How technology is changing cannabis

Green Market Report asked some of the leading technology leaders in the cannabis industry for their thoughts on how technology is changing the cannabis world. Here is what we learned.

Simplifya Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer Marion Mariathasan

“Technology in every industry has enabled faster progress, and the cannabis industry is no different. With the fragmented regulatory environment, we knew that compliance would be a real challenge for businesses, but one that could be addressed through the development of advanced technologies. We set out to take a previously archaic approach to compliance and develop software that would help cannabis entrepreneurs save time and money, increase efficiency, and create new opportunities. In addition to owners and operators, we also see technologies that play an important role in how governments, regulators, insurers, cannabis-related banks and financial institutions also adhere to the guidelines of the FinCEN Cannabis Banking Guidance.

“Whether POS, data, retail, social or compliance, the technology continues to enable the industry to solve some of its toughest problems while accelerating growth at a rapid pace. As Simplifya moves into the multi-million dollar banking, finance and payment services sectors, we plan to introduce new software and advanced technologies that automate and simplify prescribed complex processes that are required to move the industry forward in compliance with the law. ”

Marion Mariathasan is CEO of Simplifya, the cannabis industry’s leading software platform for regulatory and operational compliance. The company’s range of products takes the guesswork out of confusing and ever-changing state and local regulations. With SOPs, badge tracking, document storage, bespoke reporting and employee responsibility functions, the company’s custom audit software reduces customers’ time spent on compliance by up to 45%.

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Marion is also a serial entrepreneur who has founded or advised numerous startups. He is an investor in 22 national and international companies, four of which he is a board member: Ceylon Solutions, a software development company for cannabis and non-cannabis; Leafwire, the largest cannabis social network; ilios, a relationship app that matches users based on traits derived from astrological and numerological algorithms; and Simplifya. Marion is a regular guest speaker at events such as Denver Start-Up Week, Colorado University’s Social Entrepreneurship Program, and the United Nations Global Accelerator Initiative.

Jushi Holdings Inc. Chief Creative Director Andreas “Dre” Neumann

“In the cannabis sector, digital consumers are at the wheel. We believe that technology will continue to play a crucial role and that we will have a competitive advantage by taking the time to implement research, data and digital technologies. By constantly studying trending data, we anticipated that the convergence of digital and physical retail would accelerate with the rapid growth of home delivery and express channels. Early on, we focused on eliminating friction, building trust and refining the entire customer experience. We use research data and technology-powered omnichannel strategies to seamlessly serve the needs of a wide variety of customers, and that’s really at the core of our ethos of making people’s lives better.

“At a higher level, we’ve also integrated our data sources and spent time building a custom data warehouse. This not only helped us to break down information silos, but also to understand the business and our customers much more holistically. We plan to move forward with new technologies and programs that will make our retail experiences and operations more efficient. I’ve always been a big advocate of technological solutions – none of this would be possible without them – so technology will be a priority for us in the future of Jushi and will be instrumental in defining the entire cannabis sector. “

In his role at Jushi, Dre and his creative team are tasked with directing Jushi’s creative, marketing and communications efforts and ensuring the company’s successful entry into e-commerce and adding value to the company and its shareholders.

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Dre is a serial entrepreneur who has founded numerous successful creative and technology companies and is a disruptive thinker as a strategic tool for transforming companies. He partnered with the UK multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 employees, Saatchi & Saatchi UK, where he implemented creative strategies such as the introduction of a branded content unit called Gum to reach more young people, who increasingly do without traditional advertising.

In addition to being a well-known and respected leader in the creative and technological field, Dre is known for his photography and work with artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop, Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, Lenny Kravitz, and many others. He has also been cited as one of the world’s best rock photographers and will appear in an upcoming documentary on Amazon that is slated to premiere in early 2021.

Navin Anand, Chief Technology Officer at springbig

“The cannabis industry is rapidly adopting native and cloud technologies. Computing power has grown exponentially (at an affordable cost) so we all have supercomputers available to help development teams tackle AI / ML problems, predictive analysis, user segmentation, fraud early detection, and more. Technology has also created tremendous value in the form of agricultural technology, cloud evolution, and data science to improve this industry as a whole.

“At springbig, we use technology to push boundaries and capture trends that will help our dealers achieve goals of over 100%. The spingbig platform offers our partners the opportunity to be in constant contact with end users. We have other offerings that offer numerous opportunities to improve the user experience, in-store, e-commerce and omni. “

Navin is the CTO of springbig, a leading provider of loyalty and SMS communication solutions for cannabis retailers and cannabis brands. Springbig was founded in 2017 and offers a single source of truth CRM that becomes a database for store and online customers that collects important purchase and behavioral data and integrates seamlessly with existing POS and e-commerce systems of pharmacies. Navin has over 15 years of software development experience including leading a team of 100 engineers at Verifone, one of the world’s largest multinational providers of payment processing and POS solutions. During his time at Verifone, Navin developed solutions for blue chip brands such as McDonalds, YUM Brands and Visa.

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Navin is recognized as a data-driven leader and problem solver, able to streamline software development delivery and QA process through advanced system automation and project management, reduce lead times and align different IT departments in a common system that speaks the same language.

Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli, Co-Founder and Chief Payments Officer at KindTap

“As a fintech cannabis company, we can wholeheartedly say that technology is shaping the future of the industry with the consumer at the forefront of the conversation. From convenience to compliance to our loan payment option with loyalty points, technological advances bring the consumer the best possible experience, while all the backend bells and whistles remain legally impeccable. “

Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli is a payments manager with extensive experience in prepaid, debit, credit and emerging payments, as well as broad and in-depth knowledge of the issuing and acquiring sides of the market. In 2019, Cathy joined KindTap, a fintech company with a team focused on the same cannabis payment problem she discovered several years ago. Together they officially launched KindTap in September 2021 and are the first company to offer the cannabis industry a loan payment option.

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First launched in the Massachusetts market, KindTap will reach multiple U.S. markets including Florida, Maine, and New York by the end of 2021, providing consumers with instant revolving credit lines for pre-purchase of cannabis and allowing merchants to seamlessly accept digital loan payments . About 3 years ago, while working for a customer in Denver, Cathy became aware of what fractional payments were like on cannabis. Even the correct word is broken – there were simply no payments in the cannabis market. Cathy’s pioneering spirit set in and she focused her advice on the cannabis segment.

Socrates Rosenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Jane Technologies

“At Jane, our goal has always been to add value to the entire ecosystem; We want customers to make informed purchasing decisions, and we want sellers to be successful. As the largest North American cannabis e-commerce platform, the digitalization of the industry has allowed us to bring the industry in line with the mainstream, making cannabis shopping as accessible as online shopping is to anything else in the world ensuring a level playing field for brands and pharmacies. “

Socrates Rosenfeld is the co-founder and CEO of Jane Technologies. Socrates began using cannabis to get used to civilian life again after returning from active service, but found that he questioned the origins of cannabis as it was illegal at the time. Fast forward to today and Socrates is now the founder and CEO of Jane Technologies – the e-commerce solution for legal cannabis retailers and brands. He holds a BS in Leadership & Management Studies from the United States Military Academy at West Point Academy and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a US Army veteran who previously served as the commandant of an Apache helicopter company.

This article originally appeared in the Green Market Report and was republished with permission.