Seven years ago, I found myself sitting across the table from Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg. Yes, that Seth Rogen.

At the time, I was helping launch a platform that allowed brands to communicate with budtenders, a novel and impactful technology that was supposed to drive sell through and mindshare. I helped take that company public on the Toronto Venture Exchange. It felt big.

Important. I walked out of that meeting thinking I had done alright.

Seven years later, I know exactly how badly I messed it up.

Moments like that are grounding. Not embarrassing. Clarifying.

They remind me how much this industry has stretched me. How much smarter it has forced me to become. And why, despite the stigma, regulation, and chaos, I am deeply grateful I chose to build the latter half of my career in global cannabis.

With rescheduling back in the headlines. It’s not legalization but it’s still a massive move towards the future global cannabis industry especially around taxes & medical research), government pressure is increasing across hemp and cannabis alike. Here are three reflections on what this industry has taught me and how genuinely lucky I feel to have played a part in it since its inception.

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Cannabis touches almost every industry at once.

CPG. Retail. Science. Fintech. Government policy. Technology. Supply chain. Compliance.

Because of that, it becomes impossible to operate in this space without developing true, transferable business understanding.

Today, I can look at almost any company in any industry and quickly decipher:

That perspective did not come from theory. It came from doing.

It came from taking organizations like Lift & Co public on the Venture Exchange as a young Head of Sales, throwing large scale Galas, Fairs, Mixers & Golf Invitational events at KIND Magazine as Managing Director, helping raise and deploy $600 Million at Dutchie & most recently being the Vice President of Growth at Blaze. It came from Co-Founding CannAcquire (over 31 successful transactions) & The Cannabis Collective in New York (some of the biggest leaders in NY Cannabis are members such as Ayrloom & Jaunty). It came from selling into operators who had six months of inventory, limited capital, and no room for mistakes.

Over the years, I’ve found myself translating the skills & business acumen across industries.

A great example of this in action is when my dad opened a pet store, I found myself challenging him to think through his P&L, forcing him to defend his grooming model, evaluate his technology stack, and question why certain systems were not performing the way they should.

Cannabis gave me the reps to do that confidently.

Polaris Perspective: I thought I had business acumen coming out of Salesforce selling technology to orgs that had 1-500 employees. Little did I know, I actually didn’t know much about how organizations need to move, operate and consistently deliver. I got really good at one thing but it was not until cannabis when I started to really understand CPG, Retail, Fintech & Organizational Behavior (The subject I happened to major in during university).

Working in cannabis has been like getting my MBA.

Is your current role/industry feeding you the same level of consistent challenge & learning? If not, let’s talk.

Cannabis does not give you the luxury of moving slowly.

Inventory ages quickly. Capital & debt are extremely expensive (hello 12%). Regulations shift constantly. Margins are thin.

Because of that, innovation is not optional. It is survival.

I noticed this recently while helping my dad think through inventory expiration tracking in his pet store. The technology he was using could not scan batches or properly track expiration dates. Absolutely mind blowing.

In cannabis, that would be unacceptable. It is table stakes. When inventory can expire and when working capital is scarce, systems must work and they must work for you. They must understand the problem better than the person using that system.

Take Inventory velocity for instance. It is the speed at which a company sells and replenishes its stock, a vital concept in most retail businesses. If you aren’t moving that inventory, you have a stagnant asset (working capital) that will continue to depreciate. We see this all the time at Cannacquire when helping retailers sell their business. Looking at the pet industry and its current tools makes this analysis a lot more difficult because of the lack of sophistication (perhaps time for some disruption)?!

This is why some of the best retail technology and operational tooling exists in cannabis. The industry moves so fast that it forces vendors to build better solutions or disappear. In some ways it’s ruthless, in others, it’s absolutely necessary. A lot of cannabis specific tech companies have been able to scale into other verticals because of their ability to build solutions that are valuable.

Resilience here is not just about enduring pain. It is about learning to respond quickly, intelligently, and without ego.

Polaris Perspective: We live in a hyper fast paced world where information is coming at you constantly from so many different angles & channels. Your ability to move quickly, ship products rapidly & make decisions at an accelerated pace is a non-negotiable. It is better to get to market at 70% capacity than wait until the perfect moment.

Your competitors are at your heels. Speed is your best friend.

Cannabis is one of the most polarizing substances on earth.

It has been consumed across cultures since the beginning of time (India, China, Morocco). It has been legalized and criminalized for reasons that often have little to do with science & everything to do with the 1960s/70s war on drugs in the USA.

Cannabis has taken me around the world and into conversations with people from radically different backgrounds. I have been fortunate enough to teach a class in Mexico City, speak on a panel in Iceland, attend an event at The United Nations HQ, and host the Business of Cannabis Podcast in London. In the 40+ countries I’ve been fortunate enough to visit, I have consumed cannabis via the underground market (that includes Vietnam, Pakistan, Dubai & Kenya).

It has taught me how people think. How they make decisions. How culture shapes regulation and how global “shadow” markets form. It has taught me about global medicines & helped me learn about the people beyond the people. I’ll never forget the moment I finally smoked a joint with the Italian Beach Soccer team after we beat them on the sands of the Adriatic Sea. The way Italians pronounce THC is actually “T-atch-a-KC” (CBD is legal in minimal amounts in Italy, but definitely not THC… yet).

Using this plant as a vehicle of global awareness brings unlikely stakeholders to the same table. Governments. Scientists. Operators. Investors. Activists.

Watching how new industries form across borders has been one of the most important educations of my career. An education you cannot get in a textbook or an LLM.

Polaris Perspective: Whether you’re in AI, Fintech, CPG, or SaaS, you are constantly selling too, or building teams with, a diverse set of human beings from different backgrounds, cultures and languages. Your ability to meet them where they are is critical in ensuring success. Learning their experiences, what makes them tick & the cultural nuances is pivotal.

Whatever you are doing as a leader, ensure travel and the study of anthropology is part of your palette.

Trust me, you will thank me later.

Rescheduling is a big deal.

For operators, it means the potential removal of 280E. A rule created decades ago that prevents cannabis businesses from deducting normal operating expenses.

Imagine running a business where you cannot deduct payroll, rent, or marketing. That is effectively what plant touching operators face today.

Removing 280E puts real money back into operators’ pockets. Roughly ten percent of the bottom line.

Rescheduling also opens the door for institutional capital to enter research and medicinal development. That capital has been waiting on the sidelines for a long time.

This is not a silver bullet. But it is meaningful progress.

I am officially an Impact Kitchen Advocate. Huge thanks to Impact Kitchen for the support and alignment. If anyone is curious about broth subscriptions, farm to table bowls/salads, or Impact Protein, give me a shout.

New York continues to be an epicenter for cannabis conversations. I recently moderated and planned The Business of Cannabis event with Prohibition Partners. Matt Freemantle was the brains of the operation and is a true event wizard. What I loved most about this event is that we tried a fresh perspective: early morning, facilitator led round tables.

It helped drive energy, excitement and discussion first thing which set the tone for the rest of the event. 250 of NY’s finest in one room.

As we close out the year, I want to say thank you.

This community has sparked real conversations, real connections, and real learning. That is the entire point of Polaris Perspective.

I appreciate you reading, sharing, and engaging. The year of the Fire Horse is upon us, thus, a lot more HEAT to come.

Happy holidays. More to come in the new year.

SKV