Cy Scott: "We’re not Disrupting; We’re Defining"

Have you ever wondered what two cannabis founders talk about on their monthly catch-up call?

Founder & CEO of Vangst, Karson Humiston sits down with Founder & CEO of Headset, Cy Scott, to discuss the past, present and future of cannabis, while also addressing the elephant in the room, layoffs, and other hot topics. Here’s what we learned:

Growing a Profitable Company in Cannabis

Scott discusses the success of his current company, Headset, as well as what it took to build and successfully sell his first business, Leafly, which he launched 13 years ago, and sold in 2011.

During this discussion, Scott touches on how he modeled Headset after other well established data companies in non-cannabis spaces, demonstrating once again that the fundamentals of cannabis aren’t that different from other industries. Scott also talks at length about how the cannabis space continues to grow and expand, and how there is still room for many to enter the space.

The Tumultuous State of Funding

Humiston and Scott also offer their thoughts on the tumultuous state of funding, a lifeline that virtually built the cannabis industry, but seems to have come to an end as investment funding continues to dry up. This conversation spurs the conversation about the intersection between the cannabis and technology industries, a unique intersection that both Vangst and Headset are navigating, and how the technology industry is beginning to feel a lot of the same funding pressures as cannabis.

These two founders also go into depth about the difference between cannabis-based venture capitalists and non-cannabis-based venture capitalists, and how each has their unique challenges and benefits. With this in mind, Scott and Humiston discuss how cannabis entrepreneurs are used to operating in a market where a next round of funding is never guaranteed, demonstrating the tenacity of the leaders in the space.

Navigating the Current State of the Economy & Beyond

Lastly, Humiston and Scott talk through the current cannabis landscape, and beyond. Through this conversation, listeners gain keen insight into the unique struggles of founders of ancillary cannabis organizations, whose businesses rely on the profitability of plant-touching businesses in order to use their services.

During this discussion, both founders confront the elephant in the room, layoffs, a phenomenon that has been plaguing both the cannabis and technology industries. During this conversation, both leaders get frank about the current state of the industry and how we seem to be in the perfect storm, with lagging financial legislation, inflation running rampant, a cannabis supply that exceeds consumer demand, and investment that seems to have dried up. Yikes.

However, when asked about the future, Scott leaves listeners with this: “Only the hard things are worth doing.” – Listen to the full episode below, or anywhere you get podcasts to learn more.