Exploring Innovative Solutions in Technology and Business with Kevin Hart of Green Check

In this episode, we’re joined by Kevin Hart, the visionary CEO of Green Check, to explore current trends, legislative developments, and the financial hurdles facing the cannabis sector. Our discussion uncovers the critical importance of data in navigating the industry’s future, offering listeners valuable insights into building sustainable success in this dynamic field.

Main Talking Points:

Legislative Developments and Impact on the Cannabis Industry: Kevin Hart shares his expert perspective on potential legislative changes in 2024, including the impact of rescheduling, descheduling, and the SAFE Banking Act on cannabis banking and business operations. He warns of the complexities and unintended consequences that may arise from these changes, urging caution and strategic planning among industry players.
The Role of Data in Cannabis Industry Success: Hart emphasizes the significance of data-driven decision-making in overcoming operational challenges within the cannabis sector. By leveraging data, businesses can improve profitability, streamline supply chains, and forge stronger connections with financial institutions. This approach is pivotal for navigating the industry’s competitive and regulatory landscapes.
Strategies for Cannabis Businesses Navigating Financial Services: The episode highlights the importance of building relationships with financial institutions that understand and support the cannabis industry. Hart discusses how Green Check facilitates these connections, emphasizing education, transparency, and compliance as key factors in fostering trust and stability in cannabis banking.
Whether you’re an industry insider, entrepreneur, or simply curious about the cannabis world, “Navigating the Green Wave” is your go-to source for all things cannabis. Let’s dive in.

Transcript:

00:01 Eric:

This is the Roots to Risk Podcast hosted by Eric Schneider, alongside Isaac Bach. Roots To Risk brings you insights, the latest stories, and long form discussions about the cannabis industry. You’ll hear interviews with industry leaders and their perspective on current and future trends, how they’ve built success and what challenges they have faced. Our goal is to facilitate candid conversations and provide informative content for the cannabis community at large. Let’s go.

00:29 Eric:

Hey, Isaac. What’s going on, man? How we doing today?

00:32 Isaac:

I’m good. It is a Friday, so looking forward to the weekend. How are you doing?

00:37 Eric:

I’m great. It’s snowing in New York City right now. I I love it.

00:43 Isaac:

Don’t I? Don’t miss that. I’ll tell you that much.

00:45 Eric:

I don’t know. I’d rather it snow if it’s gonna be cold out. I mean, I mean, it does turn into like slushing kind of gray sewage stuff, but

00:57 Isaac:

Yeah.

00:57 Eric:

That’s why you get the boots off.

00:59 Isaac:

It was better than, yeah.

01:02 Eric:

Um, but no, we got another, another route to risk on deck today, um, with, uh, you know, a client trusted partner of ours. Um, Kevin Hart, CEO of Green Check verified. Um, for those of you that don’t know, Kev, um, he’s the founder and CEO of Green Check. Kevin brings four decades of enterprise software experience as part of his founding vision of Green Check. He is worked in c-suite of a variety of software companies with global clients and partners. And he’s led two companies to successful exits with publicly traded companies, as well as another to an IPO, uh, with decades of experience, the helm of venture-backed companies, Kevin has brought together an unmatched team to help lead Green Check to its leading position in the cannabis financial services market.

01:48 Eric:

Um, you’ve obviously worked with, with Kevin pretty closely, Isaac, and so I’m excited to hear, you know, what he has to say about, you know, truthfully a lot of, um, legislation that that’s potentially on the docket for 2024 and how that impacts the banking industry. So I think it’ll be a, a great to hear from him and, and get his thoughts.

02:11 Isaac:

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think, you know, our relationship with Green Check has been great over the last few years. Um, you know, it’s one of those things where, where they sit and kind of the ecosystem of the industry, he’ll have some great insight both on, you know, what is currently going on in the space. Like how their conversations go with their banking partners and what to expect in the future.

02:32 Eric:

Absolutely. Well, let’s bring ’em in here.

02:35 Isaac:

Great to have you on, Kevin, thanks for joining us.

02:38 Kevin:

Of course.

02:40 Eric:

Yeah. And, and, um, we’d love to learn just more about Green Check verified, if you could just provide some context to our viewers as well as, you know, how you, uh, got into the space and, and a little bit more about your background.

02:53 Kevin:

Sure. So, green Check, verify, you know, we’re built to, how do you, how do you connect the cannabis industry at large? And that’s any node of it, any, whether it’s indirect or direct, no matter where you are in that supply chain of commerce over the supply chain of the plant. And how do you effectively connect the cannabis industry to financial services and the business services they need? It shouldn’t be as hard as it historically has been. It shouldn’t be as difficult and as expensive as it still tends to be. We’re we’re seeing movement there, but, you know, that is our core premise and, and, and why we exist.

03:29 Kevin:

And so we take a, uh, a very data-centric, uh, focus to this because that’s the thing that was missing for everybody. Um, and how do you establish trust and visibility? You have to have data and transparency, and people need to understand that.

03:44 Kevin:

And so it started with the notion of, you know, really just basic banking services, which, you know, it is hard to believe that was just four or five years ago that that was so problematic to where the industry’s come. And we’ve made tremendous strides, uh, across the board, not just at Green Check, I would say the industry at large, uh, in the enablement of that. Um, and it’s encouraging to what that can hold for the future. So we’re, we’re super excited about, you know, not only what we’ve accomplished, but I still think we’re just at the beginning, especially as you start looking at the future, whether it’s safety, safer banking, act, descheduling two, a, DE, interstate commerce, international commerce, we can’t let progress become obstacles to the continuation of the success.

04:33 Kevin:

Those can’t become new hip hiccups and or obstacles that other people still the un undereducated and or in some sections, I’ll just say uneducated. ’cause they’re never gonna get educated. We can’t let that become the obstacles to the continuation of that progress as well. And I think that we play, uh, a key and integral role into not only what has happened, but what the future will look like.

04:58 Isaac:

Yeah. No, and I mean, on that education pacing, obviously we’ve gotten a chance to work closely with, with you all over the last few years, but, um, on the education piece, I guess, how has that process gone both towards, you know, your banking partners as well as to the cannabis industry as a whole, trying to get used to kind of operating business in a more traditional sense?

05:17 Kevin:

Um, it, it’s, it’s going well and we’re seeing, we’re seeing, uh, pockets of development or, or greater understanding. So, you know, when we first started this and we would approach banks, we used to, you know, I’m, I’m a sports person. We used to like, get the Heisman, you know, <laugh>, you know, the full handout, et cetera. You know, we would talk to a banker and we’d go, I’d like to talk to you about cannabis, ah, banking, you know, we never even got the second word out. And, um, you, as is the case with anytime you’re doing something new, uh, you, you better get used to hearing no, a lot more than you’re ever gonna hear.

05:51 Kevin:

Yes. But we’ve seen that morph and we’ve seen that graduate, and as of today, we have 163 different financial institutions that have said yes, and they’re on the platform.

06:00 Kevin:

So that’s encouraging. Um, but that’s really through education. And what we, what we realize is that we, uh, we hold, uh, cannabis banking bootcamps every month, and we make that free to any financial institution that wants to sign up, understand what this industry pro that presents as an opportunity and that you can do this. And so what the, one of the bigger challenges always along with that education is, why would I do this as a financial institution? When we started Green Check, I had it all backwards.

06:33 Kevin:

I, I’ll raise two hands and say, I screwed that up because I figured if you had a platform and you built the, the mechanism and they understood that they could do it, they would wanna do it, it was wrong. Okay. They had to have that compelling reason. Why would I serve the cannabis industry? And once they realized these are stake programs, they’re compliant, they’re legal businesses, people are trying really hard, and it presents a dual financial opportunity, they would enter the space.

07:01 Kevin:

So we still lead with that education on a monthly basis, multiple webinars, and we bring partners to, to the equation folks like you and, and have them also talk about it. So that works in both directions, because then that becomes valuable to the cannabis operators, which have a level of suspicion or lack of trust, and they’ve been burned. Yeah. Um, very, very often by, um, overaggressive rate structures and people who just didn’t deliver on what they promised.

07:32 Kevin:

And, you know, we all know the history and the horror stories. I’m a very forward movement person. You know, I’m not a big rear view mirror, uh, type thinker. Uh, but so, you know, the cannabis operators have also now seen what those true opportunities are. But how do you make that easy? And how do you put them in front of curated and trusted vetted partners? That’s what they also need to understand.

07:56 Eric:

Yeah. Just to piggyback off that, Kevin, like how, how do you guys go about seeking bank partners and, and vetting them accordingly to, you know, prior to, uh, having them on the platform?

08:09 Kevin:

Well, it, it does, it goes back to, and starts with the education, but, so the, the reasons why banks get into, uh, into this industry have have evolved and varied. And as we’ve gone through all these processes, we’ve kind of been able to pick back the onion. So, well, you know, the, the high level topical areas are, there are some, uh, financial institutions that are exceptionally community focused. So these cannabis opper businesses state up state compliant operating in their location. They wanna support their community.

08:41 Kevin:

And we, we wanna, we want be able to enable that support. We’ve had, uh, c levels and board members of different, again, different sizes. Doesn’t matter if it’s credit union or a bank, community bank, regional, even national. We’ve had board members come in and say, cannabis has helped a family member or a friend, et cetera. I did not realize the value in the medicinal value in this plant.

09:04 Kevin:

I want to be able to support this community. We also have a, a decent sized segment of, of population where financial institutions have high value clients, and those high value clients have invested in cannabis businesses. They become cannabis operators, and all of a sudden the financial institution’s like, I like their business. I have to be able to support their portfolio, and then they therefore get involved. So it really crosses, uh, the spectrum. But it really, what it always comes down to, back to the why is the context, and I, that was also a big lesson that we learned.

09:42 Kevin:

So, quick example I use is, you can’t say the cannabis industry’s 50 $50 billion. I mean, we all say that we know the top line, but you can’t say that to a banker. And, uh, I’ll, I’ll say Toledo, Ohio, because Ohio’s got a hot market, you can’t go to a, you can’t say that it’s a $5 billion industry in Ohio when you’re talking to a community banker in Toledo that there’s no context. But you can go to them and say, this is $175 million opportunity right here in your community, if you know, would you like to be part of that?

10:19 Kevin:

That gets their interest, and it gives ’em a frame of context in which they could work in. And so aside from it comes back to that, why, okay, why would you do this? Can you do this? Nobody’s gone to jail. You’re not either, and here’s how. And then the how becomes simple for them.

10:36 Isaac:

No, definitely. And on that kind of point of, you know, showing them that it’s worked for other people, I guess what, in your conversations with current bank partners, or I guess maybe potential future bank partners, has the conversation been around, you know, rescheduling, descheduling, legalization, you know, how is that gonna impact, you know, your guys’ pitch? Um, are most of the banks that you guys are currently working with, you know, kind of the long-term, you know, targets who will be, you know, around for a long time, or you guys think that’ll open it up a little bit more?

11:06 Kevin:

More? I think ultimately every financial institution, uh, in, in the United States is going to be serving the cannabis industry whether they want to or not. And I think that’s one of the interesting things about Safer that really comes in. I mean, the Safer Banking Act in its original state, et cetera, that was an opt-in model. And so as we’ve been growing, we’ve been working in that opt-in, you decide you wanna serve the safer, uh, construct as it’s currently defined. And we can get into the when it might pass, that’ll be interesting.

11:37 Kevin:

Uh, but as it as it’s written, it’s an opt-out model. So, you know, you’re gonna have to intentionally say you’re not going to do that. And so part of our thinking and our forward thinking from a technology and enablement perspective is that all financial institutions would do this because you’re gonna wanna serve your community.

11:55 Kevin:

You’re gonna wanna serve this industry that’s, you know, greater than alcohol in the tax basis and in the revenue volume. So I think, I think there’s that part of it. Um, the Descheduling ties into that as well. Um, and you know, the way I, the way I, uh, I phrase it, um, every time there’s like a peep outta Washington, more people pop their head up above the waterline. They, you know, or come out from behind the bushes, they’re like, Ooh, what’s going on now? What, you know, where, where’s this going? Because they’re seeing more of the commerce impact, they’re seeing more of the social acceptance.

12:31 Kevin:

They’re seeing less of the reputational risks that a lot of ’em used to hide behind in the early days. You know, I’m gonna lose, I’m gonna lose my deposit base because they think we’re a weed bank. We’re seeing people more public about that. They’re serving the cannabis industry with billboards as financial institutions, public ads rebranding a whole division of a bank to say we’re serving the cannabis industry like a can of first outta Merchant Marine and in Mississippi. So that whole environment with the view of something, something someday is gonna happen in Washington is driving more people to wanna be involved.

13:11 Isaac:

No, definitely. And that makes a ton of sense. I mean, I think, you know, it is interesting kind of to your point, no one knows when any of this stuff will actually pass, but the fact that it keeps getting brought up to the docket, I have to imagine, has made some of your conversations easier. Because to your point, anytime anything gets mentioned in Washington, it seems like people’s interest does peak a little bit.

13:30 Kevin:

Mm-Hmm, <affirmative> it does dramatically. And we’re also seeing an elevation in the size and style of the financial institutions. And it’s not just the financial institutions too, it’s the ancillary, uh, providers around it. You know, you’re seeing that next level of companies wanting to be involved in the industry, and they’re starting to raise their hand, they’re starting to look at it because they realize that this does present a commercial opportunity for them.

14:02 Eric:

And, and Kevin with, with 2023 in the, in the rear view mirror, and, and looking into obviously 2024, what do you think, you know, some of the biggest financial challenges for cannabis related businesses as, as they’re looking to grow in 2024? Um, and how can financial institutions offer solutions for these

14:21 Kevin:

Challenges? Well, the, the, the key thing to me is, you know, with financial institutions, it’s been part of our ethos and, uh, foundational development all along. Financial institutions are driven by data. And the, the opportunity, as the cannabis industry continues to evolve, mature, um, you know, get smarter in terms of their operations, um, that data’s becoming more available. And when you look at studies that come out of like, uh, MJ Biz Con and, and some of the other folks, when you look at the fact that 65% of cannabis operators aren’t profitable, that that sounds an alarm bell in financial institutions and business services providers.

15:04 Kevin:

But for the smarter thinking and the forward thinking ones, they’re like, well, why is that happening? Okay, what is, what’s causing that? What’s the data? And so we know, for example, I would, you know, we’ll just, uh, we’ll focus on the retail segment.

15:19 Kevin:

You know, the vast majority of retail, uh, operations are over inventory. So the most expensive part of their operations are the products that they sell. And they’re over inventory. And we see data sets that say they’re 20% over inventory. Now, if you could take the data and the, these things are possible, these are the things that we’re focused on in building. ’cause banking’s done, okay, we have banking wired in, there isn’t a cannabis business that we can’t get a bank account for. Now, how do you make these businesses more functionally operational with the help of financial services?

15:52 Kevin:

And so if you look at your 20% over inventory, and if you can get that into 10%, that 65% segment of the market, that’s not profitable, you could drop that to 50%. It’s, you know, 10% drop here as a 15 to 20% impact here, because we’re at that thin margin late, you know, razor edge of who’s profitable, who’s not.

16:13 Kevin:

And so if you can help them through peer-to-peer analysis and access to cash advance open to order demand planning based upon, uh, market information with commodity pricing, then the financial institutions become much more interested about that. Especially when you look at the ag component of this. Right? So these are the things that I think this is where the cannabis industry should be focused on growing, because the sales are there, the growth is there, but the profitability and the survivability continues to be the challenge.

16:49 Kevin:

And that, that’s an odd nexus, right? How do you have this growing industry and growing demand and shifting consumer behaviors, and yet they’re struggling to survive? And then with the rescheduling and the two 80 e impact, that’s gonna open up a lot of doors, and that’s gonna make it just a lot easier. But you don’t have to wait for that to do what you could do today.

17:16 Isaac:

No, that makes sense. Yeah. Sorry,

17:20 Eric:

Isaac.

17:20 Isaac:

No, you go, go ahead. Go ahead, <laugh>.

17:24 Eric:

Um, no, I think, I think 2024 is gonna be a critical year. I think, you know, obviously with rescheduling, um, that, you know, the, the new initiative that just came out, uh, very recently, you know, what are your thoughts on that and, and how that could shape, you know, and, and help assist with the profitability issue that you had just mentioned. Right. I, I think a lot of that has to do also with, you know, two a DE, um, as a big component of that. So do you think that if that were to be passed or something like safer, um, that would, that would definitely impact operators in a positive way?

18:04 Kevin:

I think, uh, any of those things could have a positive outcome for the operators. But, um, I hope Washington doesn’t conflate too many things in, into, into one attempt because it, it’s just, it’s gonna be more of what we live through. Yeah. Okay. And so I think, um, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t make a lot of friends in Washington with this, but then that’s not important. A lot of this is just pure political theater. It’s vote pandering, you know, this rhetoric that, that a lot of it comes up.

18:35 Kevin:

If they wanted to do something, they could do it and they could make it, they could make it happen faster. And so you hear the same voices all the time, and some are well-intentioned, others are not in, in, in terms of what they’re trying to do. And so bite off what you can chew and, and, you know, make certain things happen.

18:55 Kevin:

And the two 80 e does not require rescheduling, um, per se for that to become effective. And, you know, that’s something that could be done. The rescheduling, I think a lot of people, um, you should read the finer print and there’s been some marvelous pieces written about what it would mean if it goes as it’s written, especially to the adult market, et cetera. And I think the cannabis industry needs to remember and or, uh, kind of create a greater focus and a realization as much as what the cannabis industry is trying to do.

19:29 Kevin:

There are other people that have more money in bigger lobbies that they’re trying to make sure it goes the way that they want it to go. And I don’t know why, but it just feels like a lot of times, you know, the cannabis industry gets in a echo chamber and it’s not realizing that, you know, be careful what you wish for and how you wish for it, because you don’t want what you very well may get as part of this.

19:54 Kevin:

So you have to kind of look at those things and make sure that it’s gonna align to the growth of the industry as it as it should grow. And it doesn’t become monopolized by, you know, a lot bigger, more powerful players. And at the same time, especially with interstate and international commerce, one thing we can all guarantee, we can bet our lives on, there’s gonna be more rules and regulations coming outta Washington. And so you have to be careful as to how those may impact you as an operator in whatever segment of the business that you may be in.

20:31 Kevin:

So stop pushing so hard for things that you may not want.

20:35 Isaac:

Yeah. No, thank

20:36 Kevin:

You. My advice,

20:38 Isaac:

I think that’s a great point. ’cause I think in some of the conversations we’ve had, um, a lot of companies who push for, for these things, and I get where they’re coming from, but they’re not, not ready should federal legalization happen. Like they don’t have the infrastructure to meet what the FDA would likely require. What, you know, any of these organizations that have been hands off are gonna require. So we, we definitely know some clients and some, uh, industry friends who have set their organizations up with that forward thinking, um, in mind.

21:08 Kevin:

Well, you guys are as close to it as we are just from a different prism. Right. You know, it, you, you look at that and you see what the impact of some of these things are. You know, how do you, how do you ensure that, how do you underwrite that? How do you evaluate some of those things, especially with that dramatic change that’s going to happen, not once it’s voted on, but once it becomes codified,

21:30 Isaac:

Right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think from the underwriter’s perspective, it’s going to allow them to kind of undertake it more in a traditional, you know, on the product side, CPG fashion or, you know, on the actual growth side, more of an agricultural fashion. Um, that being said, I don’t know if there’s gonna be the instinct drop in insurance rates that people are expecting because there’s still not enough claim information about it. And truthfully, anytime you’re dealing with any kind of ible or inhalable items, um, make sure it premiums are higher regardless. But it’ll be, it’ll be interesting to see, you know, what, insurance carriers are more open to it once that happens.

22:05 Isaac:

But, um, I don’t think it’s a dramatic change to your point, that isn’t everyone’s expecting

22:12 Kevin:

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, it’s not the silver bullet that a lot of people are hoping that it’s going to be. Yeah. It’s like Safer Banking Act. Oh, anybody can bank. Oh, no way. There’s gonna be more rules and regulations. It’s gonna be harder. And so all those manual programs that are out there and all the other programs that are out there that are data, not data-driven today, that they’re just gonna have to get shut down. And now you’re gonna have a whole new set of people that are, be right back to, I don’t have a bank account. How am I paying my employees? How am I handling my vendor inventory?

22:44 Kevin:

How am I, how am I just operating my business? esp and at the same time, electronic payments are coming in, where’s that money coming from? Where’s it gonna go? And so if people don’t have a forward thinking, begin with the end in mind as to what some of these changes might be from an operations perspective, it’s gonna get ugly. And that’s regardless of the size that goes for the MSOs, that goes down to everybody.

23:09 Isaac:

No. Great. And, and then that opens up the, the door for what you said about, you know, being monopolized by people who weren’t in the industry from beginning with. ’cause they can just come in and buy all the assets and roll it right into their standard SOPs.

23:23 Kevin:

Yep. And it, and it’s gonna happen in pockets. We’re gonna see that, uh, especially as inter interstate and international commerce comes into play, there’s ways to fend that off through smart and thoughtful operations, but people have to apply more time to the future of their business versus the, the novelty of owning a business today. And that’s a, that’s a tough lesson to get across.

23:53 Eric:

It’s also a delicate balance, right? Because, you know, you still have to, to operate for the now and, and try to achieve profitability, but also be forward thinking, right? I think it’s, it’s very, very delicate. Um, mm-Hmm. No, this has been a, an awesome conversation, Kevin, and, and really insightful, I think, um, it’s, it’s always great to get the lens of an expert in their specific field and, and especially with you, um, as it relates to banking and financial institutions.

24:24 Eric:

So I think it’s been, uh, really, really helpful and, and educational. And, um, before we wrap things up, um, Isaac just has a, a few fun questions for you, and then we’ll, we’ll get you back.

24:39 Kevin:

I’m ready.

24:40 Isaac:

All well, you know, I, I see, I see the golf pole you’re wearing. So you’re walking out to the first tee, need to get yourself dialed in. Uh, what, what’s the song on the playlist to get you a to pipe one down the middle?

24:52 Kevin:

Um, so you know what, I’ll go, you know, I’ll, I haven’t, I played golf twice in 2023, and if I don’t play golf in 2024, trust me, I’ll be, I’ll be happy <laugh>. Um, so what I always do, if some, when somebody asks a question and I do this all the time, go open up, uh, iTunes and go to the song that you last listened to. And so for me it was Walk on the Ocean Toad, the Wet Sprocket Live. Nice.

25:18 Isaac:

I

25:18 Kevin:

Like it. I love, I love Toad too, by the way. Oh, nice. I’m, I’m kind of dating myself there, but that was the last song I listened to. No, I love

25:26 Eric:

It. You go,

25:27 Isaac:

My, my answer would’ve been, I need that first transfusion before I can get out on the golf course. So definitely get the, the swing juice going. But, um, no. Next one is, has there been a book that you’ve turned back to a few times that, you know, you’ve found a lot of, um, useful knowledge and that you would recommend for, you know, those listening to, uh, checkout?

25:48 Kevin:

Yeah, I’m gonna, I’ll, I’ll further date myself again, and I just recently, I love this que thank you. I just recently had to go on Amazon and find it because I don’t know where my original version is. I think I gave it away. It’s a book called The Wiz Kits and what it had to do with, uh, coming outta World War ii, and it was the first time that, uh, again, I’m a data nerd, I’m a supply chain nerd. I, I, I’m at traffic lights. I’m trying to guess how many cars are gonna make it through each lane at any light at any given time.

26:19 Kevin:

Um, and it was about the value of data and supply chains. And so it was about this group of 10 individuals coming outta World War ii. They became the whiz kids, and they went to work, uh, in Detroit at one of the big three, it won’t name ’em.

26:34 Kevin:

So nobody’s offended, and they were hired as a group. You gotta hire all 10 of us. And the impact that they had on that and the impact that supply chain has on everything. And I think the pandemic raised everybody’s awareness as to what is the supply chain and what the impact is. And that is a, that is a core principle and tenet of how Green Check is operated and how I think everybody should look at supply chain should be required class, uh, setting for any grade level of school.

27:06 Kevin:

So The Wiz Kids by John Byrne, it’s, it’s a book. It’s 695 pages, and it’s a fascinating story of 10 individuals and the impact that they’ve had on your lives, each of our lives, you know, through what they did and how tragically some of their lives ended as well.

27:26 Isaac:

I’ll definitely need to check one that one out. That’s a good one. That’s a, that’s a new one. We’ve gotten a few people with similar answers. So that’s a, that’s a unique one. I like it. Um, and then last one, what’s, uh, what’s your go-to restaurant? Like, what’s your favorite place around where you live or, you know, on your various travels? I know you hit the conference circuit quite a bit, so is there a, a spot that comes to mind that you recommend?

27:48 Kevin:

I, I like to try and go to, um, the instant, the Neighborhood Stake Houses by municipalities. Every, every one is known for a steakhouse, and it’s not the change, it’s not the Smith and Ripoffs, whoops, Smith and Walinski or some of those other ones. It’s, you know, what’s the local steakhouse? So we were just in Chicago this week for a sales kickoff and Harry Carey Steakhouse is there <laugh>, you’ve gotta go. You have to try it. Uh, so I, I, for me, it’s about Steakhouse.

28:22 Eric:

I love that.

28:23 Kevin:

I know it’s a podcast everybody, but look at me, <laugh>. I didn’t miss, I didn’t miss the Meal. <laugh>,

28:29 Isaac:

What’s, uh, what’s the Go-to in New York? I’m curious. Everyone has very different answers for New York State houses, so curious as what you’re, so,

28:37 Kevin:

It’s, it’s, it, it, it homestead. I love Homestead. It’s, it’s just so, it’s so good. It’s so true to its roots and what they’ve done, and you’ve, I’ve never, never had a bad meal and, or when I brought anybody there, it’s, it’s

28:57 Eric:

Right in meat packing too, so,

28:59 Kevin:

Yeah. Oh, it’s, it’s a great area. Great area. Yep.

29:03 Eric:

It’s about 20 blocks south from me right now where I, where I’m currently sitting. So maybe, have you

29:07 Kevin:

Ever been, have you ever been there? No,

29:10 Isaac:

I

29:10 Kevin:

Have. All right. I’ll tell you what, go. If you don’t like it, send me the bill. I’ll send you the money. <laugh>. I’m, I’m serious.

29:18 Eric:

I’m sure it’ll be great. I’m sure it’ll be great. Um, but I, but I appreciate it, Kevin. This has been an awesome, uh, awesome episode and, you know, looking forward to seeing what you guys do in 2024 and how you continue to support the industry. I think it’s, you know, tremendous and, and really needed. Um, and I’m sure we’ll see you on the conference circuit and, uh, have a great rest of your day.

29:40 Kevin:

All right. Appreciate it. Again, I’m super excited about, you know, what’s gonna happen in 2024. Yeah. It’s, it’s gonna be a great year for cannabis.

29:48 Eric:

Agreed.

29:49 Kevin:

Yep.

29:49 Isaac:

Thanks again, Kevin.

29:52 Eric:

Alright, another one of the books. Um, I think, I think what was really interesting that Kevin mentioned about legislation and and movement at the federal level was, you know, kind of like, be careful what you wish for a little bit and, and making sure that it really does align with your business and that, you know, operators are obviously trying to, you know, survive and thrive and, and be profitable, but also need to be forward looking, um, if and when there is legislation that that changes and, and impacts them on a daily basis.

30:30 Isaac:

No, a hundred percent. I mean, I think, you know, mentioned it while we were speaking with him and we’ve mentioned on a few other podcasts. I mean, I think as you’re preparing to grow your business, you have to kind of future proof it. Um, because if not, like if you’re not ready for when some of these things turn on and you don’t have the internal, you know, SOPs to make sure you’re operating in a compliant fashion, it’s gonna be really hard for you to get, you know, up and running and maintain operations when that happens. So I think the way he go, him and the Green Shake team go about it and their conversations, um, makes a lot of sense.

31:03 Isaac:

And they’re providing a great service to the Canvas industry.

31:07 Eric:

Yeah. And, and, and they’re in it for the long haul. Right. I think, um, and that’s just, I, I, you know, and we always stress that all the time, right? ib, it’s like making sure that you’re partnering with firms and ancillary providers that are, you know, truthfully in it for the long haul and, and are gonna be supporting operators, you know, today and in the future. Um, and, and I can, you know, confidently say that Green Check is, is definitely one of those and, and we’re excited to continue to partner with them in 2024.

31:39 Isaac:

No, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, he even mentioned that Canvas companies are used to kind of getting the rug pulled out from under room pretty quickly, which leads to some skepticism, but um, having more people in the industry like Kevin and the Green Check team is definitely gonna help minimize, you know, that risk and help companies continue.

31:58 Eric:

Absolutely. Until next time, Isaac.