We recently connected with Jeff SIMILIEN and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Lowkey is a cannabis lifestyle brand established in 2019 with two retail stores and a cultivation facility in development in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Our brand seeks to inspire, motivate and connect with our customers who are cannabis consumers. The Lowkey brand is all about living Lowkey.WHAT IS A LOWKEY LIFESTYLE? It’s all about learning before you earn, getting things done, having faith, being consistent, having urgency, being accountable and lastly, always having fun & integrity. Our vision is to partner with communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the past prohibition of cannabis to ensure their inclusion in the legal cannabis industry. That’s our Economic Empowerment duty. Our long-term goal is to be a fully vertically integrated company that cultivates, processes & delivers to our retail stores and retail partners. Our focus is on community building. Aside from providing jobs to our employees we also want to educate them on financial literacy and homeownership by offering educational programs and on-site professionals to assist them through the process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Jeff Similien LevelsUp Real Estate, Cannabis, & Communities “If a person wants to get anywhere in this world, they’ve got to put in the work.” – Jeff Similien.

Entrepreneur; Founder & CEO of LowKey Dispensary, LowKey Cultivation, & Boston Trust Realty Group Commercial, LLC; and a founding member of community empowerment group Kings Amongst Kings, Jeff Similien has focused on three things throughout his professional career: commercial & residential real estate, cannabis equity, and elevating the communities he’s a part of by providing opportunities, revenue, and attention to underrepresented individuals. These unique experiences, industries, and interests give Jeff the knowledge, wherewithal, and agility to elevate clients and customers—cannabis or real estate—, victims of the legacy cannabis market, and members of underserved communities.

Education

Jeff’s skills acquired throughout his life and career guide him throughout his business and social ventures. His Business Management degree from Curry College, Real Estate Broker’s License, also studying Real Estate Design, Construction, and Project Management course from Boston University enable him to manage LowKey Dispensary and LowKey Cultivation, help real estate clients in MA, RI, NY, and GA succeed, manage LowKey Dispensary and help elevate underrepresented communities.

Real Estate

Jeff’s company, Boston Trust Realty Group Commercial, LLC, has brokered several transactions with major franchises such as Papa John’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Frugal Furniture, and Boost Mobile. Still, his focus has always been on assisting small business owners lacking the technical know-how to attain commercial property or lease commercial retail space. Hard-working individuals deserve legitimacy in the often-inequitable commercial real estate industry. Jeff helps them attain it. His extensive background in real estate was key when he branched into the world of cannabis, giving him an educational edge when it came to zoning, building, and other construction related challenges faced by many cannabis businesses.

Cannabis

Through Jeff’s leadership, LowKey Dispensary has obtained its cannabis license as a Economy Empowerement applicant and will open adult-use retail dispensaries that are 100% black-owned in Dorchester and West Roxbury. Additionally, he plans to launch LowKey Cultivation—a cannabis cultivation facility in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Paying respect to the roots of the communities surrounding LowKey Dispensaries and LowKey Cultivation, the cannabis strains developed and grown at LowKey Cultivation will be given names that speak to the communities surrounding LowKey Dispensaries, paying respect to the neighborhoods, people, history, and vibe of each location and its unique culture and story. Additionally, Jeff uses his platform to create job opportunities and provide mentorship to people historically excluded from the legal cannabis industry, and advocate for people still struggling through legal issues from the legacy cannabis market.

Community Development

At the heart of Jeff’s efforts lies the desire to level up the communities where his businesses are located. Jeff invests significant time, energy, and resources to “#levelup” the communities surrounding his businesses. He believes the key to long-term success for people of color is creating generational wealth through financial freedom. He also believes that members of underserved communities must intentionally work with each other, build each other up, and hold each other accountable if they want that financial freedom.

As part of his mission to elevate and bring underserved communities together, Jeff helped create Kings Amongst Kings, an organization that hosts once-monthly events where participants gather to discuss various topics that disproportionately affect black men, consider how they can help one another both professionally and personally, give direct support and assistance to underrepresented community members, and inspire black men to celebrate themselves so they can succeed. Jeff gives support to Kings Amongst Kings members and those members give it back to him. Kings Amongst Kings members were some of the first investors in LowKey Dispensary and LowKey Cultivation. With their help, resources, and investment support, Jeff was empowered to pursue his career in cannabis.

Jeff recently founded The Co-Pad, a collaborative co-working hub for entrepreneurs in the Mattapan, Dorchester, and Hyde Park areas. He also offers mentorship to students—high school and college—and young athletes, teaching the importance of owning and investing in real estate.

As a former volunteer with YouthBuild Boston, an international program that provides underserved young people the support and credentials needed to enter the building trades successfully, Jeff taught young men about business, personal development, and entrepreneurship.

An athlete in college and semi-pro football player with the Boston Bandits, Jeff sponsors and volunteers with FTLFor The Love to teach disadvantaged children how to play football in Costa Rica.

Outside The Office

When Jeff isn’t working on one of his many ventures, he loves to spend time with his family. Despite his fear of flying, he enjoys traveling. As a former Semi-pro football player, Jeff still enjoys playing sports. During the NFL season, you’ll find him raving over his favorite sports teams (go Pats!).

Ultimately, Jeff Similien is a knowledgeable, dedicated, diligent, determined worker, always doing more to satisfy his clients and customers. He believes LowKey is more than a brand, it’s a vibe—it’s about working to level up his community by supporting local artists, musicians, and DJS, and pushing boundaries for the underserved. Like most of us, he knows challenge and sacrifice; he extends his savvy business skills to help any way he can while being kind, virtuous, and empowering to everyone he meets.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is part of the growing process as an Entrepreneur. Right before covid I was working on Launching my Podcast and a co-working space in Boston. The Pandemic totally ruined those plans. After releasing 10 pilot series. I realize I could be more effective if I was able to meet in person as a group. I ended up creating Kings Amongst Kings non-profit group to help provide a safe space for black men to come together. After 2 years on carrying The-Copad co-working space we decided to shut down the business before entering our third year

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There are so many things I had to unlearn to relearn. Starting with the basics. Dont be afraid to ask the right individuals for help, Information, resources, etc… I believe I was in Dubai 2015 when a Jay-z song from Magna Carter album spark something in my mind to make me realize I wasnt always making the right decisions in life because i was missing out on the right info. All of my real estate and business success has come from the fact I realized “You cant do what you don’t know”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lowkeydispensary.com
• Instagram: JeffSimilien_
• Facebook: Jeff Similien
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-similien-20202214/
• Twitter: jeff_Similien6
• Youtube: lowkey dispensary

Image Credits
Hello Studio Jaide