Plant Prophets
00:26:33 · Pranav Sood
[00:26:33] S2: Yeah. That's a great question. I I... You know, as a whole, I think we haven't even cracked the surface yet in terms of what the potential is going to be. I would say, at least since I started until about '9... We started the company back in 2014. So it's been, what, six years? So in that time frame, the era of this industry has really been around compliance. So when I started, there was very little compliance and regulations over the the period of the six years. That's expanded quite a bit. And I I would say I think regulations have become fairly mature at this point. Mhmm. And I... You know, there might be new markets coming up. There might be, you know, some changes here and there. But I think the foundation of regulations is fairly set at this point. And I think that allows for a jump off point for companies like ourselves to now focus on additional value add functionality for software that folks didn't really think about before. So really everyone was just focused on can I get compliant? Can I maintain my license? Can I just be an operator in this industry? And and that continues even today, but I think we're starting to get to that point where that that era is kinda wrapping up and we're we're now focusing on, well, how do I become more competitive? How do I become more profitable? How do I become more efficient? How do I grab more market share? That's kind of the mindset that operators are starting to transition into and same with technology solutions. So I I think our focus with our platform was let's nail compliance. Let's make sure that we can make it as efficient as possible. The next evolution of the product is how do we now take all this data that's currently in the system? How do we, you know, do forecasting? How do we do demand management? How do we, you know, help operators make the decisions around what strains they should be producing and how long it'll take them to grow? And those are the types of, you know, areas that we're definitely gonna continue to push on from a product perspective. I think, you know, as an industry as a whole, that's where we're gonna start to focus where, other more mature industries already have that. They already have deep data, deep analytics, deep ERP type of solutions. We're kinda at the early stages within cannabis.
00:29:02 · Pranav Sood, S1
And I think the the first kinda set of companies that not only tackle the the operations, but then make it more useful to operators, those are the ones that are gonna be winners in in the market. [00:29:15] S1: Well, that's great. I mean, so now you're really coming into play of where you becoming a real consumer business. Right? And I think that's that's really important where you get just in time. And and and from from an inventory perspective and from the supply chain, I think that is that is awesome and its sophistication is is powerful. Yet I I just, you know, I I wonder if and when the industry is gonna be ready for that kind of sophistication. And do you feel like you're leading from behind or do you think you're in front? Where where do you think you are in that whole evolution?
00:29:15 · S1, Pranav Sood
[00:29:15] S1: Well, that's great. I mean, so now you're really coming into play of where you becoming a real consumer business. Right? And I think that's that's really important where you get just in time. And and and from from an inventory perspective and from the supply chain, I think that is that is awesome and its sophistication is is powerful. Yet I I just, you know, I I wonder if and when the industry is gonna be ready for that kind of sophistication. And do you feel like you're leading from behind or do you think you're in front? Where where do you think you are in that whole evolution? [00:29:57] S2: I would... That's a good question. And there's different ways of thinking about it. Right? There's Yeah. Like, compared to competition, compared to where operators are at and what they need, compared to regulation. So I I think we're at pace with the market, with operators, and with regulators. I think there are some competitors that focus on niche areas that may not have all the compliance, but they do have, you know, cool sensors or those types of things. But I've kind of found those solutions to be a bit ahead of their time and the adoption isn't there. And that makes it very challenging to make it a sustainable business. Whereas I think, we've built a really strong core and now we can start to focus on those other areas that will continue to drive evolution in this space. So I think we're just at pace. We're not ahead. We're not behind. But the goal is to get ahead of it as quickly as possible.
00:29:57 · Pranav Sood, S1
[00:29:57] S2: I would... That's a good question. And there's different ways of thinking about it. Right? There's Yeah. Like, compared to competition, compared to where operators are at and what they need, compared to regulation. So I I think we're at pace with the market, with operators, and with regulators. I think there are some competitors that focus on niche areas that may not have all the compliance, but they do have, you know, cool sensors or those types of things. But I've kind of found those solutions to be a bit ahead of their time and the adoption isn't there. And that makes it very challenging to make it a sustainable business. Whereas I think, we've built a really strong core and now we can start to focus on those other areas that will continue to drive evolution in this space. So I think we're just at pace. We're not ahead. We're not behind. But the goal is to get ahead of it as quickly as possible. [00:30:55] S1: That's great. Now what kind of market share of this technology do you have?
00:30:55 · S1, Pranav Sood
[00:30:55] S1: That's great. Now what kind of market share of this technology do you have? [00:31:02] S2: Dynamic at this point. So it's hard to say, folks that may have had their licenses six months ago may not have their license today. There's a lot of consolidation happening in the space as well. So think we have a strong percentage of the marketplace in the upper large scale enterprise, like the folks that I mentioned, like Caliva or Harborside or those types of folks. In my mind, the strategy has always been catered to that segment of the market and that segment of the market is gonna consolidate the rest of the market and then we're positioned to help those operators as well. So I think we have a strong market share in the segment that truly matters going forward, and we'll continue to build that out. Our presence is mostly in California. Okay. We are approved as service providers in several other states that also use Metrc, but haven't really focused on that go to market strategy. But over the next six to twelve months, with the help of Akerna Resources, that will be the focus as well as to expand into additional markets. [00:32:11] S1: Well, that's great. I mean, you have an amazing business. You picked an amazing partner. I think that was awesome that you and Jessica are together running this business and doing the things that you're doing. Well is there anything that you like to say as we wrap wrap up our conversation that you would like us to know or remember about, Chelas or anything in the business?
00:32:11 · S1, Pranav Sood
[00:32:11] S1: Well, that's great. I mean, you have an amazing business. You picked an amazing partner. I think that was awesome that you and Jessica are together running this business and doing the things that you're doing. Well is there anything that you like to say as we wrap wrap up our conversation that you would like us to know or remember about, Chelas or anything in the business? [00:32:41] S2: Yeah, for sure. Speaking to the audience, I guess the most important thing to me is I think it's very important for every operator to look at all the options that they have available to them, whether it's within the Akerna, you know, family, whether it's not. My ultimate goal is kind of beyond Trellis, beyond Akerna is to make this industry as efficient as possible and and for the supply chain to work. And so it's really important for operators to look at all their options and see which option fits the best with their workflow because there's so many different ways to approach the the operations in this industry. And I'm not gonna sit here and say Trellis is the best for every single operator. And so, you know, I would rather an operator choose a system that works the best for their operations so that that product flows freely throughout the supply chain. And we'll continue to endeavor to expand and make sure that our product can meet the requirements of the majority of the market.