Kaya Cast

Jon Bond is the Director of Partnerships at Dutchie. He has a long history in the Cannabis industry from launching a dispensary in the early days of legalization to working at the largest Cannatech company in the industry.

Jon shares his insights into building people first cannabis companies with the aim of training, growing, and investing in world class teams. Jon has been a part of developing the DNA of Dutchie which has grown to be one of the largest Cannatech companies. Investing in great people is the heart and soul of any growing organization.

He also shares insights into what it takes to grow a cannabis business and how technology can improve the efficiency of your retail operation.

Find out more about Jon Bond and Dutchie:

Social media has the power to connect people across the globe. It allows content creators to share their stories and dog owners to post cute pup pics for all the world to see.

Even though cannabis is legal in the majority of the U.S. states and Canada, there are still large limitations to advertising and posting on mainstream social networks. The most popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have strict community guidelines on what cannabis businesses can share. This may be in part because in the USA, cannabis is still considered to be a controlled substance. So where do you go to promote, engage and connect? Enter cannabis business social networks.

Cannabis business social networks are where industry leaders, business owners, and enthusiasts can interact openly and share their thoughts and experiences. Are you curious to learn about some of our favourite cannabis friendly social networks?

Amber Erickson is an experienced cannabis technology marketer. She is Head of Marketing at Seed Technology, empowering dispensary owners and operators with digital signage and interactive solutions to decrease wait times, increase revenue, and reduce staffing costs.

In my conversation with Amber we discussed how to create impactful in-store digital experiences within your dispensary. We also discussed how Seed Technology is using their technology to impact the customer journey for dispensaries and consumption lounges.

Tahir Johnson is the Director of Social Equity and Inclusion at the Marijuana Policy Project where he developed and launched an internship program in partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus foundation placing interns at some of the most prominent companies in the industry. He advises legislators, regulators, and other industry stakeholders on best practices to ensure equitable cannabis laws and programs.

He is also the host of The Cannabis Diversity Report Podcast. Featuring cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies discussing issues related to social equity and highlights of their experiences, challenges, and success stories as minorities in the cannabis industry.

Together we unpack the recent reform on cannabis policy announced from the white house on October 6, 2022. This is a huge step in the right direction towards legalization of cannabis. Our expert guest, Tahir Johnson, dives into what this announcement means for the industry and how we can create a more equitable future for cannabis.

Find out more about Tahir Johnson:

As of 2022, more than 400 thousand cannabis industry jobs were created in the United States alone (that's 33% from the prior year.)

That number hit over 151 thousand cannabis industry jobs in Canada, with the market size growing by 83% over five years.

Here are the Top 10 Cannabis Jobs: 

1. 1. Budtender
2. Dispensary Manager 
3. Dispensary Owner
4. Inventory Manager
5. Cannabis Cultivator
6. Cannabis Accounting 
7. Security Services
8. CannaTech 
9. Sales and Marketing 
10. Cannabis Consultant 

Tommy Truong (CPA) is the co-founder and CEO of KayaPush. With over $1 Billion of payroll processed last year, Kayapush helps dispensaries scale through an easy people management platform. Tommy has helped thousands of business owners grow their companies through simplifying workforce management.

In the first of many conversations with Tommy, we discuss growth principles for your bud tenders and dispensary teams. It all starts with investing in the futures of each of your team members and having growth conversations now. This will lead to higher retention rates for your teams and create a more fun place to work.

Tommy Truong will be coming back every month with new cannabis industry insights from his conversations with hundreds of cannabis retailers across North America.

Dianna Tarbell is the General Manager and Myan Adams is the Sales Manager for Seven Leaf which is the first 100% indigenous-owned and –operated Cannabis producer to receive a Health Canada license.

In this episode, we discuss the story of building Seven Leaf which is an indigenous owned and operated cannabis producer. Our guests discuss the challenges facing First Nations professionals looking to enter the cannabis industry and how Seven Leaf positioned their company to be one of the first producers operating on Indigenous land.

Seven Leaf’s motto is “happy people grow happy plants!” and this is foundational in every aspect of the business. They are building a company that honours the generations that have come before, and invests in the future of the generations to come.

Find out more about Seven Leaf here:

This week’s episode features the “Greatest Hits” from our cannabis industry seminar that we hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Maine.

Designed to help you navigate the process of opening a cannabis dispensary with best practices of over 3000 dispensaries and how they succeeded.

Gary Cohen is the CEO of the most trusted award-winning POS brand in North America. He has met with nearly 2000 dispensary operators from coast to coast and leveraged expert knowledge to provide cannabis retailers the support they need to get a license, pass inspection, launch a store, and improve operations. Gary frequently leads seminars on retail technology, compliance, business operations, and cannabis banking laws at some of the industry’s largest events including NCIA and MJBizCon.

Neal Chaudhary is the founder of Red Pill Labs and Irie Systems.

Neil is a consultant with cannabis retailers on best practices, strategies, and finding unique solutions for businesses. To use innovative techniques and technology to make their systems and their retail operations grow.

He is here to help solve those complex business problems all cannabis retailers face. We also talked about Bob Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers and how to help your budtenders deliver exceptional service.

Be sure to check out Neal and Red Pill Labs

Ernest Toney is the founder of BIPOCANN, and leads the strategic efforts to improve equitable representation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) entrepreneurs and business owners in the cannabis industry’s state-legal markets.

Ernest Toney shares practical insights for BIPOC people who are looking to enter the industry and businesses that are looking to connect with those individuals. He also gives insights into strategies for the cannabis industry to become a more social equitable industry.

It starts with business owners and cannabis retailers changing their mindset and promoting black owned businesses. It's exciting to hear some of the momentum and changes that are happening within the industry.

Be sure to check out BIPOCANN

Haley Glover is the Senior Security Consultant at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group and has over a decade of experience in the security industry.

Haley shares her insights into everything SECURITY and CANNABIS. From setting up security when you first apply for your application to ongoing security training with your employees and really working as a team to make sure that your cannabis retail location is secure.

Cannabis security risks also include cybersecurity and internal theft protection cameras. She goes through all of it today on the show, and we're so excited to talk to Haley and really just learn from their expertise in this field.

If you wanna find out more about Sapphire and the work they're doing, or maybe you want Sapphire to come and help you as you either launch or grow your dispensary visit:

David Thomas is the CEO & Founder of Budsense and the Co-Founder of Douglasdale Cannabis in Calgary, AB Canada.

In this episode of podcast we talk with David Thomas about infusing joy and delight into the customer experience of buying cannabis. This means helping your cannabis retail business sell the experience with knowledge and insights into the industry. Through training, digital and analog signage, and the overall layout of your store, you can tell a story to every customer that walks into your store.

Budsense makes selling weed easy. Build Better Menus and Sell More Weed. BudSense is a paper and digital Cannabis menu and marketing platform for retail cannabis store operators. To find out more about Budsense check out:

Naomi Granger, is the only CPA to have been featured in The Wall Street Journal for her unique approach to helping accounting professionals expand their practice to support the legal Cannabis industry.   She’s provided her support, consulting, and business development skills to over 600 accounting professionals across the United States.

In this episode of the podcast Naomi helps cannabis retailers decode the confusing world of accounting, taxes, and cash when it comes to running a successful cannabis retail operation. Knowing your product, knowing the industry, and surrounding yourself with experts in the cannabis industry are essential to growth of your cannabis retail location. 

Feel free to reach out to Naomi and anyone at NACAT about what they're doing and to make sure that your business is compliant and going on the right track.

Find out more about Naomi Granger and the National Association of Cannabis Accounting and Tax Professionals:

Mike Wilson is the Founder and President of Temeka Group. He utilizes his strong leadership and management skills to oversee the job, from design to installation.

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Today, we have an amazing in depth conversation with Mike Wilson, the founder of Temeka group and AnamiTech. Mike has been in the business for 31 years working to build everything from the Lakers fan store to huge cannabis retail stores. And Mike shares some insights for someone that might be wanting to create their own cannabis dispensary or retail store. He talks about how important the layout of your store is to customer experience, customer service, security.

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He gives some insights on how you can use technology to really leverage your brand. And some creative things that Temeka is doing to help with compliance and give that customer experience a whole new level of just fun and delight, really for a customer, walking into a cannabis retail store to interact with the product in a brand new way.

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Find out more at:

Chris Lara heads up the Product and Business Development at GreenSpace Pro and is a Strategic Advisor to the Temeka Group.   

In this episode of the podcast we chat with Chris Lara from GreenSpace Pro about what it takes to start an efficient and compliant dispensary. We also chat about the challenges facing cannabis retailers and how implementing a project management solution from the beginning of your business will help you grow and succeed in the cannabiz!