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

Kyle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk that I’ve taken was betting on myself. After nine and a half years in corporate, I decided to leave a senior role to become a full time entrepreneur and open up the first dab bar and dispensary in Atlanta. The decision to take the leap in to entrepreneurship and working within the cannabis industry was one that did not come easy, as entrepreneurship can have unknown benefits, however without question a risk. During the height of Covid I was able to slow down from the demands of corporate and assess what was truly important to me: family, community, and connectivity. The realization of what I was not only passionate about, but was important to me, fueled my decision to move from Nashville to Atlanta, open the first location steps away from the Mercedes Benz stadium, the world’s most state of the art arena, and in the heart of the Black mecca – Castleberry Hill, known for fostering and promoting community engagement. After 12 months of negotiations, disappointments, set backs, 10+ commercial real estate denials, and combatting the negative stigma of the cannabis culture, we were able to open a location that fosters productivity and community. With the official opening approaching in November of 2022, the space has already gained attention and welcomed some of the cities most accomplished professionals – showcasing the output of solid family and friends that have become the foundation of the team. This risk has proven to be life changing for the better and has shown me, and I hope others, that without risk there is no reward.

Kyle, 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?

Kyle Brown began his career at Cummins as an intern in 2012 within the Government Contract Compliance group in Columbus, Indiana. Upon joining Cummins (Nashville) full-time in 2013, Kyle has worked across various functions during his 9 year tenure including but not limited to; Filtrations PFR Finance, Pricing and Components Sourcing. He is a recent 2020 MBA graduate from Goizueta Business School at Emory University, where he concentrated in operations management and strategy. He also earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Morehouse College. Kyle founded Malawi Plant & Oil in 2019 with the intention to heal the community and improve the standard of wellness. Kyle quickly realized as the Malawi brand began to grow, that his mission to educate and advocate for health for all was one that was deeply engrained. With his mission as his primary driver, Kyle set his sites on opening up the first dab bar and dispensary in Atlanta with the intent to service the community through education on the benefits of canabis and hemp.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes, all of the skills that I have learned have been transferable. The foundation I have built with learning to lead a team, manage logistics, operations, and work with stakeholders has supported my trajectory.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The advice that I have for managing a team and maintaining high morale is building relationships with each individual. Through relationship building, I am able to understand what fuels, excites, and motivates each person to be able to achieve their goals. Lastly, I ensure that I pay people their worth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://malawiplantoil.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livemalawi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Malawiplantandoil/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/livemalawi
• Other: Location: 461 Nelson Street Atlanta, GA 30313

Image Credits
Aaron Walton, Walton Media