We were lucky to catch up with Jocelyn Sheltraw recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jocelyn , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The primary mission of Budist is to create a community of cannabis enthusiasts that helps consumers deepen their product knowledge and discover the best brands for their needs. We’re doing this by creating the industry’s first ratings & review platform, similar to what TripAdvisor and Rotten Tomatoes do for travelers and moviegoers.

We believe that cannabis is one of the most miraculous plants on earth, and that its benefits span almost all age groups and product use cases. We embarked on this mission because we feel that cannabis is currently stuck in a lifestyle niche that insulates it from mainstream awareness, acceptance and adoption. Tens of millions of consumers are seeking safe, trusted and reliable sources of information that can help them navigate the complex cannabis product landscape, yet there’s a scarcity of resources that appeal to new audiences and that take a professional approach to consumer education. Our team draws inspiration from analogous specialty goods industries like wine, beer, coffee and chocolate, and we’re applying these connoisseurship frameworks to normalizing the appreciation of cannabis. Budist is our vehicle for accomplishing this goal and fulfilling our ultimate mission—which is to celebrate cannabis alongside all of the other forms of art, medicine and recreation that make humanity great.

Jocelyn , 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?

My partner and Claudio Miranda and I are both lifelong cannabis consumers. It’s infused in our lifestyle in so many ways—in our daily rituals, our community & culture, our favorite music and arts, and in our lives as entrepreneurs. It is our love for this plant that gets us up in the morning and that inspires our work. And it affords us the one business advantage that is hardest to replicate: passion. This coupled with our unwavering belief in our mission is what sets us apart, and the results are what makes us proud—our product, our execution, and most importantly, our team & community.

At the core of Budist is our community. We’ve assembled a team of some of the most celebrated and trusted cannabis experts, which consists of certified Ganjiers (sommelier of cannabis), cannabis competition judges, journalists, tastemakers, and diehard connoisseurs. They’re professionalizing the art & science of cannabis reviews, and they’re setting the standard for consumers to learn and follow. This level of passion and expertise is what will yield the best results not only for consumers, but for brands who can greatly benefit from in-depth product feedback and insights. It will also help to create more product diversity by giving more nuanced, niche and specialty brands a platform to tell their story and showcase their offerings. This type of community and resource does not yet exist at scale in the cannabis industry, so we’re excited to be spearheading the way with such an incredible community of peers.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

One of my greatest virtues and values is authenticity. I try to be as present as possible with the people that I meet, and I try to refrain from gossiping and naysaying others. I’m all about building bridges and connections, and helping people find their gift and purpose. It is this disposition toward others coupled with my constant presence in market that has helped build my reputation and network. People inherently trust me because my heart is in the right place. That’s not to say that I don’t make mistakes or offend others on occasion, but it’s never from a place of ill intent. I spend a great deal of my time at networking events, industry parties, and conferences, and this sense of being ubiquitous and trusted also helps to strengthen one’s reputation.

My partner Claudio has been in the cannabis industry most of his life—almost 40 years! Not continuously as an entrepreneur, but steeped in the culture with half that time working with the plant. His last 10 years were spent working with and building some of the most reputable legacy brands in California, so his deep rootedness in the culture coupled with his product expertise has also helped with strengthening our team’s reputation.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Claudio and I met through an industry networking event that I hosted through Headset called Cannabis Data Nights. We had a brief conversation but connected again a few months later, in the thick of the pandemic, and hit it off immediately. Fast forward two years and we decided to launch Budist with some colleagues in the wine and music industries. Shortly after we started the app development process, Claudio and I decided to get our Ganjier certification, which is where we met a few of our Budists as well as our first team member, Matthew Shevach. We’re all graduates of the program, which cosmically unites us around our love of cannabis and the Budist mission. The stars are aligning to bring this unique constellation of talent to our beloved industry, and we can’t wait to see where this extraordinary journey takes us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.budist.com
• Instagram: @Budist_Official @jocybossy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/budist