LIT UP FOUNDERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO, Greenlane
- Professional Summary
is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Greenlane. After encountering his first vaporizer at the age of 19, LoCascio sensed the commercial and technological potential of vaporization and began purchasing and re-selling units online shortly thereafter. Since then, Greenlane has flourished under Mr. LoCascio's continued day-to-day operations. Mr. LoCascio holds a degree in Accounting from Valencia Community College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Omnichannel Strategy
- Producer & Host
- Producer & Host, Lit Up Cannabis
Along with producing and hosting Lit Up Founders. Brian is the Director of Omnichannel Strategy and Partnerships for Flourish Software, a leading Seed-to-Sale Software company serving Cannabis and Hemp operators up and down the supply chain. His focus split between the Product team, expanding our Retail offering's Omnichannel focus, and in Sales overseeing our Partnership Strategy & Management.
Prior to Flourish, through is company Digital Realty, Brian has served the retail industry as technology and business consultant for the past 9 years; empowering retailers with technology.
In researching the Cannabis Industry, largely because of its Federal status and history in the US, he was fascinated in seeing what the entrepreneurs were building. With his experience as an entrepreneur, supporting entrepreneurship, some background in broadcast radio, and a love for amazing medium of podcasts (especially "How I built this" by Guy Raz); all converged to create the spark moment that spawned Lit Up Founders. I hope you enjoy!
Brian holds a B.S. in Management Science & Information Systems from Rutgers University Business School. He currently lives in Jersey City, New Jersey with his dog Zeke.
Builders are masters at process. They see the big picture, they deconstruct, they learn, they rebuild it better. From his childhood playing with Legos, to building service businesses as a young adult, and huge pivot to Wall Street building deals; Christopher Galvin loves to learn and build. A very successful early career earned him retirement in Scottsdale at only 42! It wasn't long before Christopher got the urge to build again. He wanted to solve a big problem. Professional Summary: Christopher E. Galvin founded and served as CEO and Chairman of several public and private companies. He began his career in investment banking - focusing on mergers and acquisitions and structured finance - and has deep experience in corporate finance, hedge fund, and private equity strategies. Christopher guides the strategic direction of Hypur, as well as finance initiatives and serves as chairman of the partner team. Company Summary: Since 2014, Hypur has been solving compliant banking and payment problems for high-risk and cash-intensive industries by providing solutions to businesses without access to traditional payment systems, or when traditional payment systems aren't a good fit. Hypur Pay® is an electronic payment platform designed for the cannabis industry working directly from your bank account. Hypur Pay® features contactless payments and can be integrated into applications for in-store, order-ahead, delivery, online, and business-to-business payments. The biggest brands in cannabis trust Hypur® because they are the leading provider of compliance and payment technology to the industry. Download the consumer app for in-store purchases, or visit hypur.com to learn how Hypur can help your business. Show Notes: Hypur Team: - Co-founder & COO: Michael J Sinnwell, Jr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-sinnwell-jr/ - Chief Revenue Officer: Tyler Beuerline: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-beuerlein-33a639109/ - President of Sales: Todd Fuller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfullertexas/ - CMO: Martha M Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-m-johnson-a69832/ Hypur Press Page: https://www.hypur.com/press/ Inspirational Founders: Elon Musk: https://twitter.com/elonmusk Hashtags: #LitUp #FoundersJourney #CannabisEntrepreneur #Founder #Cannabis #Entrepreneur #hypur #hypurpay Christopher Galvin, Co-Founder & CEO, Hypur https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-e-galvin-229339108/ https://www.hypur.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/hypur/ https://www.facebook.com/HypurInc/ https://twitter.com/hypurinc https://www.instagram.com/gethypur/ https://www.youtube.com/c/hypurinc Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up Cannabis: A Founder's Journey linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- Co - Founder & CEO of Flourish Software
Colton is the Co-Founder & CEO of Flourish Software, a leading supply chain management and seed to sale tracking software solution for the cannabis, CBD, and hemp verticals. Prior to Flourish, Colton was a consultant at Manhattan Associates, a market leader in best-of-breed supply chain software. There he specialized in business intelligence and data analytics for supply chain applications, helping dozens of companies optimize their operations. He moved onto Genuine Parts Company (Fortune #177) where he built and managed a reporting platform deployed to dozens of distribution centers as well as corporate inventory optimization and trade management systems. He started a consulting practice focused on this discipline and ultimately founded a startup to build a SaaS analytics platform for distribution center operations. Flourish was born from this endeavor. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a BS in Industrial Engineering.
Taking full advantage of every opportunity; both the apparent and the hidden, is the best way I can sum up our guest's founder's Journey.
Growing up in rural Tennessee, he enjoyed all the nature, and freedom, country life had to offer.
At the age of 14, he was identified by a teacher for a life changing opportunity, nominating him for a scholarship to boarding school, vastly opening up his world.
In a biodiesel project, our guest discovered a passion for engineering early. It was a first step in following his passion for solving complex problems. A career day presentation from a global executive at UT solidified his focus on Industrial Engineering.
Co-founder and CEO Colton Griffin is reaping rewards with his first mover in supply-chain management software for the cannabis and hemp industries: https://companyweek.com/article/flourish
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO, Breeders Best
My guest today is a recent founder of not one, but two companies focusing on Intellectual Property related Cannabis. ... Dr Hunt shares a tremendous amount of insight and knowledge on plant IP and Cannabis in this episode. What I loved most about Dr Hunt's Founder's Journey is that there are many times where he identified what he found interesting, and chose to follow that curiosity. Please enjoy the Founder's Journey of Dr Dale Hunt, Founder & CEO of Breeders Best. Dr. Dale Hunt, Professional Summary: Dr. Dale Hunt is a plant scientist, a Cannabis lawyer and registered U.S. patent attorney with over 20 years of experience protecting plant varieties in the United States and throughout the world. Dale is the founder of Plant & Planet Law Firm, an Intellectual Property Law practice, where he provides guidance and expertise on patents and IP matters, and aids clients in establishing IP protection for their legal marijuana cultivars, products and businesses. Before he began working in the legal Cannabis industry, Dale worked with other clients in Agriculture, Water Purification, Alternative Energies, Biotechnology, Medicine, Manufacturing Processes, and Natural Formulations, and he has helped many of his clients commercialize their IP, products and plant varieties in over 30 countries. Through Plant & Planet Law Firm he and his team continue to service these clients in addition to their Cannabis clients. Dale has degrees in botany (BS), plant genetics (MS) molecular & cellular biology (PhD), and law (JD). Breeders Blend, Company Summary: Breeder's Best (BB) is the first Cannabis company to focus on developing intellectual property (IP) protection for independent plant breeders and licensing that diverse and unique IP to markets worldwide. We benefit breeders, patients, growers, investors, and many other stakeholders by delivering genetics with many of the lesser known and rare cannabinoids, as well as desirable combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes. These special varieties are developed through traditional breeding techniques that achieve specific target chemical profiles and premium commercial products. https://breedersbest.com/about-us/ Show Notes: Timestamps: 5:30 Interview Begins 6:41 What is Breeders Best 9:40 Early Life 14:32 Education and Botany 18:40 Marriage and Adoption 22:05 Law School and Pre-Cannabis Law Career 34:02 Transition into Cannabis 45:25 Breeders Best Genesis Story 1:00:27 What is the Makeup of Cannabis 1:07:02 Plant IP 1:13:21 How Breeders Best Works with Breeders 1:15:06 Closing Questions Quotes: "It's the biggest R&D department in the history of Medicine". Links: Re: Open Cannabis Project Dissolves in Response to Controversy Over Ag-Science Company Phylos Bioscience's Breeding Program: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/open-cannabis-project-dissolves-controversy-phylos-bioscience/ Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Reconsidered: Current Research Supports the Theory in Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel, and Other Treatment-Resistant Syndromes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5576607/ Dr. Dale Hunt, Co-Founder & CEO, Breeders Best Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-c-hunt-b9502a4/ Website: https://breedersbest.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breedersbestproducts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breeders.best/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Breeders_Best Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breedersbest/ Brian Weber, Producer & Host, Lit Up Cannabis: A Founder's Journey Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ Lit Up Cannabis: A Founder's Journey / Lit Up Media Website: www.litupfounders.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO, Mood33
Before Eric Schnell was actually Eric, he attended Woodstock… in utero. Raised by his hippie parents in the Boston area; his early years were in an Ashram. The respect for our bodies, animals, and the Earth, were values embedded early, and consistently, in his life. Seeds for becoming an entrepreneur were planted early on too: Once, as a punishment, his Mom withheld allowance; his 8 year old self was so upset by this, he vowed to never be dependent on anyone else for money again. During his time at Northeastern, Eric turned what started as promoting fraternity parties, into a $200,000/year income, all before graduating! After a stint as a broker dealer on Wall Street, he needed a change. With his ability to promote, he pivoted back to his root values, taking a position at a family run natural supplement company; trading a Rolex for a Feather Duster. That early venture led to his entrance into the ultra competitive Beverage Industry. With early success, and many ups and downs to follow, he eventually started Beyond Brands: An Incubator and Accelerator to launch Mission Driven brands including mood33. This first foray into the Cannabis Market brought a whole new set of challenges and lessons to be learned. Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO of mood33 has an amazing Founder's Journey, I hope you enjoy it! Eric Schnell, Professional Summary: "Some might call him a socialpreneur. Others, a food & beverage visionary. No matter the title, Eric has been a natural product industry pioneer for over 20 years and counting. With diverse experience in sales, marketing and new product launches, Eric enjoys taking ideas from scratch and turning them into viable businesses that make a global impact, through the game changing brands and consulting agency he founded, BeyondBrands. Currently disrupting the beverage side of the hemp industry as CEO of mood33 CBD infused teas, he previously served as co-founder of Steaz, a leading organic tea brand that was strategically acquired in 2016 as well as a member of Runa tea which was successfully sold in 2018. He is the co-founder of Good Catch, the world's first plant-based seafood brand as well proud recipient of the 2007 "Sustainable Business of the Year Award", 6-time Annual Winner of the BevNET.com and Beverage Digest "Best Product of the Year Award", a Top 50 Beverage World Disruptor and is an active Nutrition Capital Network Selection Committee Member." Show Notes: Beyond Brands: https://beyondbrands.org/ mood33: https://mood33.com/ Mood33Infusions: https://www.instagram.com/mood33infusions/ IntheMood33: https://www.instagram.com/inthemood33/ Good Catch (Vegan Seafood): https://goodcatchfoods.com/ Eat Cool beans: www.eatcoolbeans.com Good Same Foods: https://goodsamfoods.com/ Brad Barnhorn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-barnhorn/ Steven Kessler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-kessler-aa9b445/ Marci Zaroff: Partner in Life & Business: https://marcizaroff.com/ Eco Fashion Corp: https://www.ecofashioncorp.com/ Yes And: https://joinyesand.com/ The Arcview Group: https://arcviewgroup.com/ Evo Hemp: https://evohemp.com/ Alex White Plume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_White_Plume Kenny Morriston: VCC Brands, Venice Cookie Company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennymorrison/ Ben Witte: Founder & CEO, Recess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwitte/ Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO, mood33 eric@mood33.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-schnell-b133a425/ Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up: A Founder's Journey linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
Green Check Verified (GCV) is the leading provider of regulatory compliance technology solutions and advisory services for financial institutions serving the legal cannabis industry. Our team of technology, banking and compliance experts provide the tools and guidance needed to build compliant, scalable and successful cannabis banking programs. Learn more at www.greencheckverified.com
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO, Springbig
One of the most important rules in business is to know your numbers. Numbers are part of nearly every business school case study as they help tell the story: Where is money coming from? Where is it going? Those are the basics. Today's story is about how one entrepreneur, searching for clues to steer a stalled business, was able to read the numbers to uncover their best customers. What resulted not only saved the business, but changed an industry. Jeffrey Harris was already a successful business owner many times over. Always with an eye on the next opportunity, Jeff and a technical co-founder setup a new business to help small businesses in South Florida with their loyalty & marketing. After some early promise, sales plateaued, and they met some headwinds for their industry. Not one to waste time on just doing "ok", they were faced with a decision to close. They looked at their numbers to help understand their customers better. They noticed their two most profitable customers were actually not their target market, but were from Cannabis! Leaning in to learn more, they realized their Loyalty and Marketing technology is perfectly suited to Cannabis consumers. A quick pivot to Cannabis brought explosive growth, not only turning around the business but changing the industry. They are now the go-to name for Cannabis Loyalty & Marketing engagement! Please enjoy the Founder's Journey of Jeffrey Harris, Co-Founder & CEO of springbig! Professional Summary: Jeffrey Harris is Co-Founder & CEO of springbig, a customer loyalty platform for the cannabis industry. springbig uses SMS, loyalty marketing, and other tools to encourage repeat business for cannabis retailers. Prior to spingbig, Harris founded a loyalty marketing company (Inte Q) which focused on developing and managing data-driven programs for large retail and financial services firms. springbig, Company Summary: springbig is the leading loyalty, communications and marketing platform in the cannabis industry, helping over 1,300 dispensaries generate more revenue and build relationships with over 20M consumers all in one easy-to-use platform. CEO, Jeffrey Harris founded InteQ over 20 years ago, a company that took loyalty marketing from simple punch card programs in coffee shops to technologically advanced marketing tools at the forefront of some of the country's biggest companies. Companies like Adidas, Reebok, and Citi Bank. After years of experience in big-box retail, our founders saw tremendous opportunity in the underserved cannabis industry and decided to bring advanced loyalty programs, an essential marketing tool in such a competitive industry, to cannabis dispensaries and brands. Show Notes: "If there are people that are willing to help you, take the help. Take the time to listen to someone who knows better than you." "Most people are nice, well intentioned to help you. Just ask and take the help and see where it goes". Mattio Communications: https://www.mattio.com/ Rosie Mattio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosiemattio/ Altitude Investments: https://www.altitudein.com/ Altitude Partner & Springbig Board: https://www.altitudein.com/jon-trauben Springbig Brands: https://www.springbig.com/cannabis-brand-advertising-platform TVC Capital: https://tvccapital.com/ Jeffrey Harris, Co-Founder & CEO, springbig https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-harris-4416484/ https://www.springbig.com https://www.facebook.com/springbigrewards https://www.instagram.com/springbigrewards https://twitter.com/springbig https://www.linkedin.com/company/springbig-inc- Brian Weber, Producer & Host, Lit Up Cannabis: A Founder's Journey Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/briancweber www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
Job Titles:
- Founder & CEO, Green Check Verified
- Professional Summary
During Kevin's Eagle Scout project, he learned a great deal about communicating effectively. As an able bodied person at the age of 14, he led and mentored deaf and blind scouts for a year. It was then, and continues to be, a very impactful experience in his life.
It was in a programming class in college that Kevin found a passion and love for technology. From never being in the library prior, to practically living there! After completing only one class, he interviewed his way into his first tech job, starting what would become an impressive career in enterprise technology. Listening a lot, Kevin earned his way up the corporate ladder; going public with one company, consulting for VC firms, and helming two others as CEO. Leading an Apple Reseller, Kevin's team helped bring iPads to Airport kiosks, which are now ubiquitous today. A follow up consulting opportunity related to Cannabis Point of Sale systems; Kevin saw the Cannabis Money Problem, and his next big idea.
What many may see as a tech, finance, regulatory, or compliance company; communication was the core to Kevin's Founder's Journey, and company building philosophy. So many experiences in his life he shared, reinforce the lessons of effective communication. It will be key to their success, and the industry at large, as Cannabis becomes mainstream.
is the Founder & CEO of Green Check Verified. Kevin brings four decades of enterprise software experience as part of his founding vision for Green Check. He has worked in the C-Suite for a variety of software companies with global clients and partners, and he has led two companies to successful exits with publicly traded companies, as well as another to an IPO. With decades of experience at the helm of venture backed companies, Kevin has brought together an unmatched team to help him lead Green Check to its leading position in the cannabis financial services market.