To Be Blunt

“Here's the thing, though. If you're the kind of person who really masters things quick, and you like that challenge, then this [cannabis] space is perfect. If you really like repetitiveness, and you don't like change, then you really don't want to enter the cannabis space at all, period. Because it will change. It perpetually changes.” -  Skip Motsenbocker In this episode, Sha...

“We've seen brands who, you know, maybe they have great products, but they have really inauthentic marketing, and that hurts them. And I think that authenticity, the understanding of your core values, your mission statement, your North Star, the why you do what you do, people want to support that.” - Lisa Buffo In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Lisa Buffo of Cannabis Marketing Associati...

“I don't want people to think getting in [the cannabis industry] now is a bad idea whatsoever. I think the industry right now is still really looking for a lot of smart people, people that are interested in the kind of like cannabis movement and its progression to maybe full legalization.” - Nate Lipton In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Nate Lipton of GrowersHouse as he pushes the canna...

“When we build brands that are secure and positioned securely and have meaning, they have a lot of opportunities to go into new places… We've got to show up in certain ways and participate in certain ways.” -  Elizabeth Hogan Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Elizabeth Hogan of Willies Reserve as she shares her experience of working with the lege...

“There's no secret sauce. I looked at the cannabis market, I saw the work ethic of the people involved… The hardest worker in every company is the person who owns the company. Once you get to a certain size, especially in the Oklahoma market, the ability to scale is really as fast and easy.” -  Walter Boyd Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Walter...

“As you think through product development, it needs to be well thought through with the intent of how does this help the retailer, and how do we get bud tenders to support it, and not necessarily focus on the consumer, because I'll say this, further, you don't need to focus on the consumer. Because if you're passionate about this industry, you yourself are a consumer. And thus you s...

“A brand has always been so much more than a logo… It's really about, how are you connecting your values and your vision as a brand and a company with your consumer’s values? How do you mirror them? Or how are you finding the right core audience? And then how are you making them feel about your brand, ultimately? And that comes through all the different touchpoints in a brand experience.” - A...

“I think the biggest equity opportunity for a brand is for somebody to come in and build a national brand, a powerful brand in cannabis. And I think folks that have learned how to operate in this way through partnerships and asset-lite model and understand the opportunity of licensing in other states… I think they've done a phenomenal job.” - Jesus Burrola    Welcome back to the To Be Blunt p...

“Using cannabis from a health and wellness perspective, that can cure and help ailments that are otherwise being treated with other drugs that may or may not be good for you. And so from much perspective, I think that's the way I approach it, right or wrong, it's being branded as the health and wellness drug of our generation.” -  Scott Grossman Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! I...

“At the end of the day, cannabis businesses are just like any other businesses, right? They need all of the services and support that anyone needs. And obviously, our lane is in helping with consumption.” - Shanel Lindsay Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Shanel Lindsay, founder and president of Ardent Life, Inc., to discuss the bright future of canna...

“The best brands are the ones who constantly look at how can they provide value to an individual, whether that's value to a partner, and sometimes that's impossible, right? But your value to a customer is always viable…Value doesn't have to be some gigantic experience.” - Chris Lane Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Chris Lane, Chief Ma...

“I don't think that these [cannabis events] types of events and venues should be considered a free for all just because it's cannabis. It should be taken seriously… Guest interactions with the staff should be looked at as the same level as the bartenders’ responsibility.” - Jenn Tramaglino Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Jenn Tramaglino, f...

“You have people in our scene now who are motivated not primarily by love of cannabis, but primarily by love of money. And that creates a real conflict, right? Because I think that one of the lessons that cannabis teaches us is to value love over money.” - Steve DeAngelo Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Steve DeAngelo, to discuss cannabis through the...

“So in my experience, the best way to do that (staying up-to-date) is to just dive headfirst in, read everything you can and figure out what information is relevant through just trial and error.” -  Bryan Fields Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Bryan Fields and Kellan Finney of 8th Revolution, as they share the inner workings in consolidating the mon...

In the beginning of December 2021 my personal instagram account @theshaydatorabi was deactivated from instagram. This was my first time going through a deactivation on a social media platform and to be honest, came abruptly without prior immediate flagging or warning. As a cannabis marketing professional I’ve heard and been warned about the potential inevitability of being censored, shadow banned,...

“And it's very difficult for brands to be successful here if they're not able to adapt very quickly to how things change here… But this has also allowed for a very quick, innovative period here...because you can't always compete on price, you have to also be a better product and be a cooler product, and fit more with the culture.” - Arshad Lasi Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcas...

“Decriminalizing, legalizing, creating a space for patients, creating a space then for recreational consumers...The stepping stones were part of a strategy to try not to bite off more than the state and voter populace could chew.” -  Chris Chiari Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Chris Chiari, Founder/CEO at The 420 Hotels Inc, to share his insights o...

“That's [social media] where you grow your communities. And that's where you showcase your brand and kind of give people behind the scenes of what your products are and who you are so that they can have a better trusting relationship with you.” -  Ariana Newton Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes WeedTube Executive Ariana Newton to dive into s...

“Over the lifetime of a consumer within cannabis, it's a complex journey where there's a lot of experimentation. And we really wanted to create an ecosystem where they felt safe, where they felt educated.” - Dennis O'Malley Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Dennis O'Malley of The Parent Company, as he shares the principle behind ef...

“It [noise on social media] is irrelevant. You have to build relationships with your lawmakers...if we're not going to help educate them, who will?... Everyone's got an idea, but who's really coming down to executing it?” - Tina Ulman Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Tina Ulman, Co-Founder and President of Chamber of Cannabis, as she s...

Welcome to a brand new segment on the To Be Blunt podcast! The T(hc) Break is here to accomplish two things: 1. Encourage more transparency in the cannabis industry as it relates to HOT TOPICS and 2. Spill some piping hot T(HC) and talk about controversial issues so we can better work towards a solution together , as an industry. I have and always will be here to speak as bluntly as possible, and...

“To just know that there are all these ways that we can help, you know, change and highlight ways that people can bring more joy into their life is really exciting.” - Karli Warner Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Karli Warner of Garden Society, to talk about how she built a standout brand while keeping the dignity of advocacy with the use of creativ...

“Cannabis is providing the opportunity for tech companies, for operators, and for everybody to stand up and say that, you know what, this is an opportunity to do things a little bit differently. We do not have to follow the way other industries have gone... We're gonna do it our way.” -  Peter Huson Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Peter Huson,...

“You have companies talking about social equity and needing to create restorative justice, things like that, the real question is, how many of them are actually going to put it into action afterwards?” - Andrew Ward Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Andrew Ward, cannabis author, writer, and freelancer, to talk about the different aspects of recognizin...

“I truly believe that in the end, by giving people access to this plant, we have the ability to help a tremendous amount of people. End of story. Simple as that.” -  Steven George Welcome back to the To Be Blunt podcast! In this episode, Shayda Torabi welcomes Steven George, advisor and founder of Kaya Advisors, to talk about the dichotomy between the aspects of the cannabis industry in Europe and...