Josh Wilson, General Manager and Purchasing Manager at Culture House NYC – Interview Series

As the New York cannabis industry slowly expands beyond the billion-dollar mark, it has seen an influx of professionals with varying specialties and extensive experience coming from all across America. One such cannabis professional with ample experience in one of the most notable brands in the industry is originally from California and has traversed the country to work in New York: Josh Wilson, General Manager and Purchasing Manager at Culture House NYC.

So, what subjects did you study at Mesa Community College and then San Diego State University? And how did those subjects become both relevant and useful in the cannabis industry?

During my time at Mesa Community College, I did all the prerequisites that most students do, including business classes. I didn’t know what discipline I wanted to go into, so I figured I’d knock out the intro classes and such. I eventually declared my major for finance at Mesa and applied to SDSU as a business finance student. Once I arrived at SDSU, I quickly became familiarized with the more specific disciplines and changed majors. I declared for a B.S. in Marketing with a specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management.

As someone who has helped run cannabis businesses for over a decade, my background in finance has always been relevant. Once I found the Professional Selling and Sales Management discipline, I was intrigued to learn how I could enhance my sales skills. Many of the lessons I learned during my time at SDSU were helpful because I’ve been able to translate the projects I was doing into real world cannabis scenarios. Running SWOT analysis, business plans, how to read KPIs, 4 P’s , consumer psychology, etc. Being able to apply those lessons towards my career and at the time, cannabis based business, was invaluable towards my growth as a cannabis professional.

What initially interested you in working in the cannabis industry, and what were the first few roles you held in the industry?

I actually fell into this cannabis industry as a patient and had a deep interest in helping people through cannabis. I originally sold weed on the traditional market and fell into a job working with a family friend who owned a cannabis delivery service. From there, we started creating proprietary products such as concentrates and edibles, in addition to traditional flower and prerolls. This helped us open up various companies and transition into manufacturing and producing. Like many cannabis professionals, I refined my skills while working my way up in the industry. I started at a local dispensary as a delivery driver, and was eventually promoted to store manager.

How did you get connected with the Cookies brand, and how did you reach the rank of General Manager?

I was actually thinking of leaving the industry in 2020. I was graduating college at that time and was thinking about what professional move would give me more financial freedom. Then the pandemic happened and dispensaries were considered essential workers. At the same time one of my cannabis mentors told me about an opportunity to bring Cookies to San Diego. This mentor offered me my first cannabis salary including medical insurance, a benefit most cannabis workers didn’t receive at that time. I gladly joined as a sales floor manager. We opened up in Summer 2020 and had a very successful store. In September 2020, I helped open another Cookies in San Bernardino. After being promoted to AGM at the store in San Diego, I was approached by Cookies executives to have me run the San Bernardino store. They were impressed by how I had increased the store’s sales. With the support of my fiancee, we moved to San Bernardino so I could continue my professional growth in the cannabis industry.

What were some valuable professional lessons you learned during your tenure with Cookies in California, and how would you say that brand stands out in the California market?

I learned a lot about running a high-volume shop. A store of that caliber is so much more than just numbers and trends. It’s working alongside customers, employees, celebrities, not to mention at the height of covid. It takes a lot of flexibility and effort to manage an operation such as that. Additionally, that store was considered the Flagship for the brand. I got the opportunity to help open multiple stores and train management crews and district managers from several states. Joining Cookies in California during the time I joined was a great chance to work in a company that was experiencing hyper growth across the country. It gave me a crash course into what it takes to run operations across multiple regions.

What made you decide to take the cross-country trip to New York, and what inspired that decision?

I originally left Cookies in June 2022 because my family was opening their cultivation after finally being awarded a social equity license. Covid was lessening up as well. As a family who produces Cannabis Events, we were plotting our next steps. However, after a couple years of getting those events back up and running while handling sales from a variety of brands, an opportunity came to me during Thanksgiving 2023. One of the directors at Cookies reached out to me and asked if I would consider making the move. Initially I was hesitant, a Cali boy who was born and raised in San Diego, moving to NYC sounded crazy, but I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge or a life changing opportunity. A Berner convo and a convincing conversation with my family led me to take on a once in a lifetime opportunity like this. I packed my bags and moved out there in January 2024 to open the dispensary in the heart of Herald Square.

How did the Culture House store come into creation and how does it stand out among other dispensaries in New York City? It looks like Cookies had quite an influence on many aspects of the store.

Culture House has its roots in Cookies. However, due to New York regulations, it is a completely separate operation from Cookies.

How did the process of receiving the license of Culture House differ from receiving a cannabis license for the Cookies stores in California?

Licensing in New York is different than in most markets. The state prioritized social equity and gave licenses to individuals who had been previously convicted of a cannabis offense. Through its CAURD program, social justice involved individuals were given the first opportunity to open legal cannabis dispensaries. Culture House is the result of the CAURD program.

What have been some of your most proud and/or noteworthy accomplishments and highlights that you’ve reached with Culture House?

There are a couple.

First, I’d say building a brand from scratch has been awesome. Every Cookies store I’ve ever helped open usually crushes the first few weeks and then tapers to a normal flow of business. At Culture House, we opened the doors on my fourth day in NYC. We had no promotion, it was the middle of winter, and we flopped. We were doing less than $2k in sales a day. I had to quickly pivot our game plan and eventually we started gaining momentum through experience and exposure. We are far beyond the opening day numbers and it’s a testament to our team’s ability to learn and get better.

Second, we just had our 1 year anniversary. One year might not sound huge for some but for a road that was paved with so many uncertainties, we finished the last year strong and look forward to seeing what the future brings.

Lastly, I continue to appreciate the team’s growth. A lot of my staff are working in cannabis for the first time. We’ve had very low turnover and the majority of our staff over the last year has continuously gotten better performing across the board. We’ve opened up new jobs and brought on internal talent into those positions.

What would you say are both the strongest similarities and the most vast differences between the California cannabis industry and the New York market? Does one hold any strengths or advantages over the other?

New York took the right approach when it came to prioritizing social equity applicants. As a result, the ownership and leadership in New York cannabis will be more diverse. But New York should look to California when it comes to marketing and branding. New York currently has a lot of advertising regulations that prevent brands from being as creative and bold as they can be in other states.

If a federal rescheduling of cannabis were to occur, how would that impact both the Culture House store and the greater New York cannabis industry?

It would flip this industry on its head. Depending on how open the laws are, the whole industry would change. Will we have to worry about convenience stores selling weed? Do we allow out of state shipping? Can I sell my favorite farm’s products from CA in NY? One positive change we know would happen is the abolishment of  Tax Code 280E, a strict and very high tax on cannabis businesses. That would provide a whole relief to the cannabis sector in every state and really help our industry thrive overnight.

Thank you for joining us, Josh! For more information on Culture House and its products, please visit its website.