How Joanne Wilson built Gotham around culture and cannabis
Joanne Wilson is the founder and CEO of Gotham, a cannabis dispensary shaped by the idea of a concept store. Wilson explains how events, art, social media and knowledgeable staff help bring customers back, and shares practical lessons on hiring and entering a changing industry.
In a market where customers first came through the door because Gotham was among the early dispensaries to open, keeping them coming back takes consistent attention to what they value. Wilson also advises people entering the industry to work in it first and research local laws and market gaps.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
I was looking for my next gig, and cannabis fell into my lap. I wanted to open a concept store, an idea I have had for as long as I can remember, and when I heard about the opportunity to get a dispensary licensed, it all came into place. I love start-ups; I wanted to build a retail business, and I love weed. The trifecta
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
We were one of the first dispensaries to open, so people were pouring in the door. The key is keeping them coming. We have done that through events, art, excellent social media, a rewards program, a constant flow of new products, and, most of all, friendly, well-educated salespeople who are knowledgeable about the product, whom we call cannaseurs.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
There have been countless new directions in this space as we build our business while the government builds the rules. Before building this business, I invested in over 150 start-up businesses, which gave me a front-row seat to one very important rule. Hire slowly, fire quickly. When I see that an exec isn’t working out, I act quickly because I have seen how holding on to something that isn’t working only burns cash and bleeds the organization.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
Cannabis is becoming more of a commodity. We are adapting by reading the data and understanding exactly what our customers want from us as we grow, and lean in to other opportunities that are smart extensions of our business.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
Work in this industry first. There is no investment capital; brands are state-by-state, so know the laws and really do your research to see whether there is a void somewhere in this market.
Thank you to joanne wilson and the team at Gotham for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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