Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Adam Terry, CEO of Cantrip, Inc., located in Framingham, MA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Our business is creating high-quality cannabis beverages. Our customers are those who are consuming or interested in consuming cannabis, especially new and returning consumers. We're sold in dispensaries, bars, and retailers in a variety of states, as well as on our website.
Tell us about yourself
I am a trained chemist who has been working in cannabis my entire post-college career. Prior to that, I was in food and beverage. My passion is for creating consumer products that are accessible to people and taste great, things that can elevate their lives. I love beverages because when you have the opportunity to sell millions of cans, you can touch millions of lives.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Launching Cantrip and becoming a leader in cannabis beverages is far and away my largest achievement. Specifically, becoming one of the top cannabis beverage brands in my home state of Massachusetts, and growing our sales in a variety of states, has been huge. We were recently featured in Bon Appetite, which is an accomplishment on its own.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Surviving a business long enough to get through the initial phase and turn profitable is the most difficult part. This is ten times harder in cannabis than in any other industry.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't start a business unless you know the industry inside and out. If you don't know it well enough, work for someone who does first, then split out on your own.
- Know it's going to be difficult in ways you can't even conceive from where you stand. Things will not work out the way you think, your audience will be different people than you expect, and the product you envision today almost certainly be what you are selling in 3-5 years' time.
- Choose a business where you have AT LEAST ONE piece of it that is frictionless - having an in with buyers is a particularly good one - because there will be so much friction you will not make it if you don't have at least an element of traction already on lock.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.drinkcantrip.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cantripguy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cantripguy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-p-terry/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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