Steve Blank Hosts Eric Knight, COO of Anewsha Holding Group at CWCB Expo NYC 2019 . Follow us on social or visit www.canna-today.com for more.
Steve Blank Hosts Eric Knight, COO of Anewsha Holding Group at CWCB Expo NYC 2019 . Follow us on social or visit www.canna-today.com for more.
If it's new now or next in cannabis, you'll find it on The Cannabis Today Podcast. My name is Steve Blank and no- that's not an alias. Cannabis Today delivers cannabis industry, community culture and news media. To find more of the Cannabis Today content that's most relevant to you, visit canna-today.com and filter content by categories like topics, hosts, locations, and more. To support the podcast, visit cannapatrons.com to learn more about advertising, sponsorship and other strategic partnership opportunities, contact us today. On this edition of The Cannabis Today Podcast- I'm joined by Eric Knight, Chief Operating Officer of Anewsha Holding Hroup. Anewsha, through its revolutionary patented and trademarked technology platform Renewsha, has announced a signed letter of intent with SPI Pharma to develop and license a precision-dosing, tasteless, fast-acting formulation for all natural API(active phytocannabinoid ingredients.) And now Eric Knight from the show floor of the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition in New York City.
Speaker 2:But- I'll jump right in and try to keep as little of your time as possible. Let's jump right in and begin by giving you an opportunity to introduce yourself whenever you're ready.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm Eric Knight. I'm the Chief Operating Officer of a Anewsha Holding Group. We're a diversified global life science corporation. We have three areas of focus, which is health and wellness, agro-science and biotechnology.
:Okay, awesome. And where are you based out of? I'm based in southern California. I have partners in Michigan, in New York, and I've got some global partners in Europe and the Caribbean.
Speaker 2:And you said you've been in this space since 2013?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've been in the cannabis world since kind of the end of late 2013. Just right before adult use kicked in there in Colorado. Kind of fell backwards into the industry.
:Sure. What are a few of the stand out evolutions, developments that you think you've experienced? Be it with regard to the products themselves, the industry around it, the culture, the community. What are the...
Speaker 3:I'm a serial entrepreneur. I would say that this industry is like entrepreneurship on steroids, but it's super exciting with just seeing the technology progression kind of across the board is interesting. But more to your question, my first job was bag man for a dispensary so to speak. Right? It was managing the money, dealing with banking and dealing with the shuffling of bank accounts and just trying to figure out how to run and operate a business that was
:You're saying that was your introductory role? That was kind of my introductory role, yea. My background is more in strategy and operations and manufacturing kind of, with a twist of technology and science. But my entree into the industry was about seeing dispensaries and operations go from, you know, two, three, five people to 30 or 50 people overnight. So, which is, you know, that's, that's a challenge in and of itself. But then you overlay the complexities of the industry around with, you know, with regulations and, and uncertainty and then the banking issues that, that everyone was dealing with. Some extent people are still dealing with, but more so back in 2013, 2014 it was, it was quite a different animal. Right. What is your take on the, have you... Were you here yesterday first of all? I was, yeah. Cool. Um, and New York CWCB Expo. Is this your first? This is my first, yeah. Cool. What do you think so far? What's the experience been like? I think the guys and gals at Leading Edge really do a good job here and I'm impressed with what they've put on. You know, these things are hard to organize logistically. Right? And so they're doing a good job and... Absolutely. There are a lot of great people here and a it's just a great business to business forum. For sure.
Speaker 2:Well, let's, um, for those who aren't already familiar, let's deep dive Anewsha.
Speaker 3:Yeah! Renewsha... Well, we are here today introducing Bruce Linton's conversation about the current state of the industry and to make an announcement around one of flagship products. It's really more of a technology platform called Renewsha. We announced today that we have signed a letter of intent for a global exclusive agreement with SPI Pharma. SPI Pharma is a global leader in delivery technologies, excipient technologies.
:Okay. So we're partnering with them to develop the delivery platform for all phytocannabinoids which is really exciting because it's an orally dissolvable tablet. So it's, it's more of a formulation again, that right now, phase one is CBD. But it's something that will work with all phytocannabinoids. And as you know, we understand more about the plant and kind of how it can be used to treat various health indications in the future and as the science kind of catches up to, to the industry for more of a biotech perspective. Um, we have a great product platform that, that we're super excited about. Awesome. Where uh, um, you know, websites, social media handles for those who aren't already familiar, where can we learn more? Get in touch? Yeah. Right now you can go to renewsha.com. It's renewsha.com Cool. Tell me more about the, uh, your, your evolution through the industry from that, you know, the bag money man stories. Maybe even, if we could take a step before that? You know what, um, how do I say that? Some boys are like,"I'm going to be a fire man when I grow up." And they're a fire man. And some guys are like addicted to the lemonade stands and trading the baseball cards and many grow up to be the founders and the CEOs and the investors of some type. So what, you know how...
Speaker 3:I mean, my background going way back to college was mechanical engineering and I just liked to build things. So that, that leads me into kind of why I think entrepreneurship and starting companies has really been exciting. And something I've, I've really done since graduating from Harvard business school. It's all about creating, developing, building companies. But prior to cannabis I was in renewable energy for about 10, 12 years and uh, started on the finance side and you kind of moved. Was never really that excited about being in the finance space. I'm more of an operator again, kind of like the roll up my sleeves and executing and actually make things happen and be, you know, hands on. Um, so that over the years transitioned more to getting into early stage ventures around biofuels and solar technologies. Um, and it was an interesting kind of leap into cannabis just because there I drew a lot from this highly regulated David versus Goliath market, which was renewable energy. And there's a lot of parallels with cannabis. Cannabis is much more exciting in a lot of ways and, and you know, you could argue that the industry existed prior... you know, it did.
:Sure....prior to legalization. So there was, was one key difference, but in terms of navigating a very complex, highly regulated business is not easy. And you know, cannabis is in a class of its own. I grew up in this industry, in the early stages of adult use in Colorado. You know, dealing with packaging label regulatory changes where you get, you know, 30 days to make a major operational product change and just, you've got to be agile. And, um, but it, it's, it's, you know, I say that set up complaining about some of the early difficulties in the industry. I did, I just said it's, it's, uh, it's never boring and it's always exciting, but was half full in a, in our extension. Um,
Speaker 2:so a Harvard Grad with a renewable renewable energy background, transitions into cannabis startups and cannabis entrepreneurship...
Speaker 3:So I, yeah, I kinda got my feet wet with a dispensary groups, silver peak in Aspen, Colorado. And, uh, worked with them for about a year and then really wanted to get more into the, the wholesale kind of manufacturing side of things. So, I was the chief operating officer for sweet grass kitchen for, it was like from 2015 to 2018 a three and a half years. Um, and it was interesting because again, the where I find myself today with Anewsha, which is again more of a, we're positioned more as a life science company. So it's the focus is technology, kind of innovation and, and under, again, understanding the benefits of the plant. They can't understanding how the phytocannabinoids really work and why they work. It's the best application for the treatment of, of various ailments or indications for people. So less, you know, I'm a firm believer in the social party side of, of the industry, but from a business perspective, I'm much more interested in the science, technology and the health and wellness of it. So that's really what we're focused on. But my time at sweet grass kitchen, really what I was thinking about on a day to day basis was again, you know, our, our number one priority was all about the consistency and trust of, of an edible product. And again, this early days of, of the edible business people didn't even, not then, no one activation of, of THC molecule was and they're making edibles. And so, you know, you can see it in some of the testing that was done going back five years where, you know, there was companies that were, you know, where when The Denver Post or The Cannabist would do a blind study there, they'd be like, they don't have hardly any THC in their products. It's just the lack of understanding or capabilities of, of activating the molecule so you'd get the desired effect. So very early on with sweet grass kitchen, it was all about understanding delivery methods, consistency, dosing, and, and really, again, focusing on more of a more thing without thinking about things more scientifically and, and, and, um, you know, just best practices. And the industry was, you know, forget about the, the efficacy of and quality of products and in the industry was, was, was going through and crazy expansion period. So just bringing in professional business practices was also something that was really cool to be a part of. You know, just a lot of entrepreneurs. I'm just crazy times and, and you know, today you look at the show today, it's, it's, this industry has really come a long way in terms of its, you know, where it's going and kind of how, how it's viewed from people like our parents or our grandparents and it's taken seriously. And, and you know, that's a testament to all the hard work. I think that, that, that everyone's put in that's been involved in this business for, for as long as I have in many people for much longer than I had been in.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Well said. Um, to segue to the moms and the dads and the grandmas and the tack onto that, colleagues and classmates, um, obviously being less interested in the social aspect and more in the science. Did your friends and family and colleagues and severe having an immediate appreciation for that or what was the transition like? I'll say that my friends from college and business school, we're not surprised that
Speaker 3:I found my way into the industry. Um, I, I don't know of another Harvard Business School Grad that was in the business before me. They're probably there. There, there's a handful that I had met early on. Um, and there, I'm sure there's somebody who might've jumped in before me, but it was an early adopter. But, uh, parents, they, they, they've surprised. I thought my mom, if anyone would be less, uh, uh, less excited about it. But it's actually something that I think being involved in industry, she's, I probably get my curiosity and, uh, and my desire for understanding how things work and kind of that engineer, uh, logical, uh, you know, the, the, the, the logic that I apply to everything I do in my professional life, I think I get from my mom. So by being in this industry, it's really been interesting to see how it's caused her to really learn about it more and understand it. And she's now the one who sends me all the articles and links and news clippings about the random going ons of, of legalization and, and kind of technology development within the industry. So it's kind of cool. Um, but yeah, I haven't really had to deal with so much with the, maybe some of the, the stigma from friends and family, but I've worked with a lot of people who, who have, and it's again, it's, you know, going back again, five, six years, uh, working with professional service is like, you know, attorneys and CPAS that were, they want, it's like they wanted to be involved in the industry, but it was too soon. And, and, and the, the stigma, whether it was colleagues or, or family was, was, was, was a real, was a real issue for people. Luckily, I didn't have to deal with that. I, like I said, I was just, I found it was the coolest thing to get involved with. And it was, it was interesting. I came from California, um, to Colorado in 2013 and I never for a minute I saw it as an, as an industry opportunity at that point in time until all of a sudden it was like, wait a second, this really is.
Speaker 2:And then what brand was that again? Is the end of 2013, 13? Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, particularly here or within this platform, I'm finding, um, a space around how do I say that some individuals or brands, uh, win by being the cheapest, some win by being the superior product. Others when by potentially having a less superior and more expensive product, but the customer experience or in other words who you're working with can absolutely be the difference maker. And, uh, I take great pride in this platform really, um, giving folks like yourself an opportunity to let the rest of the world know who it is they're working with as well. So I give you that context to say kind of tangented off and definitely tried to get to know more about you and your story, but please remind everybody why we're here today with Anousha on behalf regarding, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, again, we're super excited about Renesha as a, as again as a technology platform that that is, it's superior and unique, um, in many ways. But it's an oral dissolvable technology which provides for a rapid absorption. There's again, with our partner, um, with our partnership with Spi Pharma, it and it's really licensing their tech, their patented technology, um, again, develop for the pharmaceutical world and now incorporating phyto cannabinoids into that platform. Um, as, as, as many people understand, sublingual absorption has a lot of benefits, typical ingestion and even smoking in terms of, uh, again, the, just the absorbs that itself is, you know, five, six times what it is if you were to ingest or you know, eat well a product. Um, so it comes down to cost. It's, it's, it's, it's a quality, it's consistent, it's convenient, it's quality, it's cost effective. And you know, in that way it's superior again for, you know, certainly for people who are you or who are truly treating conditions. And again, you know, we're in this weird phase of the industry where we can't really talk about nor I think, should we necessarily talk about exactly what this plant can do for people from a medical perspective. Anecdotally, people can decide for themselves. Anecdotally, there's a lot of benefits the science needs to catch up in terms of being able to say, you know, Bruce talked about this in his, in his keynote conversation today, we need to understand the dosing, why you take something when you take something. And there's, and there's a lot of things that need to happen in order to really treat medical conditions, but that's the direction that we're trying to take this, this product. It's a direction we want to go with this product. Um, so it's super exciting.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. See you. There you go. With those those words, we were able to, to absolutely differentiate through price, through superior product. And I absolutely wanted to, to give a small window into, into Eric Knight. You know, the, the, the WHO, one of the many who behind the big picture. Yeah. And there'll be a lot of more, uh, interesting products. And, and developments to come from a new HSA, the company, which, uh, again we're less focused on
Speaker 3:the company today as opposed to our tea, our proprietary technology portfolio, which, which renews Shea is a small piece of. So, uh, well maybe we can talk again of course. Absolutely. In the near future as we, as we kind of make some more announcements around some of our other, other technologies.
Speaker 2:Of course. Yeah. Uh, it sounds like the commitment is to creating value and in the few moments we've shared together, I know that that's absolutely something also we share, uh, anything we will be remissed to not have touched on in these, in these, uh, platform today. I'm sure I can't. Yeah. Right now. Well, listen, I don't want to keep you too long. I do have a card with you. Do, you'll be having to exchange with you, do some followups as things develop. I can also use that to make sure that I get you all of the contents surrounding this. Uh, it won't just live and die on iTunes, iTunes. One time we'll transpose to, to video and audio. We're going to listen to a podcast. There you
Speaker 3:go. At least one episode of one piece out. Well, um, I'll, I'll list that you've got, you got me hooked on your show. So I've gotta, I've gotta, I've gotta listen to more to myself. I really want to hear myself talk. I'll listen to you tell you can tell me what, what's some, uh, what archives or upcoming guests that you think I should listen to? I'll listen to them before myself. All right. I, I'm, yeah, I'm not,
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah. I really, I was like, I was, I was there. Yeah, it was there. What, uh, are you excited or looking forward to with regard to the rest of the weekend here at CWC? VB? It in a workshop, an exhibitor.
Speaker 3:You know, there's a lot, there's a lot of, a lot of people that I'm interested in meeting. It was obviously, it was great to, to actually meet Bruce and person and, and have, have a chance to talk with him. It was interesting because, um, we're initia and renews Hsa. We're, we're, we're, uh, we're just hitting the ground running. Um, there's been years of development and business development activities behind it, but, you know, we're, we're still early life cycle of, of, of our, of our growth. And it was interesting to hear Bruce and kind of a lot of commonalities with what he's talking about, what we're talking about. So just a handful of people that I think we're kind of aligned in our vision for the future of this business that, that I'd like to like to have some more conversations with. Maybe they'll happen on the yacht later tonight. Absolutely. Are we going? I'm going. Cool. Wrote on yet.
Speaker 2:Well, we'll see you there one more time before I let you go. If you would drop a social media handles website, where can we learn more? Get in touch?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Check out renewsha.com for some more information on our product. We're just making a splash with it. It's just getting going right now. So we're super excited about it. We've got a lot of great feedback so far and people are very excited about what it can do for them. So...
Steve:Awesome. Thank you very much. Eric Knight live from the Cannabis World Congress in Business Exposition here at the Javits Center in New York City. Thanks again.
Eric:Thanks, Steve.
Steve:As always, please rate, review, subscribe, and share. Thanks again for listening to the cannabis today podcast.