Cannabis (marijuana) is becoming a mainstream industry. Entrepreneurs are finding new wrinkles in the business.
My grandson is pursuing a career in medical marijuana, so. stories like this fascinate me.
Read about the wrinkles Ryan Ansin, Keith Cooper and Jayne Vining are bringing to the marijuana business.
Here’s a company that capitalized on space made available by the closing of a shoe factory. They turned it into an indoor cannabis lab. The company produces 50+ varieties of marijuana. More than 200 market-ready products are manufactured from that marijuana. These products meet the wants and needs of a wide range of recreational and medical users.
The saga of how they developed this business is fascinating. Massachusetts approved marijuana for medical purposes in 2012 and for recreational use in 2016. Nonetheless, the hoops G. Ryan Ansin and CEO Keith Cooper had to jump through were many and complicated.
Jayne Vining founded a not-for-profit organization in 2010. After her daughter died of an opioid addiction she redirected the foundation’s purpose to medical marijuana. Her thought was that cannabis could be a non-addictive replacement to aid in addiction recovery.
Ansin convinced Vining to join him in his venture to not only sell marijuana but to grow it as well. He raised $50 million from angel investors. Then he spent 3 years renovating the old shoe factory to grow cannabis. A side benefit is that it became a center for the post-industrial revival of Fitchburg, the Boston suburb where the old factory is located. In 2017 Ansin brought in Keith Cooper as CEO. Cooper is a veteran CEO from many start-ups.
Revolutionary Labs is positioning itself to expand to other states as regulations change. They also hope to provide the pattern for others to grow marijuana efficiently.
This is a very complex story with many moving parts. Ansin says, “We’re building the plane while flying it.” I encourage you to read the details here.
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