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What’s the biggest challenge facing the cannabis industry right now, and how are you and/or your company addressing it?
The biggest challenge right now is how companies are navigating intense price compression in key markets like Michigan and Massachusetts. Wholesale prices have fallen faster than most operators have been able to adapt their cost structures, which squeezes margins, stalls investment, and pushes too many teams into a survival mindset instead of a growth mindset.
At Sorting Robotics, we are addressing this by helping manufacturers rebuild their unit economics through automation. Our pre roll and infused pre roll systems are designed to reduce labor costs, tighten COGS, and produce consistent, high value SKUs that actually move off the shelf. When a team can make more infused pre rolls per shift with fewer operators and less waste, they create room in the margin to breathe again. That room is what funds better branding, better compliance, and better products.
Long term, the operators who will win in a compressed pricing environment are the ones who treat efficiency and consistency as strategic advantages, not afterthoughts. Our role is to give them the tools to do that at scale so they can survive price compression today and be positioned to thrive when the market inevitably matures.
Where do you see the most exciting opportunity for growth and innovation in cannabis?
I see the most exciting opportunity in cannabis at the intersection of lifestyle, format, and function. Consumers are starting to demand products that fit very specific niches within their daily routines; not just “get me high,” but “help me unwind after work,” “replace a glass of wine,” or “stay social without a hangover.” There’s already a certain tribalism in the category around product mix, and I think that’s only going to deepen as brands design for distinct identities and occasions.
Beverages are a great example. There is still a lot of runway for product development and market growth, especially in low-dose ready-to-drink (RTD) formats. We’ve seen hemp-based beverages explore this space in a broader way, and I expect regulated THC markets to follow. Low-dose RTDs are approachable for customers who are new to cannabis, familiar in format, and easy to integrate into social settings where alcohol has traditionally dominated.
In the pre-roll category, infused products will continue to grow at strong double-digit rates for the foreseeable future. The innovative brands won’t just make “stronger” joints; they’ll create clearly differentiated SKUs with predictable effects, premium inputs, and storytelling that reflects specific consumer tribes and use cases. At Sorting Robotics, that’s exactly where we’re focused – giving manufacturers the automation tools to reliably produce high-quality infused pre-rolls at scale, so they can experiment with new formats and formulations without sacrificing margin or consistency.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to break into the cannabis industry?
The cannabis industry is a paradox – it’s a beautiful community, but it’s also immensely complex. My biggest piece of advice is to start with relationships, not résumés. Breaking in begins at the ground level: talk to your budtenders, ask when brand reps are in the store, show up to events, and make yourself a familiar face. This is still a handshake and reputation-driven business.
You also have to be prepared to outwork most people. There’s an unflinching drive required to succeed in cannabis as regulations change, markets swing, and nothing is as straightforward as it looks from the outside. If you can prove that you’re reliable, hungry, and willing to do the unglamorous work consistently, people notice. Once you’ve shown you’re not just here to “ride the wave” but to actually build, that’s when you lock in, find your lane, and really start to cook.
What is the most important thing you have learned from your experiences in the cannabis industry?
I’ve learned that in cannabis, resilience and discipline matter more than hype.
This industry will humble you. Regulations change overnight, wholesale prices collapse, capital dries up, and the narrative swings from “green rush” to “doom loop” in a matter of months. What that taught me is that you cannot build a real cannabis business on vibes and momentum. You have to understand your unit economics, know exactly how you create value, and be willing to adapt your model faster than the market is shifting under your feet.
At the same time, everything still comes down to people. The most durable advantage I’ve seen is earned trust between operators, brands, retailers, and consumers. When things get hard, the companies that survive are the ones that listen to their customers, support their partners, and show up consistently, even when it is not convenient. That mix of financial discipline and human connection is the single most important lesson I have taken from my time in cannabis, and it guides how I operate every day.
What do you want your legacy to be as it relates to the cannabis industry?
I want my legacy in cannabis to start with an honest admission of privilege: I get to build in the light because others risked everything in the dark. I stand on the shoulders of legacy operators, patients, and communities who carried this plant when it meant handcuffs, not cap tables, while people are still in prison for the same thing we now model in Excel. If my time in this industry means anything, it should be that I helped build disciplined, scalable businesses that protect jobs and margins, create resources and ownership for impacted communities, and use innovative manufacturing and automation to bring cannabis fully into the era of Industry 4.0.