#113 - A Culture of Winning (ft. George Archos, CEO of Verano Holdings)

In this episode we are joined by George Archos who is CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder of Verano Holdings.  In this interview we discuss: - Background: How George got started in the restaurant industry - What makes a restaurant successful and why its a good training ground for the cannabis industry - Verano Orgins: How the company got started by winning an IL cultivation license - Expansion Years: Building the base of assets rapidly over 3 years in MD, OH, NJ and NV - Importance of Culture: How George brought in highly motivated people from the restaurant industry to win in cannabis - 2018: Consolidation, Raising Capital and a false start in Florida - Legislative Change: Why George is focused on State level changes over Federal - The Harvest Merger: How this transformational M&A side tracked the company and hurt their footprint - First Mover Advantage: Why Verano staked its name on high quality indoor flower - Florida: Why Altmed was a great fit and why they choose to avoid participating in Florida's price war - M&A: Why Verano was so aggressive in AZ and PA to expand the footprint - Financial Performance: What happened to EBITDA margins from Q1 to Q2 and what we can expect longer term - Running Lean: Why 2008 was a key learning lesson that influence's the company to this day - The Future: Expanding the footprint, functioning like CPG - Buying vs Building Brands: Where the company is focusing its energy today Thanks to George for joining in for this in depth interview! Connect with George on Twitter: https://twitter.com/georgearchos