Cullen Raichart : GreenBroz, Inc.
His perspective is innovative, calculated, and, above all, refreshing. If you don’t know the name by now, you will soon. He is on the fast-track to building the most respectable and dependable line of cannabis equipment on the market. The name is Cullen Raichart of GreenBroz, Inc. There is something about a businessman who is committed to being fair to all parties involved. There is something about an inventor who has an unyielding passion for the products that he is producing. And there is just something about Cullen Raichart, that you will have to simply read about below to find out yourself.
What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?
Being from California my family has a long history with this industry. I have always been an engineer at heart. I’ve been inventing and improving my ideas since I was very young. I saw a very specific need in the cannabis industry that was being overlooked by the other manufacturers. As an inventor, the light bulb went off. Can I create a machine that address all the concerns of those in the industry? I think we have.
I saw a very specific need in the cannabis industry that was being overlooked by the other manufacturers.
What skills from your previous experiences helped you in what you are doing now?
Principally, it is my past experience, creative problem solving, and my engineering skills that I have used in various jobs throughout my life. I grew up working with large equipment, so I understand the value of good equipment that is well-built. Those skills definitely led me directly into what I am doing now.
Right now, what are you guiding your passion and energy towards?
Right now, we are concentrating very strongly on actively growing the business side of GreenBroz Inc. We are doing this by developing lasting relationships with other businesses in our industry. I put a lot of time and energy building some really great products. We are continuing to innovate, and draw on those relationships to give these businesses exactly what they need to meet their goals. My passion is about quality. To live a quality life and design quality products. We intend to set the bar in our industry and are working everyday to realize that dream.
Describe your work ethic to me in one word.
Relentless – You never really stop. When it’s yours and you have it, it’s in your brain and your heart. You never really let it go; I am always solving problems, so it’s literally all the time. Even when you’re resting, something will come to mind. An ‘Oh! Aha! That would be a good idea‘ moment.
What do you consider your weakness as an entrepreneur? Your strength?
My weakness is my lack of business training. Thankfully, I am a quick study and have surrounded the company with successful business people to help guide us.
My strength is tenacity, never give up and always keep moving forward. I am willing to ask questions and learn from others. I know how to accept criticism and how to ignore negativity.
How are you differentiating yourself from the competition?
Quality, Quality and Quality. Our focus is on providing exceptional quality to people who are trying to be in business. We consider ourselves a support for other businesses in this sector, principally producers and growers. We look at our job as being essential to their success and in that light, we look at our equipment as being essential. We design our equipment with that in mind. Our equipment should never fail, it should last a lifetime, and our equipment should be the kind of equipment that you will find in someone’s garage in 30 or 40 years and it will still work.
How do you find inspiration in this industry? What have you found that has inspired you?
Inspiration in the industry. I love the industry because of the freedom I have in it to be as creative as I want to; I’ve never had a job where I could be as creative as I have been allowed in this industry. So, that’s what I love about it and that’s what gives me inspiration.
What’s really inspired me is as I’ve started to explore the business side of it and actually develop relationships with retailers, I’ve found that there is a real large void in people doing business in an upright manner where we sign contracts, make agreements, and follow through. I am finding that people are responding to that in a very positive way and that’s inspiring because my goal personally, and then of course for the company, is to be honest in all our business dealing and not always trying to get the best deals, but always trying to make sure that everyone who is participating succeeds. Our retailers need to survive, our consumers need to survive, and as long as we keep that in mind, I think we are going to be fine and we will have a successful business.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
[Laughing] I was just talking to my business partner, Aaron, about how easy it is to get side tracked. There is so much going on when you are starting up, there are a million different things going on at once and the advice I got, at that point, was from a member of our advisory panel. He said, “Listen guys. You need to go sell equipment because if you’re not selling, you’re not actually in business. It’s just a hobby.” There is all the legal and the background you’re having to make sure your business is structured and formulated correctly. There are attorneys and meetings and all these distractions and so you can easily forget, or rather, overlook the basics. The basics are that we have to sell our product in order to be a business, so it was a great advice and it helped us refocus our efforts.What’s your newest knowledge about the marijuana industry?
Aside from all the states that are starting to turn so rapidly, I think the most significant piece that comes to mind in my market particularly is the way cannabis is being produced in Colorado. The way that Colorado has approached growing cannabis is very large in scale and very mechanized and I don’t mean that in an automated sense, but mechanized in it’s productivity. For instance, one of the companies we do business with does 15 lbs. a day so they have this machine that’s moving forward every day. Every day 15 lbs. of marijuana is being harvested by this one company. So, to see it was really interesting and exciting.
The way that Colorado has approached growing cannabis is very large in scale and very mechanized and I don’t mean that in an automated sense, but mechanized in it’s productivity.
If you could rewind time to 5 years ago, how would your business be different?
Well, we aren’t even 5 years old. I don’t think 5 years ago we would have been able to have the exposure and we would not have the receptiveness and acceptance of people around us like we do now. People ask me what I do and I tell them that I make cannabis equipment and they don’t bat an eye. They find it ‘cool’ or ‘interesting’. There is never any judgement or negativity about it. We are in a very respected business all of a sudden, which is a very different perspective.
What will we be seeing from you and GreenBroz, Inc. in the coming future?
The vision of GreenBroz, Inc. and where we are going is to be the largest manufacturer of processing equipment for this industry. The way we conduct ourselves, the quality of products we produce, and the direction we are headed with the partnerships we are making. You are going to see our company as a household name in the industry and it will not only be national, but international in a very short amount of time.
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