HOW TO WIN AT NY CANNABIS

Webinar Recap

Dear HL Clients and Friends,

Thank you to everyone who showed up for yesterday’s webinar where we broke down the final cannabis regs and discussed the immediate future of the industry in NY and how to win at getting a dispensary license.

If you have friends or investors who want to know the deal, send them a link to the webinar.  The information is easy to digest and straightforward and the webinar is a lively discussion and not at all boring.  We promise.

I’ve recapped some key takeaways from this morning’s program below.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Regs & Applications

• NY Cannabis Regulations have been finalized
  • Not too much has changed from the prior version
• The application portal will open on October 4^th
  • All license types are slated to open at once
• You will have 60 days to submit your application
  • You can get reviewed within the first 30 days if you have a location locked up in advance

Finances

• Some of your big cost components will include:
  • Fees associated with locking up your location – these will vary depending on whether you’re buying, leasing, paying a temporary lock-up fee, or deferring the cost to later by pursuing a provisional license
  • The cost of designing and building out your space
  • Hiring the right canna personnel – both to get you through the application process, and for your post-license award team
  • Professionals, Vendors etc: Legal, accounting, payroll, inventory, security, insurance, inventory management software, garbage carting…you must consider all related costs
• Fundraising for your cannabis business is key
  • You need to start by valuing your business with an accurate business plan
  • You need to strategize how you approach fundraising carefully
  • You must make sure you have access to the capital you need to execute – DON’T BE UNDERCAPITALIZED

Personnel

• You will have two teams: the pre-application team, and the post-license award team
• There will be some overlap on these teams – some of your people (your lawyer, accountant, consultants) may do different things for you within the application process versus after you have your license in-hand
• Your pre-application team should include:
  • Someone who knows how to write an application – professional who not only understands the regs, but also the NY State and NYC regulatory climate
  • Someone with cannabis experience – ideally an operator
  • Someone with a deep network of professionals to draw upon
  • Someone who’s spent a lot of time in the various neighborhoods that you’re considering and can advise on whether your concept fits where you want to put it
• Your post-license award team might be the same as your pre-application team:
  • Still need your lawyer
  • Still need your accountant
  • Still need an operational consultant – now more than ever.

Real Estate

• Decide if you are applying for an annual license, or a provisional license
  • Annual license: you will apply for your license with a specific address
  • Provisional license: you will apply for your license without a space, and once awarded you will find a space
• There are many real estate factors to consider:
  • Look for neighborhoods and towns that will be a good fit for your business
  • You need to find a space where the town hasn’t opted out of retail sales
  • Traditionally mortgaged premises are not eligible to lease to cannabis businesses – your landlord must have no debt or a non-traditional or local bank mortgage on the property for it to qualify
  • Be aware of all geographic restrictions – churches, schools, other dispensaries