A Farewell to TSUMo Snacks

Quick update: Thank you all so much for the kind words and support - it really means so much to me. If you know me at all, you will know that I am all about transparency, honesty and authenticity. However, I've been threatened with legal action by two different parties over my original post. And it’s easy to threaten those who have fewer monetary resources and power - it’s not like I have an in-house lawyer on staff. Below you’ll find an edited version to my original post.?Thanks all!

At the end of August, I said goodbye to TSUMo Snacks, the company that I helped build and run for the last two and a half years.? ?

If you’ve been following my posts or have been paying any attention to the regulated cannabis industry in California, you’ll know that the last 18 months in the industry has been an extraordinarily difficult period. The bottom line is this - it's challenging to find additional funding in this economic environment - not just in cannabis, but in almost any industry.?

I have been in cannabis long enough to have worked in both the unregulated and regulated market. And if we were still operating as we did in the pre-legalization days, then yes, funding was not necessary to build a business. There was no need for compliance, taxes, testing, distributors, and all the other onerous and exceedingly costly things we now have to do to operate in the legal market. But those days are long gone.?? Feel free to check out a clip when I spoke about this at Benzinga.??

I'm often asked: “What do you plan to do next? Will you stay in cannabis?” And right now my answer is, I’m not 100% sure. First, it’s nice to have some time off. Working in cannabis is not easy, and after more than 7 years, I’m enjoying some time to take better care of my health, rest, work in my garden, connect with friends, clean my house, eat better, and the myriad other things we neglect while working full time.?

To the question of will I stay in cannabis, the answer is this: My answer is not, no, but the regulated cannabis market in California is very difficult right now, and it needs to be fixed, which is not something that’s going to happen quickly.? Businesses are going to continue to shut down, and tax revenues will have to continue to decrease before regulators take us seriously. What I truly want to do is work in a growth market, and to me, that is Delta 9 hemp. I have spent the last several months researching and evaluating the D9 hemp market, which is a federally legal market. And based on the work that I’ve done there, I can without a doubt say that this is where the growth is happening. So right now, my dream job is to help cannabis companies with a strong brand pivot into this market. (reach out to me at [email protected] for more info).

I’ll finish by saying this, I am so so proud what I was able to achieve in the past together with an amazing team.? I helped create a new line of truly differentiated products that resonated with consumers and that people loved.? We actually grew the category - doubling it in size in a year. We had our products placed in most of the top retailers in the state. We won awards and even garnered international press. That’s truly impressive for a small, scrappy team. So thank you to my team, and all the buyers, budtenders, consumers, suppliers, vendors, partners, family and friends, who supported us. It’s been an amazing and unforgettable trip that I will always be proud of.?