One of our favorite people in the industry is Dustin Steerman who we met through our GM, Rick Bashkoff and the The Cannabis Collective. We really appreciated the opportunity to write something together with Dustin about about NY cannabis.
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This article is co-authored by Rick Bashkoff, GM of Lit Alerts and Dustin Steerman, Founder & CEO of Vert
What does community mean to you?
For us, it represents a group of people who share a common interest and support each other in pursuit of something bigger than themselves. It can be linked to your town, your school, your work, or even your industry.
There is no limitation to how many you can be a part of; the real question becomes: how many can you actively contribute towards?
New York is Built Different
The notion of community is something that’s ingrained into the people of the Empire state. Home to one of the most dynamic populations in the world, famous ethnic enclaves like Little Italy and Little Dominican Republic provide not only a sense of security but a connection to a group’s homeland and culture.
Large business networks in New York wield power across the globe in the areas of finance and fashion. Head north and west from the city, and you’ll find some of the most talented and well-connected farming communities in the country.
Activity-based groups are also popular, like the Catskill 3500 club. Sports teams are some of the most legendary, like Yankees fans, Giants fans, and Bills Mafia (and how about the Knicks fans recently?)
The grit that New Yorkers are known for is grounded in confidence that starts in their communities.
As New York turns another page in the story of the birth of the most influential cannabis market in the world, finding your community has become vital and has taken a central role. Why is New York primed to create multiple communities to support each other for success? How do you create a community?
To build a community you must first have committed leaders. The leaders are responsible for assembling and organizing the members and identifying the common interests that drive it forward. Sometimes this means bringing together separate but like minded groups that share common interests or outcomes.
Beak & Skiff and On the Revel are examples of leaders in their communities.
Beak & Skiff
Since 1911, Beak & Skiff has been a driving force in their local and state communities in New York. Through five generations, the family-owned farm has produced products that feed and provide enjoyment for New Yorkers of all different communities. From the apples in their now famous apple orchard, to apple cider, hard cider, spirits and now cannabis with their Ayrloom brand.
They welcome the community at their Apple Hill campus which features their famous apple orchards and tons of family friendly attractions. You’ll frequently see the 1911 and Ayrloom brands proudly supporting local events.
Revelry
Founded in 2016, which may as well be five generations ago in cannabis, On The Revel is the parent company for a collection of curated educational and networking experiences democratizing information for those interested in the regulated cannabis industry.
On The Revel events, known as Revelry, are conferences aimed at fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and flourishing cannabis sector.
These regular in-person events along with On The Revel’s Dope People online membership community, podcast, and virtual experiences, celebrate the diverse people that have been and are currently building the cannabis industry in the aim of developing its gold-standard, with opportunities for all.
On the Revel is the organizer for the upcoming Buyers’ Club Event in Hudson on May 30th, 2024.
Passionate Participants
The second second layer of building a successful community is passionate participants. These are not the original organizers, but rather members and participants who take their commitment and shared interests seriously.
They are people who attach and align their personal and professional success to the overall good of the group. Passionate participants bring their energy, resources, knowledge, and willingness to help others. They also often serve as a support system for the leaders.
Lit Alerts and Vert are examples of passionate participants.
Founded by a dispensary owner, an experienced marketing executive, and a seasoned technology leader, Lit Alerts is now run by Rick Bashkoff.
Rick was born and raised in upstate New York and has spent the majority of his adult life in New York City so Rick has participated in many New York communities.
Being a passionate participant for Lit Alerts starts by showing up and listening to the needs of the New York cannabis operators. We attend local events and schedule one on one and group meetings with members of the community and just ask questions and listen.
As software and data focused professionals, we offer our problem solving capabilities by creating simple, cost-effective software tools that reduce costs and drive revenue.
Lit Alerts is a market intel tool that helps cannabis wholesale and retail teams sell. The tool crawls publicly available menu data every hour during business hours and aggregates that data in one easy-to-use spot.
You can easily access a directional picture of the important activities happening in your market, like low and out of stock inventory alerts, pricing, image reviews and even estimated sales.
Vert, founded by Dustin Steerman, a Philadelphia native, is hyper focused on accelerating cannabis brand and product growth in New York and beyond. They enable operators to launch new products and brands in days instead of months.
Vert is rebuilding cannabis’ packaging supply chain because in their eyes it is broken, the time it takes to launch new products is too long and the amount of money required to ship an idea to market is too much. Brand builders and plant touching operators have to fight every day just to operate a business in cannabis, packaging is something Vert believes shouldn’t be on their list of problems to deal with and is here to fix just that.
Since launching his second ancillary start up, Dustin has been spending time in New York in anticipation of the markets scale up. He knew from the start that to be an influential partner to operators across the state, Vert needed to get involved locally to understand the challenges they faced first hand.
The cannabis community in New York goes back decades and has a unique character deeply rooted in legacy urban cultivation. That’s why it’s Vert’s goal to empower the next wave of the state’s producers that are overwhelmingly focused on quality more so than other markets by connecting them with their buyers through packaging.
The General Membership
The final piece is the most important, the general membership. And if you’re reading this article and you’re a participant in the New York cannabis market, that means you.
The role of the general members is quite simple: show up and support. The members have the most to gain by participating. Attending events, lending their expertise and knowledge base, and supporting the passionate participants and leaders.
There’s no doubt New York cannabis has been an absolute struggle to date. Finding and adding value to your community is one of the ways to take on the challenges that lie ahead, and prosper once the market settles.
The other role of the general membership is to create new communities. So while you might be a member of the New York cannabis community, you may be a leader in the Rochester cannabis community or maybe you’re a leader in a community of a specific group of cannabis operators, cultivators, processors, or distributors.
But again, the role of the member is first and foremost to show up and support. Your job is to listen, learn, and contribute. We’ve all seen how cutthroat competition and business practices have negatively affected other cannabis markets. Building community is one of the ways to combat that. Other industries do this. They work together for a common goal. They add value to the industry as a whole, as opposed to just their personal or business interests.
Buyers Club is coming up on May 30th, and this is your opportunity to join one of the largest and most powerful communities in the New York cannabis scene. The best and brightest brands and retailers will be in attendance discussing new products, new form factors, solutions to problems they face, as well as forming the basis of key relationships and key partnerships.
Join us in Hudson on May 30th and find out what New York cannabis looks like.
