GE 220: How Meadow Acquires Customers When Paid Advertising Isn’t Allowed for the Cannabis Industry (podcast)

Hey everyone! Today I share the mic with David Hua, CEO and co-founder of Meadow, a software company that builds products for the highly regulated cannabis industry.

Tune in to hear David share why he firmly believes in bootstrapping your way to growth, the many failures and successes he experienced on his entrepreneurial journey, and how they get the word out since paid advertising is not permissible for the cannabis industry.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How Meadow Acquires Customers When Paid Advertising Isn’t Allowed for the Cannabis Industry TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:54 – Review and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast
• 01:10 – Eric welcomes David Hua
  • 01:10 – Eric interned for David while in college, and is speaking to him after 9 years
• 02:00 – Focuses on building software for the cannabis industry; works with delivery services and dispensaries
  • 02:12 – Compliance requirements are really high since cannabis is a regulated product
• 02:42 – Two ways to interact with Meadow:
  • 02:44 – Non-users need to go through an online evaluation by a doctor
  • 02:54 – Existing medical cannabis patients can go ahead and order from the Meadow website
• 03:09 – Covering 62% of California at the moment; aiming for 100% reach by the end of this year and working with 70 collectives across the state at the moment
• 03:25 – Was named the “Best Bootstrapped Startup” at The Crunchies Awards
  • 04:15 – Instilling an appreciation for your capital allows everyone to operate frugally, and invest in the things that do matter
• 04:48 – Tracing David’s journey so far…
  • 04:48 – Wall Street stint right after college
  • 04:51 – Moved to San Francisco to start GotGame, where Eric interned
• 04:56 – GotGame suffered from first time founder problems right after its inception in 2008
• 05:06 – Bad timing and rising expenses led to their eventual closure
  • 05:50 – Ended up working for a healthcare company called HealthCentral which was backed by Sequoia, Polaris and Allen and Co.
  • 06:19 – Met his future cofounders while working for Sincerely, Inc.
  • 06:27 – Prompted to look for a promising business once Sincerely, Inc. was sold off – knowing that health was a booming business, they started Meadow
• 07:17 – Check out Bill Gross’s video: The single biggest reason why startups succeed
• 07:42 – Encouraged to start Meadow in 2014, right after Colorado legalized sale of medical marijuana
• 07:56 – California was the first state to have medical cannabis but wasn’t the first to legalize it for the adult use market.
• 08:10 – Realized that the market was ripe for someone with technological expertise and security, compliance and operational efficiency
• 08:25 – Gets paid for every patient appointment; other revenue streams includes a SaaS fee from software users and a percentage of sales that go through Meadow
• 09:06 – Since paid advertising is not permissible for the cannabis industry, they have to rely on word-of-mouth publicity
• 19:51 – What is the one big struggle you faced career wise, and how did you deal with it? – The biggest struggle has been patience. Retrospectively, David feels that it would have been good to get some experience before starting his business
• 11:36 – What is one big change that you have made in the past one year that has either impacted yourself or your business in a big way? – His daughter Hazel was born last year. Having a child has made David more productive.
• 12:31 – Caring for your resources, being mindful of the competition and the environment, and importance of collaboration are some of the lessons that David has acquired from playing strategy games
• 13:26 – What’s one new tool that you’ve added in the last year that’s added a lot of value, like Evernote? – Front, Quip, and Slack
• 14:24 – What’s one book that you recommend to everyone? – Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – Written by two Navy SEALs, this book is about giving your leaders ownership. You can also check out the audio version, narrated by Jocko Willink
• 15:46 – Connect with David on his Twitter, email, AngelList or LinkedIn
• 16:15 – Review and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast

3 Key Points:

1. Timing plays a big role in the success of a startup.
2. Care for your resources, be mindful of your competition and the environment, and actively collaborate with your teammates to achieve success in a startup.
3. Sometimes it is better to practice patience while chasing your entrepreneurial dreams – it’s wise to get some experience under your belt before setting up your own business.

Resources From This Interview:

• Meadow
• The Crunchies Awards
• HealthCentral
• Sincerely, Inc.
• Bill Gross’s video: The single biggest reason why startups succeed
• Front
• Quip
• Slack
• Must-read book: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
  • Audio version, narrated by Jocko Willink
• David on Twitter
• David on AngelList
• David on LinkedIn

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Connect with Eric Siu:

• Growth Everywhere
• Single Grain
• Twitter @ericosiu