Editors’ Note: This is the transcript version of the podcast. Please note that due to time and audio constraints, transcription may not be perfect. We encourage you to listen to the podcast, embedded below if you need any clarification. We hope you enjoy!
This week we are joined by Olivia Alexander, CEO of Kush Queen to discuss:
- How Olivia’s disrupting the Beauty Industry
- Cannabis as a wellness product
- Building a brand for your targeted customer
- And so much more
Olivia Alexander has grown Kush Queen into a multi-million dollar, multi-channel brand manufacturing only the finest cannabis infused products. The Kush Queen product line includes award-winning bath bombs, pain relief lotions, indigestible, wellness supplements, and skincare.
Referenced as the Queen of CBD by the LA Times, Olivia has a knack for being able to develop, connect and relate cannabis to the community, health, and wellness.
As a voice for progressive change and industry inclusion, Olivia was recognized as one of the cannabis industry’s top women founders by Variety Magazine, Green Entrepreneur and Ganjapreneur in 2020, as Dope Magazine’s 2017 Social Media Influencer of the Year and shouted out as “The Mariah Carey of Weed” by ELLE In 2020. Olivia’s book, The Essential Guide to Cannabis for Women: How to Buy, Use, and Enjoy Cannabis for Recreation and Wellnessreleases on sale on March 29, 2022.
#Cannabis #CannabisWellnes #Cannabiscommunity
At Eighth Revolution (8th Rev), we provide services from capital to cannabinoid and everything in between in the cannabinoid industry.
8th Revolution Cannabinoid Playbook is an Industry-leading report covering the entire cannabis supply chain
The Dime is a top 50 Cannabis Podcast
Contact us directly at [email protected] Bryan Fields: @bryanfields24 Kellan Finney: @Kellan_Finney
[00:00:00]B: What’s up guys? Welcome back to the episode of The Dime. I’m Brian Fields, and with me as always is Ke Finnie. And this week we’ve got a very special guest, Olivia Alexander, CEO of Cush Queen. Olivia, thanks for taking the time. How you doing today?
[00:00:13]Olivia Alexander: I’m doing wonderful. Thanks for having
[00:00:15]B: me. Excited to dive in.
[00:00:16] Kelin, how are you doing?
[00:00:17]Kellan Finney: I’m doing really well. Excited to talk to Olivia. Excited to talk to another West Coaster.
[00:00:22]B: How are you, Brian? Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think we’re gonna have to just put for the record, Olivia is an origin East coaster, so I think that’s where her heart is. Olivia, for the record. I’m
[00:00:34]Olivia Alexander: a West coaster.
[00:00:36]B: You tried to get it in there? No, no.
[00:00:38]Olivia Alexander: West Coast. West Coast.
[00:00:40]B: Oh, no, no. I that, that part’s have to get edited out. We’ll have, So Olivia, for our listeners, that unfamiliar right. You can you give a little background about selves?
[00:00:51]Olivia Alexander: Yeah. So, uh, believe it or not, I tried cannabis for the first time when I was 18, and I immediately got a job at a dispensary.
[00:00:59] Um, [00:01:00] cannabis immediately changed my life. I struggled with mental health forever, like since I was a kid. And, uh, the big thing with me was sleep. I couldn’t sleep. So the first time I smoked, I, these guys gave me this giant bong. I hid it and I was like, Holy crap, this is the best sleep I ever had. And, um, Being in a dispensary, working as a bud tender in 2006, like I learned everything I know about cannabis there, about the people who buy cannabis, why they buy it.
[00:01:29] And the one thing that I knew from that moment when I stood behind the counter was like, I wasn’t a part of this culture. I wasn’t represented, I, I was nowhere. My experience was a little bit different. Um, and so I worked in the industry. Sold weed, did the things. And then, um, in about 20 12, 20 13, I started a company called the Crystal Colt making Swarovski crystal vaporizers and cannabis accessories t-shirts that said Cush Queen High Maintenance.
[00:01:56] And I started really sharing my cannabis use online way back then. [00:02:00] Um, you know, like just a glam girl’s perspective, a a just different experience of a stoner. But I am a stoner. I wake up and I smoke weed every day, all day. Who? It’s my medicine. So did that, started a social media agency, became the largest social media influencer in cannabis in about 2013 to 15.
[00:02:19] I had 3 million followers at the height of it, making content on every app, YouTube, Insta. Um, now I do TikTok, but basically summer 20 15, 16 starts to get deleted, like pretty much all cannabis content did back then. And, uh, lost a million and a half followers in one day and decided that instead of having that be the end of my agency, it would be the.
[00:02:44] Beginning in rebirth of Cush Queen, um, I sort of rebranded the products. I was selling bath bomb cells and some CBD through crystal coal. And then Cush Queen was like the weed vape that we had. Um, within like six months, I had us on the shelf of like over 250 [00:03:00] dispensaries in California. We were in the medical market then, and then we transitioned into compliant cannabis.
[00:03:04] Around that time I launched our hemp cbd. Started selling the cannabinoids online as we all did. Um, and really it’s just been kind of an insane journey ever since we did a collaboration with a $300 million a year fashion brand. Allison, Olivia, I got to go to New York Fashion Week. I’ve now written not one but two books.
[00:03:26] Um, and I really just get to be the fearless leader of a company, just trying to do something different, trying to speak to someone different. I’m not trying to be an mso. I’m never gonna be. , but I am gonna make sure that I’m being me and I’m representing, um, women, queer people, and all the people who don’t feel like they belong in that traditional 18 to 35 year old male stoner.
[00:03:50]B: I appreciate you sharing that, and I always like to start in the very beginning. Obviously you, you got to cannabis around 18, but earlier on, did you always think cannabis would be a part of your life? Did it surprise people [00:04:00] around your life when you kind of migrated into Canada Space? Can you share a little insight about.
[00:04:04]Olivia Alexander: Well, believe it or not, I actually knew someone in Louisiana where I grew up, whose brother was murdered buying weed in our town, and it like was very fucked up in my life and it caused a lot of issues very young. And the first time I was around cannabis at like 14, I cried. I told my mom like I was really freaked out.
[00:04:20] I was in like a recording studio, so I was like a dare kid. More than that, I was kind of like, you know, a good. So trying to always fight the urge to be a bad girl. And, you know, being southern and having these sort of like expectations put on me at a young age by my family and, and then being an actor, like none of it I kind of saw coming, but like from the moment I touched the plant, that’s when everything changed.
[00:04:46] And it was kind of like this weird thing where I didn’t use cannabis and then I was a stoner. It was, there was no like transitionary period. It was like, Whoa. This is my whole world. But I think it’s [00:05:00] because it had such a powerful effect on me from a wellness perspective. That’s why I make the products that I do, is, you know, along the way I got diagnosed bipolar, I started taking traditional meds.
[00:05:10] I did everything they said. I was in the meetings. I did, I was seeing a psychiatrist. I was sober for three years, not using cannabis, and I got worse. You know, I didn’t get better. and once I really started taking my own wellness into my hands and honestly using cannabis more as a wellness tool, not as just getting high.
[00:05:28] Look, I get high. I love getting high. Um, there’s nothing wrong with that, but there is a huge population of people, especially women, um, and especially people with mental illness who are looking to navigate the plant, um, for different reasons. And that’s really what I specialize in and that’s really one of the things that has given me a voice in a business.
[00:05:47] What’s been,
[00:05:47]Kellan Finney: uh, one of your favorite aspects of that journey from a business perspective since you first started using?
[00:05:52]Olivia Alexander: Um, well, you know, I really thought that, The industry would shift more to that. I really didn’t see [00:06:00] this whole wreck movement being sort of, it, I didn’t, I didn’t foresee hype weed in like this whole culture.
[00:06:06] I should’ve, It was the culture. It will always be a part of the culture, but I think it’s just getting to connect with so many people who have felt ignored. You know, I think when a person comes up to me at like an event and says like, Your content speaks to me, or I read your book, or like, you know, I use your bath bombs and they help me sleep, or they really, they really changed my life, especially cause in the beginning, like everyone laughed the bath bomb out of the shops.
[00:06:29] Like people thought it was a gimmick, they thought it was snake oil. Um, and that’s really, truly like the most meaningful part of it. And the most surprising part is just like how many people’s lives like. I’ve affected, cause I never was one of those people who was like, I’m gonna do this. You know, like I didn’t have a business plan, I just wound up here.
[00:06:50] And I always fail forward and I always keep moving and I always keep focusing on what can I do to be different? You know, I’m never going to have as much money as these people, [00:07:00] but they’re never gonna be me. And that is worth so much more. And that’s really what, um, is the most meaningful too, is to like, Be seen for who you are in business.
[00:07:12] That’s fucking rare,
[00:07:13]B: you know? Uh, I think that’s so powerful, especially hearing your story about how, like, once you found the plant, you found that connection that you didn’t know you never needed, but then you instantly fell in love and then having others who instantly gravitate towards that when they experience that for the first time.
[00:07:26] So obviously cannabis has a ton of stigmas, right? So how do we do. A wider range of getting other women to feel comfortable, to experiment, to try more products? Like what kind of message can we put out there to help them?
[00:07:38]Olivia Alexander: I think a lot of it has to do with the marketing. I think a lot of it has to do with the delivery methods.
[00:07:42] You know, I, um, I’ve made over the years Kush Queen in the compliant market in the medical market. We did sauce, we did infuse pre-rolls, we did pre-rolls, we did flour, but we also did topicals. We did a bath bomb, a product. Makes them feel comfortable. Um, I think [00:08:00] also in our marketing, we try to speak to all experiences and users from the pro, the stoner to a newcomer.
[00:08:07] And also, um, you know, just that I don’t see a significant portion of brands, uh, Companies spending time to find new users. I did beautycon in 2019. We were one of three cannabis companies allowed in and I, um, I got over like seven or 8,000 new customers in that weekend and 75% of them had never even tried CBD before.
[00:08:30] And that’s a very intentional thing that I do as a business owner, as an influencer, I constantly, if I’m like interviewing a new agency or talking to a new publicist or something, I say, Are you gonna take me to places? That cannabis isn’t. That’s where I wanna go. I. I grew up here, you know, I won cannabis cups.
[00:08:49] I’ve been, I was that cha, you know, I was here at a very unique time in California cannabis. I got that outta my system, and now I just want to [00:09:00] be an evangelist for the plant from a wellness perspective. And it is literally all about delivery methods, how you appear in your marketing. What you speak to, you know, everyone says like, Oh, our brand, our brand, but like, they don’t really have a brand.
[00:09:14] They have like a bunch of products or like they think they’re a brand, but a brand is really like a really good story or something that matters. And like that’s, that’s what we have. My story, my passion and my, my greatest passion of lowering people to the dark side of cannabis wellness.
[00:09:35]B: I I, So when you’re out there and you hit the nail in the head, I think you hit the nail in the head, especially from a marketing standpoint.
[00:09:40] And one of the things I wanna highlight and understand more is Cush Queen was that original focus point. Did the kind of, the name and the origin that come after the other concepts, like how did you put the puzzle pieces together?
[00:09:52]Olivia Alexander: Well, I was a pageant girl, you know, like being in like beauty pageants like queen, that kind of thing was always like, just like a word in our [00:10:00] vernacular.
[00:10:00] And I was a warmer beauty queen and I don’t know, I was just like at the dispensary, like very young and I was like, Push queen. That’s it. And I thought it was gonna be a movie, like I wanted to make a movie, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but about girls who sold Weed. And I wanted to like share that experience because me and the, the other bud tenders at the shop, which is still around, it’s called the Artistry now, but it was called The Green Easy.
[00:10:23] And a bunch of the women who work there with me are still in the industry. Like we have a little. Sisterhood a little bit. And um, I thought it was magical and I thought that we were like kind of the backbone of the shop and I thought, Mm, cush queen that speaks, you know, And I’d always felt like Cover Girl, you know?
[00:10:39] I always wanted to be like, Oh, it’s Cover Girl, but it’s not. And then when I started my vape company, I needed a name that would tell people it was for weed, because this was still a time where we were like, You really weren’t supposed to be selling weed stuff for weed online especially, and you couldn’t show it with cannabis.
[00:10:57] And I was, and I called it Cush Queen. And then I started [00:11:00] making apparel. And that’s when my, uh, lawyer at the time shout out to David Schneider. He, I got rejected for the trademark and he was like, I think we can get it. Like, let’s argue that cushy is a lifestyle. It’s not cannabis. And we won. And so I got the trademarks back like early, I think.
[00:11:20] 20 14, 20 15. And that’s when I was like, Oh, now that I have a trademark, now that I’ve sold ancillary things, I can actually sell weed. And that’s when I really started to make products for the dispensaries with the name on it. And I just always thought the name Cush Queen was a vibe. You know, I actually, um, I have a tattooed on my arm.
[00:11:40] Love it. I got this when we did our first million dollars in sales, and I wanted to remember that feeling, you know that feeling because I bootstrapped this thing. You know, I really started. Zero. I had like maybe 10 or $20,000. Like that doesn’t even exist anymore. I was like making bath bombs with my friends, my parents’ garage.
[00:11:59] I was getting [00:12:00] pallets delivered to a residential in Santa Clarita, California, which is a fucking suburb where you’re not trapping, you know? And um, it just, it’s a true, real story. And it also, like cush queen, it is me, but it’s not me. Um, it’s, it’s bigger than me now. So it really is just, I got so lucky.
[00:12:20] You know, I mean, I’ve had a lot of trademark issues because people love to put cush queen on things, but my lawyers have had a field day. I
[00:12:29]Kellan Finney: can only imagine. So what was, uh, some of your original products used
[00:12:32]B: that you went into the
[00:12:34]Olivia Alexander: cannabis space? Vapes, vape cartridges. Like flavored disgusting vape partridges, like mint chocolate chip fucking vapes with like soccer mom open, blasted fucking shatter that we were making, like literally in a backyard and like, Blowing our eyebrows off.
[00:12:51] Um, I did this amazing infused pre-roll called the Queen Septer, and the best part was like, I was so serious about it. We [00:13:00] grew the weed, we extracted the extract ourselves, and then my friend gave me all the key from her farm. So it was like this labor of love. We did, um, We did sauce, we did. And then the bath bomb.
[00:13:13] You know, SALs like these greasy ass SALs. Thank God we don’t do that anymore. Um, but it was pretty, just pretty much that. That was another thing I always tried to do with Cush Queen was because we started to get this name for this bath bomb. I was like, Oh fuck. We’re in the topicals category. It’s the smallest category and everyone thinks they’re snake oil, so we.
[00:13:34] Be in bigger categories or we like won’t survive. And I also think that that’s like the issue from a business perspective with the industry is like, there’s a lot of brand names, but they sell a single product. Like even Kiva, they’re just an edibles company. They’re not a brand in every category. And I wanted to build something that could exist in all categories and give people, you know, [00:14:00] An option to support a woman, an option to support an independently owned business, and then also in the product.
[00:14:07] I know people are gonna say You’re biased, but quality is queen. . And that’s why I have a business is because when you start with a batch of 12 and then you go to making 50,000 bath bombs in a single month, you gotta have a killer product. And that was also like what I was focusing on. And I thought like, Oh, the name Cush Queen, like it honors the plant in her highest form.
[00:14:30] And it’s also about like that pure passion that lives inside me every day. Seemingly hasn’t gone away .
[00:14:36]B: And I think if you’re not singing the praise of your brand, I don’t know who who’s gonna do that. Right? Because at the end of the day, like you are a user of the products, so it’s really important when you stand behind your products, you feel comfortable in the way it is.
[00:14:47] Because you know when women are glancing through various products, right? We talk about going to a Spencer and you see endless amounts of products. They wanna find a product that kind of speaks to them. And I think having a brand name like Kush Queen on it is instantly [00:15:00] gravitating towards that, the color.
[00:15:01] Packaging the concepts behind and the naming speaks directly to them. So coming up with new products, is that something that you handle directly? Do you have the team? How does that
[00:15:08]Olivia Alexander: work? Yeah, I do not handle that. I am not the genius behind a lot of our great products. I was, I guide sort of like the, the.
[00:15:18] You know, high level view of the company. And my partner Michael Sawyer, he was a cultivator. He was, um, the person who really helped me, like bring the products to life. He’s a wizard. He came up with our patent pending nanotech. I know a lot of people have water soluble tech, but we have our own at Cush Queen.
[00:15:37] We developed that in 2016, so we could actually have transdermal topicals. Um, They, him and another OG guy from the medical days, Levi, they really, man all of our product development. I’m like the, the tester, you know, like when I was developing a lot of the other topicals, especially the water based topicals, I was like weaning off of like eight years of [00:16:00] pharmaceuticals.
[00:16:01] So, and I really am bipolar and I really don’t take meds. So it has to work. And it has to work. Um, the same, I think I have a. A furious obsession with the quality and I, we struggle with it now at scale. I think that’s really the thing that I’m trying to figure out is how to get the same quality we had at a batch of 12 now at a batch of 80, and then we’re doing, you know, 30 batches a day with our team.
[00:16:26] So, um, we’re so passionate about the products and. The consistency, you know, there is no consistency in the medical days like you there. The products were all over the place. I mean, maybe there still is none. I don’t know. I, it’s tough. You know what we’re all doing? It’s, it’s, it’s agriculture, it’s formulation.
[00:16:45] It’s, I, I, that’s one thing about the cannabis industry, like, It’s really hard, and I don’t know if people really know that. Like anytime I see someone like getting into this industry or creating a product, like I used to get like so upset and be like, Oh fuck, you know, [00:17:00] more people. But now I’m just like, You do you.
[00:17:03] Good luck. Because even after being in this all this time and. It’s grueling, and especially from the product standpoint, keeping that quality, keeping that efficacy, um, and then, you know, which molecules do we introduce? Do we go into minor cannabinoids? Do we want to, um, make decisions based on market size and data?
[00:17:24] Do we wanna make decisions because it’s important to the brand? Like there’s just so much to juggle when it comes to developing product.
[00:17:33]B: Can cannabis be used in daily life? I know for you that’s a common practice, but for others out there who maybe you’re not as comfortable using that, how, how can that be?
[00:17:42]Olivia Alexander: Yeah. You know, my big thing is like elevating you daily is, uh, a daily use of cannabinoids. I believe that can, cannabinoids are like carrots, vegetables. We should be having them morning, noon, and night. So, um, you know, that’s a lot of what has like, just been so great in the. On our hemp [00:18:00] side, especially getting people to understand that you can wake up, use a tincture hit a, you know, hit a THCV gummy instead of coffee.
[00:18:08] Um, maybe take a bath at night for sleep. Hit a sleep gummy. I really believe it is the constant use of cannabinoids that actually regulate the body, that create that homeostasis that we know, um, cannabinoids create. But I think too many people, especially in the wellness side, they come when they’re too sick.
[00:18:27] They come when they’re already stressed out. They come when they’re not feeling their best. And we can work with that. You know, we work, I work with that all the time. That’s a lot of what my book is about, is about helping people navigate. that Side of it is, well, what are you struggling with? Because that’s your symptoms.
[00:18:42] You know, Are you in pain? Can you not sleep? Um, and then it’s really about finding the right dose and, and really getting people to let go of that stigma. Because when you tell people, I use cannabis morning, noon, and night, that’s where they go, Oh, you’re a drug addict. Oh, you’re addicted. [00:19:00] Oh, you, you have serious issues.
[00:19:01] And it’s like, No, I’m literally healthier than ever. Um, I. I got this crazy life insurance policy to protect the business and like there was like all this drama because I was bipolar and like, Oh God, it’s gonna be crazy expensive. And they literally ranked my health as high as possible. And I know it’s because I use these products every day and I live and breathe This type of wellness perspective, I mean, it’s not gonna replace not working out, not eating healthy.
[00:19:28] Taking care of your mind and your body, but it’s a, it’s a first start, especially now with the mental health crisis we’re living in. I mean, no one could have seen Covid coming and it’s just given me like an even bigger platform to try to spread this type of messaging. Um, not just to women, but to all people.
[00:19:47] So
[00:19:47]Kellan Finney: with consumers that have never tried cans before, how do you. Suggest they walk into some of these products and implementing them into their lifestyle?
[00:19:57]B: Just like a CBD first or a [00:20:00] thc, or is it kinda a case by
[00:20:01]Olivia Alexander: case basis? It’s a case by case basis. You know, there are some people who just get drug tested and I’m never gonna suggest that they take its.
[00:20:07] THC bath, but probably smart. Especially like the people who are really scared of thc. Like I always give them the bath bomb first because it’s just like a door opener. That’s literally why I have stayed on the shelves of this market. Also because they’re effective, like, um, your skin is your biggest organ.
[00:20:23] You soak in a tub of hot water, open up your pores, and then your body is absorbing the cannabinoids and it’s like you don’t get high. From the bath bomb, but your skin gets high and people, it changes their lives. And then especially like athletes recovery. I mean, Lady Gaga like uses my bath bombs after her show is in Vegas.
[00:20:42] Like all those viral baths she was posting, those are Kush queen bath bombs. There’s so many, um, athletes and people who have, I mean, there’s a group of nuns who are buying. Us out at the A MedMen store. They’re buying everything they had. And it’s because they basically told people at Med Men that like our baths, were [00:21:00] helping them speak to God.
[00:21:01] And I think it’s because it’s also a form of meditation. You know, you get in there, you’re soaking, you’re not really on your phone, you’re like with yourself. And that’s like the. The product that like evangelizes people, also the weed lube, you know, um, you give people a water based latex safe lube that works almost instantly and increases that blood flow to the area and give people an orgasm or two for the first time.
[00:21:26] They’ll literally send you messages that you couldn’t even know you wanted to receive. Um, . But yeah, it’s, it’s all about delivery method too. You know, there are a lot of people who don’t take baths. There are people in cities like San Francisco that don’t have bathtubs, so we have a psychoactive shower gel, and it’s also about getting people to see that.
[00:21:45] There’s nothing wrong with smoking cannabis. Like I have an ashtray of joints on my desk, like I still smoke. But it’s really, um, just treating a symptom. And when you’re using cannabis topically and orally, that’s when it’s a medicine and that’s when you’re really gonna get to the root of things. But [00:22:00] it’s all about trial and error and the.
[00:22:02] The biggest thing that I’ve learned from my chief science officer, shout out to ion, um, MIT grad, and he’s developing some incredible technology, um, to help better understand the endocannabinoid system. And essentially he’s taught me that it’s as unique as your fingerprint. You know, and our environment is, is affecting our body so much.
[00:22:23] So it’s like right now I’m in the throws of so much stress. I’m upping my dose way up. I wouldn’t normally be consuming this much CBD and thc. Um, but that’s also it is I really try to encourage people to have full cannabinoid profiles, really explore the minors, really try to stay away from isolate based products, um, and really try to understand that THC does have a purpose, especially with pain.
[00:22:45] It’s something that’s been villainized and it’s not good to be afraid of things, but it’s good to be open and understand that all the cannabinoids work better together. And, um, you know, it really just depends on consistency and really [00:23:00] surrounding yourself with a brand or with people who have the knowledge and, and really learning how to listen to your body, which is a big thing that I’ve discovered a significant portion of the population doesn’t know how to
[00:23:09]B: do.
[00:23:11] I, I think it’s so important that you shared those things, especially con starting like a new product line, right? Because not everyone is going to smoke cannabis as a way of getting high, but they can consume in other methods. And I think using the, the bath method or the shower is a perfect example. And I’m continually working with my wife to figure out new creative ways to get her to consume.
[00:23:27] And she’s been very, he hesitant, She’s not interested in smoking, she doesn’t want to eat it, she doesn’t wanna drink it. So I’m continually looking for new ways and I think one of the things that you shared is really important is that you’re not getting high in those experiences, but you’re relaxing your body and improving and.
[00:23:40] Expand on that, Like why is that important and how do people feel comfortable in that first experiences that are consuming THC in some capacity, but are unsure of exactly what to expect to. Well,
[00:23:50]Olivia Alexander: it’s the blaster of the stigma. What causes the stigma is fear. What causes the stigma is people having bad experiences with edibles.
[00:23:58] People, you know, going to the [00:24:00] hospital like saying, I’m too high. Or just like, especially a lot of women, like they don’t want to feel out of control, they don’t want to feel like they have no control over their body. Um, you know, Now you. Eat a certain amount of thc, your heart’s going to increase. But that also happens to the skin.
[00:24:16] To the body. You, you increase circulation, you have like a deep relaxation, and then we combine them with essential oils, which is also combining a whole different type of herbal medicine. And so you’re really seeing, you know, a targeted effect for pain, targeted effect for relaxation. And it’s, it’s just so much.
[00:24:33] about Giving people an experience that blasts through the stigma. And the stigma is be afraid. It’s scary. You’re gonna get high. And there’s just a huge amount of people who don’t want that. They wanna feel better, they wanna be cool and actually use cannabis. They just don’t necessarily also wanna smoke things or put things in their lungs, like, look at how much we’ve stigmatized smoking.
[00:24:57] I always think that’s like such an interesting thing that [00:25:00] we’ve stigmatized smoking and vaping so much. And then now the biggest categories in cannabis are what? Vapes and smoking. And that’s gonna, that’s gonna clash eventually. Um, but at the same time, like, you know, I just was looking for stuff that really worked for.
[00:25:18] The, the root of this brand, the root of why behind every product is most likely gonna come back to me and me coming in and saying, I can’t feel this way. I’m feeling this way again. I’m having these symptoms. What can we do? Um, and or seeing products that were made on the market incorrectly, like Foria calling their product a lube.
[00:25:40] It’s not a lube, it’s a marinade. I made a lube. A lube in its basis of formulation is a. and a coconut oil is not that, you know? So back in the day there was a lot of weird shit like that happening in the, in the medical market and I was just like, this is silly, you know? But it all [00:26:00] comes back to just blasting people’s minds with something that makes them feel safe and something that just, and, and then you have that positive experience, they’re gonna keep coming back to your brand, you know?
[00:26:12] And I had to build an audience because I didn’t have. 600 million to run through, or a rich daddy.
[00:26:25]B: I let that one sit nice and nice and open. No, just let it, let it linger. I love it. I love it. So can cannabis use to be used to age gracefully? Is, is that something that, that your team is getting behind?
[00:26:38]Olivia Alexander: Yeah, well, you know, that’s actually something that blew my mind about writing my book.
[00:26:42] So I get approached by this publisher. They’re like, Hey, we want you to write The Essential Guide to Cannabis for Women. I’m like, Okay, I’ll do that. Um, I’ll learn how to write a book. I wasn’t like, Oh, I’m gonna write a book about cannabis for women. Oh yeah, let’s sell it. Like, these people came to me, they wanted me to do it.
[00:26:56] So I was like, All right, so they want me to write this [00:27:00] chapter, you know, on aging gracefully and. Like what, you know, but you have to think about like the changes like a woman’s body goes through with menopause, um, hormonal changes, not to mention like aging wrinkles. And there’s a lot of like very interesting, good overlooked science that talks about how cannabis is a neuroprotective for the brain and it can actually slow down aging.
[00:27:21] And like the other side of it is like, what is the root of aging and disease? It’s infl inflammation. It’s uh, all of these things that we know cannabis. Works in also stress, cortisol. These things age us at a crazy rate, and these things can actually be controlled with cannabis, especially at the right doses.
[00:27:43] Um, so that was the part that blew my mind. Like I was like writing this book, like thinking like I know everything about cannabis. Like I’m not gonna learn anything like. Um, also like avoiding my deadlines. Like, Oh God, take an entrepreneur, give her deadlines after 10 years of being an [00:28:00] entrepreneur, Oh, it’s gonna be rough.
[00:28:01] Um, but I really learned like, so much writing this book and that was like the most interesting chapter for me. And I think that, um, we are about to enter an age of, I hope, preventative wellness and biohacking is something I’m very interested in. Microdosing, you know, uh, that whole psychedelic fringe.
[00:28:20] Space and I just don’t see cannabis. Um, As a huge component of that conversation, but it’s also a massive market, just like weight loss and pain and sleep. You know, at, at a certain point these things are super beneficial cuz they’re the problems that bring the consumer to you, but they’re also these massive markets.
[00:28:40] And because I’ve always trying to be different. I’m not trying to focus on the cannabis industry. I’m trying to disrupt someone’s. Buying patterns of Dove. You know, I’m trying to disrupt someone going and buying a cush queen bath bomb over a lush bath bomb. You know, I was at Hall of Flowers [00:29:00] recently, um, and I sat in some of the educational sessions where a vc, a vulture capitalist Yes.
[00:29:06] Had the nerve to sit there and say that, you know, bath bombs are a bad business. I’m sitting in the audience that bath bombs are a bad business. Because people only buy them once a
[00:29:16]B: quarter. Was that a
[00:29:17]Olivia Alexander: man who said that it was a woman actually who’d invested shockingly enough in the, you know, smallest percentage of the edibles category, the beverage category.
[00:29:27] But you know, they’re all gonna be hanging on at their numbers that they crunch for the next 10 years. Telling everybody that everyone’s gonna drink cannabis. Everyone’s gonna drink cannabis. But, um, I’d really love to see their, their PNLs cuz I don’t believe for a second that people are ready to drink cannabis.
[00:29:41] Um, they’re barely ready to eat a microdose gummy. The bulk of consumers. But yeah, so she says this and I’m sitting there having sold, you know, I don’t know, tens of millions of dollars in bath bombs knowing that Lush is a a $300 million a year company. Billion dollar valuation. Never even had to like [00:30:00] raise money.
[00:30:01] And I was just like, you know, I’m gonna get up and walk out and I’m not gonna say something, but I keep looking for the clip cuz I’m gonna Rick roll that bitch and I’m gonna say, look. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Um, sorry I got off, but I’m still triggered by that. But yeah, it’s just really interesting cuz people, like, they also just don’t think that there’s money in the wellness side of cannabis.
[00:30:22] I think like, I think that’s why like, especially in California, like everything has gone hype weed, recreational. Like, it’s almost like the stoner has had like a resurgence because of burner and everyone’s like, We gotta do that, we gotta get them. And they’re a massive customer. They spend all their money on weed.
[00:30:37] They do, but there. Something to selling cannabis to women. There is something to building something niche for 50% of the population who hold the buying power and the fastest growing demographic of cannabis consumer right now buying legal compliant cannabis is Gen Z and millennial women, aka my people.
[00:30:56] So I’m always just kind of like, you know, [00:31:00]
[00:31:01]B: I think there’s ton of overlap. I, I, I think it hit the nail on the head and I think that category’s been one of a fascinating one for me because when they make those projections, I don’t think they’re taking the fact that some of the consumers that may be purchasing those products are not standard cannabis consumers right now, but they might be in Sephora looking for replacement product and those people spend money.
[00:31:21]Olivia Alexander: You, you have a culture with beauty where also, like you spent, you have a cabinet. You, you carry, you have 50 brands. You know, there’s just a different energy around spending when it comes to the buying power of a beauty consumer or the buying power of, you know, women. And look, I believe in beverages. Our nanotechnology was developed for a beverage.
[00:31:45] I was one of the people who said beverages are gonna be the future. But, uh, I was wrong. and people are not ready for that. And there’s just a huge disconnect between the VCs and these capital companies [00:32:00] and MSOs and what they want, they think people want, and what people actually want. And I always just am like sitting in the corner of the room like.
[00:32:10] I have a business because I spend my time and energy on someone different. And if you did that and you spent your time and energy on building an audience and not a 4,000 light grow that no one needs, that’s just gonna push out a bunch of mids. Like ultimately, you might actually have a profitable business because I have a smaller business, but I have a profitable business.
[00:32:31] And that to me is also important because what. Catering to a new demographic and customer. What is making unique products if I don’t succeed? Because I literally will affect someone else’s ability in the future to be on someone’s truck or to work with an MSO or do these things. Like that’s also it.
[00:32:50] Being a woman in this space is not easy, and it hasn’t been, and I’m very lucky that I’ve been shielded by a lot of great men who had, um, [00:33:00] Well, they had fear in their eyes cuz I’ve been told I’m scary. Which I’m like, really? Me? No. But it’s, uh, that’s what it’s also about is women have been a huge backbone of this industry, but we haven’t had representation where it really matters.
[00:33:14] And that’s also in the, the stakeholder position. I could have easily gone and got a six figure job at any major cannabis company, but that was not what I was looking to do. I was looking to create it and show people. You can do it. Like if you want to, you totally can. And that, that story is not being told right now in our space because, well, you need, you can’t do it.
[00:33:38] You need 50 million in, you know, some mids. I’m
[00:33:45]B: kidding. What other, what other areas of the beauty industry can, cannabis can unlock?
[00:33:50]Olivia Alexander: Well, you know, you’re talking to a girl who literally made psychoactive makeup and got it sold in dispensaries in California. So, um, that’s really I think [00:34:00] the, like the last of the place that I wanna continue to drive forward.
[00:34:03] It’s like we, we have over 20 shades of foundation fully developed and ready to launch, but then covid hit and one of the most important things you need to do in matching someone’s. Foundation is touch them. So we’ve just kind of put it on pause. I also think it’s still too early for these types of products as well, but I have a real passion for getting people high through, um, methods that are not smoking.
[00:34:26] And I think cosmetics are a huge one. I. Also think that we haven’t necessarily seen, um, anyone successfully break through how to apply cannabinoids to hair care. I think it’s a massive space as well. And also just like, um, other weird places like dentistry. You know, like I went to my dentist and he’s like, Can you start selling me your cbd?
[00:34:47] Like, I, these people are bat shit crazy and they’re, they hate the dentist and I need to give them something even before I give them actual. Drugs, pharmaceutical drugs. And so yeah, I, I, there’s just like all kinds of pockets, you know, we’ve [00:35:00] had a massive, uh, business in nail salons because back in 2017 we did a collaboration with a nail salon chain called s and they started doing manicures and pedicures with all of our products.
[00:35:11] So you soak your foot in the bath bomb, they scrub you down with the scrub, they rub you down with the pain lotion, and then they give you a gummy. And let me tell you, I shouldn’t say this, but I did the conure about a year ago and I actually. Someone leaving the nail salon and it’s because I was so deeply relaxed, aka kind of litty.
[00:35:28] Um, and, uh, but nail salon spas, I mean, when I still think about the fact that there’s no THC consumption licenses ever given to a spa yet in this entire country, um, I think that there’s just so much opportunity left to be untapped when it comes to a beauty consumer or a wellness consumer. Um, and then, you know, Target is still not carried CBD yet.
[00:35:53] They’re carrying CBD brands with products without cbd. There’s a lot of, uh, work to still be done in the retail sector. [00:36:00] Obviously, Sephora’s doing their thing with their brands, but there’s a lot of places and spaces that CBD hasn’t gone yet. And in ingestible form, let’s be real, a lot of these companies are scared to give people to sell gummies, to sell tinctures, to sell these types of delivery methods that have opened up a whole nother um, Space for people to grow their DTC business like Cush Queen.
[00:36:24]B: Is it, Is that exciting or is that kind of intimidating understanding that a lot of these barriers and these concepts that you have in the ideas for the future roadmap are just not yet getting that started for, for anyone? Um,
[00:36:36]Olivia Alexander: in the early days it was a bit daunting because you’re spending your company’s hard earned money, and it’s money that we actually made, not money we got from investors.
[00:36:45] Um, but I’ve learned along the way as the CEO that it really isn’t personal. Um, and it really is just about always being able to pivot and adapt very quickly. I keep my company small for a reason. We only have like 21 employees, and anytime [00:37:00] someone suggests hiring, I’m like, We really shouldn’t, because once it gets to a certain.
[00:37:05]B: Olivia, when you started your journey in the cannabis space, what did you get? Right? And most importantly, what did you get wrong?
[00:37:12]Olivia Alexander: Okay, what I got right was building an audience. I see 99.999% of people building businesses that have no actual audience. They have no demand. They have no desire. Um, and I’ve built, you know, an email list over a hundred thousand people and counting any given time, I want to Hit them up and tell them about what I’m doing. They’re gonna be there for me. They’re gonna buy my products. They’re the ones who go to dispensaries. They’re the ones who’ve literally like, put food on my table and kept me going. My audience is invaluable, and I focused on that. Um, and that was because I, you know, I was saying something and I was catering to a niche that didn’t exist.
[00:37:56] What I got wrong. Hmm. [00:38:00] A lot. Um, , I think what I got wrong was, um, Just how quickly people would adapt to certain things and, and people catching on. And also I think, um, the investment side of it, I really did think that because I was able to make a multimillion dollar business, bootstrapped it to a certain point that a ton of people would wanna invest in me.
[00:38:23] And I think that the hardest part and the hardest pill that I’ve had to swallow in the past few years is seeing how many people don’t actually wanna invest in a women run business. And maybe it. Being a woman. But when you have a profitable company, when you have good books, when you like look around your company, I have like a wall of press.
[00:38:42] I’m like, what’s the problem here? You know? But I also think it’s that a lot of people don’t understand cush Queen, and it’s really hard for the people who write the checks to understand what I’m doing and why it’s important. Um, and then just the timeline of all [00:39:00] this, you know, I never. I never thought that this is where we’d be in the California compliant market.
[00:39:07] I never thought that it would take us this long to get federal progress, um, with banking. So I think that was really what I just, also, just like the whole thing about being a ceo. I thought I was gonna wear a cape suit and wear like a red lip and get my picture taken and have people like you guys interview me every day and like gas me up and instead I’m dealing with, uh, people like.
[00:39:30]B: No, I’m dealing with .
[00:39:32]Olivia Alexander: I’m dealing with leaking pipes and HR departments, but it’s all, It’s all part of the journey, but it’s like, be careful what you wish for, cuz you just might get a completely different version of what you ask for. ,
[00:39:47]B: what is one factor statistic about operating the canvas industry that would surprise or shock others to?
[00:39:54] Uh,
[00:39:56]Olivia Alexander: probably just that the amount of women in the C-suite [00:40:00] and in power positions are declining. You mentioned Jane West earlier. You know, she was quite a trailblazer when it came to women grow and really trying to advocate for women to get in the industry. And I remember like women grow used to tout that, um, That statistic that like this was gonna be an industry controlled and run by women and we had this chance and um, you know, just to see my mentors brands and a lot of people that I started making products cuz I saw women making products and winning cannabis cups.
[00:40:30] Like no longer have brands in the space and just it we’re going backwards. You know? I think that’s like the most shocking thing because we’re having like such progress when it comes to women in business but not in cannabis.
[00:40:43]B: Before we do predictions, we ask all of our guests, If you could sum up your experience in a main takeaway or lesson, learn to pass onto the next generation, what would it be?
[00:40:53] Oh, bet on yourself.
[00:40:54]Olivia Alexander: That’s easy. You know, like I. Bet on myself [00:41:00] every day. I bet on my talent. I bet on my passion. I bet on the way that I see the world and I Yolo hardcore raw dog it right into that bet. And that is what the next generation has to do. And that’s what they’re gonna have to do in order to make space for themselves in this industry.
[00:41:20] Um, because when you bet on yourself, when you think. How unique every single person is. You’re like, Oh, well you can do anything when you look at it from that perspective, as opposed to sitting around and saying, Well, you know, I’m not a corporation, I’m not an mso. I don’t have whatever they have. Um, so yeah, just in anything, not just in cannabis, BET on yourself and you can’t lose.
[00:41:44]B: Prediction and time. Oh, Olivia, As cannabinoids rise in the mainstream society, where can early consumers, specifically women, look to incorporate cannabinoid therapeutics into their life? [00:42:00] Uh,
[00:42:01]Olivia Alexander: especially right now, stress and mental health. After Covid, after just like seeing my friends who are moms struggle, trying to take care of their kids.
[00:42:11] You know, the burnout we’re all experiencing, like it’s real. Um, and I think with technology and where it’s taken us on like in the endless doom scroll of life, I think cannabis is gonna be that thing that is going to, um, Allow people to feel better, look better, and also, let’s be real, we’re living in the most divisive time it feels like ever.
[00:42:36] And I feel like we know social media is making us all more divided. And I think that cannabis is that thing that brings us together. And that’s really like, I don’t know if that’s the right answer to the prediction, but that’s kind of what I think. It’s like this. Tool that it can really make us all come together.
[00:42:55] Cause like, it doesn’t matter what people believe politically, if they smoke weed, [00:43:00] we all, we get along .
[00:43:03]Kellan Finney: That was, you know, I’m gonna go with stress and sleep. I think those are probably the two main, uh, ailments, I guess is an ailment, the right word for. . Um, but I think stress, uh, mainly with CBD is what I would, I would say, uh, I’ve heard anecdotally speaking that vapor rising CBD from, uh, a couple mothers has been a godsend for them, um, as far as just like taking that little bit of stress off and letting them manage their children without being as short fus.
[00:43:42] Expo, Of course, this is all anecdotally, I’m not a mother, I don’t have children. Right. Uh, but I think those two are probably the easiest
[00:43:50]B: ailments to
[00:43:51]Kellan Finney: treat with cannabis, at least from um, a consumer’s
[00:43:56]B: experience. Right. What do you think, Brian? I can [00:44:00] speak on behalf of a mother that I’ve seen take C, b, D, and it’s helped her tremendously dealing with all of the stress.
[00:44:06] Uh, it definitely makes a big difference. I think I’m most intrigued with the, the shower bomb that you described, Olivia. I hadn’t thought about that concept, but I think that would be a great. Product for, for my wife to try. I think it’d be beneficial. It’d be something different than she’s been thinking about.
[00:44:19] And I think you would make her feel exactly as we described today. And I think it could be that early door opener to get her more involved in, in the industry and be interested in trying additional products. For sure. I,
[00:44:31]Olivia Alexander: I have a by the way, just hit me up with an address
[00:44:35]B: after. Definitely. I have a random question.
[00:44:37] Why
[00:44:38]Kellan Finney: we, just speaking of the, the shower gel, um, If you incorporated like the nano emulsion or like a water soluble cannabinoid in with the shower gel. And so then when
[00:44:49]B: is it that, Is that what it is? So when it is actually
[00:44:51]Olivia Alexander: really psychoactive? Yeah. So you can actually get high in the shower. Yeah, that’s what I was.
[00:44:58] You lather up and the [00:45:00] particle size is so small, it’s actually absorbing through the dermis of the skin into the bloodstream. And you feel this like, you know, it can’t be compared to like hitting a bong or eating an edible. Of course, of course more of a micro dose. It’s more of like a puff on a joint, but it’s a head change.
[00:45:15] And especially for like people like myself who um, can sometimes have like an aggressive energy in the morning. Um, really. Like really relaxing and, and feeling that is, is a huge, um, is a huge thing.
[00:45:35]B: I believe it. I mean, the only thing you’re missing in that trifecta is probably like a notepad for the creativity that comes.
[00:45:40] You’re incorporating two of my favorite things together.
[00:45:42]Olivia Alexander: I have a new book and it’s called the Creative Stoner Journal, and you basically, I wrote like 150 prompts and it’s all for. Stimulating your creativity and um, that actually comes out November 22nd.
[00:45:55]B: So I love it. So I guess the last question is for our listeners, they [00:46:00] wanna get in touch, they wanna buy cush queen products and they want to read your book.
[00:46:03] Where can they find you? Cush
[00:46:05]Olivia Alexander: queen.shop, and then they can follow me on social media. Where at Cush Queen Shop. And I’m at the live Alexander on TikTok, Instagram. Um, not a big Twitter, but Twitter, whatever it is. That’s what
[00:46:18]B: they can find me. Awesome. We’ll link those up in the show. Thanks for taking the time. [00:46:22] Yeah, thank you.
