Philip Geltman, CEO at Growthsayer- Interview Series

“Inventory is the largest expense any dispensary has – and many are trying to figure out how to stock their stores on spreadsheets and post-it notes.  As cannabis retailers grow, they need modern business software that can save them time and money to help them become profitable.”

– Philip Geltman

The potential profitability of the cannabis industry, dubbed the green rush, is a pipe dream for many cannabis startups. In a recent survey that was conducted by the National Cannabis Industry Association, about 37% of cannabis startups admitted they were not making any profits. From the high taxation rates to the hefty licensing fees and exorbitant cost of real estate, everything seems to conspire against the green rush. Even when a business has dealt with all these canna-centric factors, failure to optimize the supply chain could cost a cannabis business up to 25% of its profits.

Growthsayer is a cannabis supply chain optimization platform that uses AI to predict sales and inventory. Growthsayer helps cannabis businesses to streamline their processes, eliminate waste and be able to achieve profitability in the shortest time possible. In this interview, Phillip Geltman, the CEO of Growthsayer, discusses key issues in the cannabis supply chain.

Meet Phillip.

As an intro, how did your career path lead you to the cannabis industry?

Prior to starting Growthsayer, I was an inventory planner for Gap/Old Navy, Mars Chocolate, and Gymboree. There I saw first-hand how antiquated and cumbersome supply chain software is. I knew we could create a modern, AI-driven optimization platform that would help to grow companies, maximize their inventory profits and reduce waste. Cannabis dispensaries need help in balancing inventory because of growing customer demands and industry volatility. That’s why I created Growthsayer.

Briefly introduce Growthsayer and the unique role that the company is playing in the cannabis industry.

Growthsayer is supply chain optimization for cannabis retailers. On average, dispensaries and delivery let 25% of revenue walk out the door each year from a poorly optimized supply chain. This is everything from running out of the products customers love to having too much cash tied up in inferior products. With Growthsayer, it’s easy to understand what those opportunities are and how to take advantage of them. With our existing customers, we’ve seen a 10-15% drop in inventory while reducing stock-outs and growing revenue by 12%.

Supply chain is problematic across industries at the moment (covid-induced shortages are also affecting the cannabis industry). How does this trickle down to the price of goods and what can be done about this?

Cannabis had its own supply chain issues even before Covid. There’s a lot of volatility in the industry, as regulations constantly change and product availability varies between markets. This has only gotten more pronounced during Covid, which does drive prices up.

Cannabis companies need to be proactive about understanding future customer demand so they can ensure they have the right inventory for next week, next month, etc. Having a solid demand forecast helps cannabis retailers negotiate better pricing with their vendors, buy top-selling items in bulk at a discount and better prepare for vendor stock-outs.

You recently completed a pre-seed round of just over $800k, having received the support of Accord capital and other angel investors. What can you attribute this success to?

Investors can clearly see that there is an enormous problem in the cannabis industry with how dispensaries do inventory ordering today. Inventory is the largest expense any dispensary has – and many are trying to figure out how to stock their stores on spreadsheets and post-it notes.  As cannabis retailers grow, they need modern business software that can save them time and money to help them become profitable. Growthsayer is solving that problem for cannabis retailers with a powerful AI-driven supply chain optimization platform, completely automating ordering for dispensaries.

How is AI likely to shape the next phase of the cannabis industry?

There’ are a lot of opportunities for AI in the cannabis supply chain, marketing, and retail. This industry moves really fast, and changes can be somewhat dramatic, which can be a challenge for the people operating on the inside to keep up with. AI is really good at predicting and spotting trends in messy data. I expect AI to start being a big player in the industry regarding which strains to grow and when, the best products to manufacture with the current crop, and helping customers find products they’ll enjoy.

Any personal predictions for the cannabis industry in the next 3-5 years?

This industry has a lot of growing up to do when compared to more traditional supply chains. Over the next few years, I expect to see many more cannabis dispensaries overall as the country and the world continue to legalize and embrace cannabis. I also believe dispensaries will adopt more technology to power the hypergrowth the overall industry is experiencing.

What’s next for Growthsayer?

We are hyper-focused on building inventory software solutions for the Cannabis industry that help power better supply chain decisions. Today, Growthsayer is focused on helping dispensaries automate ordering and demand planning. However, we know players along the whole Cannabis supply chain – cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers – need help optimizing their operations and that’s where Growthsayer can help.

It was a great pleasure to have this one-on-one with Philip Geltman, CEO of Growthsayer. Readers who wish to learn more about cannabis supply chain optimization are welcome to visit their website.