Daniel Cook, CEO of True Terpenes – Interview Series

So, I would imagine the program was incredibly extensive. What were the most useful lessons and subjects you studied while obtaining your MBA from Harvard? What were some scholarships and accolades that you achieved while attending Harvard?

I did not plan on Harvard. I was in Brazil during Carnaval and got out of a hammock to take the GMAT. I treated it as an open space to explore ideas, not a credential chase.

The real value was not theory; you can learn that anywhere. It was learning how to defend ideas in public, adapt under pressure, and see how strong networks compound judgment over time.

That freedom let me pursue projects that mattered to me at the edges—co-founding a project that built the largest private solar installation in Massachusetts, studying venture capital access for underserved youth in Hawaii, and working with a sustainable fly-fishing eco-lodge in the Caribbean. I was nominated for the Dean’s Award along the way, but more importantly, Harvard gave me room to test ideas on the frontier and see which ones held up.

How did you receive a Fulbright scholarship, and why did you decide to focus on the wine industry in Chile? What is so special and successful about the Chilean wine industry?

I was a literature major in college. I studied writers like Joan Didion, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Bukowski—drawn to writing that valued efficiency and effect. I didn’t have a conventional career plan.

The head of our philosophy department encouraged me to pursue a Fulbright Fellowship as a way to explore a frontier path and discover what I actually cared about. about. I chose Chile because its wine industry was just beginning to take off and had become a flagship product for the country. There was There was real entrepreneurial energy around it.

What drew me in was the intersection of nature and product. Wine connected land, chemistry, process, and culture in a very tangible way.

Chile was building quality with intention, and watching that happen up close—how a country scales a natural product without losing its identity—left a lasting impression on how I think about building things today.

While serving as Vice President of Endeavor Global Inc, what emerging markets and technologies did the company support? With it being the early 2000’s, were there any companies that they supported that went on to become huge?

At Endeavor, we worked across Latin America, guided by a simple idea: entrepreneurs exist everywhere, not just in Silicon Valley. Our focus Our focus wasn’t on chasing sectors or technologies—, we backed people. We were deliberately industry-agnostic and founder-centric.

Over time, those efforts led to more than $1.5B in exits across the Endeavor network, starting from scratch. But the real story wasn’t just the exits. It was the non-exits—the companies that created jobs, built local wealth, and pushed innovation forward against long odds. That experience shaped how I think about impact: success isn’t only measured by valuations, but by what gets built and who it enables along the way.

What all went into the creation of the Keen-Wah(+) Foods® / YogaEarth® brand? What were the most useful lessons in entrepreneurship that you applied to the creation of the brand and its many product lines?

Keen-Wah(+) and YogaEarth started by listening closely. We crowdsourced ideas and paid real attention to how people actually wanted to eat and live. That gave us signal—but it wasn’t enough on its own.

One of the most important lessons was knowing when not to follow the crowd.  As Steve Jobs famously said, sometimes you have to create the future rather than ask permission for it.  Innovation requires judgment, not consensus.

We eventually sold the business to a Fortune 100 company, and that taught another lasting lesson: when you give up control, you give up control. You may gain scale, but you lose the ability to shape outcomes exactly as you imagined. That tradeoff—between ownership, vision, and scale—has stayed with me in every business since.

As someone who’s worked with so many companies previously, what caught your professional and entrepreneurial interest about working with True Terpenes?

I worked on both ends of the spectrum—early startups and large corporations. Dirt roads on one side, highways on the other. I was ready for the gravel road in between.

Scale-ups are  the  sweet spot.  That’s  where the problems are  real  and the choices matter. You get to decide which problems are worth solving and how the company shows up as it grows. For me, that includes work happiness—building systems that let people do meaningful work with less chaos.

I was drawn to True Terpenes because it was at that stage. The science was real, the foundation was strong, and the challenge was scale. I had empathy for founders like Chris and stepped in to help solve the hard problems that emerge  when growth stops being theoretical and becomes operational.

How do you oversee the company’s scientific research and practices? What all does that entail for such a science-based company?

I don’t manage the science day to day. My job is to build the conditions where great science can do its best work.

That starts with hiring exceptional, highly qualified people and aligning around shared values, standards, and direction. From there, it’s about trust—paired with clear expectations. We invest in quality systems, documentation, safety, and cross-functional alignment so scientific rigor translates into reliable, real-world products.

I focus on setting the bar, asking the right questions, and making sure integrity and consistency are embedded in how the company operates—not just in the lab, but across the entire organization.

Even though they may seem different on paper, what are some similarities between the Chilean wine production practices that you studied and wrote about and the creation and production of True Terpenes’ products?

On paper they look different, but the fundamentals are the same. Both work with natural inputs that vary, and both require discipline to deliver consistent sensory outcomes.

In wine, small changes in sourcing, handling, fermentation, or storage can completely change aroma and flavor. The same is true with terpenes—sourcing, formulation, blending, and handling all matter. In both cases, success comes from respecting natural complexity while applying rigorous systems so quality is repeatable and trustworthy at scale.

Outside of cannabis, what are some other common industries/businesses that True Terpenes has worked with? Why do those companies utilize terpene blends so frequently?

Outside of cannabis, we work across food, beverage, wellness, fragrance, cosmetics, and other consumer goods categories. These companies use terpenes because aroma and flavor are foundational to experience.

Terpene blends allow brands to design precise, recognizable sensory profiles with efficiency and consistency, even at very low concentrations. For quality-driven brands, they’re a reliable way to deliver repeatable experiences while meeting safety and regulatory expectations.

What are some of True Terpenes’ upcoming plans for global expansion? Are there certain countries/regions that True Terpenes is especially excited to work with?

Our global expansion is focused on markets where quality, safety, and consistency are becoming baseline expectations. We already export to more than 100 countries.

Canada is a near-term priority because of its mature regulatory framework and emphasis on standardized, science-backed products. We’re also watching parts of Europe and adjacent beverage and wellness markets as regulations evolve. Our approach is deliberate building the partnerships and infrastructure needed to scale while maintaining a high bar for quality and trust.

How do you envision the federal rescheduling of cannabis in the US changing the operations of True Terpenes and their research practices?

Federal rescheduling would accelerate the professionalization of the cannabis industry, which aligns well with how we already operate. As regulations evolve, there will be greater emphasis on documented safety, standardized inputs, and more rigorous research across the supply chain.

It could also enable broader collaboration with academic and scientific institutions, allowing research to move faster and with more transparency. For us, this isn’t a change in direction—it reinforces the importance of science, compliance, and consistency as the industry matures.