Oscar Jofre  00:08

All right, well, good afternoon, everyone. And welcome once again, to the KoreConX KoreSummit webinar series today, what an exciting topic. If there’s ever a controversial topic, cannabis is definitely the one and one topic that we’ve been waiting to do for a long time. Because, you know, let’s face it, it is a business, it’s definitely gaining a lot of momentum. And just to be clear for everyone that is either here today or watching this live webinar on YouTube, or any live event right now that we have it in. We’re not here to talk about the use of it, or it’s for the companies that are engaging in legal business, who are looking to raise capital for their business. And there are legal venues and regulations to allow them to do so. That’s the beauty of it. The SEC does not discriminate against cannabis. In fact, there have been many successes on that subject. So it’s really important that we mentioned that I did get some feedback from some people, Oscar, you have been one of those events where everybody smoked? No, no, no, we’re here to provide an overview of how a cannabis company can use the regulation in order to raise capital for their company, and be able to do so in such a way that it can then gain the momentum of having new shareholders in their company and raise the capital in order to you know, build their business. But what it’s not here to do, it’s the other stuff. So hopefully I put that I knew everyone here, you weren’t expecting that. Because obviously, we have lawyers that are going to talk about the regulations. As always, you know, our format, we talk about the preparations. First we get that going, then we’re going to have the investor acquisition providers who are going to help you we got a little sneak peek in between there. I’ll tell you a little bit about that. And then we’re going to talk about what happens when the offering is live. And then of course, secondary market trading. That’s right, providing, you know, the monitor the venue for investors to monetize without actually going public. Not everybody needs to go public right away. You don’t need to do a reverse takeover a CPC, and some sort of Canadian exchange or, you know, get listed on NASDAQ overnight, no, no, not at all. In fact, it the whole key here is build up your business and get ready and mature enough so you can move forward. So it’s really, it’s really exciting for me today. Because as most of you know, I’m Canadian. And we are one of the few countries around the world where cannabis is a legalized business all the way across the country. And obviously, it’s flourishing. And the United States. Obviously, it’s legal in certain states. But the market is growing very, very big. And obviously, companies need capital in order to grow their businesses. So with every one of our core summits that we have, we like to start it off with someone who can bring you an insight into the sector that I can’t. I mean, I knew it. I know it, obviously from reading and understanding some of the intricacies. But I am so excited to bring on this speaker that’s going to lead us off this afternoon. Most of you in the cannabis sector probably know, Jordan Lams as the CEO of Moxie. And he has been a veteran in the space and what his company’s been doing. It’s been phenomenal. But more importantly, it’s his knowledge of the sector. That’s really the key and that’s the most important thing. He’s going to lead us off this afternoon by giving everybody an overview, what is the cannabis sector? And what better person to do that then Jordan? Jordan, you’re there? I’m here. Can you hear me? Uh, you bet. It’s great to have you looking great. So, as I said to everyone, you know, I’ve learned a lot from you and our discussions and one of the things that I like doing is keeping learning and I think today our audience is eager to hear you and please, the floor is yours enjoying?

Jordan Lams 05:09

No, thank you. I’m very honored to get to open this up, especially considering that I haven’t gone through a complete Reg A cycle myself yet, but I’ve been lucky enough to get immersed in this world, this community that it really is and be so wonderfully educated. You know, Oscar, you and your team especially are kind of like the hub in the middle of the spokes of this Reg A universe. And, you know, between yourself and some of the other speakers that are going to be out there today. You know, Sara, Etan, Shari, Joel, like the the wealth of knowledge and the willingness to share, it reminds me actually, of the old days in cannabis, when the industry was first starting, it was, you know, only really done through grassroots efforts of entrepreneurs. And there wasn’t big finance, there wasn’t a Canadian capital markets, there wasn’t hedge funds, it was just people that knew what they wanted to do, and did it themselves. And Reg A reminds me of that, because everybody’s helping each other. 

It’s a mentality of, you know, a rising tide raises all ships. And as cannabis has grown up, and come into the light of day for all the benefits that that brings up, you know, legalization regulation, you know, normal people being able to have bank accounts, which is, you know, a new thing for us. The spirit has changed, though, too. And it’s become incredibly competitive. And so as I was contemplating what to talk to everyone about today, just to kick this off, and try to get the right tenor for everyone that might be, you know, exploring the Reg A world for their first time as a potential for their cannabis business, which I’m a firm believer in, this is an incredible option. A very close friend, advisor, and colleague, said to me just evangelize, he said, one word, evangelize. And I laughed at first, because it seems very radical. But it also seemed like to fit perfectly because it just like when you get into this in the same way that I felt when I first got into cannabis for everything that it could do, from a business perspective, from an economic opportunity perspective, from, you know, the medical aspect, it just, it makes you so passionate, that this needs to be put out there needs to be you know, spoken about, and people need to be made aware that this is an option to them.

 And that same spirit that I had, in my earliest days of becoming a believer, and an entrepreneur within the cannabis industry is the same way that I feel about, about the world of Reg A. And, you know, luckily, the people that I’ve encountered, you know, all across the whole system have, you know, resembled that like, like mirrored it in such a refreshing way that I haven’t seen in a long time. And that being said, you know, there’s there is some interesting stuff that’s going on in cannabis today. There’s a toxicity that exists within this industry. And, you know, I believe a lot of that stems from the way that the industry has been capitalized, you know, this industry went from zero to 100 really fast, and it’s still got a long way to go, there’s still a huge journey ahead of this industry to get it, you know, call it into the light of day. But along the way, what’s happened is that there’s been so much capital that’s been needed. And for lack of a better way of putting it, there’s been corners that haven’t been cut throughout the various opportunities that exist within this ecosystem to get the business capitalized, and on its feet, and what that’s done. A lot of great, you know, the industry is growing up, there’s been lobbying efforts that have put forth legislation and regulation. And now there’s, you know, more access to good quality product throughout the world than there was by many exponents just a few years ago. But with that has come a, you know, an ecosystem of financial engineering that has, it largely not benefited the customers, the entrepreneurs, or the industry at large. And the reason I say that, it’s because, you know, to facilitate the large flows of capital, there has to be good returns and big returns, and with that opportunity for big returns, opens the opportunity for impropriety and bad acting. And what I’ve seen happen, you know, time and time again and have experienced even you know, a lot firsthand is that there’s not so much an interest in investing into the space as there is an interest in gambling on the space. And what that does is it creates a lot of big flow of capital. But in entrepreneurs, so many in cannabis come with, you know, a true belief and commitment to doing something bigger than just generating financial returns. And that’s what makes their businesses so great. That’s, you know, empirically what makes great businesses last is having a mission that’s bigger than the financial component, you miss align interests and in that misalignment creates compromises often times on behalf of naive entrepreneurs that everything is going to be you know, rosy and and rainbow. 

And it’s just frankly not you know, and you add an immature market with businesses that are large and mature and not fully professionalized and pair that with a system of capital markets that’s designed to recycle capital for quick and large returns, it invites a lot of bad things to happen. And what is really cool about the Reg A world, and not only in the timing as it relates to our industry in cannabis, because both are kind of growing up at the same time. But it feels very full circle to me, and not to be exclusive to our friends north of the border in the in the room here, but I always have used the saying since the beginning of the opportunity in cannabis, and that’s that this opportunity represents the American dream without it being at the expense of America. 

You know, in so many other industries, you have such a great opportunity, but it’s almost as though someone’s always losing, you know, whether it’s no overseas manufacturing, where labor practices are abusive, or whether it’s something that comes at the expense of the environment, which is most industries in some capacity today. Cannabis not excluded. There’s always like some, you know, behind the curtain detriment, that always makes you scratch your head down the road of like, okay, well is, you know, the juice worth the squeeze. And the cool thing about cannabis is I’ve seen it, and it’s got a lot of work to get there. But it’s one of those industries that has that opportunity to make everyone win, you know, not only do you know, the governments get their big piece and through a sustainable tax, you know, regime actually be able to make good money for local and, and larger governments. But the entrepreneurs can create great businesses where they can generate wealth, and ultimately, the customers don’t have to pay the price. But we do have some work to get there. And the reason that Reg A I think rounds, all of that out is because now not only is it not at the expense of America, or the you know, the average person now it can be even beyond the product itself to the benefit of that average person. Imagine an opportunity where you can not only create access to something that people really not only either deserve, but maybe in a lot of instances need in their lives to live fulfilling, high quality, you know, lives and daily experiences. 

But now they’ve got the opportunity to share in the upside of when those businesses succeed. And the outset of this, you know, new paradigm that we’re looking at reminds me just so much of the original paradigm shift of cannabis and healthcare to begin with, you know. No longer is this about trusting in the old institutions of that, Hey, you, you’re this one person, you’ve got this one ailment. So you got to take the same drug that everybody else, you know, all around the world takes for that, because that’s what’s accepted. And you know, what, if it doesn’t work for you, good luck. And similarly, oh, you’re a unaccredited investor, and you want to build some wealth. And so here’s your couple options that are frankly largely a crapshoot to do anything within a finite period of time to improve that your financial independence and Reg A when done correctly, particularly within such a, you know, high growth industry like cannabis can kind of, like complete that 360 circle of like. Now you get to share in a democratized version of the upside of these businesses that you can pick for yourself what you’re investing in, and you can do it before it becomes completely gobbled up by the old guard. 

And, you know, let’s be frank, you know, when the big banks in the United States get involved in cannabis, these opportunities will be, you know, fewer and farther between, in the, you know, breadth of the opportunity that they represent to normal retail investors. And so that’s why I say the timing here is just like so serendipitous that, where the industry is at and how now everyone, you know, largely within the industry has become somewhat disenfranchised with the manner in which the industry has been capitalized. And then at the same time, there’s a sunset coming to this starvation of capital and that, I think, most believe, sooner rather than later that there’s going to be federal reform within the United States, which will open the floodgates to a lot of different, you know, types of capital flowing in. But then at the same time, you’ve got Reg A that’s over the last couple of years gone from this, you know, almost like fringe thing that people didn’t understand and maybe even didn’t care to understand to now something that cannot be ignored. And the reasons for it, I think, are great, you know, it’s it’s an opportunity for entrepreneurs and businesses to stay focused on what it is that they need to stay focused on to adhere as truly as they can to their core values. But then to reward those that actually believe in that financially and beyond. And, you know, just like anything, it’s got its its growing pains to grow through. But you know, just in the last year of my experience being in this kind of ecosystem of Reg A. I’ve seen it grow up so much, and it gives me such a significant level of excitement for the next couple of steps. Now, let me temper all of this on both sides of the cannabis and the Reg A coin by saying cannabis is one of the hardest industries ever. And that’s not just me as a lifetime cannabis entrepreneur saying that so many of my colleagues and peers within the space that have come from other industries share that sentiment, and it’s just super challenging. And Reg A is not the simplest of things either. 

There’s a lot that you have to deal with when it comes to the audits, you know, what KoreConX does at the transfer agent services. And on top of all the other suite of services that they provide, at the actual investor acquisition piece, all the you know, broker-dealer compliance that goes with it. It’s it’s an interesting web of things that have to be managed in balance that I think most entrepreneurs are not familiar with. And as someone who’s learned it all within the context of the cannabis industry, you’re pairing two complicated things together. But I’m here to tell you, it can be done. And if you’re considering it today, and this KoreSummit that you’re going to sit through and get such an incredible amount of knowledge from all of these experts, is exactly how I got my start of education within the sector. And it’s going to be the best crash course you can get. Because it may be a little complicated, and particularly the beginning, it’s daunting, but all you got to do is start just loosely untangling that knot. And sooner than later, you’ve got straight lines of string that you know exactly how to get from one end to the other. And when you get there. As an entrepreneur, it’s one of the most empowering things because not only do you know that you get to bring that benefit back to normal people, depending on how you want to structure your offerings. But you get to keep all of that in line with you know the value set that you and your team, police and adhere to every day and protect because that’s the culture of your business. And I think that’s probably that one of the most important things about this is that this is about protecting the culture, and then rewarding those that help you do that.

And so today, as you listen to all of these experts, and you know, you’re going to get such a wealth of knowledge about you know, the Reg A sector, don’t be afraid, you know, it’s scary at first. But if you feel that, that that compulsion that that urging that this might be something that’s there for you, particularly if you’re an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. You’re going to grow up so much as an entrepreneur, outside of the auspice of cannabis while protecting that spark that you have being in one of the coolest, most important industries in the world at this time. And this marriage to me, it’s just, you know, it’s serendipity. It’s a match made in heaven. And I encourage everyone that’s out there that’s considering this to really, you know, take this resource today to heart because it’s so unique. And, and, you know, just to kick it back to Oscar, I have so much thanks to him for everything that he’s helping me with on my journey as we embark upon a couple of different Reg A offerings within the cannabis sector. And we’re very excited for the results and to share that with the with everyone else out there. So Oscar, thank you so much for letting me kick this off for you guys. It’s truly an honor.

Oscar Jofre  17:40

You know what, I couldn’t ask for more. I think it’s, it’s a great insight you’re brought into everyone giving them the hard truth of that it is, it is something that could be a little bit painful. But in the end, you get to retain that, that spark, I like that word. I really do. Because you hear me all the time. How I feel about the JOBS Act is great. I love it. Because it’s democratization we get to, we’re in the driver’s seat. And we need people you’re going to hear I’m going to introduce here very quickly, but we need them. They’re going to help us get there. But we gives us a greater responsibility as well. And that’s not a big burden anymore. It’s a lot easier. Thank you again, Jordan. I know we’ll be talking again soon. And now we’re obviously very excited to we’re going to bring our our next set of speakers because, you know, it’s like everything else. It moves through a process where we are going to, you know, provide that education to you in a very seamless kind of way where you can actually see what’s going to happen as you put all this together. So what does that mean? Well, there’s a process on how it all gets started. And people like Jordan went through it. They begin the discussions with we call them the people for the preparations and they’re those who do the stuff that nobody else sees.