The pre-show events and day 1 are a wrap and I am thrilled to share my experience and what I learned.
The pre-show event that I chose to go to was Blunt Brunch nationals. I love the Blunt Brunch community and though I've only been part of it for a short time, I've met so many amazing women and made so many fruitful connections. This was my first national event and it did not disappoint. Ms. Kindness MC'd and she is a firecracker and so much fun keeping us entertained throughout the day.
In addition, The Happy Therapist did a fun visualization and affirmations to set the energy and get our minds right for the week. Adelia and Parisa took the stage next looking fabulous and shared that Blunt Brunch will be heading to the East Coast next year! If you are on the opposite coast, definitely look out for their events, they are always top-notch.
The brunch tables were assigned and I met a handful of amazing women that have brands including an infused cold brew in AZ and a hemp-derived wellness line for older women based out of San Antonio, TX. Also an attorney and a female entrepreneur from China, Cecilia. We sat together during the dance performance, which she seemed to enjoy with fresh eyes! Also met Cannasite who I'm forming a partnership with to help create impactful websites for my clients.
Day 1 of the show I walked the expo floor for a few hours and a takeaway is this year is different. One of my main goals on the floor is meeting with Grass Goddess Consulting software providers and finding new ones to partner with. I would guess that there are about 70% of the total booths for software companies compared to last year.
In addition, one of the biggest ones in the space, Dutchie, has decreased it's presence drastically. Last year, hotel Dutchie was a huge booth with lots to experience and see. This year, they have just a regular booth with very little fanfare. In my opinion, it's important to notice these things because it means something. It means that they are struggling. Dutchie has had a number of issues over the past couple years and this year included an outage on 4/20 and also their payment platforms failing in 2023. These things happen, especially in cannabis, but Dutchie has chosen to move away from people that know cannabis to people that know restaurant POS and eCommerce. Is this a smart business move? I don't think so.
Back to the show... I walked for several hours and stopped at a number of booths including Metrc, Blaze, Surfside, Dispenza, and Bamboo, which are all software providers and then had a little fun at the Blazy Susan booth. After some time walking alone, I met up with my friend Chris Carroll and walked some more. Chris is one of those friends who knows so many quality people. We met up with some people he knows and also Ian Rassman who I met at the UCLA cannaclub event at the beginning of November. One of the people I met is Sergio, from Dispenza who I'm looking forward to chatting to more and forming a partnership to help my clients market to their customers.
After the show, I went over to a couple happy hour events in hotel suites. I started at an event my CPA, Rachel Wright, was holding at the Bellagio. Met some attorneys, an HR software company and a packaging brand. Also an operator from Montana with five retail stores that I would love to help out! Was so nice to meet Bryce and can't wait to chat with him more.
Next, I had two invites to suite parties at the Cosmopolitan. I was trying to make it to way too many things and I was excited when I figured out it was the same party! Pamos and Surfside threw a sweet suite party for all women and I met some amazing people. Another consultant from Colorado that I definitely want to stay in touch with and several locals involved in operations and politics. Also ran into my friend from Headset, Steph, that I met in person at Benzinga and we immediately clicked!
Got to also spend a little time with Alyson from Pamos who is just the sweetest and brings the fancy cannabis cocktails wherever she goes. I love finding my San Diego homies when I'm traveling and seeing her truly brightened my evening. So did the 50mg I drank while I was there, which carried me all the way back to my hotel after wandering through the Paris hotel and riding the monorail like it was the first time.
I skipped the big parties because my legs were killing me despite wearing sneakers...I walked 20K steps!! Also they are often loud and if I'm not meeting up with friends or able to accomplish some business, I'm good just chilling.
Overall it was a great day. I felt like I accomplished a lot, met some new quality people, connected with some friends and had some fun. Attending talks focused on retail operations on Day 2 so stay tuned for more on that!