Elevated Businesses
Elevated Businesses
BriAnne Ramsay
The Elevated Businesses podcast is a behind-the-scenes look into the legal cannabis industry. BriAnne asks the tough questions while diving deep into cannabis operations, compliance, and technology. Join licensed operators, ancillary businesses, and cannabis technology entrepreneurs to discuss their challenges, solutions, and hopes for the future of the flourishing cannabis industry. Who is the host? BriAnne is the founder of Rocky Mountain Cannabis Consulting (RMCC), a woman-owned cannabis compliance education company that focuses on obtaining, building, and scaling cannabis businesses. RMCC was established in 2017 after BriAnne identified a need for support to develop and scale a compliant cannabis business. BriAnne is an industry veteran that oversaw 20+ cannabis licenses and served as a compliance officer for the leading point-of-sale system during the infancy of the adult-use legal market.
Entrepreneurship & Women in Cannabiz w/ Desiree King of DK CannaConsulting
Raised within the cannabis community on the hippie communal plant life path. Desiree’s mother was an advocate and educator of plant medicines. Her father was a skilled craftsman in addition to cultivating both hemp and cannabis. Desiree was your typical hippie GenX stoner youth - traveler, followed "The Dead", trim-igrated around the Northwestern region until she finally pursued a business degree to engage in the average 9-5 grind in such industries as Commercial Development and Renewable Energy. And then Desiree was diagnosed (and beat) cervical cancer. For years, she lived a double life working a corporate, non-cannabis job and her off-hours paving my path into the 215 medical cannabis landscape. As a relentless cannabis advocate for others, she found herself advocating for her own life. Desiree’s experience within the Renewable sector birthed the fondness she now has for legislative bodywork and the commencement of laws for Cannabis within the State of California. As a Cannabis Compliance and Operational Analyst Specialist, she bridges compliance, systems, and processes through her intuitive approach to culture, technology, and cannabis governess. From evaluating and condensing operational overhead to regulatory body compliance framework and policy-making, Desiree drives home compliant operational success in an often complicated cannabis business landscape.  Timestamps 0:00 Intro 12:00 Medical to Adult Use Transition 15:40 Challenges in Starting A Cannabis Consulting Business 18:30 SOP vs Playbooks: What’s The Difference? 26:20 Steps to Begin Your Cannabis Consulting Business 45:00 Unpacking California Cannabis Challenges Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Learn More RMCC's Certification: https://academy.rmcc.io/certification
Jun 17, 2022
1 hr 13 min
Internal CannaTech & Building a Massachusetts Vertically Integrated Cannabis Company with Gregg Weiss of Happy Valley
Gregg Weiss is the VP of Technology and Strategic Growth at Happy Valley, a vertically integrated cannabis company in Massachusetts. Gregg has been involved in the cannabis industry since 2016 and has lived in Florida and Colorado. He previously started and sold a mobile app development company and has been involved in several start-ups. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting   Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw  Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Learn  More: RMCC Compliance Operations Certification https://academy.rmcc.io/certification   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 8:00 Challenges in Cannabis Technology Evaluations 19:25 Happy Valley's In-House Custom App 23:50 Unique Features in Happy Valley's Custom App 27:25 Lack of Consumer Education  32:40 Passion For Solventless Hash  40:28 Words Are Important  44:00 Gregg's Hopes For The Future
Jun 9, 2022
57 min
Winning A New Jersey Cannabis Business License with Michael McQueeny of Foley Hoag LLP | Elevated Businesses #8
As counsel in Foley Hoag’s national Cannabis Practice, Mike has provided trusted counsel to start-ups and multi-state operators alike on issues associated with legislative/regulatory development and compliance. Michael has assisted clients in drafting and securing competitive state cannabis permits, having worked on winning applications in multiple states. Michael counsels clients on complex issues of regulatory compliance, including advising companies on regulatory considerations associated with anticipated mergers and acquisitions. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Learn More RMCC's Certification: https://academy.rmcc.io/certification   Timestamps  0:00 Intro 5:10 Attorney Advice TransitioningTo Cannabis 13:30 New Jersey Cannabis Regime 18:50 Product Diversity & Retail Square Footage  25:40 Breaking Down The NJ Licensing Process 35:00 Licensing Process As A Beauty Contest 53:00 NJ Licensing Recap
Jun 2, 2022
59 min
Cannabis, Leadership, The Military, & Extreme Ownership with KJ Saffold of Red Ball Express
KJ Saffold is a decorated US Army Combat Veteran, a graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and a Georgia Tech EMBA candidate. KJ brings high-level executive leadership, strategic planning, distribution logistics, IT management, and proven operational excellence to the cannabis industry. In addition, he is a fierce advocate for social justice, social equity, and veteran medicinal cannabis use. In August 2021, Illinois awarded his company an adult-use dispensary conditional license.     Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Join RMCC's Social Equity Incubator Program: https://academy.rmcc.io/social-equity-incubator-by-rmcc Timestamp 0:00 Intro 14:00 The Start of the Cannabis Journey 17:50 Leadership is a Philosophy 33:04 Obtaining a License in Illinois & Michigan 48:31 Improving Social Equity Programs 56:15 KJ's Wishes For The Future of Cannabis 
May 26, 2022
1 hr 17 min
Standardize & Scale Through Compliance Software w/ Dede Perkins of ProCanna
Dede Perkins, Co-Founder and CEO of ProCanna, joined the cannabis industry in 2013 as a member of the application team that won one of the first competitive vertically integrated applications in Massachusetts. After that, she helped win cannabis licenses in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Nevada. A regulatory specialist, Dede is passionate about combining compliance with operational excellence; safe, standardized products; empowered employees; strong company culture and brands.   Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 6:03 Solutions ProCanna Solves  13:20 How RMCC & ProCanna Work Together 15:05 QR Codes & Record Retention 21:35 Best Practices For Staying Update On Regulations 32:02 Inconsistency between Medical & Adult Use Programs 38:37 Dede’s Wishes For The Industry Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Free 40-minute compliance operations masterclass: https://academy.rmcc.io/audit-workshop
May 12, 2022
50 min
Solving Complex Compliance Problems with Rose Elliott of Komplyd
Rose Elliott is the co-founder and CEO of Komplyd, an API-first cannabis compliance-as-a-service platform. With over two decades in engineering and product, she is bringing her experience of delivering large scale platforms and complex compliance initiatives at companies such as PayPal, Netflix, UpWork, and Tenable to the cannabis industry. Her passion for health and wellness led her to the cannabis plant and ultimately to the industry where she is committed to making cannabis compliance work.   Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:20 Cannabis The Disruptor  6:10 Komplyd Solving Complex Problems  10:25 What is an API?  18:32 Compliance Teams in Mature Markets 22:58 Increase Complexity With Federal Legalization  28:00 POS Payment Systems Risks 37:00 HIPAA Requirements Dispensaries Must Know 40:20 Komplyd Solving Complex Problems  44:42 Rose’s Hopes For The Industry    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Free 40-minute compliance operations masterclass: https://academy.rmcc.io/certification BriAnne Ramsay invites guests each week to bring you the latest news in cannabis while diving deep into operations, policy reform, compliance, and technology. 
May 5, 2022
55 min
Making It In The Emerald Triangle with Brittany Massaro of Humboldt Logistics
Brittany Massaro is the Compliance Director for Humboldt Logistics, representing 45 farms around Northern California, including some distributors, manufactures, and retailers. She is transitioning into an ownership position in a vertically integrated distribution and cultivation center throughout the State of California, and is based in Humboldt County and Los Angeles. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmcc_cannaconsulting/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-cannabis-consulting Subscribe to Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TaI1xJHpRgvTXT92Jfv4W?si=HTTsEiO3Tq6FdhBlWju9Uw Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Free 40-minute compliance operations masterclass: https://academy.rmcc.io/audit-workshop   Timestamps:  0:00 Intro  5:23 What was Prop 215?  7:38 Transitioning from Prop 64 to Prop 215 10:26 Unique challenges in Humboldt 12:00 Free the Plant 13:47 Cannabis Appellations  15:11 Consumer Education with Sungrown 16:20 Quality Will Survive  19:45 Consultant’s Responsibilities to Clients 20:25 California Distributor Problems  27:54 Changes Are Coming  29:00 Stopping Cannabis Taxes  35:32 Conflict of Local Govnorence   39:23 Farmers Turning in Their LIcenses  41:28 Humboldt Satellite Surveillance Program  43:30 Regulate Cannabis Tomatoes   47:00 Britt’s Wishes for the Industry
Apr 28, 2022
55 min
Launching Colorado's First Delivery License with Ari Cohen of Doobba
Happy 420! In this special episode, BriAnne has a conversation with Ari Cohen, a Cannabis Operations Executive & Entrepreneur, Co-Founder at doobba - Colorado’s 1st Social Equity Business & Cannabis Delivery Company.  Ari brings in-depth knowledge from his global executive experience in Cannabis, Restaurant, Bakery, Retail, and Airport industries. He has held leadership roles at BellRock Brands, Dixie Brands, Le Pain Quotidien, OTG Management, and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café and launched infused product manufacturing operations in Canada and 6 US states.  If you are dreaming of starting your own cannabis delivery business or seeking a social equity license in your state. You don't want to miss this episode.    Apply for RMCC's Social Equity Incubator Program: https://academy.rmcc.io/social-equity-incubator-by-rmcc   Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:32 Innovation as a Weapon  4:49 Launching Doobba  7:15 Nuances in Colorado Delivery Model  14:40 Licensing Fees 16:13 How to Qualify for Social Equity  23:45 Preparing for 420 & Partnerships  26:15 Future Expansion  28:07 Ari’s Hopes For The Cannabis Future  30:55 Applying Global Experience to Cannabis  34:20 Building Operational Standardization 37:42 Collaboration Over Competition  41:00 Fearful Decisions  47:00 Building Customer Loyal Brands
Apr 21, 2022
54 min
Security Risks & Solutions with Chris Eggers of CC Security Solutions
Chris Eggers, Founder & CEO of CC Security Solutions is an experienced former law enforcement officer with the Oakland and San Francisco Police Departments. He has a deep understanding of cannabis compliance, and law enforcement operations and capabilities. Mr. Eggers is an increasingly relied upon and trusted resource within the cannabis community and contact for various California and national media outlets on cannabis industry security matters.     Learn more about RMCC:  Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Free 40-minute compliance operations masterclass: https://academy.rmcc.io/certification Timestamps 0:00 Intro  4:31 Cop to Cannabis Security 7:08 Reputation is Currency 11:23 Trust a Cop?  14:59 Local Law Enforcement & Cannabis Knowledge 17:40 Cannabis is Not the Gateway Drug 21:41 Security Problems & Solutions 24:37 Is Insurance Your Blind Spot?  34:52 Legacy Risk vs Licensed Risk 38:44 Sergeant Says No to Cannabis Businesses    41:36 Surveillance Requirements  42:00 Transportation Security   50:00 When to Implement Proactive Measures 54:53 Chris’s Hope for the Industry
Apr 14, 2022
1 hr 2 min
Maine Operators Fighting Back in Policy Reform with Matt Bayliss of Garden of Gelle
Matt Bayliss is the Founder and CEO of Gele, a licensed adult-use brand, currently cultivating 800 square feet of canopy in the great state of Maine.  Matt has been an active participant and advocate of cannabis culture since 1992,  and has been cultivating in regulated markets for over ten years.  BriAnne and Matt unpack how unique the state of Maine is in their cannabis policy, the hurdles Matt has overcome in becoming a licensed operator, and what Matt hopes for the industry going forward.  Matt mentioned the advocacy group he is a part of, the Maine Cannabis Industry Association, learn more here: https://www.mainecannabisindustry.com/   Learn more about RMCC: Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBysW0XMCO5lUvgy1xk2RYw Free 40-minute compliance operations masterclass: https://academy.rmcc.io/certification   Timestamps:  0:00 Introduction to Matt 2:13 The Writing on The Wall 5:07 Caregiver vs Licensed 7:00 Scaling with Quality  9:43 Policy Work in Maine  14:50 Metrc is Not Synonymous with Quality  20:05 Strategies to Improve Policy Work  29:37 Matt’s 3 Wishes for The Industry  37:42 Is Interstate Commerce the Solution?  42:00 Matt’s Life Philosophy with the Plant  47:00 Closing Hopes for the Industry
Apr 5, 2022
52 min