Erin Gore Archives - Green Market Report

StaffMarch 22, 2022
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10min00

Garden Society

 

Erin Gore/Spotlight 

What is your proudest accomplishment in the cannabis industry? 

Creating a brand that resonates and is meaningful to so many. Garden Society stems from my personal journey to find balance in life and being surrounded by women feeling the same pressures. I’m proud to have built a company alongside my business partner, Karli Warner, that’s based on a shared passion to encourage people to explore non-traditional ways of finding joy in their everyday lives. 

Do you feel that the cannabis industry has more opportunities for female-identifying people than other industries? 

While we have made strides as female-identifying individuals in the industry, we have rapidly declined from where we were a few short years ago. So, honestly, I’m not sure. In past years, I would have said “absolutely” since we’re literally building a new industry right now. We need more allies to step up to the table to join us in this journey. 

What has become apparent is that the cannabis industry is a highly capital-intensive industry filled with bias. Gone are the days you can make a beautiful product and sell it via the collective model. Now, one needs access to significant capital to launch and scale their business, and traditional capital channels like bank loans and small business grants are not available for the cannabis industry. The well-documented lack of funding for female-identifying individuals and the bias that reverberates across the industry if one does find bias definitely limits our potential. I think it’s our time to stand in our power and call out this bias and lack of capital, and find incredible allies that will support us to create a more equitable industry. 

Do you feel you have to work twice as hard as male colleagues or do you think the industry has moved past that? 

Only 2% of venture capital dollars go to women overall, and in cannabis, it’s even less (<1%). As I successfully navigated my own fundraising journey for Garden Society, it became clear that one of the reasons women fail to bring a great product to market is simply because they don’t know how to raise the capital. Women are much less comfortable being confident in their vision, usually from lack of confidence with financials and fundraising. This became even more clear during the pandemic–women were managing their children, their home responsibilities, their community responsibilities, and their career. 

During our fundraising, we were accused by men of not being authentic enough since we didn’t have any female investors–that was a turning point for us. We decided to build a slate of female angel investors, and they are undoubtedly amazing. We know first-hand how incredibly powerful women allies can be, and how we will work twice as hard to get the credit we deserve. We also 

have been able to find incredible male allies who see our vision, help us address bias, and empower us to build the company of our dreams.

And yes, we definitely have to work twice as hard as male peers in the industry. Do I think that it is fair and just? Absolutely not. Do I think it’s helped us build a better company? Absolutely yes. We are stronger, more profitable, more agile, and more resilient as a result. It has been proven that female-identifying founders deliver better returns on their companies. I think this is absolutely the main driver, and am proud to continue to deliver at Garden Society. 

What was your biggest challenge in business and how did you overcome it? 

The pandemic, hands-down, which while can be identified as the single biggest challenge, led to an entire series of difficult challenges. It started with working with our brethren in the Northern California cannabis community to deem our products and this plant “essential,” to immediately focusing on how to keep our team safe while keeping the doors open and our employees retained. This, all while moving sales in the right direction, as well as raising money – and all while raising my most important life asset: my son. Every minute of the day was exhausting as a mom and wife, CEO, and oh, by the way, I was Chair of the Board of Directors of our local hospital during this time too, so yeah, I was exhausted. 

What have you or your company done to help give more opportunities for women? 

This is very important to both Karli and me: we have a huge desire to accelerate the success rate of women in cannabis. I think one of the biggest accomplishments of the past two crazy years has been making the time to engage in my fellow female business community across the U.S., doing my best to serve as a resource and mentor to other female cannabis entrepreneurs. This includes working hard to share knowledge and resources that would help other women over the finish line in their own business efforts. We have had some wonderful mentors and allies to help us, and also learned everything else on our own through lots of failed attempts. We’re motivated to share our learnings with other women to hopefully accelerate their success rates. 

But it truly takes a village. I’m honored to be working with other successful women in the space, including female lawyers, founders, mentors, recruiters, and executives at public companies. We work to engage with entrepreneurial women far beyond encouraging chats and aim to give them the actual tools they need to drive their companies forward. 

What are your personal goals for 2022? 

The ever-elusive quest for balance and finding time to feed the soul, while doing the same for my family and business. If 2020 and 2021 were about surviving (literally and figuratively), during 2022 I am planning to spend time planning, visioning, and executing. I am super focused on achieving our potential at Garden Society by executing our plan across all aspects of the business. I also have a goal to develop a larger 3-5 year strategic plan, now that we’re through


StaffMarch 6, 2020
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11min025

In honor of International Women’s Day, we are releasing our annual “Most Important Women in Weed” list for 2020. This list includes women in the industry that have collectively moved the industry forward with all of their hard work, continuous dedication and effort.

This year we opened up the list for nominations and received almost a thousand nominees. After consideration of each, we have developed what we feel is one of the most inclusive and carefully curated lists of the most accomplished and impressive women in the cannabis industry.

As we could not name them all, we would like to thank and celebrate all of the women who have dedicated their precious time to the advancement of cannabis globally.

It is because of each one of these ladies that this industry remains in the lead above all others as far as female leadership is concerned.

This list is in no special order. Each one of these women provide a great contribution to the cannabis industry in their own unique and badass way.

Thank you to every one of you for all that you do!

The “List”

Dr. Chanda Macias

Yvonne DeLaRosa Green

Mara Gordon

Rosie Mattio

Shawna McGregor

Lori Ferrara

Gaynell Rogers

Stormy Simon

Trista Okel 

Lori Ajax

Amy Dawn Bourlon-Hilterbran

Kim Rivers

Amanda Soens

Dona Frank

Kat King

Sara Payan

Hannah Daphna

Sandra Castaneda

Erin Gore

Wendy Kornberg

Kristin Nevedal

Wendy Turner

Parisa Rad

Brittany Nicholson

Emily Paxhia

Jessica Billingsley 

Gia Moron

Andrea Brooks

Tahira Rehmatullah

Tracey Mason

Lindy Snyder

Jasmine Rose Gunderson

Shannon Hattan

Adelia Carrillo

Karen Petersen

Wanda James

Barbara Blaser

Ophelia Chong

Amanda Ostrowitz

Pamela Nicole Epstein

Melissa Mentele

Jamie Cooper

Sarah Remesch

Jessie Gill

Erica Daniels

Lizzy Jeff

Lelehnia DuBois

Whitney Beatty

Dr. Michele Ross

Manndie Tingler

Chef Lauren Gockley

Kyra Reed

Jamie Evans

Kristin Jordan

Ellie Siegel 

Sara Brittany Somerset

Linda Marsicano

Heidi Groshelle

Amber Senter

Nique Pichette

Jennifer Price

Molly Peckler 

Bonita Money

Susan Hwang

Judy Yee

Julie Chiarello

Leah Heis

Leslie Andrachuk

Terra Carver

Nancy Whiteman

Luna Stower

Karen Paull and Wendy Robbins

Beth Stavola

Alison Gordon

Penny Green

Sara Gullickson

Dr. Lakisha Jenkins

Pamela Hadfield

Jessica Peters

Dr. Rachel Knox and Dr. Jessica Knox

Tiffany Bowden

Mary Jane Gibson

Michelle Janikian

Dr. Uma Dhanabalan

Taylor Blake

AC Braddock

Kerri Accardi

Heather Sobel

Betty Aldworth

Cathy Jordan

Suzanne Sisley

Nina Parks

Eliza Nova Maroney

Selena Xochitl Martinez

Angelika Penuela-Ruiz

Sarah Mitra Payan

Gretchen Gailey

Nikki Lastreto

Ann Lawrence

Sheena Shiravi

Christina Ianuzzi

Kassandra Frederique

Shannon Buyers

Celia Tapp

Kelly Archer

Katie Field

Randi Sether

Shannon Reed

Katrina Yolen

Ngiste Abebe

Brooke Westlake

Courtney Maltais

Katrina Tso

Anne Don0hoe

Alicia Rose Kelley

Dr. Jacqueline Harding, PhD 

Mary Pryor 

Dr. Uma Dhabalan

Olivia Mannix

Heather DeRose

Libby Cooper

Leslie Hoffman

Yvonne Perez Emerson

 

Again, thank you to all of the women who do so much in our industry day in and day out. Your work does not go unnoticed and is deeply appreciated.

Happy International Women’s Day to all women around the world!

Special shout out to our Green Market Report co-founders Debra Borchardt and Cynthia Salarizadeh on this day!


William SumnerJuly 9, 2019
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5min00

It’s time for your Daily Hit of cannabis financial news for July 9, 2019.

On the Site

Caliva

Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter announced online today that he will enter into a multi-year partnership with Caliva as Chief Brand Strategist. The statement said that he will play a crucial role in driving creative direction, outreach efforts, and strategy for the brand. Caliva is one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis companies in California and has quickly become a market leader in cannabis consumer products in the state.

Radient Technologies

Cannabis and hemp extractor Radient Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RTI)(OTCQX: RDDTF) reported that the company lost C$18 million in its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.The company only reported revenues of C$214,060 for the year and expenses of C$18,319,167. The cost for that revenue was C$131,249. On a positive note, the company’s cash balance at the end of its fiscal year totaled C$31,752,852, representing an increase of $9,897,548 from March 31, 2018.

Executive Spotlight: Erin Gore, Founder & CEO of Garden Society

Erin Gore is founder and CEO of Garden Society, a California-based, cannabis-focused benefit corporation serving women in search of new, more holistic ways to rejuvenate from the rigors of their daily lives. Garden Society creates artisanal confections and sun-grown pre-rolls that connects biodynamic farming, sustainable ingredients and strain-specific cannabis in a variety of products.

Green Growth Brands

Cannabis retailer Green Growth Brands Inc. (CSE: GGB)(OTCQB: GGBXF) is acquiring MXY Holdings LLC also known as Moxie in an all-stock deal valued at $310 million. The deal is expected to close within six months. Moxie is located in three states at this time, California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Michigan is set to be the fourth state. The products are in 250 dispensaries, which is a retail relationship that GGB would like to leverage.  Moxie provides customers with high-quality recreational and medical cannabis products.

In Other News

Surterra Wellness

The medical cannabis provider Surterra Wellness announced today that it has appointed Fareed Khan as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who will be responsible for corporate finance, investor relations, tax and shared services activities. Formerly serving as the CFO for the Kellogg Company, Khan helped drive the company’s corporate strategy to include revitalizing key brands through targeted investment and transforming the company’s portfolio through mergers and acquisitions. “Fareed’s track record of translating strategy into initiatives that drive growth for both private and public companies, across a number of industries, will propel our continued success,” said  Surterra CEO and Chairman  William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr.

KushCo Holdings

KushCo Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: KSHB) announced today its financial results for the third quarter ending on May 31, 2019. Net revenue was $41.5 million, representing a quarter-over-quarter increase of 17.9%.On a GAAP basis, gross profit was 17.8%. On a GAAP basis, the net loss was $10.6 million, up from $9.2 million in the same period of the previous year. Cash on hand is approximately $12.2 million.  “We expect demand to increase for the Company’s core product offerings as the cannabis and hemp markets continue to expand and mature. Our customer base is gaining strength with the largest multi-state operators and Canadian LP’s starting to scale in existing markets, while also preparing for growth in new emerging geographies – including recently approved Illinois,” said KushCo Chairman and CEO Nick Kovacevich.


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