Thinking of getting into the marijuana business? It’s not a simple as slapping some green leaf stickers on your cool new product and calling it a cannabusiness.
Entrepreneur interviewed Nick Kovacevich, the co-founder and CEO of Kush Bottles, on what it takes to make it in this fast-growing industry. Here are his top five keys to success.
Embrace It
“Cannabis treats a lot of those same symptoms with none of the negative effects … and it’s a natural plant. It just doesn’t make sense why it has such a bad rep, so we decided we were going to be the ones who were really involved in this industry, specifically focusing on it.”
Do Your Homework
It’s different in every state, and cannabis laws are changing constantly, so you have to be super in-tune to what’s happening… You always have to look ahead, see what’s on upcoming ballots.”
Be Mindful Of Your Image
“I look like an entrepreneur. I try to dress like an entrepreneur. I don’t want to be associated with a traditional cannabis-stoner business owner, because that is all that the mainstream public has seen.”
Be Ready To Battle The Banks
“It’s impossible to get traditional funding from banks — no banks will lend to the industry. Since Kush Bottles concentrates on packaging, we’re a little bit better off than some of the cannabis companies, but we’re still fighting an uphill battle.”
Adapt To Change
“When we started the company in 2010, it was 80 to 90 percent cannabis flower that was being sold. Now, fast forward six years, and it’s only about 55 percent. You have a lot more concentrates, extracts, waxes and all the oils for vaping. Newer users want to eat edibles or do transdermal patches or Listerine strips. They don’t want to smoke.”
