Plant Prophets
00:01:44 · Pranav Sood, S3, S1
[00:01:44] S2: I'm currently based in Los Angeles. I Okay. I do go to Toronto pretty frequently, less so during the whole corona stint. But, [00:01:53] S3: yeah, [00:01:53] S2: I I kinda split my time between the two. [00:01:55] S1: Yeah. It makes it pretty difficult. You know, it's kind of... Feels kind of dicey. I'm not there yet, where I can feel like I can travel freely. Yeah. So I've been keeping it very very close. So hey, let's just really start out by getting the audience familiar with who you are. And kinda take us back to to where you grew up back in I think Canada, Toronto area, and just bring us forward a little bit. [00:02:21] S2: Yeah, for sure. So I'm Pranav. I I grew up in Toronto and I have a business background. So I went to business school in Canada at the Richard Ivey School of Business. Once I graduated there, I worked for Deloitte doing corporate strategy consulting for a few years. And then I joined Hudson Bay Company, which is one of the largest global retailers in the world. [00:02:45] S1: Premium brands.
00:02:45 · S1, Pranav Sood, S3
[00:02:45] S1: Premium brands. [00:02:46] S2: Premium brands. They own Saks, Lord and Taylor, etcetera. So I was within the technology department there and built out a large team over, you know, three countries and had a lot of fun doing it. And I guess during my last couple months there, the medical regulations changed in Canada for cannabis. And that's what got me into this industry. Kinda read one of the first draft regulations that were put out there. And I... I'm a enthusiast myself, but mostly I was very interested in how Canada kinda set up their their whole market. It's a vertically integrated market. The medical component involves large licensed producers, only growing cannabis, but then shipping directly to patients. So in my time, I've never seen a highly regulated market that consolidates both the supply chain as well as retail and kind of forces that entire thing onto one license holder. [00:03:45] S1: Very difficult. Yes. [00:03:46] S3: Very difficult. Yeah. So when I read
00:03:46 · S3, Pranav Sood, S1
[00:03:46] S3: Very difficult. Yeah. So when I read [00:03:48] S2: that and heard about it, my first thought was a, there's probably no technology out there to manage this. And then b, technology can be the tool that can streamline this whole process and make it easier for licensed producers, but also make it more transparent and efficient for the end patients to get their product. And that's kind of how I got into it. I partnered with one of the largest licensed producers in Canada, which was at the time Supreme Pharmaceuticals. They then have had a brand called Seven Acres. They continue to be our collaborative clients as of today. But that was really our jumping point. We were able to get into their facility. We were able to see how they did all of their workflows. They were unique in that they were focused on the B2B side of the industry. So where most licensed producers in Canada were shipping directly to patients, these guys were actually focused on selling wholesale to other licensed producers. And then those licensed producers would sell to the patients. So that's kind of what got me into it. And that's where we really focused our platform is we like to call ourselves steep to wholesale. So we don't actually touch the consumer facing side of the technology. We mostly focus on the wholesale side. [00:05:11] S1: Got it. [00:05:12] S2: Okay. Then from Canada, once we started getting some traction, I got into an accelerator program in California.
00:05:12 · Pranav Sood, S1
[00:05:12] S2: Okay. Then from Canada, once we started getting some traction, I got into an accelerator program in California. [00:05:20] S1: Tell me about that. Is that... Tell me about the accelerate. And why did you choose to take that route? I really wanna know. Yeah. [00:05:27] S2: So so there were a couple things. One was we were looking for funding at the time. And, you know, there was a lot of buzz around cannabis, but there wasn't a lot of capital. Right. And one of the first connections that I made was with this accelerator. They were brand new in Oakland, California. So out of a whim, I just kinda applied online looking at it as a a funding source. And luckily, we got accepted. And so I moved from Toronto to Oakland to do the program. When I went to the program, they connected me with folks in the industry. We met our first, you know, customers in California through the program. We were, you know, introduced to investors, etcetera. So Yeah. It was a really good opportunity. [00:06:09] S1: So, Bruno, tell me now. So the name of the of the the Accelerate Program was Gateway. Right? Correct. Now Gateway... So now tell me the difference between that and what I would maybe call an incubator.
00:06:09 · S1, Pranav Sood, S3
[00:06:09] S1: So, Bruno, tell me now. So the name of the of the the Accelerate Program was Gateway. Right? Correct. Now Gateway... So now tell me the difference between that and what I would maybe call an incubator. [00:06:22] S2: I mean, they're... Those terms are somewhat interchangeable. Okay. Generally, incubators are a little bit more earlier stage. Accelerators are a bit later stage. So, you know, we already got our first initial investment prior to going to the accelerator. We had a... An industry partner that was a client. So we we already were able to show some traction, and accelerators are meant more to, you know, put fuel on the fire and really accelerate the results. [00:06:48] S1: Okay. So the concept is little... The business is a little more proven Yep. Versus an incubator verse... Versus an accelerator. [00:06:56] S2: Correct. [00:06:57] S3: Yeah. [00:06:57] S1: But you get the benefit of being introduced to money. And what else? You... So you got... You were introduced to money. That successful? And then what what else did the accelerator do for you? And how long did you stay associated with
00:06:57 · S1, Pranav Sood
[00:06:57] S1: But you get the benefit of being introduced to money. And what else? You... So you got... You were introduced to money. That successful? And then what what else did the accelerator do for you? And how long did you stay associated with [00:07:11] S2: Yeah. I mean, typically, money is is the number one. But for us, it was actually the connections to customers. So Okay. You know, me being a Toronto boy coming out to California Right. A brand new industry, completely different regulatory framework, That was the challenge when I came to California. So having a foot in the door was very important. And having that trust factor right away that, no, this guy's, you know, putting something together that's pretty legit. And and it gave me that, you know, presence to to be able to start working with folks in California. And then from there, we were able to tease out our platform. We were able to build additional features and really cater to the California market. [00:07:54] S1: Mhmm.