News

New Member Spotlight: AlphaRoot

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We are excited to welcome AlphaRoot to Colorado Leads!

AlphaRoot is a full-service insurance brokerage that focuses exclusively in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, holistic medicine and psychedelic industries. It works with companies across the entire supply chain, from seed to sale, as well as ancillary and capital providers. The AlphaRoot team is heavily invested in these industries, and its goal is to help companies scale to propel them forward.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

New Member Spotlight: Clear Cannabis Inc.

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We are thrilled to welcome Clear Cannabis Inc. to Colorado Leads!

Clear Cannabis Inc. is one of the original cannabis brands founded in 2013 by a team of scientists who introduced molecular distillation to the legal cannabis market and in the process reinvented the cannabis vape category. As a national cannabis brand and licensor of The Clear™ family of brands, including TWAX, ENDO, and Dripcees, products are currently available in 10 cannabis markets and growing throughout the U.S. The company is focused on responsible manufacturing, proprietary formulations, securing widespread distribution, and expanding product lines.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

Colorado Leads Welcomes New Board Member Joe Hodas

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We are pleased to welcome Joe Hodas to the Colorado Leads Board of Directors!

Joe serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Wana Brands, where he is responsible for generating revenue by creating innovative and refined marketing campaigns for the organization while helping to grow Wana’s brand, market share and customer loyalty. Since joining Wana in 2020, Hodas has been on the team that launched new innovative lines–including Quick, Optimals and Live Rosin Gummies–while expanding Wana’s North American footprint to become a top international cannabis brand. An early professional marketer in the cannabis industry, Hodas drove the marketing strategy for Dixie Elixirs as its first CMO, helping build it into one of the most recognized national marijuana brands. Read more

New Member Spotlight: Kaycha Labs

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We are thrilled to welcome Kaycha Labs Colorado to Colorado Leads!

Kaycha Labs is the largest network of full-service, ISO-accredited cannabis testing laboratories in the U.S. Its state-of-the-art testing equipment utilizes more than 500 automated methods and procedures to accurately, consistently and quickly deliver regulatory testing and testing analysis for quality control, traceability, shelf-life, batch creation and refinement of cannabis products. Additionally, Kaycha’s research lab assesses the efficacy of CBD products for therapeutic outcomes and provides this data to physicians, patients, and researchers. Kaycha is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it has Gold Standard labs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Tennessee, all of which meet the guidelines and requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

New Member Spotlight: Harmony Extracts

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We are proud to welcome Harmony Extracts as the latest member of Colorado Leads.

Founded in 2015, Harmony Extracts hit the ground running with a singular goal: To create cannabis concentrates of the highest quality with uniquely rich terpene profiles.  In a young industry, the Harmony team has more than 100 years of combined experience in cannabis development using state-of-the-art medical grade equipment, along with proprietary solvent blends to transform our plants into high-end BHO products that have earned the company an incomparable reputation. Just like nature’s little hummingbird, Harmony works to extract the best of what nature has to offer and is fiercely dedicated to the Harmony standard of purity, quality, and consistency.

Colorado Leads member companies include a wide range of licensed cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, and we encourage any organization or individual who shares our vision and mission to consider joining. Visit the Membership section to learn more.

How to make change

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Colorado Leads member LivWell Enlightened Health found that just a few cents goes a long way to making change. In August, LivWell asked its customers to “round up” their purchase to the nearest dollar with the difference going to the Colorado COVID Relief Fund. The company has already raised more than $30,000 through nearly 69,000 transactions/donations.

The relief fund supports Colorado communities and organizations affected by the recent outbreak of COVID-19.

Colorado Leads Members: In their own words 

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Bob Eschino

President of Medically Correct, LLC

What do you/your company specialize in? 

We are one of the country’s largest infused edible manufacturers and extract companies. We specialize in quality, consistent edibles using multiple delivery methods and cannabinoid ratios for patients and customers in need.

What prompted you to enter the cannabis industry?

I watched cannabis work for my grandmother when pharmaceuticals had failed her.  It helped with her pain, appetite and sleep.  Seeing cannabis work as medicine compelled me to figure out a way to get quality medicine to patients in need.  Since that time, we have worked to get easier, safer access to cannabis for patients.  We have been on the forefront of accurate and clean product manufacturing and legitimate health alternatives.

What do you consider to be your most significant business accomplishment?  

We sell over one million products a year in Colorado alone to patients and I’m proud that we are able to help so many people.  We also employ over 100 people in Colorado and help contribute to the local economy.  We also provide assistance to our local schools and shelters, giving back to our community where we can.

What do you consider to be your most significant business failure? 

Not being able to effectively navigate the banking regulations to allow us to grow at a quicker pace.  Not having access to capital has slowed the companies growth at times.

What is your next business goal?  

To continue to help shape cannabis regulations not only in Colorado, but at the federal level as well.  I want to see the industry become federally legal, so we can help patients across the globe.

AWARDS! 

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Marijuana Business Daily’s announces its inaugural awards that include cultivator of the year,  regional game changer and community impact.  Not surprisingly, a number of Colorado Leads members are finalists. 

Take a look! »

Colorado Leads Members: In their own words 

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Peter Barsoom, CEO of 1906

What do you/your company specialize in?

1906 is on a mission to bring cannabis back to the mainstream. Our unique and innovative line of edibles combines great taste, superior ingredients, and rapid-delivery formulations in a range of experiences that bring the benefits of cannabis and plant medicine to health-conscious adults for whom indulging has to compliment – not deter – a healthy lifestyle. Our lineup delivers unique experiences that promote sleep, energy, arousal, relaxation and a happy mood, all in safe and predictable formulations using single-strain organic cannabis. 

What prompted you to enter the cannabis industry?

I got into the cannabis industry because my wife and I were enthusiasts of smoking flower, but we were concerned about the health impacts of smoking. Edibles didn’t seem like a viable alternative because they were too unpredictable, they tasted bad, and they had a lot of unhealthy ingredients. We also were fascinated by plant medicine from Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and other traditions, and then of course, cannabis is one of the most widely-used medicines in history. We saw a major opportunity in the market – to blend the functional benefits of plant medicine with the longstanding benefits of cannabis, and combine those in a healthy, delicious and safe edible. That’s how 1906 was born.

What do you consider to be your most significant business accomplishment?

I am most proud of the fact that 1906 is impacting people in pretty simple and yet profound ways. We are there for intimate and vulnerable moments in people’s lives–we’re there when they want to sleep, or have better sex, or relax after a hard day, and it’s such an honor to be able to help them in these moments. Part of what I’ve learned in this work is that so much of the American population is suffering around these issues. We want to give people permission to seek out a better experience–around sex or sleep or hanging out with their mate after the kids go to bed. We don’t have to suffer. We have lots of plant-based allies, and, as a company, we’re proud to bring them together in an accessible, safe, reliable product.

What do you consider to be your most significant business failure?

Our first packaging design was too big, white, and too subtle. 

What is your next business goal?

We will be expanding operations for cannabis chocolates and other edibles to additional states in the next two years. We’re also branching out into new products including beverages and other form factors. This month, we will be introducing 1906 Drops in the Colorado market. People are desperate alternative remedies to the pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs they’re taking. We set out to provide a plant-based alternative giving rise to a whole new category of products. 1906 Drops are pressed tablets (or pills) with the same plant medicines as our chocolates that are fast-acting, portable, zero calories and optimal remedies for health-conscious adults without the side effects of pharmaceuticals.