Will Breakell, Founder of Blazy Susan – Interview Series

Running a memorable cannabis smoking accessory brand and maintaining its success amid fierce competition can be difficult. Yet, the team at Blazy Susan has created a brand that is not only wildly popular but also continues to expand its product catalog. To better understand the factors that go into operating such a unique brand, mycannabis.com had the pleasure of speaking with Will Breakell, Founder of Blazy Susan.

While studying at Virginia Military Institute, what were the most valuable lessons/subjects in economics and business that you learned? 

My time at VMI was invaluable to my success as an entrepreneur, but many of the lessons were not related to schooling but rather to dealing with the strict, regimented lifestyle and the constant challenges that arose during the four years I was there. Handling stress, anxiety, and demanding situations without losing control were my most important lessons. During my time, I was heavily involved in our cadet investment group, so learning fundamental and technical analysis of publicly traded stocks was a skill that has been useful to me over the years. Knowing how to sell and raise capital was something that I leaned heavily on my financial knowledge for, to fill gaps.

Prior to creating Blazy Susan, what jobs and roles did you hold? How did those roles provide you with an even further understanding of economics and finance? 

My first job was selling hot chocolate when I was seven years old! But since then, I’ve had a lot of success in pursuing my own business. Since I was 13 years old, I had a landscaping business that I eventually sold when I was in college for a whopping $1,500, along with savings from over seven years of working (no overhead is fantastic), which allowed me to save enough capital to really pursue trading stocks with my own money. I was able to take my initial $10,000 and turn it into nearly $700,000 at the peak of a massive cannabis stock bubble in 2013. This is what got me into cannabis in the first place. Unfortunately, I blew my account up as I failed to realize how bubbles pop just as quickly as they form. However, I was only 21 at the time, so I was able to work as a professional trader for another two years before being fired for blowing out another account. After that, I realized that being a “day trader” wasn’t the right career path for me. Sometimes you have to pivot and take another path.

However, this experience sharpened my analytical and decision-making skills. While I may not have been the best at following a strict plan, I excelled in strategy and catching on to trends.

My next job was working at a SaaS startup in the healthcare industry as a BDR, aka cold-calling private practices and hospitals across the country. Dealing with rejection came naturally to me after knocking on doors for over seven years as a landscaper. Learning about how a startup functions and being able to learn about all aspects of a new business gave me the confidence to start my own company.

What were the defining moments that led to the creation of Blazy Susan? Did you ever envision yourself starting a smoking accessories company?

When I first moved to Colorado, I had lost everything. Fortunately, I had another job lined up, but going from a 700k portfolio to nothing really left me in a defeated state.

However, when I settled into my living situation, four roommates who all smoked heavily, I saw the opportunity for bringing cleanliness and organization to a very messy coffee table. The “high-dea” of calling the product a Blazy Susan was the real spark, and I couldn’t shake the name from my head. After three years of working other jobs, I couldn’t help but long to start my own journey, and Blazy Susan became an obsession. I started taking PTO to attend cannabis networking events in Denver and was spending all my commission checks on creating prototypes and marketing.

Eventually, I quit my job in September 2017 with only $7,000 in savings. Confident I could raise the money on Kickstarter (although things didn’t work out that way). When I left college, I had no idea I would ever work in any physical product development, let alone the cannabis industry. I was planning to work in alternative fuels, but unfortunately, that opportunity fell through.

What were the most common issues and roadblocks that you faced when starting the company? Even though Blazy Susan doesn’t directly sell cannabis products, did the name and indirect association with cannabis cause any issues at first? 

Our initial challenges mostly were around convincing people that pink rolling papers were worth selling in their stores! It’s been very cool to see the change in attitudes for many store owners and operators around selling more feminine cannabis products and accessories over the years. The other issues we faced once we had about three years behind us were keeping up with the business’s growth and dealing with constant supply chain issues. From 2019-2023 we grew almost 6,000%, so there were a lot of learning lessons, but ultimately sales cured most of them! Dealing with the stigma of cannabis has mostly been on the lending and investment side; trying to find people who could give us competitive rates has been extremely difficult. Raising capital is the same way; it’s more expensive, and the pool of potential investors is a tiny fraction of what is truly out there.

Artistically speaking, what inspired the unique and memorable design of the Blazy Susan? I’m pretty sure they’re the first and only pink cones I’ve ever seen.  

This is such a great story to tell because we did most of this through our small but mighty community in the early days. I had accumulated over 6,000 followers whom I engaged with all very heavily. Almost everything we have put out that is the most iconic was open-sourced, and we let the community vote and decide what they liked best. From the rolling trays to our packaging design and Susan herself all came through a process of public voting and feedback. Ultimately, I had the final say, but typically, we let the numbers speak for themselves, and sometimes certain designs were clearly “the one”. You can look at Reddit and see some of my really early posts asking for feedback.

Susan, as a character, can represent anyone; to me, she is the “cool aunt” type character. Somebody who knows what’s hip and helps others to learn in a fun way! But other people see themselves as Susan, and it’s been so amazing to see so many people dress up as Susan for Halloween.

Having an icon that isn’t a real person opens up a lot more room for imagination and creativity, so from the moment we decided we needed a “Susan” to represent the brand as more than just a text logo, it really took off on its own.

What have been some notable ways that you’ve innovated and expanded the company since its founding? What have been the most ambitious but ultimately successful product launches that you’ve implemented?  

We have built a wonderful R&D pipeline that, once we were more established, allowed us to enter new markets, such as the non-tobacco blunt wrap space. Some of our most popular new products, like our Rose Wraps and Tea Leaf wraps, have been great hits, offering the Blazy brand beyond just rolling papers and cones.

Our other most successful product was creating our own purple rolling papers. This took nearly four years to complete, working directly with the factory in France. By the time many people were trying to copy us and launch pink rolling papers, we had already launched purple. Our dedication to launching new products and investing in R&D is a major factor in our brand’s success.

What are some lesser-known duties that come with being the founder or CEO of such a wildly popular smoking accessories company? 

I’ve kept a hand on our product development since the beginning. Innovating and keeping things fresh is a challenge, but it’s essential.

What have been the most considerable and most noteworthy accomplishments and awards that Blazy Susan has received?

We have been blessed to make the Inc. 5000, placing #97 and #382 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Being in the top 1% of fastest-growing private companies is such an honor.

Our most notable accomplishments revolve around how much we have been able to contribute to charity, either directly or through partnerships. Every year, we go bigger, and in 2025, we raised over $50,000 for charity by licensing our brand to legal cannabis operators.

From a marketing and advertising standpoint, what have been the most successful strategies you and the Blazy Susan team have taken to promote the brand and accessories? What troubles has Blazy Susan faced in digital advertising due to the indirect association with cannabis?

Our biggest strength is our ability to merchandise and build amazing in-store and tradeshow brand presence. Going the extra mile really creates memorable moments for customers! We do this by having our own millwork and printing shop called Blazy Builds www.blazybuilds.com

We have done some amazing projects for other brands as well, including Corona, Pacifico, Dior, and many others. We look to large brands like this for marketing and generally do not compare ourselves to a cannabis company, as we are more of a lifestyle brand.

What are some exciting plans for Blazy Susan? As the American cannabis industry grows into other states once thought impossible, how does Blazy Susan plan on evolving along with those widespread changes?        

Our most significant change has been vertically integrating our entire rolling paper and cone supply chain. Since 2023, we have been making moves to acquire our own means of production. Next year, we will be manufacturing some of our cone SKUs here in the USA!

Additionally, we will start licensing our brand to more cannabis producers to create more opportunities for charitable donations across the country. However, we are moving slowly and looking for the right culture fit.

Thank you for joining us, Will! For more information on Blazy Susan, please visit its website.