How do you start a cannabis seed bank? Cannabis.net sits down with Jouke Piepenbrink from SeedStockers (sponsored)

Jouke is a multilingual cannabis enthusiast and hobby breeder. With over 10 years of experience, he is one of the most well-established people in the cannabis industry with a large network spanning all continents. He works closely with first generation cannabis entrepreneurs who started in the 1970s and shares his experience and knowledge with many third generation young people starting their careers in the industry today. He was responsible for numerous business development projects for various cannabis companies. Jouke is probably the most creative and experienced marketing and branding specialist in the modern cannabis industry.

1. How did you get into the cannabis industry?

Growing my own products has fascinated me since childhood. The fact that vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers can be grown with little effort was rewarding and even felt like some kind of magic. In my teenage years, I became involved with cannabis as a consumer and breeder. Always 5 outdoor plants per season, just for me and to share with friends. I’ve done this every season, including when I moved into my own house and even when I moved abroad to Spain. The whole time I was growing seeds given to me by friends who were unaware of the existence of a cannabis industry.

In 2011, I was working in marketing and sales for a large multinational when I found an ad in a newspaper for a large cannabis seed company that was looking for a chief marketing officer. The description of this position exactly matched me, my professional experience, private interests, languages ​​etc. I was able to tick all the boxes and realized that this job was for me and it was! My eyes were opened and I fully understood how it is possible to work very hard without feeling obliged to. Combining my passion and work experience in this industry was one of the best things that happened to me in my life.

2. What did you think of the stigma surrounding cannabis before you started and compared to today?

That it’s stupid and unfair. My views have not changed, if anything, my understanding of the subject has deepened, but my opinion has not changed.

3. Can you tell us a little more about your role with the Seedstockers? How it all started

After working in other industries for a few years and growing privately at home, I learned a lot about the cannabis industry. The first generation of cannabis entrepreneurs did a lot of great things driven by their passion, they were always role models for me. Sometime around 2015 I realized that a lot can be done differently and I came up with the idea of ​​founding a completely new seed company, where I would combine what I had learned from the founders of our industry with what I had in the “traditional” Business learned can combine. My goal was to create a fun project where we could keep the informal nature of the old school companies and their business model based on trust in the people of the cannabis scene. The other pillar of Seedstockers should be more effective, faster, better organized and more customer-oriented. After a few years of research, I found support for this project and got the chance to open Seedstockers in Barcelona, ​​which is without a doubt the cannabis capital of the 21st century. It’s been hard work, but I’m very proud of where we are today. Home growers around the world are successfully growing our genetics, which gives great results. We do this with a team of young, highly motivated people who share a passion for cannabis, but also enjoy working in our informal but effective organization.

4. What was the most surprising part of your trip?

I’ve always had people around me who accepted cannabis as part of society, but when I started in this industry I told anyone who wanted to hear what great business it was. I have learned that many people are “in the closet” as cannabis users, medical professionals, recreational athletes, or both. These people usually don’t tell anyone and use privately, but when they find out you work in the cannabis industry, they open up and share their stories. Cannabis use is normal, just not normalized yet.

As General Manager of Seedstockers, I was able to discover and coach the young team (the next generation) behind Seedstockers, who have to pursue a long professional career in the industry and even more at home with commitment and passion. Seedstockers is a seed bank that has grown exponentially over the past 4 years and is now one of the leading cannabis seed banks in the world.

5. What do you know now that you could like to say to yourself 4 years ago?

I honestly can’t think of anything, I usually plan ahead and have a clear idea of ​​what I want to achieve and where I want to be in the future. In general, I am happy with the way things are going and have not had major disappointments or issues that could have been avoided if I had known more than 4 years ago. Things never go exactly as planned, but that’s part of the plan.

6. What advice would you give to someone considering getting into cannabis now?

Don’t do it for the money and definitely don’t think it’s easy. Working in this industry is very rewarding if you are passionate about it and have a lot of energy. If you treat cannabis as an anonymous, profitable commodity, I don’t think you’ll make it in the long run. If you want to be a lazy stoner and get rich with no effort, marry a millionaire.

7. And to the readers who read us? What would you say?

Be curious about the cannabis sector, a vast world yet to be discovered by many. If you want to get into the cannabis field, the Seedstockers team will help you, contact us via Whatsapp or info@seedstockers.com. And most importantly, if you want to smoke, grow! This is the only way to control consumption, it is fun, sustainable and offers the opportunity to get to know the plant. On top of that, you also save a lot of money!

8. How has COVID19 affected the cannabis sector?

We’ve seen increases in sales in general as the lockdowns started around the world. We did some research and found that many people realized how dependent they are on outside suppliers for their cannabis. There are no doubt more people out there than ever before. So Covid has definitely had a positive effect on our industry. Most cannabis-related businesses are thriving, with the exception of some of the smaller growshops in the neighborhood that have been unevenly hit by lockdowns, particularly those that have been unable to deliver their products to customers online due to regulations in their country or because they didn’t have it -Order system set up. We do what we can to help these companies survive, we believe they are an important part of our industry, and we trust that most of them will survive in the end.

9. Do you think this is a good time to start a business in the cannabis sector, or is the market too saturated?

Our market is definitely overcrowded, maybe overcrowded in some segments. But if you can make a difference, do things better than the competition, or come up with entirely new business models, it may be possible to take your place in this growing industry. I firmly believe that it will be decades before the growth of the cannabis market comes to a standstill, so hard workers with an innovative approach stand a good chance.

10. How can someone contact you? E-mail? Social media?

Linkedin: @joukeseeds

Instagram: @joukepiepenbrink

Facebook: @JoukeSeeds

Or contact our team at info@seedstockers.com, they will forward all messages addressed to me.

Thank you, Jouke, good luck with European legalization!

(This is a sponsored post that Cannabis.net received payment for publication)

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