Aria Biswas

A smiling white woman with long, flowing blonde hair wearing a sleeveless gray top.

Meadowlands cannabis supply chain discussion Jerred Kiloh 

Meadowlands 2018 State of the Cannabis Supply Chain Panel

Hezekiah Allen, Executive Director of the California Grower's Association and President of Emerald Grown, representing Growers
Amber Senter, CEO & Founder of Leisure Life and California Rolls, representing Manufacturers
Chris Collum, President & CEO of Pacific Expediters Distributors, representing Distributors
Alec Dixon, Cofounder & Director of Client Relations of SC Labs, representing Lab Testers
Jerred Kiloh, Owner of the Higher Path and President of the United Cannabis Business Association, representing Retailers

Meadowlands 2018 State of the Cannabis Supply Chain

Read more about what these operators see as the biggest hurdles for the supply chain to overcome

Meadowlands 2018: California's Cannabis Supply Chain Panel

Isa Perez (Head of Business Development at Meadow) moderates the Update from Local Regulators Panel with Joe Devlin (Sacramento Cannabis Policy and Enforcement), Cat Packer (Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation), and Nicole Elliot (San Francisco Office of Cannabis). Photo Credit: Kandid Kush.

Meadowlands cannabis event local regulators panel Cat Packer Nicole Elliott

Meadowlands California cannabis regulator panel 2018

Watch the video or read the recording of the transcript to learn more about what's happening with California cannabis regulations from the regulators themselves

Meadowlands 2018: Update from Local Regulators with the Cannabis Czars of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento

Hall of Flowers cannabis retail sales powered by Meadow software

Hall of Flowers is changing the game for cannabis trade shows. One of the stand out experiences of the 2019 show was the ability to buy samples directly from large arena booths like Kiva, Flow Kana and Cookies to forego the long lines at the show's central dispensary.

We were very excited to power these sales through Meadow’s cannabis POS system, so we documented the 2-day show in a highlight reel featuring our partners. Check out the video to relive the show—or to see what you missed!

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514141707"></video-player>
<figcaption>Highlights from the Fall 2019 Hall of Flowers show in Santa Rosa, California, where Meadow powered an upgraded point of sale experience, allowing dispensaries and brands to sell samples directly from their booths. </figcaption>
</figure>

A big shout out to our incredible parters: [Vapor Room](https://getmeadow.com/case-studies/vapor-room "Vapor Room cannabis dispensary"), [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), Kiva, Canndescent, Good Brands, Sherbinskis, Nabis, Ember Valley, Genius, Pluto, Calyx Peak, Dixie Elixirs, The Botanist, Packwoods, dosist, Flow Kana (Willie's Reserve, Foria, Brother Davids, Binske, Kikoko, Eel River Organics), Cookies, TriState Distribution, Continuum, Bloom Farms, Saucey Farms and Cresco.

<figure>
![Matt Barnes, David Hua, Mario Guzman, the Sherbinskis crew at Meadowlands](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6DUiCd0GY3H66Hi6aD8Bro/172f99d048229044245b46d1a2b691cc/190926_HoF__052.jpg)
<figcaption>Former Laker turned canna-entrepreneur Matt Barnes, Mario Guzman aka Mr. Sherbinski, with Meadow CEO David Hua and friends.</figcaption>
</figure>

We'll continue to bring these elevated experiences to licensed events across California and set a new standard of excellence and trusted service for cannabis retailers and brands.

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
<a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Cannabis retail software at the Meadow booth](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6kKSB5H2MKm0X8upaXslVd/9e7b44971d29c7d47ac386c6fefb85de/Meadow-s_cannabis_retail_software_on_the_Elo_hardware_system.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

<figure>
![Cannabis retail software for licensed cannabis events in California](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2tHcAaadblwbma59tHVVe8/6120b357ee60fa76542672e50e92dfcd/1.png)
<figcaption>Isa from the Meadow team helps a Hall of Flowers event partner get their POS system ready to roll before the show begins.</figcaption>
</figure>


Hall of Flowers cannabis trade show cannabis retail arena booth sales powered by Meadow software

Watch the video to go inside this unique California cannabis trade show

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

Vincent Ning CEO and Founder Nabis,  a California cannabis distribution company

Vincent Ning CEO and Founder Nabis Distribution California cannabis

Vince Ning is the Founder and CEO of cannabis distribution company, [Nabis](https://www.nabis.com/ "Nabis website"), and a Board Member of the Cannabis Distribution Association. In this Q&A, Vince shares about his leadership philosophy of building a cannabis company and team, and where he hopes to see the industry go in the future. 

__What brought you to the cannabis industry?__

With my background as a technologist, I often think about what new markets would benefit from new, improved technology. Cannabis was a personal passion of mine growing up that I shared with my childhood best friend and co-founder, Jun S. Lee. We always wanted to start a business together, and seeing the rapidly growing cannabis industry, we noticed the need for technology to help scale the industry. With our Tech and Entrepreneurial backgrounds, founding Nabis was the perfect opportunity for us to get into cannabis, technology, and a new market all while working together.

__How has cannabis served you?__

Cannabis has served me in so many ways. First, as a user of the product, I've developed lifelong friendships in social settings. And second, in my work as a cannabis entrepreneur, I've been fortunate enough to have this industry lift the sails of our business as legalization continues to unfold.

__In what ways have you served the cannabis plant?__

I've built a business in the past few years, where our mission is to empower the world to discover cannabis by providing choice, access, and innovation. We work hard each and every day to get the best quality cannabis products into consumers' hands at scale. Nabis now distributes over $350M worth of cannabis products by retail value, and we've built a platform that enables continuous product development and innovation.

![Nabis distribution](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6VRR1GwupLpuZsM4NyOn9e/f78ce79c9f79a3b45193d0b69ece9472/Nabis_distribution.png)

__What is the reason your company or organization exists? Please brag about what you do:__

Nabis exists because brands need to scalably ship products from their licensed manufacturing and cultivation sites to retail dispensaries and delivery businesses. Nabis distributes over a quarter billion dollars worth of cannabis products per year. We currently work with 85 brands and ship their products out to nearly 100% of retailers across the state of California. Beyond just distribution, we offer a full-suite platform of services that helps a brand not only launch, but also scale. We help them with logistics, but as the brand grows, we provide them financial services, sales and marketing services, and analytics tools to help them scale even faster.

__What is your philosophy about building companies, teams and partnerships in this new industry?__

Nabis’ philosophy about building companies, teams, and partnerships, is to focus on providing the absolute best customer experience. We obsess over the customer and work backwards from what they need to determine what we build next.

__What do you hope the California cannabis industry looks like in 5 years? 10 years? 20?__

I hope that the California cannabis industry can exhibit two main characteristics:
1. Be an open and free market where brands that have the best product and consumer satisfaction wins.
2. Be regulated to ensure consumer safety with low enough taxes to combat the illicit market.

__What advice do you have to new or aspiring companies who are just starting out in California cannabis?__

The best advice I can give to an aspiring company just starting out in California cannabis is to have an open mind and be prepared to learn quickly. Cannabis is entirely a newly legalized market, which means there are no predefined notions or conventions. 

<callout>"The companies that succeed are led by operators who can bring their experience from other industries, and adapt them to the nuances of the cannabis industry and culture."</callout>

__What can the cannabis industry learn from other industries?__ 

Other industries are much better at planning and making more data-driven decisions. The cannabis industry is maturing and certainly getting there, but there is still a lack of enough data transparency to even make objective decisions to that degree. We’ll get there though!

__What is the highest vision for your cannabis business? What do you hope to achieve and contribute?__

Nabis will be the largest cannabis distribution company in the world. We hope to be able to help any entrepreneur be able to create a product from idea to implementation with very low friction, which will translate into providing the most choice and access to retailers. In doing so, this creates a more democratic market of products that will ultimately benefit the consumer.

![Nabis cannabis distribution](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/5p8uQg6K3rPoKoZplpJnk3/455ab3e9374901d3b6d7232fe72a4f01/Nabis_cannabis_distribution.png)

__How do you think about building businesses in a way that is both equitable and profitable?__

Nabis gives a 20% discount on all distribution rates for equity-owned and female-owned brands. Without a distributor in the industry who can offer that, these players will never have a chance of getting to market statewide and stay competitive.

__What do you look for when adding team members?__

When we add team members, we are looking for talented individuals who are really excited about building an entirely new supply chain and technology from scratch, be willing to learn, and be open to adapting to the unique challenges of the cannabis industry.

__What is the best investment you've made — resources, time or money, you've made in the last year?__

The best investment that we’ve made is first and foremost developing talent. There is insatiable demand for our distribution services since we offer the lower rates and the best quality of service. However, in order to continue scaling ourselves, we run an “atoms” business in many ways, not entirely a “bits” business, so we need to be able to continue to develop our staff to take on higher level roles.

__What are good examples of poor leadership and great examples of great leadership?__

I’ve witnessed poor leadership from those who make ego-driven decisions, which leads to a company that doesn’t serve its customers, but themselves.

<callout>"Great leaders are ones who have a really unique vision and principles that guide their actions to achieving their mission."</callout>

__What's the most effective habit you've cultivated in the last year?__

The most effective habit is to give our leadership team and managers more time to think strategically. As an earlier stage startup for the past three years, we have been in a constant mode of “doing things that don’t scale” in order to make that extra dollar and/or please a customer. However, the leaders of our organization are best equipped to plan and make long-term investments for the business that have a longer term payback cycle for us and our customers, rather than focus intensely on the day to day.

__What's your morning routine?__

I go on a two mile run early in the morning along The Embarcadero in San Francisco, where the water is gleaming and the air is crisp. On my way back, I pick up a cup of tea from Philz Coffee before I head home to start reading my emails.

__What are your 3 favorite cannabis products right now?__
1. GanjaGold Red Tarantula (Infused Pre-Roll)
2. Cookies Cereal Milk (Flower)
3. PLUS Sleep Cloudberry (Edible)

Learn more about Vince and his team: [nabis.com](https://www.nabis.com/ "Nabis cannabis distribution website")


Vincent Ning, CEO and Founder Nabis Distribution a California cannabis company

Vincent Ning CEO and Founder of Nabis  

Read more about Vince's journey and insights into starting one of the biggest cannabis distribution companies in California with his childhood best friend

Serving Cannabis: Q&A with Nabis CEO, Vincent Ning

cannabis consumption lounge at Northern Nights Tree Lounge

At the Northern Nights music festival, Meadow powered sales in the historic Tree Lounge, a pop-up dispensary and consumption lounge under the trees in the heart of the Emerald Triangle. This outdoor festival weekend was a highlight of summer 2019 for the Meadow team members who were lucky enough to call this "work":

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514140463"></video-player>
<figcaption>Watch this highlight reel of this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience in Northern California along the Eel River.</figcaption>
</figure>

### The Cannabis Retail Experience
Booths circled the perimeter of the Tree Lounge, which gave customers an opportunity to connect face to face with representatives of the participating brands. This gave festival-goers an opportunity to learn more about the cannabis products by speaking with growers and manufacturers and brand reps.

From their own iPad, rand employees sent orders to the central pop-up dispensary in an onsite barn, powered by San Francisco dispensary, [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), with support from licensed distributor Filigreen. After customers paid for and received their items at the barn, they could then enjoy them in the outdoor consumption lounge before returning to the multiple music stages or jumping on a floatie on the Eel River.

<figure>
![Buddy Buddy Cannabis](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/63qJ6skaVSrUeuE5bgCs4S/a3e6421ed1288edbb660515879581eeb/Buddy_Buddy_Cannabis.png)
<figcaption>"I've tried at least 4-5 different softwares in the cannabis industry, and this is definitely the most user friendly." - Beka, Buddy Buddy brand rep</figcaption>
</figure>

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
  <a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Northern Nights music festival](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2ufnkkseDzFuEc82c6hkNj/1e55e48324c1c0c898929a92765bb6c7/Northern_Nights_music_festival.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

Northern Nights cannabis consumption lounge

Watch highlights from this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience

Posts by Aria Biswas

Meadowlands 2018: California's Cannabis Supply Chain Panel

Meadowlands 2018: Update from Local Regulators with the Cannabis Czars of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

Serving Cannabis: Q&A with Nabis CEO, Vincent Ning

Northern Nights Cannabis Tree Lounge, Powered by Meadow