Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ricky Garza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ricky, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

back in 2015 my industry first job was working as a budtender in a dispensary. I became medically certified to consult for patients, and became a key holding assistant manager quickly. After a few years I moved over into the production and processing side of the industry and started learning the manufacturing processes, cultivation, harvesting, extraction and of course I dove deeper into sales. After about a year of working those jobs I was promoted to sales account manger and handled over 100 accounts for the brand. This led me into contract work after my time with Bodhi high, and was the launching pad for my belief that I could do what I’ve set out to do. As I worked as an account manger I was able to see, experience and find the gaps the industry had and what pain points affected everyone. With this newly found knowledge my business plan strategy began to take shape. The industry, like every other industry needed, accessibility. So my company CannaLife Culture has set out to do just that. With our mobile app platform we look to provide accessibility to brands and product online, coupled with our real life services we offer, globally. With our ecosystem any brand can build an online presence, sell product, network/collab B2B, reach customers B2C and join in all the fun we have planned to give back to the community.

Ricky, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was at a crossroads in my life. My father had just passed away and something he told me always rang in my ear. “Find your own happiness, It means everything”. During that time I had been with Discount Tire company for about 6 years. I worked my way up through the ranks and had become a successful assistant manger making good money. Something was missing though. That happiness had eluded me for many years and it was time to take stock of myself and truly find what I was passionate about. I needed to find what kept me excited every day to show up and do. I wrote down a list of things I was interested in and loved being part of. Knowing Washington state had opened their first dispensaries in 2014, Cannabis made the top of the list. Cannabis had always been part of my life and getting the opportunity to work legally in the industry was motivating and exciting. As I thought about how I was going to be able to make a career out of this type of emerging industry the first thing that popped in my head was starting my own business. I worked enough retail and other jobs which had given me skills and experience, that I knew I could develop into a business owner. But I needed more. So wrote down my goals and gameplan for what I wanted to learn and get experience with, then I prioritized how I could make that happen. The company started out as a mobile app platform intended to be an ecosystem, and has grown with our ability to obtain licensing for distribution. This allows us to be able to fully service all brands we work with and provide a safe and compliant experience across the board, while connecting them to consumers. Our company offers, but is not limited to these services; Distribution, Event Networking, Marketing, Sales support, Brokering, Consulting, Media, and Resource gathering. We are here for the community because we part of the community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first started my company we set out to launch a social media platform which did not suppress cannabis or hemp content. I got a crash course in how ruthless the journey of entrepreneurship could be.. The company I was working with to develop the first phase of my app, ended up not being able to deliver on their promises. We had a launch date of Jan 2020 and it was already behind. I could sense something was off because the communication had been becoming less and less frequent. When I finally had enough and knew a meeting was scheduled I brought a good friend who is also part of the company with me to confront them about everything I had been making a note of. Needless to say it did not go well. From them interrupting phone called to the founder and CEO literally walking away from the table during the meeting I knew what had to be done. I took the necessary steps to get my attorney involved and from here is where the lesson was given. These gentlemen who I had my full trust in broker apart their company, spread out the assets and made it so I couldn’t go after them anymore.. I was gutted. $65,000 later and I only had incomplete wireframes and as many designs and marketing crap I could look at.. No tangible app or fan fare like I had been promised. It was a tough lesson to learn because up until that point I felt like everyone was trying to help me and had my best interest at heart. It was at that moment my nativity wore off and I had been baptized by fire into this newly found career path. I needed to get the rose colored glasses off in order to be present of how I need to protect my business moving forward. As much as it hurt me in the moment I am grateful for that lesson and I can only say I became better because I didn’t let it break me, and I didn’t give up.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As the business has started to take shape there have been many times I’ve had to pivot. Business ownership is fluid, you take the shape of whatever you need to take shape of. If you aren’t adaptable then you will die. One of the biggest pivots we have made is on the distribution front. With the delay of the launch of the app and having to find cashflow for our company, I have fully committed to getting brands products into other brands or consumers hands. Even though this was supposed to come at another phase of our scaling, the decision to do it now has show to be fruitful and empowering. When the opportunity presents itself, its up to you to make it work. As long as you own what you have, only you make the decision on what needs to happen next. So trust yourself and you gut feeling. That voice inside knows all the truth and as long as you can set the ego to the side, pivoting just becomes part of the process when its necessary.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cannalifeculture.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannalifecultureco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannaLifeCultureCo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cannalife-culture-co-llc/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/cannacultureco