Hosted by Codie Sanchez · EN
Contrarian Thinking- My weekly newsletter where we challenge the status quo to achieve what most won’t in business, startup investing, wealth building and doing things the contrarian way. COVID-19 has been dubbed the Great Accelerator, accelerating trends already existing in the world around us. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that once consumers figure out how to do e-commerce, delivery, and tele-medicine, many of them would never go back to waiting in a doctor’s office with snarly Susan at the front glaring at you behind a glass panel while telling you the doctor was, “running behind schedule…” again. I can tell you one thing, if I was a worker in traditional industries that have an easy ability to be outsourced to automation or online components, aka Susan, I would be trying to add massive value. Those in person reactions are going to need to be increasingly EXCEPTIONAL in order for them not to be given to sanitary, cheaper, never late, and can’t get sick robots. We aren’t alone in this theory that as the dust begins to settle a bit, COVID-19 is proving to accelerate the very things we knew were coming. Industry tech pundits have said that the pandemic has brought “two years of digital transformation in two months.” Morgan Stanley highlights an acceleration of e-commerce and delivery (no surprise there). Many sources have reported on it being the great accelerator of retail bankruptcies ala Neiman Marcus, J Crew, Pier One and the list goes on. We all just didn’t realize how quickly the tides would turn. Many tried to crystal ball the future while we knew nothing about COVID, but that’s about as useful as Fauci’s coronavirus models were. Side note: I wonder if the new punchline for sloppy investment models will be – he did a real Fauci on that one. In the meantime, I’ll just chuckle to myself as a few people unsubscribe at the audacity. I’ll also remind them that trusting government officials who told us masks don’t work – No WAIT PSYCHE – they not only work, they are mandated and we are going to allow people to dox ladies we now call Karen, for not wearing one. Ahem, we (your government) just lied a little bit to you about the whole masks not working thing because we thought you self-serving citizens would hoard them like you did toilet paper. Clear as mud? My next post may have to be about the simulation we are now living in run by Kanye West, Elon Musk and some masochist. Bemoaning aside, Catastrophe is a catalyst for change.Here’s how I am on the ground seeing COVID-19 change the world around us, in our 65 portfolio companies, across the small startups I invest in, and in the acquisitions we are making. Let’s break down ideas for how to turn lemon into lemonade, or should I say how to distill hand sanitizer into alcohol so we can forget the entire world? From cannabis, to capital investing, to increasing your own companies’ sales, opportunities are actually, all around. You could also check out my 28 Ideas for Side Hustles.Read this list, think about your business, your job, your side hustle and ask yourself, how can I skate where the puck is going? How can I apply these ideas to my business? Below I give you opportunities and some ideas you can take and run with. Opportunity is found between uncommon practice and common sense. 1) Deliverya. We knew delivery was coming in traditional industries like food and clothing, heck it’s been here for a while. In cannabis we weren’t sure, it’s a tricky game that many (i.e. Eaze) failed at. However this pandemic proved its viability, cannabis deliveries are up 5-6x with the average basket size increasing by 40%. b. ACTION IDEA: Can you setup delivery for some aspect of your business? Or a business you love/invested in? Can you partner w/ a platform like Drizly or Onefleet for last mile delivery? 2) Live-Commercea. We all know e-commerce is going bananas. What you may not know is that live-commerce ala QVC across the world is skyrocketing too. The Chinese live-streaming e-commerce market started in 2016, hit $63B in sales in 2019 and expected to double to $129B in 2020. QVC however – generated just $11B in 2019. The business model is to give influencers, hosts or shopping parties a platform where users can click on their phone to buy the items talked about. Look at platforms like Taoboa Live (increase in 110% YOY), just one host there raked in $390M in sales in 2018. b. ACTION IDEA: If you have a product company, why not sell it through China’s QVC? 3) Onshoring a. Apple is looking to take 20%+ of its production out of China. Apple is just the tip of the iceberg. These global trade tensions and logistical realities are only increasing. Where in your business can you help localize it?b. ACTION IDEA: A fun, quick side hustle would be to sign up for Amazon affiliates and create a list of all made in the US products to compete with ones typically made in China in an area that interests you. Post it on your social or email around to friends and family. Aka – bathing suits under $50 all made in the US, or t-shirts all made in the US by people of color etc. c. Could also ask how to help your company with localizing your supply chain. There’s job security or for us investors, opportunity to optimize movement of global movement in companies like Flexport (global freight logistics company valued at $3.2B). 4) Home Decoratinga. Been to Home Depot lately? I haven’t waited in a line that long since my college Vegas club days, allegedly. Online design service has increased sales by 2-3x since COVID, Lauren & Wolf (another competitor) has seen total room purchase prices increase 20x according to Trends. ...
28 Side Hustles/Passive Income Sources That Will Blow Your Mind Get ready for a rant on the ridiculousness of a single income stream. Sidenote: I almost got fired for telling employees this at one of my former firms. True story. Companies don’t want you to have multiple revenue streams because then they can’t own you. But if this recession has taught us anything, it is that relying on one income stream is dangerous. 1/3 of all employees were laid off, furloughed or fired during this last pandemic. One out of three people lost their ONLY income stream. I don’t like those odds. The answer – diversify. Just like you don’t put all your money in one stock (or I hope you don’t), maybe you shouldn’t put all your income in one basket? Don’t get me wrong, the big companies think it’s awesome! Be reliant on me completely, let me own your entire livelihood, let me control your retirement so you can never quit! Finance is the absolute worst about this, which to be fair, is because the government over-regulates and requires disclosure of all “outside business activities,” looking for conflicts of interest. As an employee this whole one paycheck deal is far from ideal. Having multiple revenue streams means you can work because that fire in your belly wants to and not only because you can’t survive otherwise. That’s a beautiful thing. So regardless of whether it is fair, or if we have systemic issues to resolve, we need to instead take ourselves out of victim mentality and say; WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT? Just for you Contrarians is a long list of ideas on how to make side income. Here’s the key, be humble. I’m a partner at a VC Firm and I still routinely mess around with other income streams: 1) Because it’s fun when you think about it like a game you are trying to win.2) Because I don’t believe any work is below me.3) Because I like learning.4) Because then I teach things to my portfolio companies as opposed to just being a hat rack or a check. No doubt, I have gotten more selective as I make more money. However sometimes for fun I make a patch I want for myself and sell it on etsy, I write a guide to something I want to see people succeed at and I sell it using Gumroad, I do a newsletter and add affiliate links to it. Just like that, there are three additional revenue streams. None individually are huge, but together they represent thousands of dollars that I can donate or invest in my other businesses. One caveat – a lot of these other lists have things on there like dog-walking, uber driving etc, which are fine. But, while they make you money, they don’t make you smarter, they are the opposite of passive, and honestly, they don’t tickle my fancy. That’s why this list below is full of things I would actually do or have done. The moral of the story is be creative, be humble, have fun, and remember you are the master of your own fate. If you think like a business owner, there are innumerable ways for you to start your own business, or simply make money off of other peoples while also helping them earn more. I call this the three-sided win, they win with more sales, client wins with more services and you win with a cut of the deal. BTW – THIS LIST IS INSANE. The amount of money you can make using tech hacks is unbelievable. Get paid to write fantasy, get paid to create a cool notebook, get paid to talk about things. We live in the most incredible time despite all the news and noise telling us otherwise. Only you get to decide if you want to take advantage of it. With that… a list of more side hustles than any hustler would know what to do with. Make sure you email/DM/comment if you do any of these, I want to hear your stories!Write a guide on a subject you are an expert in and sell it on Gumroad like mine: Get Hired, Get Hired In Cannabis. Gumroad is free and so idiot proof I did it myself! I donate to charity out of this and have made thousands and thousands from it.Turn that guide into a book you sell on Amazon like I did here: ooh la la now I’m an “author.” This falls under the model of “create something once, and sell it over and over again.”BUY A PROFITABLE BUSINESS. This one I’m obsessed with, buying a business with no money down using what’s called seller financing. This one is more complex sign up here if you want more on this.Sell your services on Fiverr. I’ve used this site for graphic design, video editing, copywriting, virtual assistant, research and the list goes on.Host a Virtual Summit. We do this at Arcview Group on cannabis investing and you can charge $100’s of dollars to get a group of humans to listen to whatever you know about. Real estate, comic book collecting, cannabis, cooking… literally google virtual events they are on every summit. My friend started his $10MM+ revenue company The Hustle/Trends with a conference where he made $50k the first event.Start a Podcast. I am w/ Strike Fire Productions, producer of Green Entrepreneur. You can sell sponsorships, do affiliate deals w/ guests, sell your own product.Create Your Own Journal. The amount of things you can do online is ASTOUNDING. You can create, upload, sell, package and ship a custom made journal on Blurb for nothing except a royalty on journals sold. They do all the work you collect the check.Do a Course. Udemy or Coursera allow you to easily do your own course one of my favorite newsletters Side Hustle Nation created an online video course about how to launch non-fiction Kindle books on Amazon. It earned $3500 in the first couple months, and has gone on to earn passive sales ever since totally over $20,000. I’ve thought about doing them on a million items.how to workout during quarantine & home gym how to train for a spartan race How to invest in cannabisthe fit persons guide to travel - health and nutrition for travelinghow to angel investfundraising during uncertainty - fundraising during every cyclehow to create the best startup pitch deckventure capital and fundraising master classnegotiation to make more moneysales how to win at the sales gameYou pick your area of expertise and package it.Write Fantasy Short Stories. Using wattpad you can connect w/ 80 million readers and find ways to monetize your short stories.Create a newsletter behind a fire wall. I subscribe to the Dispatch and a slew of other pay walled newsletter that are all on Substack. The Dispatch has tens of thousands subscribers at $10 a month aka if they only have 10k that equals $100k in revenue a month. Not bad eh?Consult for others. Consult on a subject you are intrigued by a la GLG which has 700k+ experts. I did this for a while but given how busy I am I found it annoying that I had to “apply” for every job back in the day, so I stopped. But if you have the time, apply away.Ask for a job. Everyone knows a business owner or two, or a wealthy person or two. Reach out to them and ask them if they have tasks they need done, problems they need solved, projects they don’t have time for, give them some ideas and have them create you a job.Create affiliate content. I do affiliate deals on brands I love and for EEC and we make a commission on them. It’s hard to get scale here so you either need a targeted audience that will buy with larger dollar items or a big audience on some platform.Get your own website. I prefer Squarespace, I think everyone should have a website in their name. Use it to do consulting services, speaking on your area of expertise, e-commerce, sell your finger paintings. Whatever. I have a step by step guide to creating a website in 24 hours <a href="https:/...
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.DEPRESSION, RECOVERY, INFLATION...AND WHY YOU EVEN CARE? “Mark Twain said that there are three kinds of lies—“lies, damned lies, and statistics”What a perfect way to start a conversation where I inundate you with numbers, predictions and my take on the economy. (Click on my goofy looking face above to see what I said on Yahoo Finance today on the same subject). Remember here – we question everything, including me. So, this week I have some big hairy non-consensus opinions for you on the economy amidst this rollercoaster that is 2020 AND more importantly, what to do about them. I find most economists and futurists are giant walking If/Then statements. Aka – let me try to say as much as humanely possible while telling you nothing. That’s not my cup of tea. Despite absolutely being worried about the long-term viability of unprecedented spending by the government, of social unrest and firmly believing that it will take YEARS for us to fully recover from this experiment of an economic lockdown, my thoughts on the economy are much rosier short term. Here’s the Skinny:#1 Stimulus: The Opposite of the Great DepressionIn the Great Depression the government was slow to respond, actually raising interest rates to curb speculation and didn’t put in stimulus for years.- Fast forward to 2020 – the US government has issued $3 trillion in stimulus between the varying bills (more to come IMHO).- The US Economy is about $20 trillion a year so that is a 15% kicker to GDP.- The Fed is also using trillions in monetary policy to support the economy and they say they will keep stimulus coming for years.- This isn’t baked in yet, with many companies holding cash, $4.7 Trillion on the sidelines and much of the stimulus not fully extended.2) V-Shaped Recovery Coming- This massive stimulus, paired with the opening up of the economy will lead to a V-shaped recovery, First Trust’s Wesbury says, “The recession that started in March is the sharpest downturn since the Great Depression. As it turns out, it was also the shortest.” I tend to agree.- Where I differ is I am not saying the stock market is at fair value, it still looks expensive to me vs the opportunities in the private market where businesses have been eviscerated.- Most recent employment report showed non-farm payrolls (most common way to track employment) was up to 2.5MM. That’s still 13.3% but a major drop from almost 20%.Anecdotally, I was in ski town this weekend in Crested Butte speaking to small business owners who told me they would have hired back more people, they are stretched extremely thin but can’t get workers to come back who are taking unemployment. So my suspicion is that number would be higher without stimulus checks.- Initial jobless claims fell for the 9th consecutive week and haven’t retouched the peak since May 9th.- Tax receipts are up -11.8% week over week. Basically, signaling that workers are earning more and that the economy is turning.3) Hyperinflation: Not Going to Happen in Short TermHyperinflation – or what happened in Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Argentina (notice a communist/socialist/govt controlled trend here?), is when inflation is typically higher than 50% a month. You buy a soda for $1 one month, then $1.50 the next, then $2.25 the next. Nothing kills an economy faster. However, we are nowhere near inflation in general, more or less hyperinflation.They say, how do you know an economist has a sense of humor… they use decimal points.All to say – long term trends who knows, short term here are my thoughts.Inflation will stay in check. Commodity prices at all-time lows and decreased consumption demands will keep inflation at bay.Inflation is often correlated to high employment, not the case today unfortunately.Too much supply or velocity of currency – (aka bankers throwing around money like confetti circa 2007-2008), none of that is happening now.Friedman talks about the M2 measure of money… which is how much money is going into the system and being spent, it’s up 86%. That’s a lot. Unprecedented. So, something to watch but give complete pause on spending not hyperinflation triggering. What to do about it? How to take advantage?2008 was a housing crisis, this is a small business crisis. NOW is the time to try to buy into small businesses, to align with boomers looking to retire and to leverage the 2.5M small businesses that are up for sale or transition in the US. I'm going to put out some content on how to do that. Diversify your income streams. Expect more protests, more corona-virus related issues, more uncertainty. That will mean some businesses don’t survive and have more disruption in them. It’s time for a side hustle, or to a buy in to varying other business opportunities. Next week I'll have a post on 28 ways to do just that. For instance did you know you can make a guide in 5 minutes on Gumroad upload and sell it, they handle everything? You can do the same with Blurb for journals, the same w/ Amazon for t-shirts. You upload e-design they do EVERYTHING else. Wait until you see this list. I created a get into cannabis guide using this, I'm going to do a journal as well. Expect more uncertainty. Invest in companies that are focused on essentials and can handle more shutdowns and shocks to business(aka essential services a la cannabis). I read a great quote saying, “Feed the masses and live like the classes.” Non-politically correctness aside – great investment advice.The moral of this here story, the world is much better than the news wants us to believe. Now is our chance to capitalize on it. Just one contrarian’s view.CodieCannacurious? Here's our contrarians' guide to investing and getting a career into cannabis, or find out more information below:IG: @codiesanchezEEC: www.entourageeffectcapital.comCS: www.codiesanchez.comThis article is presented for informational purposes only, is an opinion, and is not intended to recommend any investment, and is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle managed or sponsored by Entourage Effect Capital, LLC or its affiliates. Any such solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest will be made by a definitive private placement memorandum or other offering document.
How do you win a Nobel prize? Know what to ignore.Knowing what to ignore…If this topic isn’t more relevant today than ever, I’ll eat my weight in edibles. Which for the record, would not be fun for anyone, namely me.But here is the truth, the last 6-12 months may have been some of the most distracting in our lifetimes. First, we had a contentious democratic primary race (that felt like reality tv it was so delicious to watch), then a global pandemic replete with a daily death count (ain’t that fun), then a recession (arguably the worst ever in US history), then massive unemployment (definitely the worst in history), then protests (across almost every city), riots and social unrest… the list goes on. 2020 is a real piece of work. So it may come as no surprise that productivity in the US since COVID-19 has dropped by 7.2%. People’s first reaction is typically… oh that’s because we are working remote and people are not working as much. Oh contraire.The length of the average workday has actually increased by almost 40%.We Americans are working an extra three hours per day, aka 11-hour days.So, we Americans are working more than ever, but we are achieving less and less. Question: Have you found yourself pulled down a rabbit hole of social media clickbait? News onslaught? Legitimate outrage on all sides of the equation? Way more caffeine addicted than usual (this graph below pretty much shows my daily cycle)?I certainly have.I find a horrid delight in lambasting the ridiculous hypocrisy I see in the news today. The absolute lack of a competition of ideas. The belief that if I do not share your opinion exactly with the exact same verbiage, I am a monster. That free speech is great, but we cannot let people tell lies. Small/little issue, who decides what are lies? The thought police.. oh Russia/Fascism; I’ve seen this movie before.And just like that, there I go again, getting all worked up at the fact that America seems to be losing its damn mind. Which I pray leads to progress???Case in point, my social media usage is up 25%. There has been many a dinner table conversations where we have had to actively say we will NOT talk about COVID, injustice, protests, the economy or politicians any longer because my heart rate and blood pressure simply can’t take it.You see, the world is pulling at our attention like a giant game of tug of war, and let me tell you, our goals are not winning.There is a saying, focus on what you can control… and ignore all the rest. That saying however, must have been written by some human pre near constant deluge of information in the social media age.So fellow contrarians, lest we let others control our lives, our thoughts, our goals for this year; we need to make some internal changes. I’m sharing what I’m doing to push back on others being the master of my fate. I pulled together my top staying focused tools and tricks from Peter Thiel, Tim Ferris, Bezos, Musk and Gates (a bunch of slackers) into one list that I promise I’m going to use about 60% of the time, every time. You with me?If you find others – give me a holler on LinkedIn or Instagram. Just please for the love of my heart health don’t send me news articles on this world today.How to stay focused:Quirky - Handstands in the morning - New fun routine for Codie… handstands against a wall each morning to get the blood flowing. Lest you think I am a moron, here are five reasons to do handstands that might surprise you. No early AM Email - No email for at least 1 hour before you have to be at a computer screen. E-mail is the creativity killer.No calls before 10am - This has been a god send as research suggests mornings are the most creative peaks for our brain. Best Self Journal - I write down my top 3 to-do’s for the day daily, Tim Ferriss likes the 5 Minute Journal – I find it too fluffy but that’s me.Read Zero to One by Peter Thiel - A masterful explanation on how to achieve big things by FOCUSING. Follow Discomfort - From Tim Ferriss, “When in doubt, the most important to-do is typically the one that makes you the most uncomfortable, often including a chance of rejection, pain or failure.”Meeting Exit Plan - If a meeting isn’t valuable to you, exit it (Musk). Since I’m a wuss, I prepare a script in the advent that it isn’t worthwhile i.e. I may have to jump after 10-15minutes but so wanted to make sure we connected. That gets people right to the point. Turn on Social Media blockers - On your iPhone you can limit the amount of time you spend on apps, I just set mine to 15 minutes a day. Just enough time to get amped without my goals being eviscerated.Get Smarter At Meetings – I wrote a whole piece on being more selective on meetings you take, cutting them shorter, delegating them. Then when I fall off the proverbial wagon I go back and re-look at them. Moral of the story, will you let the noise of the day control what you accomplish? Will you be as a paper bag buffeted this way and that by the wind? Or will you do the hard work to steer your own course. Our world today more than ever needs achievers who strive to make the world a better place, instead of steal eyeballs to screens talking endlessly about their opinions.With that… off to do.Question everything,Codie
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.While the world is focused on money lost, here's how to win $Money is the devil they say...I've been thinking a lot lately about our green currency. After all, who hasn't been following the massive unemployment numbers? The evisceration in sales across nearly every industry? The words depression... recession... downturn... playing on the tv like a depressing robotized rap song. Sidenote: if you haven't listened to UK drill rap, it's a thing, and it's kind of fantastic. So as I thought about Benjamins, I got myself all worked up over the nomenclature people use these days to talk about money. The interwebs are littered with quotes like the below: “Time is more valuable than money." - Jim Rohn “It doesn’t matter about money; having it, not having it. Or having clothes, or not having them. You’re still left alone with yourself in the end.” - Billy Idol“Money is like muck—not good unless it be spread.” - Francis BaconSo directionally I understand where these gents are going. They have wealth and they've reached a tipping point where more of it is really not impactful on their life. I begrudge them their success not at all. BUT in this world we live in today money is a necessity, not a nicety. Too often we diminish the importance of it, we make people feel dirty for the want of it and guilty for the "privilege" of having it. We lambast those billionaires who have accumulated it, those millionaires who drive too nice of cars and separate the elite from the rest. All that really does is keep the separation growing, instead we should be teaching others how to accumulate it. Money is not a constrained resource, at least not if we continue in a capitalistic society. You can earn AS MUCH as you earn. The unfair advantage comes from knowing how to earn. So today I thought I'd share a few tools that have helped me accumulate. These are nuggets, seeds to be planted... but you know what happens to seeds? They grow into forests.So while the world is focused on the money we've lost, and the haves vs the have nots, let's plant seeds. They'll come out of this with nothing but vitriol and we, we will have green trees my friends. First Money Mindset:Ramit Sethi talks about What the Wealthy Discuss that Most Do Not - It's not about penny pinching it's about revenue stream adding. How to Buy A Business w/ Future Revenues - This podcast is the best example to date of the thing that seems HUGE to most of us, buying a business. The truth is that these mom and pop businesses are not just for the uber-wealthy to buy, in fact the structure lends itself to small people like me and you. Listen to this podcast, let me know if you want to know more. I find this fascinating!!! 7 million boomers retiring and ready to sell their businesses. ENTIRE BLOG POST FROM ME ON HOW TO DO THIS: VIDEOSide Hustle Nation - My favorite site for layering on side businesses and revenue streams w/ 100's of ways to get additional revenue.Next Money Inflow: THE NUMBER 1 THING I RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO DO - Have your own website. Mine is in my name, yours can be whatever you want, but in this age websites become increasingly like business cards. You can set one up in 1 hour for $20 on squarespace and $4 monthly hosting. I have an entire post on how to do this because I think it is so critical. Fundera - A site that helps you access as many small business financing options as possible. They also help with PPP and SBA loans right now so it's timely. It's worth at least filling out your applications here if you haven't and qualify. Trends.co - My friend Sam Parr started the Hustle (now $2MM subscribers generating more than $10MM in revenue from a newsletter). He started a new business called Trends.co that hits on the Trends no one is talking about, I immediately signed up. Sam is brilliant. The truth is money is just a tool or dare I say, a weapon.The question becomes do you want to hold the weapon... Or let someone else? Happy Questioning,Codie SanchezCannacurious? Want to get into the game... here's our contrarians guideIG: @codiesanchezEEC: www.entourageeffectcapital.comCS: www.codiesanchez.comThis article is presented for informational purposes only, is an opinion, and is not intended to recommend any investment, and is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle managed or sponsored by Entourage Effect Capital, LLC or its affiliates. Any such solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest will be made by a definitive private placement memorandum or other offering document.
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.The Platform EffectHere's What You Can Do To Leverage This Trend I got a bud named Joe.When my fiancée and I had our very first weekend together in our then long-distance relationship, it came with an unexpected surprise; a burly, bearded ex-marine turned Alaskan bush pilot named Joe. He was in town, needed a place to crash and my gent being the military man he is, is quite used to roommates. So, there we were; me, him… and Joe. Romantic eh?Fast forward three years and quarantine comes along while none other than our favorite third wheel is in town. Thus, of course, he has been with us now for a few months.Joe has become our de facto shared best bud, whom we love to whiteboard with, have patch competitions with, and build businesses together. But I digress, this isn’t an ode to Joe, it’s an ode to the ideas coined inside our little California bungalow. Because you see we all would have wine and diatribe about some of these very events happening, BUT we made the classic human mistake. We SPOKE A LOT and WE DID NOTHING. You see all of us humans have ideas, but we get scared to put them out into the world because being wrong sucks. But turns out inside our little bungalow we saw some trends a coming. Namely one in particular. The Rise of the Platform. And so now, I share with you some of the biggest trends shaking up worlds I care about… and I ask you what do you think? And even more… what are you going to do about it? Overarching theme: Platforms are eating the world.Andreessen Horowitz famously engineered the line, “Software is Eating the World,” as the thesis to their multi-billion venture capital fund. I think they were right then but they are wrong now. These days those noshing on the world are not software so broadly… but platforms specifically. Platforms are the ones gobbling up industries whether unrelated or parallel (aka Whole Foods to Amazon), gobbling up content producers (aka Disney & Star Wars) and increasing gobbling up our consumer dollars (US Consumers spend 3% of all US consumer spending w/ FAANG). Just think about the companies you frequent: Uber – platforms for carsFivrr – platform for outsourced workSpotify – platform for musicNetflix – platform for tv/movie/videoDrizly – platform for alcohol salesA fun statistic - Bezo's himself is worth enough where he could buy Viacom, Ferrari, The NFL, Top THREE European Sports teams and have $7-8B left over for fun. The problem with this is increasing concentration as the big get bigger and the small go to the scrap heap. Be wary how you spend and where you position your company. Here are two examples I've been obsessing over, more in the newsletter if you want to subscribe click the link in the comments below: Content Is King – Joe Rogan’s $100MM Spotify DealNow this may seem like old news. But Joe said something that made me pause. He said, “Joe Rogan is the Howard Stern of the podcast generation.” You see Stern is largely attributed as being THE launch of Satellite Radio as said verbatim by its founder. He catapulted radio into the web age. Now Rogan is doing the same for monetization of podcasts. Spotify just set the firing round off against Apple in the war for the podcast platform of the future. How to take advantage:If you don’t have a podcast WTF are you doing with your life? I say that with tongue firmly in cheek because I no longer have one, but I’m planning on it. I just need to figure out my niche. I’m going to use StartFire to produce mine… but wtf am I going to babble on about? Any thoughts? Email me what you think I give that others don’t?Paywalled podcasts – If I had to pay for my top 5-10 podcasts a $4-5 a month fee, I’d do it in a heartbeat. News is already happening. Podcasts next?Alcohol & Cannabis Collide - DrizlyIf you haven’t heard of Drizly, it is the largest alcohol distribution company in the US and Canada with 100+ markets, the largest selection of beer, wine and spirits all delivered to your door. Here’s the kicker, last week they sneakily took on their very first cannabis company. They will begin distributing in Boston and I imagine have a nationwide rollout. How to play it:If you have a cannabis company get them on that platform.If you haven’t listened to my near-constant screeching, think about a cannabis allocation to your investments.The Big Four – Facebook, Netflix, Google, AmazonScott Galloway has a very aggressive take on the four biggest platforms out there. If you haven’t seen his talks or read his piece post Corona virus, step to it. The gist of it is – they are way too big, control way too much, continue to dominate and monopolize small companies and we let them do it. How to play it:I have no idea. Stage an Amazon coupe? But just don’t try to blackmail Bezos w/ nudes because he gives zero f’s about that.My New Favorite Trend SpotterMany years ago, I got introduced to The Hustle by a friend Noah Kagan of OKDork. I was obsessed with their copy writing so I found out that their founder, Sam Parr, was a fan of butterfingers and sent him an enormous box of those candies (made out of what exactly??). I interviewed him and we’ve stayed in touch. Now he’s out with a new newsletter called Trends.co that I subscribe to that highlights emerging signals and trends so you can capitalize on them. Thanks Sam. Use this link to get $100 off your subscription. Here’s a snippet of fun facts from them:Skincare chemicals like hyaluronic acid, L-cartinine, niacinamide, and tretonin have 165,000-750,000 searches every single monthAirpods generate more revenue than Twitter, Spotify, and Shopify?Over 4k people have "Everested", without ever having set foot in NepalOver 50k people search for "sea moss" every monthThat perfume has margins of 98%?!LTV of a dental patient is $4.5k so marketers can work with $150-300 CPLsThe "black hair care industry" alone is estimated to be $2.5B, so naturally the #naturalhairmovement is taking offHow to play it? Sign up duh.Howard Marks said, “We can’t predict the future BUT we can prepare for it.”So go grab a whiteboard, and maybe a Fuzzie to inspire your creativity, and ask yourself what will eat my world? And am I ready for it?Codie SanchezCannacurious? Here's our contrarians' guide to investing and getting a career into cannabis, or find out more information below:IG: @codiesanchezEEC: <a href="http://www.entourageeffectcapita...
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.A Cannabis Companies Tool KitIf there is an industry that has more dichotomy wrapped around it, haven’t seen it yet. On one hand you have a generational wealth creation opportunity, massive pent up demand, a plant with thousands of use cases, an industry on the brink of breakout that is ripe for entrepreneurship and investment. Yet, on the other hand you have massive constantly changing regulation, burdensome tax regimes, restricted sales and marketing channels, no institutional capital, no easy banking solutions, a global pandemic, and oh by the way sometimes it’s legal, sometimes it’s not.The cannabis industry is not for the faint of heart.So, I salute entrepreneurs everywhere who saddle up to battle this dragon of an industry. In the vein we at Entourage Effect Capital, went out to our portfolio companies, industry contacts and entrepreneurs and said what are you biggest pain points? What tools are you missing? Then we compiled resources to help all of you brave enough to fight the good fight. The resources fall into these groups:1. Financial Tools2. Marketing Tools3. Operations Tools4. Fundraising Tools5. Hiring ToolsI hope this serves you, we know it is hard out there but the impact at the end of your journey, well those are worth all the late nights and coffee fueled days. Aren’t they? For as one grows, we all grow.FINANCES1.) CBD Credit Card Processing - NuvoWhat a world. We have hemp and CBD supposedly federally legal AND YET companies who are selling services in this space get kicked off of credit card platforms left and right. While that might sound minimal it can mean profits locked up, missed sales, time spent all because promises from a service provider are not kept. So, we partnered with Nuvo to be a go to support in the industry as they process CC’s for CBD and Hemp knowingly and carefully.As a guideline (although obviously rates get better the more you process), Square charges CBD sellers 3.90% plus 10 cents per transaction for in-person tap, swipe, and dip payments. Online payments will cost 4.20% plus 30 cents per transaction, Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX, will typically cost a merchant between 3.25% and 3.90% as an all in effective rate for eCommerce which is lower than Square (but they are finicky on CBD).Nuvo's rates coming in at 3% to 3.6% look sizably more attractive.NUVO CREDIT CARD PROCESSING CBD/HEMP:Just for EEC friends offer: Companies get first 5% off their rate and expedited onboardingCode: EEC - https://form.jotform.com/nuvo/cbd-inquiryMARKETINGWe know you cannabis companies do not have unlimited capital, in fact you have massive capital constraints due to tax burdens and payment terms. And yet, you need marketing, you need pitchdecks to raise capital, and nothing will kill you faster than a bad first impression. So here are two resources in that vein to help you on the cheap2.) Pitchdecks & Design - FivrrI use Fivrr all the time for projects that I'm not skilled at (aka design, pitch decks, graphic, data aggregation) for a couple $ they make me $. It’s the most cost-effective tool I’ve used, just click the link and search pitchdeck for instance. You can get a gorgeous deck done for $100-$200. I’ve used them for pitchdecks, website graphics, business cards etc etc.3.) Marketing Tool: SEMRushI use SEMRush to do competitor research on varying websites for our startups, to maximize our SEO (especially important since paid marketing online doesn’t work) and for leveraging organic traffic as well. At $99 a month it’s made us at least 10x.4.) Public Relations: KCSA/Mattio CommunicationsIn an industry that traces illegality having a PR agent is basically a must. You need to be able to craft your own message and shout it from the rooftops ESPECIALLY as you can’t do online paid advertising in cannabis. We use KCSA but I also adore Rachel Mattio and think her team is killer, so you have two great options. The amount of press we’ve received at their best is pretty astounding.5.) Affiliate Program Creation: AmbassadorI am OBSESSED with this group. One of my friends Sam Parr from The Hustle (an online newsletter for Silicon Valley insiders) used this program to scale up his newsletter to first 300k super fans but now millions. Last I checked it was 3.6MM+. His copy writing is second to none and this program they used through Ambassador was dare I say, genius. I keep pushing more of our companies to use this tool. OPERATIONS6.) <a href="https://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=cGAuTETDkuk&offerid=688405.14036502976&type=2&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fp%2Fmicrosof...
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.I Used To Pry Out Stories For A Living... A side tangent on journalism today & why during this time of hypothetical pause it's worth asking - what stories are you telling yourself AND which ones are you listening to. (This is from my weekly Contrarian Thinking Blog Series - signup here.)You see, that’s what we journalists do, we pry truths from souls with a promise to give their stories life. Or at least that’s what we used to do. We journalists, not commentators, not tweeters.So, I used to be a Journalist. With a capital J.I wrote about human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the worst type of violence against humanity you can find along our US/Mexico border. I saw bodies dangling, autopsies performed and dreams shattered.It changed me. It carved its memories into my skin as sure as a knife. Writing my senior thesis from a little shanty I borrowed from an incredible nonprofit called Rancho Feliz in Agua Prieta Mexico, I would travel back and forth from the maquiladoras (a type of factory where a majority of immigrant women worked), to towns like Juarez (also known as La Ciudad de Muerte). Each trip my heart broke a little more. Each trip I struggled to see the human in humanity. All against the vibrant, contagious melodic backdrop I’ve come to love called, Mexico.I remember vividly crossing the border in Juarez from El Paso for the first time. I did it on foot. If you’ve walked those steps, you’ll never forget them. Over the Rio Grande you go from a land of industry, little violence and prosperity, to the most dangerous city in Mexico. Just a few weeks prior to my time there a Sinaloan cartel leader was broken out of a maximum-security prison when his gang bore down with Apache helicopters holding anti-tank missiles and decimated the police force.The meek do not inherit the earth in Mexico. Escaping the barbed wire and steel border fences to couldn’t help but gaze upon a towering wooden cross in the middle of the Juarez road. I can still see it. The wood was all but covered in photos, pink ribbons and momentos from the thousands of “las desaparecidas”. The disappeared. These were the women of Juarez who had been murdered, brutalized and often raped all along the Mexican border. Every day the newspaper would tell of unnamed women, or more likely a foot, a hand a leg or two, found scattered in the desert.The daily tally of appendages was almost as common as quoting the stock market.Warm tears slide down my face the first I saw that Juarez cross. You can’t look at a visual representation of death come to soon on a cross 10-12 feet high, littered with tokens left by devastated mothers, and not cry. To escape it I walked the streets a bit in search of air. Yet scattered throughout the city were a million other reminders. Posters of young women put up by tormented families who had sent their girls north for a better life, only to be greeted by the afterlife. Another street showed unmarked graves, another brothels, another clubs for tourists. I felt a supreme sense of the brutal but true realization that life is simply not fair.After all my name is Sanchez. I’m a young(ish) Hispanic woman, with long brown hair and brown eyes that went into the workforce for a better future. My face would have fit in on that cross. Yet, what is different about the life I have been gifted and those who share my name but have been given something different altogether? Why me?The only solution I could come up with was that I am lucky. I won the birth lottery. No deserving or earning being born into a middle-class family in the US. I just got it. In a way everything I have done in my career has been touched by the shadow of that cross and those faces upon it. It's why I went into finance instead of journalism. After all awareness is great, but money is what pulls people out of poverty and into safety. It’s why we lock our doors, talk about financial security, fight for new jobs, and move to the suburbs.Money is why I built my first business in Latin America, it’s why we hired almost exclusively women and minorities in the white male dominated world of finance. Business and capitalism is an opportunity to give a hand up, not a hand out. To employ those who could change future generations. And ultimately, it’s why I came to cannabis.Related: How to Become an Expert In AnythingThose humans who brutalize women get away with it with the resources acquired through illegal activities. They traffic in things our government chooses to ignore.I was reminded of all those walking through the streets in Mexico City during the Women’s March against violence this spring. Thousands of women marched in solidarity with those who had been murdered so carelessly their killers walked free with impunity while their mothers never were free again. In Spanish they call protests Manifestacion, which is just close enough to manifestation is English to make me smile at the idea of those who do wrong manifesting those who demand right. The protestors marched and graffitied and shouted because what other recourse did they have when feminicide was rising year over year?Someone the other day said to me that this industry of ours, cannabis, isn’t an impact investment. They said it’s a vice. I’d say in response, what greater impact can there be? Predators play and prosper in the dark. It’s only by shining a light, that we can see them. It’s only by acknowledging that enough demand means supply will be given one way or another. That to regulate means to shine a light, to bring people in from the dark. That we created a war against a plant that is more a medicine than a vice. That we can maybe, just maybe, make the hope of, “Ni Una Menos” (Not One More), become a truth.It’s not the only change we need but it’s a step. I’d like to live in a world where no more pink ribbons are added to that cross, where no one with cancer has to worry about the law for their medicine, where anxiety is managed not with pills but with plants, AND THAT is an impact worth fighting for. Question everything. After all entrepreneurs, founders, doers are the only ones who... sacrifice your now for a vision only you can see. (My toolkit here for entrepreneurs who want hockey stick growth).Some of the articles I think are worth seeing today:Another US Wide Housing Slump Is Coming - From a friend Danielle DiMartino Booth (former advisor to the President of the Dallas Fed), I'm not sure I agree with her but it's worth a ponder. Market Correction Is Coming - From another friend Kathryn Rooney Vera. Tend to agree with her points: This rally was unsustainable. Expect a renewed correction because of 1) magnitude of economic collapse 2) earnings + pending defaults 3) possible second viral bout/Medical Uncertain...
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.Written by Codie SanchezI HATE not being able to answer all your questions on how to get into cannabis. So I wrote a a guide for all of you who want to invest, get a job, a board seat, start a company, selling services into or otherwise get in the cannabis game.The truth is we need the top talent in our industry, as a venture/private equity fund our portfolio companies are ALWAYS hiring --> here is our jobs board that aggregates all their opportunities.But there is something missing here because so many of you want opportunities, and yet so many of our companies can't fill their jobs fast enough. Where is the disconnect?This is my attempt to connect all of you with the opportunities in cannabis w/ 3 steps I would take to get smart, get exposure and learn about this industry at light speed.Let's start here: We have a belief at EEC that we are amidst a generational wealth creation event in cannabis. That especially as valuations are depressed and institutional players have hurdles to entry there is opportunity for the strategic minded.Given all the below:It seems like we aren't the only ones.At EEC we get thousands of pitchdecks a year from entrepreneurs breaking into the space, we meet with hundreds of investors a year looking to invest, and we engage with just as many service providers looking to be the picks and shovels of this new industry.And yet if I get asked one more question more than others it is, how do I get into cannabis? Why?CANNABIS IS BOOMING:They call this... “America’s hidden job boom.”You are paid more – 11% higher mean salary than average broad-based industry Opportunities are growing – 44,000 jobs created in 2019 – 35% increase YOY (In a major downturn of a market FYI)All this growth means services, jobs, and opportunities will flourish. THE PROBLEMMost people go after opportunities the traditional way, which DOESN’T work.They want to get paid, get rich, and get noticed, but they do it wildly inefficiently. If you want to be in a certain industry: you interview at companies that are related, you major in a related field at college or university, you talk to people about how to get into the industry, or you go get specialized degrees that cost you thousands (aka our giant college debt problem in the US).Let me show you why you are working much harder than you need to. If you want more than just a job, and you want to be an executive, consultant, or advisor, make sure to read this entire report until then end and go to our jobs board. This is where I’ll tell you how instead of going after jobs; you can make the jobs/opportunities come to you. How do you do that? You become an expert in your space.You get paid to be an expert. This is not a get rich quick idea, this is you leveraging your unique skill and passion to a profitable and sustainable end. Think you don't have what it takes? In this section I give you the five steps you can take right now to know more in one week than 99.9% of the population knows on your subject matter. This is the beginning of my ten step plan to becoming an expert in cannabis...Get Smart on Cannabis Fast PlanThis segment is all about how to not sound like an amateur in your interviews, pitches, and board meetings. First, I believe in conscious immersion as the best way to learn. So, when you are implementing this plan spend one weekend, just one, reading the below resources, signing up for the newsletters, and planning out a few events to attend. Then jump on in. Do not let procrastination and mental masturbation stop you from actually taking action.Do not let procrastination and mental masturbation stop you from actually taking action.ARE YOU READY??? Kiss that cubicle goodbye, say Sayonara to fax machines, we’re going green.Step 1: Read DeeplyStart by going deep, every time I enter an industry I begin by picking my favorite authors and letting their 10,000 hours come to me in a fraction of that. Pick 2-3, that’s enough. You do NOT want to fall into the trap of preparation as procrastination. Your goal is to lay a foundation you will build on.Top Books to Read:Cannabis Manifesto – Great primer on the history of cannabis from Steve DeAngelo founder of HarborsideCannabis Pharmacy – Deeper dive into the medicinal side of the plantWomen’s Guide to Cannabis – To dispel your stoner notionsMarijuana Grower's Handbook – For those of you with a green thumbEdibles: Small Bites for the Modern Cannabis Kitchen – To understand the edibles market (and maybe make some goodies)Step 2: Go Where The Game Is PlayedThis was my very first step into cannabis, I went and spoke to a group of 25,000 attendees at MJBizCon. I leveraged my unique skillset of speaking, finance, and startups to add value to a conference. This let me jump into the deep end and helped me to understand what the true opportunity was in cannabis. It was the best thing I ever did and changed my entire career. If you listen to one piece of advice, just get yourself into the game. Go see, feel, and touch what is happening with your own fingertips.Conferences to Attend:MJBizCon – By far the largest and most broad sweepingArcview – The most curated and best for startups and higher upsHall of Flowers – The best for marketing and brandsCanntech – The best for global and international opportunitiesNCIA – The best for government and social activistsI used this exact template to get a partner role at a VC firm in cannabis —> our guide:Step 3: Immerse Yourself DailyI spend 30 minutes every morning doing a review of what is happening in the world of cannabis, pick a few of these and do the same. There is magic that happens when you constantly over time integrate yourself into your chosen field. The saying is consistency trumps intensity any day.Newsletters & News Sources to Sign Up For:Leafly – Consumer focused news and insights into cannabisMJBizDaily – The most well-known cannabis and business news sourceGreen Entrepreneur – Great insight into entrepreneurship in cannabisEntourage Effect Capital – We are going to announce some cool hiring resources, so stay tuned.BDS Analytics – Best consumer data out there on cannabis and companies in the space.Codie Sanchez – I also have a biweek...
Note: My articles often contain links to companies I invest/have stake in, or am an affiliate for, meaning we get a commission at no cost to you. I never promote anything I haven't used, or invested in, but since my tagline is to question everything, good to start here! Please see my disclosure page for more.Written by Codie SanchezWhat if I was to tell you the single biggest determinant of your success, is your skill at questioning?It's not IQ, not education, not wealth, it's as Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am."If I have learned one thing as a former journalist, turned pundit, turned public markets investor, turned "Gasp" cannabis private equity investor, it is that your life and your bank account are largely tied to your questions. Questions reveal if you my friend are a critical thinker... or an instant believer. Unfortunately in this world of ours replete with fake news, narrative, spin, information inundation and social stigma programing, the worst thing you can be is an instant believer.So I decided to re-start my newsletter to help you "Think Like A Contrarian." We will challenge the status quo to achieve what most believe is impossible.ALL the best opportunity is found in the disconnect between our common narrative and the truth.BELOW IS AN EXCERPT OF ONE OF THE NEWSLETTERS: If you like it subscribe. If you don't like it... that might be good too, means I'm probably saying something interesting._________Humans,We are funny. We're really just a group of forgetful, and perpetually anxious simians (aka hairless monkeys), who don't remember what we've been through. What's with the tangent Codie? Well, I'm running around Benzinga Cannabis Conference this week and then sprinting around NY on CNBC and Fox News talking about the markets and private sector investing, and I'm having a hard time not chuckling at our reactive and forgetful nature. We truly think it is different every single time. When in fact, most events have an inkling of the past in them and come back into "style," one way or another. Per my cartoon above, even ashrams are in these days. So here are the biggest topics I think we could use a little context on this week. The Weekly THINK:READ - Economic Facts & Fallacies - Thomas Sowell may be my favorite modern economist by far. He debunks the economic myths systematically, digestibly and with minimal personal opinion. His best quote: "Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good."LOOK AT THIS IMAGE... do you see anything that might rhyme? Massive valuation decrease in public equities, paired with consumer adoption increasing at exponential levels. Hmmm... we've never seen that before? I've never understood why humans love sales everywhere but the stock market or private company investing. Seems to me in a world of record highs (even after a pull back), there are still deals in the market. That's our bet at EEC. CONTEXT - Coronavirus: Disclaimer: Turns out I'm not an immunologist or virologist, who knew most people discussing the virus's impact aren't either, ahh news today. So unlike them I'm going to spare you my "expert" opinion on how fast it will spread and the impact, but from a numbers perspective provide some context. I do not want to minimize a single humans pain or suffering, the lives lost are a tragedy.However, we need to think about the widespread impact. The rate below is the % of people who die when they've contracted the illness. That's not great, but it's also not necessary crippling with, 1-2% as the current fatality rate. Then again remember the virus is new and it's in China, where healthcare and human rights are ahem, a bit lacking. To that extent, the fatality rate appears to be quite lower outside China. It also differs drastically by age.Which means, yes the flu is virulent, it's dangerous, but unlikely to cause the apocalypse. Other facts, the rate of new cases appears to have stabilized, a few vaccines are in the works, and "according to the World Health Organization, in the United States alone for the 2019-2020 season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses, 140,000 hospitalizations and 8,200 deaths." Which dwarfs the current outbreak. I like the take by Brian Wesbury on the subject. Will it spread to the US, CDC says yes, news confirms it. Will it be an apocalypse, they say probably not. Would I buy a mask and hand sanitizer, seems reasonable. Will I sell all my assets, no. Then again, I'm not a doctor, just a human with an eye for numbers instead of narrative.CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION - Has anyone ever said, “I wish I had more meetings, conference calls and it would be lovely if I could receive just a few more emails a day?” I certainly haven’t found one. As a VC we have this problem on steroids. My company, Entourage Effect Capital, has invested in 64 companies, so if we invest in less than 1% of all deals we see, that could mean meeting with 6400+ companies. And you thought your weekly team meeting is bad, right? So, I said, no more. I went down a rabbit hole, and after reading 26 articles on time blocking, calendar management, email inbox management and not letting other people dictate your entire life… this is what I found out and am implementing.ACCREDITED INVESTORS - we are going to working on a potential syndicate for investors who want to invest alongside EEC in some of the co-investments democratized for more people to break into cannabis. To apply email: ir@eecpartners.com. We have one deal live now. Question everything, as Sowell said, "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." Happy Questioning,Codie SanchezCannacurious? Want to get into the game... here's our contrarians guideIG: @codiesanchezEEC: www.entourageeffectcapital.comCS: www.codiesanchez.comSubscribe to the newsletter here.This article is presented for informational purposes only, is an opinion, and is not intended to recommend any investment, and is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle managed or sponsored by Entourage Effect Capital, LLC or its affiliates. Any such solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest will be made by a definitive private placement memorandum or other offering document.