Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, co-founders of Cann.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me where you are in the world? Are you both from California? Why Cannabis instead of something like becoming a doctor or lawyer. What did you do prior? Any professional training in mixology?
Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson= JB & LA: Jake grew up in Colorado and Luke is from Massachusetts but we met for the first time in San Francisco when they started work on the same day at Bain & Company. Before Cann, Jake worked in investment banking, management consulting and private equity primarily with consumer brands. Prior to Cann, Luke was a high school math teacher with Teach For America and a management consultant where he helped large CPG companies launch new brands.
No professional training in mixology although we used our data analysis skill sets to collect and analyze online cocktail recipes, DIY cocktails on Pinterest, and search trend data to identify unique flavor combinations that consumers were craving. From those flavor combos, we formulated Cann's first set of flavors using citrus juice not from concentrate, organic agave nectar, all-natural herbal flavors and a flavorless cannabis extract.
WB: Please tell me about your company. What makes you different from your competition? How did you determine THC? What technology do you utilize? Terpenes? Strains? Do you like outdoor or indoor cannabis?
The three core Cann flavors: Grapefruit Rosemary, Blood Orange Cardamom, Lemon Lavender.
JB & LA: We put cannabis in a can because we wanted an alternative to alcohol that gave a similar social buzz but with no hangover, one-third of the calories and actually tasted delicious (with simple, natural ingredients of course). Unlike many cannabis beverages on the market, we designed Cann to have the strength of a light beer or glass of wine. Our Canns have only one-fifth of the standard dose of THC, so Cann drinkers are in control of their experience and can enjoy the uplifting, social benefits of our tonics without ever feeling too high or anxious.
Our California cannabis extract is selected for its uplifting and energizing effects is the purest we can find, so every Cann leads to a consistent experience. It comes from the highest quality indoor grown sativa-dominant hybrid strains of the plant.
WB: What are your six and twelve-month goals? What obstacles do you face? How do you anticipate removing them? Do you have a business mentor or degree?
Each Cann contains a balanced dose of 2mg THC and 4mg of CBD for a light and energetic social buzz, ... [+]
JB & LA: As a company, our goal is to change the way people think about socializing by giving adults an alternative to alcohol. Over the next year, we want to share this product with as many people as we can, first in California and then in other states where cannabis is legal. Our biggest challenge today is that the consumers that will be most excited and best served by Cann are those that are currently drinking alcohol as their mild intoxicant of choice. Because our product has THC as its functional ingredient and cannot be sold in grocery or liquor stores, we have to find creative ways to introduce Cann to customers that have never been to a cannabis dispensary before. Since there is still a lot of confusion around cannabis and a stigma around dispensaries and online cannabis delivery, this can be very challenging. We are trying to overcome these obstacles by launching our own DTC site in California so folks can learn about and buy Cann directly from us at shop.drinkcann.com.
Luke has an MBA from Harvard, and Jake has an MBA from Stanford.
WB: What is your favorite food memory from childhood? Favorite food now? Do you cook?
JB & LA: Luke is a bit crazy and likes to color outside the lines generally, but especially when it comes to food. Since he was young, he engaged in a concept called 'freestyle baking' - e.g. making muffins, cakes, and other baked goods without following a recipe. He also was a manager at his college campus Jamba Juice and would often just make up smoothie recipes and give them to guests as if they were on the "secret" menu (even though it was just off the cuff). The creative energy definitely translated into playing a mad scientist role when it came to developing Cann's flavors, and also resulted in some cutting room floor concepts that may never see the light of day (Celery Juniper is an example). As for actual cooking, he has only cooked three meals in the last decade and isn't very good at it.
The Cann "Party Pack," a case of 24 Canns of all flavors.
WB: What is your passion?
JB & LA: The idea behind Cann really started gaining steam with us as we got older and our hangovers started getting worse. We realized that alcohol was one of the very worse things we did to our bodies and that our days of socializing primarily by drinking alcohol were coming to an end. Yet, we refused to stop being social and were so frustrated that our entire social universe seems to revolve around drinking alcohol. We are really passionate about breaking that dichotomy of going out and drinking booze vs. staying in and missing out. We are excited to help change the way social spaces evolve in a world where cannabis beverages, like Cann, are available. We are excited about how Cann can help people be better versions of themselves while socializing, not worse ones.
