We were lucky to catch up with Stacy Cason recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stacy, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Ignorance about the greater industry as a whole inspired the audacity to take on this giant idea in the summer of 2018. Had I known what was really to come, I’m not sure I would have jumped, but now zero regrets! This idea of water extraction has been around for decades, but had not been executed, and so I assembled a team of young and innovative, including a chemist and process engineer, to figure it out. Through much research and development, and borrowing problem-solving methods we had acquired through our range of past industries and backgrounds, we built an initial system. It was flawed, and those first involved became dismayed and lacked a solution. When that first one did not work as planned, we pivoted, made a few personnel changes, and made a second version which did work. Having brought this innovative technology, more sustainable and healthy method of extraction to fruition was quite the accomplishment and we were convinced it would sell faster than we could produce… that unfortunately did not happen. Many small tweaks would follow over the next year, and growing industry awareness resulted in launching a line of retail products and making the company vertically integrated instead of just that one piece of the unregulated puzzle. The retail addition of finished consumer goods to be tried by thousands in desire of a healthier alternative for wellness, has been the best decision we made! I would credit my fierce determination, innovative entrepreneurial spirit, and Divine intervention with our success. When my story is finished, we shall see if I was brave or delusional for executing this grand idea!

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?

Having a 15 yr background in healthcare as an anesthesiology nurse practitioner (CRNA), I was primed for this type of pain-relieving product from a science / medical perspective, and had the MBA and business experience to bring the idea to life.

Female founded Planetarie is truly plant based wellness designed to keep you moving and playing. As the only company to use water extraction, we keep CBDa in its raw living form, the way it is actually grown in the hemp plant. CBDa is 18x more bioavailable than CBD and is a powerful anti-inflammatory, acting on the same COX-2 pathway as NSAIDs (like ibuprofen, but without the side effects to stomach & kidneys).
We manufacture Ingestibles and Topicals, in our USDA-Certified Organic facility. Vertically Integrated. Transparent. Unique and powerful to give you the relief you deserve.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Lead with Passion and empathy, and communicate constantly. My team is comprised of beautiful humans, and treating them as such first, and then part of this team with shared vision and passion, helps to keep people engaged. We are not hierarchical, I have an open-door and open-ear policy as a leader, and shared team meals regularly helps to convey my appreciation for each and every one on the team.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That as a girl, my role and ability was limited. Growing up in the rural south, I learned that girls were to be wives and mothers first, and if they wanted to go to college it would be for teacher or nurse but the career was always to be second to the patriarchal rule. I learned that girls were to look pretty and keep quiet. All of those patriarchal programming have been unlearned and revised, and I am proud to be a female business leader, who may also have a soft sweet center but is no one’s doormat. Unfortunately it is still often true that women have to work twice as hard for a seat at the table or recognition, but I do feel it changing and I am committed to giving back to females who strive to follow their dreams and reinvent themselves as desired!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://planetarie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planetarie_official/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlanetarieCO
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetarie/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQVNMPKLWL3ruyFD3ZJYqg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/planetarie-evans-4