you really stupid, can be a tool or a catalyst for many people. So. And it's. Educating on that sense too. It's it's coming into it with both eyes open instead of just an assumption, which is how cannabis has been portrayed for so long. It's just an assumptive that
you're a loser. It's a something that you're never going to do it. But then if you go through the line of very successful people in the world, I would say most of them, if not all of them, are consuming cannabis in one form or another because they see the benefits and. Having conferences such as like this been the world's largest and and being able to attract the brands, reputable brands all
goes back to that one. You can't just be, I mean maybe you could but it would be it would be such a short lived brand. If you just come with the assumptions that these are all the things like attending, I would say that to to up and coming companies that are thinking about like what what do I really want for my cannabis brand is to attend an event like this. To be able to see what's out there, competition, but more or less like how are they presenting themselves instead of
just having a cannabis brand. Brandon and I, we were part of a grow years ago. That's kind of how we got into all of this and that was some of the things that we had talked about really want to get rid of the the common misconception of people who use cannabis. We want people who are my age and older who are like, yeah, like. I mean, we just had a podcast this morning with this awesome guy and he what, what, how old was Pat in his 60s?
Yeah, and. And he's just he's he's so excited to bring his friends over that he goes cycling with and he's going to introduce them into some of the awesome plants. So it's just so cool, Very cool with that. I I kind of want to you know as we're as we're wrapping this up I just want to know like what are the things that. You would like. To see personally because you've seen so many brands, so many businesses come and go, when you've seen some of the most successful ones that keep
showing up every single year. Can you give our listeners this idea of what are the, the, the things that you see that make a successful cannabis brand To be successful in this industry, I think you you've got to have a really solid leadership team. I will start with that. I think you know to have a successful brand it's it's about manage manage the business and you know we're we're in it because we we love what we do we love the industry like don't ever lose that.
However make sure that you're also taking care like treating it like a true business and and running you know being you know more conservative with your your financials let's say or you know, making sure you hire the right people And the right people can look a lot like a lot of different things in this space depending on what it is. And I know I've seen people coming over for you know, so let's say you know the example
from earlier marketing. So let's say you're a marketer for you know a a fortune 1000 brands and then you come over to cannabis and all of a sudden it's like OK well the marketing principles still apply. You still have the skill sets and now you just got to learn how to, you know, Bob and weave pretty much in in cannabis. But the ones I've seen that are really successful do a great job of managing that.
And then when it comes to brands in terms of like how they're perceived with I guess the consumer audience, the ones that do really well, I think it comes down to how professionally they manage their brand, what relationships they have to get in what stores. And there it's a very much a relationship driven business still at this point. So I can't emphasize that enough.
And that's where things like you know, self promotional plug here, but MJ Viscon coming there, you never know who you're going to meet in the line at Starbucks or you know coming onto the show floor. And that serendipitous connection you know, is going to turn into, you know, a future business partner or you know someone that's going to help you out down the line. So I definitely go to events like that as much as you can, yeah. Every year MJ Biscon, make sure you're there.
Well, yeah, I. Mean. And it goes to that one. It's always who you know. It's not what you have. It's not how cool your tech is or how awesome your extracts are. It's it's all about those connections, making those solid connections because they'll take you a long way, like the opportunities for funding a bigger brand could see this up and coming one going. We should just, we should purchase them. Those things. I guarantee those things have happened. Those decisions have been made right.
I are on that floor. Oh, so many, so many. I've heard a lot of stories just from from people I know that that's that's where the deals get done, you know, and it's because of who they know they're. It's because of how they represented their brand, what the reputation is in the industry and but yeah, a lot of that. I have heard many stories of that happening at MJ Biscon. I want to know I'm excited to see what what we hear this year at the event because there's
always something, right? There's always a story, there's always some breaking news. So I'm I'm interested to see what it is. We're partnering for the first time this year with Fairchild Events who were doing the MJS which are International Cannabis Awards. That'll be Thursday night at the Palms Hotel and that's a really cool event that we're going to be able to give out tons of awards for people who are doing amazing work in cannabis.
And it spans the whole, you know, it's not just brands, it's also, you know, across the entire ecosystem. And then there's a really fun after party that that's going along with it. So that'll be new this year and that's that's pretty cool. International. So that's like all the global is that research as well or yeah. And you know the the cool thing about MJ Piscon is just how much
it is a global meeting point. I think, you know at at peak we've been around 78 countries represented at the show, which is just huge when you think about like what legalization in the world actually looks like. So that's a lot of people who are driving things for. We're surprised when we pop up in like the top charts in all these random countries and we're like. They're listening, yeah.
Nigeria, Spain, you know, all throughout Europe, like all these countries listen to us and we're like in their top ten of their alternative health podcast is because it's really starting to take a hold. Spain has been coming up like constantly in there, so yeah. Italy. Italy as well. Italy, Yeah. Oh. Yeah, Italy. Their laws have changed. Crazy. You know how, man, this is so cool. OK, well, MJ Bizcon. What? What are the dates? How long is it going from?
We're kicking off November 28th and we're going through December 1st, so just a couple weeks away. So for those celebrating Thanksgiving, yeah, those celebrating Thanksgiving in the US, it's right after that. And just you'll be able to hop on a plane to Vegas, Yeah? We'll have the link down below where you can go and buy tickets directly there, so follow the link and get a ticket and show up there. Because you know, you might see us there, guarantee we're going to be there, we are.
We're making sure that we're going to be there. You guys are going to be able to see us. We are so enthusiastic about the plan. We are grateful for our audience and how much you could do. Everybody go down there, click on the link, make sure that you get your tickets 28 to December 1st. That's a lot. Plus, you got to think about all those after parties. And how many dispensers are
going to be around there? How many products are you going to be wanting to check out right away, Go there, attend. We we can't. We can't stress that enough. Yeah, Thanks for jumping on Jess. It was great chatting. Thanks for having me. I'll see you guys in Vegas. Yeah. We're super excited. All right, everybody, take care.