Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Ihad the idea for Kore Organic™ well before we had a product or business plan. However, I was walking down River Street, a popular tourist location in Savannah, Georgia and saw a guy set up in a tent on the street. He was selling vacation rentals. I watched him as he interacted with hundreds of people. After watching him for several minutes, I quickly recognized that he had talent and the courage to approach people and sell.
I told him, “If you can sell vacation rentals, then you can sell CBD.”
He asked if I had a sample since he wasn’t familiar with the product (this was over two years ago when CBD was still brand new) and I replied, “No, this is just an idea.”
He said, ‘Okay, when do I start?’
Brett started the very next day and was Kore Organic™’s first team member. Today he is our Vice President of Sales.
He didn’t come from Indeed. He didn’t come from Linkedin.
It’s not about the product that you’re selling, it’s about the people behind the product.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We attended a lot of trade shows in Las Vegas. We pride ourselves on our elaborate booth set up, however, the logistics from getting our booth from Florida to Las Vegas proved to have some logistical issues. Due to these adversities, my team and I decided to cancel our flights, load our booth materials into a truck and drove 44 hours from Florida to Las Vegas.
While we were on the last leg of our trip, I offered to take the final driving shift. At about 5 a.m., my team woke up and asked where we were. I turned on my GPS and it read California! Clearly, I missed an exit along the way. I joked by saying, “Since you’ve never been to California, I thought I would show you the state.”
We stopped by the “Welcome to California” sign, took pictures and headed the right way to Las Vegas. After our four-hour detour, I learned to keep our trade show booth in Las Vegas, never turn off your GPS and never assume you know where you are going.
Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Being part of a rapidly growing industry means you must stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation. Just a few weeks prior to COVID-19 affecting our country, we launched a new topical line of CBD products. However, we suddenly stopped production to produce hand sanitizer. Although we knew very little about the formulation, we had some of the ingredients and started to develop the packaging. We just knew there was a larger purpose to serve.
With a shortage of distilled alcohol (the active ingredient in hand sanitizer), I drove nearly 500 miles and paid three and a half times the normal rate to start production. While we did not make any profit from making hand sanitizer in the beginning, this unexpected product has led to the launch of our “Clean” series. Our Clean series features organic Ethyl alcohol, essential oils and vitamin E. It’s a sanitizer that actually makes your hands feel clean and not sticky. It also does not reek of alcohol like most.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
When starting Kore Organic™, we had the vision, but we didn’t know how to do it. Several of the big players in CBD space worked with a white-label manufacturer in North Carolina, so we decided to drive to their facility. When we were touring the building, we noticed some red flags with their production standards. We saw that there weren’t any safety measures in place to keep the products from becoming contaminated and no quality control.
We felt stuck when it came to production. We wanted to create a company that remained true to its core from start to end, hence the name Kore. That very same day our graphic designer introduced us to a man named Troy. Like ourselves, Troy wanted to start a CBD company. He had the knowledge on how to create the products but did not understand how to build a brand and distribute products. It was the perfect match. We hired Troy before we even had a facility. Within two weeks, he built out our office space, created the lab and had us ready to begin formulating products. What I admire most about our formulator is that he had the “can do” spirit that was needed for a startup.
With over 199 SKUS in the Kore Organic™ product line, Troy has personally formulated and tested each product. He’s never asked us how to do it” he just says, “Give me a couple of days.” Troy is a genius, a Renaissance man and now a partner in the company.
This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?
Imagine selling a product that you can’t advertise online. Marketing in the CBD industry is challenging as most social media channels won’t allow its promotion. With hundreds of CBD brands out there with much deeper pockets than ours, we’ve taken a more grassroots approach and focused more on customer service.
We’ve created partnerships with businesses that you wouldn’t normally think of when it comes to CBD. One of our top retail locations is a local bakery that makes CBD cookies and sells our gummies (Granted this bakery also makes the best CBD chocolate chip cookie on earth!). We’ve also partnered with local natural grocery stores, pet shops and bars and restaurants. You can even buy slices of pizza infused with our CBD!
These alliances have helped us introduce the Kore Organic™ brand to their customers, share the story behind our products and create a more loyal clientele.
Shoppers today want to feel valued and feel good about supporting a business. Our small customer service team takes the time to chat with our clients to understand their needs. We know if we take the time to explain the benefits of CBD and educate our clients, we will have lifelong customers.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?
- Its medicinal properties. Cannabis is making a huge difference in the lives of people who depend on it for health reasons and it can really help pivot in the medical industry. There’s no better feeling than reading reviews and hearing positive feedback about a product you’ve created.
- The CBD industry is a new and growing sector. There’s a lot of room for growth and for companies to carve their own path.
- It’s feels amazing being a part of an industry that has attracted high-level corporate executives, managing partners, VCs, celebrities and even politicians. It’s a diverse ecosystem of high achievers that make this industry challenging yet thrilling. I’m always interested to see what tomorrow brings to the cannabis sector.
3 Things That Most Concern You?
- My biggest concern about CBD is that it’s non-regulated. There are very few rules and regulations. We see products online and in stores everyday selling at a fraction of its true cost. Those businesses are misrepresenting the amount CBD in the product and the quality. (CBD from China is much less expensive and may not pass lab tests for purity). I estimate about 75% of CBD companies in the marketplace do not abide by the ethical code of conduct and are damaging the industry by taking away a lot of money from companies that create a premium product.
- The CBD industry is legal, yet very few banks or merchant processors will work with you. It’s not uncommon for banks to place a hold on your money for up to seven days or limit the amount that they can process, which can tie up capital. Also, most CBD businesses who legally employ Americans all over the U.S., may not have qualified for the recent stimulus package.
- Being the owner of a cannabis business has its public stigma attached to it. With all eyes on the CBD industry, I am proud of the business that we’ve created and our accomplishments should be seen as equal to those of any other business owner.
Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.
- Owning a CBD business doesn’t mean you’re instantly successful. In four years, the CBD sector is projected to be a $20 billion industry, but you can’t just show up and expect to make millions. There are never-ending challenges that will set you back and large expenses including the thousands of dollars we spend a month on third-party lab testing and quality control.
- Though CBD is legal, we’ve faced many challenges. Some challenges include opening a bank account to obtain credit card processing permission and running ads on social media. At the very beginning, we could not accept online orders on our website for almost three months until we were able to find a bank that would be willing to process our credit card transactions. Even then, we were limited to how much we were able to process.
- The lack of government regulations allows for sub-par companies who don’t use third-party testing to create “imposter” products that can hurt the reputation of the industry. It also takes away sales from businesses who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into running a reputable company.
- While hemp is federally approved through the Farm Bill Act of 2018, some states still do not allow the sale of CBD in their jurisdiction or limiting sales.
- Mainstream distribution is unavailable to the CBD industry. CBD products are not allowed to be sold on Amazon and only a handful of national chains carry CBD. Even if they do, it’s often just topicals, which is a small sector of the industry. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have stringent rules for advertising CBD. With such stringent rules, CBD companies have to be creative when it comes to finding new customers.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Team members are the backbone of any business. Yes, my partners and I had the idea for Kore Organic™, but if it weren’t for our sales and marketing team, our lab workers and our fulfillment team we wouldn’t be able to ship out orders.
Being approachable and personable are two major keys to success. It’s important to spend time with every team member no matter what position they are in. Taking five minutes out of your day goes a long way. You learn about their families, their hobbies and what motivates them in life. Sending a meal to a team member who is homesick or bringing a gift for their child, shows genuine concern about their well-being and we believe that our team deeply appreciates working for someone who appreciates them. When these relationships are neglected, companies start to see their team’s performance and motivation decline. We believe in our team and growing together. Success is fueled by the people, not the product.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Giving.
Fresh out of college, I hopped on a Greyhound bus to America from Canada with no money and an Idea. Even though I’ve been blessed with no hard days, I attest that to my mindset of giving.
If I have it, I will give it. I give from my heart and I don’t expect a return. Small gestures make a difference. It doesn’t have to be monetary or material donations. Just time and attention.
In my eyes, those who work for me are not employees; they are my team members and an extension of my larger family. It’s not uncommon for most of my team to be at my home for Thanksgiving.
I give my thanks to them. Because of them, I am here. Because of them, Kore Organic™ is here.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
I enjoy connecting with other like-minded entrepreneurs and interesting people. Connect with me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameer-jessani/) or @koreorganic.
