Ian Pedersen – Founder of Source CBD
“I believe that we are close to overcoming the stigma of cannabis on a national level and also moving towards finally ending prohibition nation wide.”
Featured Cannapreneur:
Ian Pedersen, Founder of Source CBD
Feature: Ian Pedersen
Company: Source CBD (IG:@source.cbd |Facebook: /SourceCBD)
Location: Arizona
Website:SourceCBDhemp.com
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
With so many new people rushing into cannabis, it’s good to sit and talk with someone who has been in the game for a while. With so many cannabis professionals stemming from Colorado and California, it’s nice to sit and talk with a professional from a different state (AZ).
I came across Ian of Source CBD when an industry friend of mine started using his product for some pain issues. My personal love for CBD motivated me to reach out to Ian to see what he and his company Source CBD are all about. At a Source CBD event, Ian crafted some CBD infused hors d’oeuvres and I am now convinced that most things should be CBD infused from now on.
Ian Pedersen and I got the chance to chill and chat about his cannapreneurial journey, GMOs, cannabidiol (CBD) and his insider perspective on where the industry is heading over the next 5 years.
[Note on CBD: Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most prevalent compounds (cannabinoids) in the cannabis plant. Unlike the more notorious, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD is non psychoactive (it doesn’t get you high). The medicinal potential of CBD has taken it to mainstream audiences. Preclinical trials over the past four decades have found that CBD shows promise as an anti inflammatory, anti-depressant, antioxidant, antiemetic, anticonvulsant, and more.]
Here is what Ian had to say:
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Source CBD also produces CBD tinctures for horses and dogs.
Ian Pedersen (right) | Source CBD
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: Ian, I have been looking forward to speaking with you. I came across your product in a dispensary about 6 months ago in Nevada. I LOVE CBD so much and I knew a couple of people who were really helped by Source CBD products. You are actually the first Arizonian we have interviewed. I am excited to hear about you, your company and your perspective on the industry, coming from a state that not many people associate with the cannabis industry!
Before we get into the company itself, tell me a little about your back story. Where did you grow up?
Ian: I am originally from the Fontana California area where my parents grew up, however we moved to Phoenix Arizona when I was just a baby in the 1979 until my father felt we should get out of the city, so we moved to a more rural area outside of Sedona Arizona where my brother and I could have a childhood filled with outdoor activities. I grew up with my older brother mother and father who were both rather liberal. My father was a mechanic and my mother worked in the billing department for a hospital. My parents worked incredibly hard and I was very thankful that I had a stable environment to just be a kid.
CM: How did you originally become interested in cannabis? Not necessarily on a business, level, but when was it first introduced into your life?
Ian: My older brother introduced me to weed in my early teens but I wasn’t really interested. Later on, around the age of 16 I got into it quite heavily and was smoking every day.
I remained in Arizona and started studying cultivation in the late 90’s after being introduced to kind bud for the first time (Arizona was only getting Mexican imported at the time) and then my interest was sparked after reading a book by Ed Roesenthal and seeing a VHS that my friend had ordered showing how to set up a clandestine indoor grow. This really set the trajectory for my course in the future without me even knowing it. I had taken a great personal interest in the plant and enjoyed the beauty of growing and nurturing something while I had no idea what it would lead to over the years.
[full_width padding=”40px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Sedona Arizona
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: So cool to look back to when you were first introduced to something and to see how much it has impacted you since, right? Cannabis has taken you many places from what I understand. Can you tell me a bit about the journey you had through the cannabis industry leading up to Source CBD?
Ian: Yes of course. I was working as a Chef at a day to day job that I enjoyed very much while I continued to cultivate and work with the plant. I then met my future wife Chance and shortly after started a family together. Having a son really seemed to help solidify and motivate my drive and direction for the future in the industry.
CM: Where did that reinvigorated drive take you?
Ian: In 2010 when Arizona first adopted prop 203 and made medical marijuana legal I decided it was time to get serious. I started the first compassionate caregiver organization called AZMMC, (AZ Medical Marijuana Caregivers) and secured our maximum capability of patients the first month. I then went on to open a hydroponic retail location as a cannabis consultant and ended up grossing over $130,000 in the first two quarters of business.
CM: So you got in EARLY! Where did that success lead you?
Ian: I was then contracted by a former world bank executive and AZ state legislator to be the Project Manager in developing a state licensed dispensary in Sedona Arizona, as well as to head up operations as Cultivation Director/Project Manger. In that role I took part in launching a state licensed industrial cultivation center which would was the largest operating facility in Arizona at the time.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: That’s awesome! What happened from that point?
Ian: A lot sprouted from from that project. I was honored that year by High Times magazine as a top cultivator in their Top Hot Shot’s feature.
CM: Being recognized for all that hard work and dedication must have felt good! And well deserved.
Ian: Definitely. Since then, I have continued working throughout the space consulting for other companies including as a technical advisor for a groundbreaking company called Kiinja based in Colorado specializing in the development of equipment in the Aerospace industry. Kiinja has since become a major player in designing and developing industrial application supercritical Co2 extraction units and has been successful in launching to market in 2016 with its strategy into this incredibly competitive space.
CM: Wow. So you have had some big projects on your hands in the Arizona and Colorado Markets. When did you find the time to start your own company?
Ian: I started working on launching Source into our regional market while also doing the other projects.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Source CBD
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: There must have been some serious passion behind the Source CBD concept for you to have the energy to develop the company while doing so much else. How did you develop the Source CBD concept?
Ian: The Source CBD concept was initially developed around sourcing the highest quality ingredients possible for a hemp derived CBD tincture.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
“The core purpose with Source CBD is about helping people.”
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
I realize that knowing the source of anything we get as consumers is difficult and there is often a disconnect in where we get our foods and consumables. With Source CBD, we have focused on sourcing and being a source for the consumer, of the highest grade hemp derived CBD available.
What makes Source CBD especially unique to the market in formula is the simple yet elegant delivery method of highly fractionated liquid coconut oil that we use as a carrier to increase the bio availability of our all organic gold grade hemp CBD oil. My background as a chef in searching for the best ingredients helped guide me to the idea of not adding any flavors to keep it as natural as possible and as to not have to add any preservatives to our products.
CM: I noticed on your website that you source organic hemp. Is the organic components one of the things that makes the hemp you use “high grade.”
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Ian: Yes.
CM: Ok, cool! I think this is really good insight particularly for consumers that are just getting acquainted with the cannabis industry. Can you expand on what makes a cannabis product “organic” and what benefits come from (risks are avoided by) consuming organically sourced CBD?
Ian: It is important to us at Source to use the highest quality organic non-GMO ingredients when developing food based products. They will essentially help to provide the building blocks for healthy cell growth and support the immune system. On the contrary evidence has shown that foods grown with pesticides lead to issues in the nervous system and do not have the buildup of these detectable chemicals in the body.
CM: it is a pretty recent development to have food companies disclose that they are non-GMO, how can consumers find out if their CBD was grown with harmful pesticides?
Ian: It is important to know where your CBD comes from. We have seen some really high quality CBD coming out of Germany and the Netherlands that is some of the best on the import market. There has been a large supply of CBD coming from China that is not grown organically and has very poorly testing.
Any consumer purchasing CBD or cannabis related products should ask for lab test results. It is important to know that any credible CBD company or dispensary offering cannabis related products should have test results showing cannabinoid levels, terpene profile and most important a chemical residue test to show no pesticides or chemicals were used during production.
[eltd_blockquote text=”As we move forward toward further education and regulation in the industry we will see clean test results become a key to success for cannabis related product developers and raw materials suppliers in the future.” title_tag=”h2″ width=””]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: I agree. Lab testing is imperative! I have to ask. I think , beyond knowing that the product is organic and non-GMO, the true test is…Do you consume your own product?
Ian: In business I feel you have to believe in your own product and love it so much that it has to become in a way an extension of yourself. Something you use, identify with and want to share with others with complete excitement.
“My entire family including mother and father use the product as well as myself daily. It is a staple around the house and all of my 5 children seem to really enjoy it and for me as a parent I am really happy to have this at my disposal to share with them.”
CM: See? That right there. You believe in this product so much that you give it to your own child on a daily basis. That’s solid. Outside of your family circle, do you have a favorite Source CBD consumer story? I know CBD has had some miraculous effects!
Ian: My favorite story would have to be the story of baby Kyrsten that would be our inspiration in starting the company.
She is turning 4 this month and has been plagued with seizures since she was born. She was born with an incredibly rare condition known as Anencephaly where the baby does not develop a fully formed skull cap and partial development of her brain function. We developed the product out of the need to find something that would work for her without THC. Although her mother had a medical marijuana card she wasn’t having the success she was looking for and was running into a lot of inconsistency with being able to get a solid source of medicine for her daughter.
After working with her for a short period of time from the age of two and a half we were able to procure and isolate the correct strain of hemp based CBD and infuse it into a carrier that had a powerful enough effect to stop her seizures.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[eltd_blockquote text=”She has been our guiding light with Source and will continue to be an inspiration to help others as we share this gift in her honor.” title_tag=”h2″ width=””]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
As a company at our core we are also focused on making an impact by giving and it has been important to do so for us. We have had the opportunity to sponsor 5 children to date in subsidizing their CBD treatments giving over $16,540 in free CBD for the parents who cannot afford the monthly costs. As we scale as a business we are making it a point to scale the potential positive impact we can have in helping the children that continue to inspire us.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Source CBD in Verde Independent
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: As an industry insider who has been in cannabis business in various capacities, and who has been able to use the industry to positively impact lives, where do you see the industry going as a whole? What do you believe will be the main sectors of growth?
Ian: I feel that the concentrated areas of growth will be driven by consumable products through new and unique products entering the market such as infused edible lines which will be a rapidly growing part of the market and one of the most diverse to come as most users have the ability to innovate at home or in a small kitchen space.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[eltd_blockquote text=”Technology and innovation will also grow at a high rate with a great opportunity for creating new and exciting products.” title_tag=”h2″ width=””]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
New technology based around consumption will grow steadily throughout the next 3-5 years I predict.
There is also huge growth expected in the textiles market and in developing hemp based plastics which may become widely adopted by companies like Dow and Rubbermaid for instance if the hemp supply is a viable option and available on a large enough scale.
Regarding Information Technologies this could be the hottest space as there is such a wide consumer demographic for cannabis so there is room to really create or operate in an autonomous space.
Multiple tech based businesses are moving into the space now that companies such as MJ Freeway a popular POS database system along with platforms like Leafly, Weedmaps and Mass Roots have gained solid traction in the market along with other niche applications. There are also some new players emerging in the cannabis social media space and one in particular with an app called Buddy Jane I had the privy of beta testing for a company in L.A. that has an interesting slant as it was described as “a social app using augmented reality to connect people and support the growth of cannabis related businesses.”
“It’s companies like Buddy Jane that I am really excited about. As we move into the future that could ultimately become the next Facebook of weed and can in turn really drive the opportunity for the expansion of the cannabis model as a whole.”
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Buddy Jane App
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: With your years of experience in this industry , what do you see happening within the next 5 years?
Ian: It has been amazing to watch the cannabis industry over the last 5 years as it has truly grown from an infant to a toddler. I see it growing over the next 5 years by leaps and bounds. Currently over 43% of Cannabis based business plans are in development and another huge amount of competitors are poised to enter the market. It will truly be. a survival of the fittest. This will drive quality and innovation like no other as it is a diverse market driven by the consumer which leads to an incredible advantage for research and development. The market is growing faster than the smartphone market which will create a vacuum of companies wanting to enter the space.
You might have 50 companies all vying for a 10% market share and in that you will ultimately have some that will succeed while others fail due to steep learning curves or lack of vision as to the tendencies of the market. There has been a major move by the conglomerate Bayer with Scott’s Organic, a subsidiary company that has purchased major business interests from General Hydroponics in a rerouted 134 Million dollar deal and a recent purchase by the company of Botanicare and Sunlight supply and Dutch Master for an undisclosed amount. With that we will see a consolidation in the market of distribution into what I see encroaching on the current lucrative “mom and pop” grow store model in place.
As we see national patents roll out from the NIH (National Institute Of Health) as predicted the space is going to be dominated by the larger corporations that have been able to secure large assets and initial influential companies in the space.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: Well, before that happens…what guidance do you have for hopeful investors and entrepreneurs who are developing business concepts and looking to enter the cannabis space?
Ian: The best guidance I can give to someone entering the industry is to realize it is like any other business built on hard work, patience and solid relationships. I have focused on those and it has brought me along way from where I was years ago when I first entered this game.
You can have all the money to throw at a business but if you do not have those those factors on your side you may struggle. I learned a lot from growing plants, you get out what you put in.
“You cannot rush perfection and you have to have good people around you that believe in what you are doing, believe in what they are doing and also believe in you.”
CM: That’s great advice and I know you are great at surrounding yourself with people who believe in you and your brand because of the event you had in vegas. I went to one of your events around the time of Vegas Cannabis Cup this year and it was lovely. What events would you steer a cannabis industry newcomer towards?
Ian: For anyone seriously entering the cannabis space must attend events would be the regional Cannabis Cups if you were trying to reach the consumer. I would suggest the Marijauna Business Expo put on by Marijuana Business daily every year in Las Vegas. It is a who’s who of businesses in the industry and is the main B2B even of the year.
I would also recommend attending any promotional events and parties put on by vendors. Those are great events to meet influencers in the industry but also hard to get into sometimes as they are limited to industry insiders. There are also smaller regional events popping up from state to state that will give a hopeful entrepreneur opportunity to rub elbows with your peers in the area.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
CM: Those are some strong recommendations! I love that you mentioned going to regional events. Those ones are so powerful in developing the cannabis industry in any given state’s market, especially when it’s newly legalized.
Thank you so much, Ian, for sharing some of your entrepreneurial (cannapreneurial) journey. Having insight foreman of the lesser known cannabis markets is so valuable. I really look forward to seeing Source CBD expand along with the cannabis industry as a whole.
Ian: I have experienced a lot over the years in the cannabis industry and really am honored to be taking part in its trajectory. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you.
CM: Let’s talk again.
Ian: Looking forward to it.
[full_width padding=”20px 0 0 0″][/full_width]
Ian Pedersen | Source CBD
Whats is the difference between Hemp and the “Whole Flower” CBD. Also I know THC activates the canibinoids, so why do others take out the THC and add coconut?