Editor's Note: Sorry this episode is late, still getting caught up from MJBizCon, but it was great to see everyone last week. Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, Lilach Mazor Power, founder and CEO of Giving Tree Dispensary, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why an industry born on passion and innovation needs to get back to basics and stop racing to create the highest THC products for the lowest price.
Lilach Mazor Power initially wanted to open a wellness center in Arizona; she wanted to help patients treat chronic pain and other ailments. She drafted a business plan and quickly found that there wasn't any money in it.
It was 2011, and Arizona had just approved medical use in the state. So, Power thought she could add a marijuana angle to her wellness center plans to make them financially feasible. She won a license and quickly learned how to grow.
Power eventually opened her wellness center and it offered reiki, yoga and other support groups as well as medicinal marijuana. Eventually, every part of the business except cannabis became unsustainable and had to be shuttered, but Power is still selling cannabis today at the Giving Tree Dispensary in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jump around:
- Opening a cultivation and retail business from scratch. (3:57)
- Building a staff of passionate experts. (5:18)
- Learning what doesn't work over the first four years. (8:03)
- Describing the boutique indoor grow. (9:53)
- Protecting against crop failures and other supply chain disruptions. (11:22)
- Creating a team that lifts the entire business. (15:20)
- The pride in helping patients. (18:43)
- New product development philosophy. (19:45)
- Hiring veterans and maintaining talent. (23:41)
- Being a good corporate citizen. (27:25)
- The community's reception. (29:57)
- The race to the bottom in Arizona. (31:54)
- New partnership in Puerto Rico. (34:06)
- Recognizing bad collaborations. (36:25)
- The mistakes every startup makes. (37:32)
- How to have a lean and efficient grow. (40:00)
- Partnership efforts in Israel. (45:17)
- Leadership opportunities for women. (48:12)
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at [email protected].
