Chasing the cannabis industry's "North Star" (and a Benzinga preview) Rivalries. Competition. Camaraderie. Despite seemingly infinite verticals and intense competition, the cannabis industry is united and guided by its own "North Star," or shared goal: Legalization of the plant. And perhaps no journalist has covered the business side of this industry as intently and intensely as Javier Hasse. The Argentinian CEO of Spanish-language, cannabis-focused news publication El Planteo just so happens to be the Managing Director of Benzinga Cannabis. In today's episode, Vangst CEO Karson Humiston talks to Javier about trailblazing a new form of finance journalism and the fundamentals of launching a cannabis business —and gets an inside look at what to expect at the fast-approaching Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference 2022. Produced by PodConx Proud To Work In Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/proud-to-work-in-cannabis Karson Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/karson-humiston Vangst - https://vangst.com/ Javier Hasse - https://podconx.com/guests/javier-hasse Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference - https://www.benzinga.com/events/cannabis-conference/
Chasing the cannabis industry's "North Star" (and a Benzinga preview)
Rivalries. Competition. Camaraderie. Despite seemingly infinite verticals and intense competition, the cannabis industry is united and guided by its own "North Star," or shared goal: Legalization of the plant. And perhaps no journalist has covered the business side of this industry as intently and intensely as Javier Hasse. The Argentinian CEO of Spanish-language, cannabis-focused news publication El Planteo just so happens to be the Managing Director of Benzinga Cannabis.
In today's episode, Vangst CEO Karson Humiston talks to Javier about trailblazing a new form of finance journalism and the fundamentals of launching a cannabis business —and gets an inside look at what to expect at the fast-approaching Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference 2022.
Proud To Work In Cannabis - https://podconx.com/podcasts/proud-to-work-in-cannabis
Karson Humiston - https://podconx.com/guests/karson-humiston
Vangst - https://vangst.com/
Javier Hasse - https://podconx.com/guests/javier-hasse
Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference - https://www.benzinga.com/events/cannabis-conference/
Javier Hasse: [00:00:00] My name is kata KA. I am a journalist from Argentina, currently serving as the, managing director for Benga managing content director for Benga cannabis and head of content for Benga. I am also a senior contributor at Forbes and CEO of com Eleo El is do com at.com is the most read cannabis media outlet in all the Spanish speaking world. entrepreneur media I wrote a book for entrepreneur media. Called start your own cannabis seller which went on to be a best seller. And I am very, very, very proud to work in cannabis.
Karson Humiston: Hey everybody. And welcome back to another episode of the proud to work in cannabis podcast. I'm your host Carson. And today extremely excited because first off we're going to Benga.
Javier Hasse: Oops
Karson Humiston: Chicago next week. So if you're listening and you're not going, you should be, we have this super special guest Javier we've, spoken on the phone.
you've written amazing, articles. We have tons of mutual friends, but you and I actually [00:01:00] haven't spent a ton of time together. So I'm
Javier Hasse: Thank you so much for having me And, and I'm very excited that and I'm very excited that this conversation will be very authentic. We're we're really getting to know each other in a different level than, than the data exchange we
exchange and information articles do for articles, content, podcasts
cetera the cannabis shows et cetera
Karson Humiston: And also the tables are turning a little bit because usually you're asking me And so this is, this is
Javier Hasse: indeed But you're you're great at it you're great at it Honestly if you ever decide to change careers you should consider a career in journalism
Karson Humiston: Maybe you could hire me. let's start out by learning about what you were doing you entered the cannabis space. Tell us about your
Javier Hasse: Nothing No
Karson Humiston: pre days
Javier Hasse: so I'm I'm so I'm 32 years old I'm from Argentina grew up there was educated there at public schools [00:02:00] and learned English from hiphop and movies So my lingo was pretty weird for a while I at age I finished college at age 22 and got into financial journalism and getting I was writing articles and getting published on seeking off the Motley fool market watch et cetera career And just one year into my career in 2013 an editor asked me Hey would you be willing to write an article about cannabis tox center no one else wants to sign it No one wants to put their name on the line for this new industry With very few
companies There was like GW maybe and a few others out there and I asked like Hey are you gonna pay me for this Said yes And that was it That was it for me I was I was hooked you know someone was paying me to write about cannabis weed marijuana pot you know the devil's lettuce whatever you want to call it Right Stigma aside It's it's a fantastic plant I I love it I've [00:03:00] grown it for the past 14 years I'm passionate about it I'm passionate about the impact it can make on society on healthcare of course legalization has a huge impact on social justice gender equality If we make can build this industry the right way the penal system like there there's so many things that it impacts of course the economy you Taxation it's it's it's one of these things that is so all encompassing that it's it's privilege It's honestly a privilege I there's no day that I I I wake up and don't think how surreal it is that that cannabis not only pays my bills but allows me to employ dozens of people And I don't know make a living out This is is just amazing
I often tell my friends when they ask me what do you do It's like of course I'm a cannabis journalist I manage teams but you know a big part of my job is traveling the world all expenses paid in five star hotels talking weed which to me is is crazy Right It's not even my boss is like events all around the world will be like [00:04:00] Hey do you want to come speak Do you want to come judge a pitch contest And I'm like why me Ahead of all people Why me and it's it's it's surreal
Karson Humiston: Well I it does sound surreal traveling the world staying in five star hotels talking about cannabis meeting all the players I mean you do have
Javier Hasse: Mm-hmm
Karson Humiston: job of all the people that we have on here where we haven't heard someone say that before So pretty good I wanna back up So what started as someone offering you some money to start writing about cannabis That's how that that started Of course a lot of things have changed Just so
Javier Hasse: So that was 2013 Uh I published I published one article and it became an immediate out people started reaching out saying Hey here I'm in cannabis as well And I do finance I have some data back then only Deborah Borchard And now in Stein we're talking
cannabis stocks
finance or or talking at least that I business and finance seriously is at least that I know of I don't wanna leave anyone out but you know
Karson Humiston: We
Javier Hasse: I
I
Karson Humiston: else
Javier Hasse: exactly I I [00:05:00] I had never heard of anyone else doing heard of anyone else doing this and of this know it it's just part of this community right It's an industry but it's also a movement and it's also a community and in the community is Welcoming it embraces people people are happy to have more well-intentioned people join So it was just that they started reaching out they in started publishing more articles in 2014 Benga hired me to I pitched them this idea to to to a lot of cannabis content It became a huge and us became a and and it became a career for me and and many of the outlets who had once rejected me as a writer for other topics like Playboy or force were suddenly reaching out Hey Javier we want your content we know you're cannabis journalist right now and we really want your content And it it it's one of those things that is just self-reinforcing I also think that right thing you know with your heart know the right thing with your heart to bias And of trying [00:06:00] to not have a bias And of course I'm pro a bias I'm pro so I'm pro bias cannabis iation so that is my bias Right you know doing right way doing things the right way with good intentions to talking to the right people
honest honest relationships will take you very far
Karson Humiston: What what pieces or what stories really stand out in your mind in those early days Like what were your favorite stories
Javier Hasse: at about stocks about stocks and and business and investment but I liked the the narratives behind many of them One of my favorites was a piece I wrote for for Several years ago on on how struggling towns were being revitalized by canvas right So you have a case of cooling in California and the case of several places in Mendocino county and they're all impressive They're all amazing Right There's there's this one town that was struggling with And [00:07:00] its whole economy was centered around a private prison and and suddenly the prison closed and the town was struggling with deficit And one day a group of people came over including Bob Marley's son and they they bought the prison and turned it into a cannabis venture And within months the the town was saved There's another story of how Steve DLO would drive past another town super often Right And and he'd see Of dozens of of greenhouses that were just sitting there and no one was using them and he found dug a little bit and found out that that talent specifically was mostly populated by former Japanese war prisoners In America who were then released and because they were doing cut flower production back in in Japan they started doing cut flower production in in in the us and California but then the nineties came and and most of the production of cut flowers moved to Ecuador and colo and Columbia and Suddenly [00:08:00] again the town was struggling There was nothing to do and they figured out okay this is the perfect climate We have the infrastructure why not grow cannabis we have the skilled labor force who knows what it is how it is to grow a very delicate plan that requires a lot of attention and response very well to to human care and love Right And again the the town was saved That that those are some of my favorite stories for sure there are millions there are millions I researching for my book that I published with entrepreneurial media I wanted to get like the best kind of story for the introduction right For the it's not the forward but I forget the word Sorry English was my second but I it The first chapter right The the the first story I told and it's the story of hunter Garth this guy who was a a war veteran and he was struggling with with depression and and and
suicidal attempts and a bunch of different issues and decided to leave everything behind and moved to Colorado with I don't know maybe like 200 [00:09:00] bucks in his pocket and and try medical cannabis And and one day he goes to a dispensary and the security guard who's carding him he's got an attitude He is intimidating and he goes like why should I feel uncomfortable getting my medicine there's other ways to transmit this kind of confidence that people cannot go in and Rob without being rude without being an a-hole Right he I'll offer so he he said okay I'll offer these guys to be their guard up I I'm a badass war veteran know how to I I know how to handle weapons I know how
don't Handle
combat bad don't need to prove it with my bad And Right And and it was great And suddenly product within a couple of months his product his service was in demand and he started summoning his other and within veteran friends as well And and within a few months he had built a company that was then several very quickly sold by several million [00:10:00] dollars to a publicly traded company And the guy went from broken suicidal to Because he he right Because he he was creative which also shows that rewards an industry that rewards creativity that that you can create capital lives work models You don't That still work Right You don't need millions to start a grow book facility of people while writing my book a lot of people told me yeah I went to my friends and family and raised a million dollars And it's like who the hell are your friends and family Please introduce me I don't know people with a million dollars and and it's part of that being being creative I just love it I just love
Karson Humiston: those stories are so uplifting and it is true there's so many stories where you see people as you just said going from broken depressed to running a business That's helping people just like yourself and earning a really great income along the way And there's so many stories like that in your job on the day to day Talk to us [00:11:00] about a day in the life of a reporter cannabis
Javier Hasse: Ah depending on on it really varies depending on on what the schedule is like but but I wake up I check the news I check I check in with the team The Benga team is amazing We have many many writers writer Maureen is fantastic We have Nina yellow Laura and Nicola Joanna who naan like a bunch of people scouring through the news posting
maybe
80 news items in our slack channel we decide what's best to cover each day and we try to publish 30 40 stories every day and then it's calls interviews more reading a bunch of emails I I get about 800 pitches a day I try to sprint to all the pitches I try
Karson Humiston: 800
Javier Hasse: I
Karson Humiston: who
you Is this PR firms founders
Javier Hasse: Everyone is welcome to pitch me I know a lot of people I know a lot of people have PTSD from pitching stories because the wrong pitch might warrant [00:12:00] a not very nice
response
many times but I try to always be very aware that on the other side of of if this there's a person I also ask people when they're pitching me
remember there's
a person here as well I'm a person right I
I
I love my work but I also have a life and I need to do everything And if I have to go through eight hundreds every day and and 95% of them are not pertinent into my coverage It's a waste of time And and especially because like people expect a response even when it's not a personalized email
But but there's a lot of that in figuring out And then a lot of conversations off the record especially in finance and business you you really got to to keep your
What is it Your finger on the pulse right Is that an expression Yeah
Karson Humiston: Yeah That's an
Javier Hasse: So
So
you know try and and try and and and and stay on top of of the trends on what's happening on what's gonna happen Right breaking embargoes not
Not distributing off embargo information or or off the [00:13:00] record information I think all that relationship building really leads to great journalism because then you get the best stories And and and that is great advice for anyone And it's a very fine line at the same time because journalistic ethics should be
very
respected unquote do you quote unquote befriend the source without it being a conflict of interest right So you established a relationship with trust but at the same time
you
do let them know that your duty your obligation the is with the public with the readership We provide a service to our readership first It's not a service to the company
Karson Humiston: there might be marketing managers out there or founders out there listening that maybe can't afford to hire PR firm They can't afford Rosie
and I wish we all could we we have been a mad client for five years and I owe a lot of their reasons why You respond to us because [00:14:00] of man but oh it's not free So there's people out there that they hopefully someday they can't afford Rosie but right now they can't What should those people do not annoy you and make their pitch stand out like what are some actual
Javier Hasse: into that but actually you know you mentioned Matthew
into that but actually you know you mentioned Matthew right is a good example I told them like this is what I'm interested in these are the pitches I want to get and don't want to get them from a person not a machine not an email blast I want someone emailing me saying Hey Javier I know you're interested in this topic And they told the entire team like Hey this is what Javier wants
This
is a way to get him to cover you
And
I try to cover as much as possible Like I I built a a career and a reputation in cannabis for trying to cover as much as possible for trying to shine a light on on the big the small the medium the underserved the underdo and the multi button billionaire it's inclusion for me that that matters But it has to be tailored so if you're [00:15:00] reaching out just and be a person
that
is the one thing right Like I'm I'm a super nice guy So just email me saying Hey ha I I like your work Or just Google me if you Google my name up Verify
this is Forbes my Benga content This is my Forbes column This is my content or entrepreneur You want to pitch me Here's how
And and it's just send me stories You think I I'd be interested in it's the fact that I not mean Cover topic does not mean I cover every topic I'm not doing product reviews I am not a big fan of Delta at T a C if if you ask me to be honest right I I will cover it if if it's substantial news that
Karson Humiston: this be just before this call I was talking to someone about Delta nine which I don't know a ton about and made me think of my next question of for you in order for you to write about all these aspects of cannabis you have to be as you said a couple minutes ago like on the ball how do you [00:16:00] stay so up to date with ever so many different things happening in the industry so quickly and changing so rapidly How do you how does your brain
Javier Hasse: Honestly I read Benga and use Benga pro and this is not a pitch I start my day a little bit later than than some of the writers because we have writers in in Europe and Eastern Europe as well right Because of the time zone so that we start covering news super early
So
that is one of the first things I do been zinger.com/ That is one of my main sources And then I I go to all the big media outlets I go to marijuana moment I go to green entrepreneur I go to green market report I go to high times I read a bunch of of publications in Spanish and French and Italian and Portuguese
check
My email A lot of it is in my email right People are sharing their news Fortunately that also makes it easy to not miss
some
of the undercover news items And
I talk to people people will tell you their stories and because
it's a it's a community As I [00:17:00] mentioned earlier people will share not only their stories but the stories they're interested in Have you heard about this A buddy of mine is doing that And all that is is is just
constantly feeds you Of course it's it's it's impossible to see a you know abreast in every last news item I will miss stuff Right Fortunately again I have a great team at Benga I have a great team at EEO I have great colleagues in in the industry some of them will be awarded at the Benga cannabis capital awards on September 12th in Chicago at the Palmer house hotel as part of the Benga cannabis capital conference which will be discussing later
all a nice
to it all boils down to that of Most of my peers don't treat the journalism world don't treat me as a competitor They treat me as a and I do the same a lot in that so there's a lot in that And and who I have to congratulate right who understands that philosophy right I'm a [00:18:00] a of the subscriber of the of the philosophy tide lifts all boats philosophy right To me that is so true And it has built like really helped me build a career Right I'm a I'm a random guy from Argentina I went to a public school What do I know about America What do I know about cannabis What do I know about English the as
the tide rises you know we all do a lot of and I find a lot of success in building partnerships and reaching out to to wheat maps and Leafly and high times and entrepreneur and like
know let's just you know let's share the word out
Karson Humiston: of the coolest things Even if you're competitors everyone has this north star making
Javier Hasse: Mm-hmm
Karson Humiston: to And it's so unique to other industries because other industries don't necessarily have this one north star I agree with what you were just saying and it's but I think it's pretty rare right To have an industry where see each other as peers and that can
Javier Hasse: Yeah
Karson Humiston: reach this common goal So I love that you [00:19:00] brought that up Let's talk a little bit about the
Javier Hasse: mm-hmm
Karson Humiston: perfect timing because next week we're all gonna be in Chicago on Monday
Javier Hasse: Let me put on my my um my promoter hat been seeing the cannabis capital conference is coming to Chicago This is the best conference in the entire you cannabis have like industry
It
is you know you have like 25 go back 2,500 people let's go back 2,500 people You know attending this conference all of the largest of the MSO is 95% of the cannabis market cap That means out of all the publicly traded companies representing companies representing 95% of that market cap will be there more than 3,000 institutional investors entrepreneurs investors
companies CFO minority Small companies minority owned companies where it's an event where you you can go raise money where you can go invest where you can go learn where you can go understand how to get into the industry where you can go as a retail trader and
To identify
the next big opportunities Right To me it's it's incredible And it's super successful in terms of [00:20:00] of actually getting I I said funded not I said earlier money is not everything when building a business but it certainly
And
many of the the most important businesses in this money industry do require
are great money right And salary live businesses are great I love them this is where I live
There's no there's no industry without growers There's no industry without grows There's no industry without resellers and processors Those are expensive ventures Right And they need to get funded because they're they're ultimately pushing for the greater good
So
Karson Humiston: I've been to most Beningo events but I feel like the one in Miami really really put this conference on the map as a attend And it feels like the same thing is happening in Chicago Every person that connect with it's like I'll see you in Beningo next week You're you're going to Beningo right Like it's a it's now a thing did you guys go from being conference That pretty small and like smallish hotels to being One of one of if not the you have to go to if you're in cannabis
Javier Hasse: [00:21:00] happens with the growth of the industry Right the industry Right We grew up and we mature with the industry We mature with our partners with mature with our friends You know the first event we did was in in in Toronto and Canada several years ago And this is our 15th conference now right So it's a learning process It's a learning curve it's again you know it's also related to to the capabilities
The the team has grown a lot Our budget has grown the budget
you
know the company's attending has has grown So it's it's it's definitely a a long curve But but we'll live and breathe This this is what we'd love to do to me it's it's amazing right You you're there for two three days and you you accomplish more than you could in six months of of zoom calls The FaceTime is real our CEO Jason Rasnick always starts saying go meet go talk to someone you don't know and I love that That is [00:22:00] that is very real
People
approach
each other people share their knowledge We're talking about sharing knowledge earlier right That
that
wasn't the case 10 years ago I I I'm very ingrained in the grower legacy grower community not so much in the us but in Argentina and all of Latin America and Colombia and UA and and
We
we didn't used to share knowledge as much right had their own little book led their little black broke that they they kept their secrets in
But
as as as we progressed as we came out of the shadows we came out of ity We're no longer prosecuted
as
much and again there's a very big racial bias in prosecution
but
things are getting better we started to share more And and that all of that built
Than
Zenga conferences I I feel like again it's it's we've matured We've
grown with the
industry and I don't know it makes me proud It makes me really really happy
Because it's it's not just us growing It's not just been Zenga getting [00:23:00] to be a $300 million company It's everyone who was around us and everyone who was around us from day one especially has seen this this kind of exp explosive growth
take your company for instance right
small company went from a relatively small company to the standard and and and staffing and and HR and the industry
Karson Humiston: Yeah very very
Javier Hasse: tell me about it Can can I ask you that question And can you like
what's the can you like what's what's the path from college dorm to industry standard
Karson Humiston: The well I think I'll have to come onto your podcast to go into that but it's definitely been a journey and And I appreciated what you said where you don't have to have millions and millions of dollars to start a business You have to work hard put one foot in front of the next and do a good job and solve a need And so I love like when you were talking about how this is your 15th conference and when you started out your had small budgets but fast forward to today companies have larger [00:24:00] budgets They can do larger sponsorships and imagine a decade from now right A decade from now industry's never gonna be as small as it is today for people that are listening that are considering getting in We've accomplished so much in the last decade
Javier Hasse: Mm-hmm
Karson Humiston: still
Javier Hasse: and I just just one
and a financial of course yeah I've Ben Z is a financial a financial media company It's a financial media outlet It's a financial technology company thing Javier I wanna say one thing Javier hassay@benga.com
email me you can't afford a ticket to email me I I'll get you the industry I want people to get into the industry I want people to to really take advantage of this opportunity I want people who are impacted by the war on drugs so and discriminated for so many years
to to really be able to
to this opportunities to build wealth and health and wellbeing do and and and do If if by doing good right [00:25:00] If if if that makes any sense right Um have I front end of I have seen that the front end of a guns barrel more many more times barrel more many more times that it should have right
a company now I run a company and in run an entire department in this
And I who can't thank all the people I wanna supported me enough so I wanna do the same So
talk about you know it's it's one of those things We talk about student high kind of conferences and and money and millions and millions and billions industry to be inclusive but I want this industry to be inclusive to everyone We have initiatives to do that as well We plan where women grow we have a lot of social equity participants in the conference presenting for free getting booth for free I'm so for real reach out I'm I'm I'm I'm not kidding it I I just say
Karson Humiston: You it everybody reach out My my final question is is you look forward to your next decade in cannabis What are you most [00:26:00] excited
Javier Hasse: As you said one really I mean all I hear about really if you ask me like what is my number one priority in cannabis and it's legalization and expungement
making money is awesome Building great companies is awesome Access is super important Patients are super important for all that to really happen We legalization We need cannabis to be made legal not only in the us but around the world And we need people who are in
jail
or prison for nonviolent
cannabis offenses
to get out and to be able to get into this industry That is that is what I want That is what I envision That is all I I really care about
and
you know in the process we're building great businesses as I just said and I liked it and oh I
remember that
one is you know doing well by doing good
I
remember the first cannabis conference I ever went to was in New York and in the John Jay college of criminal justice the same college who trained the prosecutors were jailing People was hosting [00:27:00] this like at cannabis conference this years ago and mantel Williams was a speaker and he spoke about the double bottom line and I loved it and it stuck with me It it's just like every day I I think about that double bottom line
How
can
you live a
And provide employment and opportunities to many, many other people who both need and deserve it. But and are worthy of it. But at the same time, do get for, for the community, for the people. So I, that is what I'm thinking for for the next
10 years I, I wanna see capital markets develop. I wanna see safe banking. I, I wanna see, general financing mature.
I wanna see an, an evolution of different financing methods, both inequity and debt markets. I wanna see real estate opportunities develop. I wanna see innovation. I wanna see people building software and cool product. , what I wanna see the most is legalization. [00:28:00] The rest will follow, Tax revenue will come with it. New schools and roads will come with it. A lot of jobs will come with it. I hope a lot more women run companies will come with it. Cannabis used to be . More than average inclusive industry when it came to female founders and C-suites as the industry matured people from other industries were brought in.
Most of them were, were, were males, but also many women. We're bought out, which is cool. If that is the result, if, if the reason driving it is that, , women founded companies are getting bought out for millions. I'm fine. But I still wanna see new and new and new businesses founded by women by minorities, by Latinos, by African Americans, by Asian Americans. Just it's you know, I don't know. I'm, I'm, I'm hopeful. I'm, I'm really optimistic, but cautiously optimistic O obviously, but I'm, I'm very optimistic and I think this is a global trend. We've seen than any other movement move faster than any other movement in history. , in the last few years, I don't know, like 70 [00:29:00] countries or more move to legalized form some way, shape or form. the trend is only accelerating or, or, or at least, you know, more and more PE countries are, are joining This club
of
of
Karson Humiston: we're, it's just getting started. Totally. Just getting started. Well, Javier, thank you so much for coming
Javier Hasse: thank you
Karson Humiston: cannabis podcast everybody listening. We hope to see you at Benga next week. If you're unable to make it, please follow along. Check Benga every single morning.
If you wanna get up to speed, pro sounds like a great place to go to get all of your news and
Javier Hasse: I I can't wait to hear your panel and fireside panel and fireside, by the way.
I'm super excited
Karson Humiston: Yes, Tuesday. And if you're all there, I'm on and
on Tuesday. So we'll see you all in Chicago. Thanks for joining.