John Prentice
John X. Prentice is the President and CEO of Ample Organics, the seed-to-sale software solution currently used by the majority of Canada’s Licensed Producers and designed for compliance with Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.
With an extensive and diverse technological background ranging from digital media and broadcast to medical devices manufacturing, John has a deep understanding of enterprise level infrastructure and the subtle nuances of operating within highly regulated industries.
Ample Organics was recently named “Best Enterprise Software Company” and “Most Disruptive Technology” by Cashinbis in their 2018 Best of Cannabis Awards.
Adam Miron
Adam Miron is co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of HEXO.
“I have been an entrepreneur my entire life,” said Miron. “I started my first business at the age of 11. Fast-forward to 2013, and my brother-in-law, Sebastien St-Louis, and I were looking to get into business together. Sebastien presented me the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the Canadian medical cannabis industry. I immediately knew that we were on to something. We saw the opportunity that a new industry would provide young entrepreneurs in competing from the same starting point as more seasoned veterans.”
Miron said their story is a classic Canadian start-up: “Two guys with an idea and a dream and nothing more.”
“The seed was planted one summer night around a campfire and built up over the course of a year in my 175-square-foot-basement office,” he said. “We invested everything and asked our family and friends to do the same. The stakes were high and the pressure was intense. At one New Year’s Eve party at my house, I looked around and realized that 75 per cent of the people there had invested in us. It was daunting. But we knew that we were on to something.”
As HEXO Corp.’s Chief Brand Officer, Miron oversees brand and product innovation and the “image and emotions they evoke.”
“I have always been passionate about providing high-quality premium service and products in new and exciting ways,” said Miron. “I am focused on leading the innovation team in developing smoke-free cannabis products. And I have a good reason. Just before we got our license from Health Canada, my father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He became our first client. I was able to witness the relief that cannabis gives our medical customers. With just a couple of puffs of ‘Midday’ high CBD from our ‘Time of Day’ line, my father was able to spend time outside playing with his three young daughters. ‘Bedtime’ from our ‘Time of Day’ line gave him the much-needed relief to get a few hours of sleep.”
Near the end of his life, Miron said his father’s cancer was so advanced that he had lost his entire left lung and more than half of his right lung.
“It was difficult to see cad struggle to take his medicine for a few hours of relief, when he had to inhale it,” he said. “At the time we did not offer any smoke-free cannabis options. Since then, we have developed our award-winning, smoke-free Decarb and Elixir product lines. When I am working with our innovation team in the lab creating new, innovative products I think about my father, sitting on his porch and desperately trying to consume his medicine.”
Miron stressed that starting a business is no easy task.
“While we are extremely proud of what we offer to our customers across Canada, entrepreneurism is often thankless,” he said. “Recognition for awards such as BotaniQ’s Power 10, especially from a standout organization like Niche Media comes with a profound gratitude.”
Scott Samuel
Scott Samuel is founder and CEO of Cannabis OneFive (“C15”). His professional career has included being an investment banker, a corporate finance and tax lawyer, as well as a business executive. He has always been interested in economics.
“The cannabis industry, in economic terms, represents prohibition 2.0,” said Samuel. “My pull into it came from the sale of a software company of which I was CFO/COO of, Skura Corp. Two of the senior people I had worked with went to Veeva Systems. Veeva is the 18th fastest growing American company and has the world’s best quality management, clinical trial, claims management and document control for the global pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors.
“To make this work , it had to be configured for the ACMPR and Cannabis Act (Canada) as well as future Food and Drug Act, GMP, GPP quality compliance standards. We did just that, after Veeva tapped me to be their technology partner,” he added.
The “C15 team” spent hundreds of hours making the software fully compliant with the new laws.
“Traction we did get,” said Samuel. “A recent press release from Auxly (Cannabis Wheaton) chose our software and made a minority investment in our company. This endorsement demonstrates to the market that seed to sale technology is not enough for a compliance driven industry. Producers need both seed to sale and quality management systems.”
Samuel said the motivation for the team and company is to be the backbone for cannabis producers behind the word “quality.”
“This week I was notified that BotaniQ had received nominations for our company and myself in more than one category – combined with our acceptance into the Global Cannabis Partnership on the same day! I am proud for our C15 team,” said Samuel.
READ ALSO: BotaniQ announces ‘Under 30’ finalists in Power 10 cannabis awards
Click here to read more about the BotaniQ Power 10 awards.
