#92 - Jane Technologies Founder Soc Rosenfeld on the Future of Cannabis Retail Tech

Stigma Podcast - Mental Health

What is the future of legal cannabis from a retail / e-commerce perspective? Today's guest, Socrates Rosenfeld, Co-Founder and CEO of Jane Technologies explains. Jane is an e-commerce solution for the Cannabis space that supports nearly 3,000 dispensaries and handles more than 20% of the legal Cannabis transactions in the U.S. each year.

Prior to founding Jane, Soc was a consultant at McKinsey and Company. Before that, he served in the US Army as an Apache Helicopter Pilot from 2004-2011. Soc earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and his undergrad degree my alma mater, West Point.

Soc has a very personal reason for building Jane, that he’s going to share with us in a few minutes. He’s one of the most impressive founders I’ve ever met and we at What If Ventures have had the chance to get to know him in 2021 as we were a small part of their most recent funding round and have been able to witness first-hand what an amazing operator he is.

You can connect with Soc here: LinkedIn

What If Fellowship: https://whatif.vc/fellowship

HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. Soc shares his journey from the Army to eventually founding a Canmnabis retail tech platform beacuase of his own personal experience struggling with mental heatlh after the Army.
2. We discuss Jane’s platform and how Jane is not only revolutionizing the Cannabis retail world, but how Jane's novel approach to e-commerce will transform broader e-commerce which hasn't seen real disruption since the creation of decades old platforms like Amazon.
3. Soc shares what it was like to face the stigma around Cannabis and the challenges/benefits that came with creating a company in this space.
4. We discuss the legistlative environment around Cannabis, false information about the plant (and industry) that has been spread over the years, and the effect it has had on people finding and using this solution.
5. Soc talks about what Jane is focused on today while they await legislative changes and a more broad based acceptance of cannabis usage in the U.S.
6. Soc tells us about the biggest challenges that come with being an entrepreneur and the importance of believing in yourself.
7. We discuss tips for entrepreneurs who are wanting to get into the Cannabis space and what advice Soc wishes he would have received when he first started.

Connect with the Stigma Podcast in the following ways: What If Fellowship, Website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Email

Connect with host Stephen Hays here: Stephen Hays Personal Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, What If Ventures (Mental Health Venture Fund)