0One of my favorite past times is tracking horrible no good humans who run cannabis companies.
I was raised at a very young age on George Carlin and Richard Pryor 8 tracks. Wanted by Richard Pryor and Class Clown by George Carlin. I was 7 years old, I memorized those Legends words for many many moons. I’m pretty sure my Father found solace in the the stories of these amazing men. They were leaders of another level.
Before I break down what happened at Skymint… I don’t have a problem with CEO’s or Business Men in general, and how sad is it I even have to preface this article exclaiming this!
Skymint, owes more than $127 million to one of its lenders according to a lawsuit, and a court has stepped in. In 2018, Skymint entered the massively growing cannabis industry with high hopes and big plans. They planned to create high-quality, top-shelf cannabis products that would change the game and set them up for great success while paying their workers $12 to $14 dollars an hour. However, fast forward to July of 2023, and it’s clear that the company has failed to live up to its hype and potential. So what went wrong? I’ll tell you! You get what you pay for in any industry and they set up to fail. Let’s break it all down painfully to the results.
SKYMINT ASSETS TO BE AUCTIONED OFF AUG. 8
Poor Leadership
Jeff Radway burst onto the scene in Michigan by forming a affiliation of licensed cannabis companies pilling cash to lobby the state on the dangers of caregivers instead of focusing and creating quality work he could be proud of putting his name on. I’ve been watching this company with particular interest ever since. Then other claims piled up that I wont even go to into on the quality person he is to work with.
While multiple large payouts were made to a under qualified leader… the deck kept getting shuffled so to speak, failing to provide the direction and guidance necessary for the company to succeed. This lack of leadership led to disorganization, uncertainty, and ultimately, failure. Unfortunately because of this poor leadership over 400 innocent people lost their jobs. Expect many more Jeff Radway’s type characters to run out of time in the next few months as the banks are calling.
Marketing Missteps
Another major contributor to their downfall was its poor marketing strategy. The company failed to establish a recognizable brand identity, which made it difficult for consumers to connect with the company and its products.
Supply Chain Issues
Again putting people in situations to fail, the company struggled to keep up with its demand, resulting in frequent shortages. Consumers looking for their products would often find them out of stock, driving them to competitors instead.
Lack of Quality Products
You can’t expect what you promise if the staff isn’t trained or qualified to the do the work. Perhaps one of the most significant reasons for the failure was its lack of quality products. Despite promising high-quality flower, Skymint delivered a mediocre product that left consumers disappointed. Poorly grown and improperly processed. Lack of pride lack of leadership equals boof products nobody wants.
Skymint told MLive in a statement that its financial woes were driven by industry challenges like “excess supply, decreasing prices, limited access to capital and the increasing cost of capital.”
Plenty of Michigan based companies get between $1000 to $1600 a bulk pound. It wasn’t the market that crashed Slymint it was the CEO, in fact you don’t have to grow that great of quality cannabis if you choose to enter the white label terpene infused pre roll market. Pre packaged joints are everywhere and their conveniently priced low and they are one of the most popular item in Michigan.
This failure in the cannabis industry is a cautionary tale of what can happen when a company is poorly managed, poorly marketed, poorly supplied, and produces mediocre products. It is essential to establish effective leadership, develop a distinctive brand identity, maintain a sustainable supply chain, and focus on quality products if you want to succeed. Hopefully, other companies in the cannabis industry can learn from Slymint’s mistakes and avoid a similar fate.