We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Wildstein a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

We have a customer who has a chronic health condition. She hasn’t found much relief from over the counter medications or pharmaceuticals so came into Blue Oak after meeting me out in the community. She has been using cannabis products from Blue Oak for a few months now and has shared with me that they are the key to her mental, emotional and physical health. She is now able to get out of bed every day and be a mom to her children. This is exactly why I opened Blue Oak.

Danielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a mom of 3 and have discovered (and fallen in love with) how the health and wellness benefits of cannabis help me in all my roles, including as a mother. I had had a non-traditional career path starting out as a management consultant in the pharmaceutical industry and then working as an assistant to high-profile individuals in the film and fashion worlds running their lives. Running businesses for others scratched my entrepreneurial itch but I knew I wanted more. When NJ considered legalizing recreational cannabis, I saw that as the sign to join the industry and start my own venture within it.

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

I was a few years into my career and my mother got very ill. Without hesitation I paused my career and moved closer to home to take control of her medical care. Unfortunately my mother passed away and did not have access to medical marijuana since it hadn’t been legalized (yet) in NJ. She suffered greatly and for a long time her quality of life was diminished to the point where she was bedridden and severely depressed from the pain she lived with on a daily basis. Her only option was pharmaceuticals and there were many side effects and challenges to using them. My greatest wish was that she had the opportunity to add in cannabis to to her medical care to improve her quality of life. After her passing, medical marijuana was legalized in NJ and after reading research and hearing many stories of how cannabis improved other’s lives, I knew it was an industry I had to be in.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Since cannabis is still federally illegal as a business, it’s very challenging to find funding. You cannot get a loan from an FDIC-insured bank. The only options are to self-fund, get money from friends/family, or appeal to a private equity firm where you’ll likely get a large interest rate for debt or give up a large portion of equity. I weighed all options and went the route of self-funding using savings until those ran out. I then raised a small pool of money from friends and family and have been fortunate to be able to open my business without giving up much equity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blueoaknj.com
• Instagram: blueoaknj
• Facebook: Blue Oak Dispensary
• Linkedin: Blue Oak Dispensary
• Yelp: Blue Oak Dispensary