The Cannabis Business Coach

In this episode of The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast, host Michael Zaytsev (Professor Z) talks with Ian Dominguez, Founder and CIO of Delta Emerald Ventures, about how data, policy, and consumer behavior are shaping the cannabis industry—especially the booming market for THC beverages. Ian shares insights from Delta Emerald’s proprietary research, including the striking fact that daily cannabis...

In this episode of The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast, host Michael Zaytsev (Professor Z) talks with Zach Kobrin, Partner at Saul Ewing LLP and the former General Counsel who steered Trulieve’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Harvest Health, the largest completed deal in U.S. cannabis history. Zack traces his journey from helping win one of Florida’s inaugural licenses to quarterbacking multi-state M...

In this episode of The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast, Michael Zaytsev (aka Professor Z) speaks with Sasha Nugent, Vice President of Retail for Housing Works Cannabis Co. (HWCC)—the first licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary to open in New York State. With over 20 years of retail experience and a decade-long tenure at Housing Works, Sasha shares the behind-the-scenes story of launching and scal...

In this episode, Michael Zaytsev (aka Professor Z) sits down with Peter Barsoom, CEO and Co-Founder of 1906, to talk about the next wave of cannabis consumption. From fast-acting edibles to THC beverage innovation, Peter shares how 1906 is meeting the demands of modern wellness culture, without the weed hangover. After a career leading strategy at American Express, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lync...

Michael Zaytsev, aka Professor Z, sits down with branding legend and bestselling author David Paleschuck to explore the evolution of cannabis marketing and what it really takes to build a brand that lasts. As the founder and CEO of Branding Bud Consulting Group, David has worked on some of the most iconic mainstream and cannabis brands. Now he’s helping elevate cannabis branding through his books,...

Michael Zaytsev, aka Professor Z, sits down with Penelope Nam-Stephen, CEO of The Travel Agency’s 5th Avenue and Soho dispensaries, to explore how luxury retail strategies are shaping the future of cannabis. With a background in high-end fashion, Penelope shares insights on normalizing the cannabis shopping experience, keeping the market economically healthy, and the industry's next big trends. To...

Michael Zaytsev, aka Professor Z of LIM College, sits down with Bethany Niebauer, Founder of Axial Resolutions, to explore the rising need for mediation in the cannabis industry. With nearly a decade of experience in cannabis law, compliance, and organizational dynamics, Bethany is pioneering alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to help businesses avoid costly litigation and navigate the industry'...

Professor Michael Zaytsev returns to The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, bringing a fresh and inspiring conversation with Chris Foltz. Chris Foltz, the Managing Director of Responsible.com and Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Founder Institute, shares his insights, passion, and unique journey across industries, including his impactful contributions to the can...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Erika Tingey, Head of Product at Backbone IQ, a Cannabis technology company offering Cannabis supply chain management, compliance, and financial management software solutions for Cannabis manufacturers and other Cannabis operators. In this episode, we discuss: going from a mainstream corporate career to a Cannabis career the import...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews visionary Cannabis business leader Andrew DeAngelo. As a co-founder and advisor to Harborside, Andrew has pioneered legal cannabis business processes and provided groundbreaking political engagement and thought leadership to the cannabis community. Andrew is co-founder and Chairperson of the Board for the non-profit Last Prisoner Project (LPP)...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews Marie Montmarquet, the co-founder of MD Numbers Inc, a 100% Black owned vertically integrated Cannabis company in California. Marie is a legacy cannabis operator who’s been passionate about the plant for over 13 years. Her cannabis business expertise and equity activism have put her in the national spotlight. On this episode we discuss the tra...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Andrew Lobo, CEO of Kin Slips. Kin Slips is a California based manufacturer of Cannabis sublingual strips. Founded in 2016, Kin Slips has always been a pioneer in the Cannabis sublingual space, and in 2021 again when they launched the first THCA and CBD sublingual strip. Sublingual slips are placed under the tongue, where they are...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews Jackie Kim and Charmaine Chua of STIIIZY, one of the most popular and fastest growing vaporizer brands in Cannabis. According to data from Headset, STIIIZY is the number 1 selling vaporizer brand in California and commands more than 20% of sales in the vape category. Jackie Kim, was one of STIIIZY's first employees and is now Director of Marke...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Dr. Maria Fernanda Arboleda an Anesthesiologist, Pain and Palliative Care Physician. Dr. Arboleda is an international Consultant and Medical Advisor as well as the Associate Research Director at Santé Cannabis. Likewise, she is a co-investigator on several research projects that are being developed in Canada and has extensive exper...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews Liz Wald, an Executive and the Board Director for Good Earth Organics, which produces organic soils, amendments, and nutrients for Cannabis and hemp farmers. Prior to Good Earth Organics, Liz helped drive international growth at AOL, Etsy, and Indiegogo. She put her crowdfunding experience to use with Good Earth Organics, helping the company r...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews Andrés Fajardo, Co-Founder and President of NASDAQ listed multi-national Cannabis company Clever Leaves. There, amongst many other achievements, Andrés led the development of Clever Leaves first 18 Hectares of GACP and EU-GMP certified cultivation and post-harvest facilities. Prior to Clever Leaves, Andres was a Founding Partner of Mojo Ventur...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Chris Walsh, CEO of Marijuana Business Daily, which includes MJBizDaily.com one of the best Cannabis industry news sites and the widely attended MJBizCon conferences. Chris shares his journey from journalist to Cannabis CEO, we celebrate Marijuana Business Daily's 10 year anniversary, and Chris shares a multitude of reasons why he'...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Vanessa Gabriel, CEO and Co-Founder of Drop Delivery, a high growth technology company that may become the Shopify of Cannabis delivery. Drop Delivery recently raised over a million dollars via equity crowdfunding in less than 2 months. They’re going to raise investment capital via crowdfunding again according to Vanessa, who succe...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Milan Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of PathogenDx, a biotechnology company that has reinvented DNA-based testing to identify pathogens more quickly and easily than ever before. Their diagnostic solutions are helping to detect and address viral, bacterial and fungal infection and contamination in the agriculture, food, Cannabis, and hea...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Rich Gonzalez, inventor of the Chill, a revolutionary smoking apparatus designed to replace the last generation of bongs. With nearly 30 years of experience in both the CPG and Home Goods verticals, Rich has a deep knowledge of the "concept-to-shelf" process, and hundreds of millions of people around the world own at least one item...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Justin Fischer, CEO and Founder of RiskScout, a tech company that helps compliance officers and financial institutions manage clients in high risk businesses, like Cannabis. On this episode we discuss the importance of understanding the customers you are serving, the future of Cannabis banking, the Cannabis landscape in Texas and m...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Kevin O'Brien, Vice President at Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker. Kevin is an intrapreneur of sorts, spearheading Marsh's Cannabis business. On this episode we discuss common misconceptions about Cannabis business insurance, the challenges of evaluating Cannabis business risk, why Kevin believes there will be...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Shellise Rogers. Sistah Rogers is a human rights activist at the intersection of cannabis, sustainability, and mental health. Her other ventures include: Mindful Toking, an educational experience with a conscious lens exploring psychedelics’ effect on emotional and intellectual mechanisms, encouraging a shift in mindset towards hol...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Robert Bernstein, CPA, ESQ, and a Partner at Grassi & Co. As part of Grassi's Cannabis Practice, Robert helps vertically integrated cannabis companies, multi-state operators, medical and adult use dispensaries, cannabis technology companies, cannabis landowners, industrial hemp growers, CBD companies and other professionals navigat...

The Cannabis Business Coach Michael Zaytsev interviews and coaches Justin Johnson, Founder of BudsFeed.com, a Cannabis discovery platform where Cannabis community members can seed and upvote their favorite products. We discuss the sacrifices required to become a Cannabis entrepreneur, the challenges of leaving an established career in a mainstream industry to get into Cannabis, the loneliness of e...