LOS ANGELES – Headquarters (HQ), a strategic advisory collective focused on helping cannabis entrepreneurs unlock accelerated growth in California’s multibillion-dollar market, announced its launch. The new strategic advisory collective also unveiled its “HQ California Launchpad,” a new, proprietary six-month growth program that takes businesses and emerging brands from idea to products-on-the-shelf in six-months and culminates in a 30- to 60-day in-store pilot program.
“California is a golden opportunity, but the state’s cannabis market can be challenging for even the most seasoned cannabis entrepreneur given its fractured nature, politics, barriers to entry, and other hurdles,” said Headquarters CEO Daniel Abrahami. “Our team, vetted partners, deep relationships, unique blend of services, and new HQ California Launchpad help clients avoid pitfalls, overcome their toughest problems, and build, launch, and scale smarter and faster. As the California marketplace evolves, we look forward to helping more businesses and brands identify opportunities that transform their startups into powerful enterprises for years to come.”
The HQ California Launchpad arms clients with a dedicated project manager, support staff, experienced sales team with key relationships, vetted vendors, service providers, buyer introductions, and domain and cannabis industry experts, who’ve been through the process numerous times, to help brands efficiently expand in key markets across California. The HQ California Launchpad includes three phases, all of which are designed to help cannabis brands test, iterate, and get to market more efficiently, smarter, and faster.
- Phase One – Ideate: The first phase of the HQ California Launchpad dives into the clients’ brand, products, long-term vision and key consumer demographics. The HQ team also leverages internal and external data points to develop a roadmap to help guide key decisions all the way through a clients’ launch.
- Phase Two – Develop: HQ California Launchpad’s second phase focuses on the development of the clients’ go-to-market strategies, designs, formulations, supply chain, packaging and sample runs. This phase happens in a four-month window where HQ works side by side with internal teams to deliver a product that is ready for in-store testing.
- Phase Three – Validate: HQ California Launchpad’s last phase includes 30 to 60 days spent in-store. Phase three of the program concentrates on validating the clients’ brand early and often and tests assumptions uncovered in the prior two phases. It also acquires user and buyer feedback and prepares the brand to rapidly scale throughout California.
“HQ’s team is laying the foundations for success in California,” said WolfPac Founder Emanuel Bernal. “As a vertically integrated operator in Colorado, I need a team I can trust to represent the company and what it stands for. Starting with their data and leading through the launch, HQ is giving us the competitive advantage we need to succeed in California.”
“The support from HQ’s launchpad is helping us save time and tons of money but also helping us avoid the pitfalls and minimize capital risk,” said Opia Founder Ben Ramirez. “The reliable supply-chain, the vetted vendors, the sales and distribution support are all keys to Opia’s success in California.”
HQ was founded by a team of seasoned professionals who honed their skills working at and with iconic brands such as GE, Papa & Barkley, Microsoft, American Express, and High Times. The strategic advisory collective offers businesses and startups a suite of strategies, data, products, services, marketing, and expansion solutions that deliver the insights, rigor, expertise, and relationships needed to discover and seize upon transformative growth opportunities in the world’s largest and most competitive cannabis market: California.
Today, California is seeing a 140% rise in new consumers trying cannabis products. Businesses have a median valuation of $15 million and the state’s cannabis industry is expected to be a $5.6 billion market by the end of 2020. However, California’s cannabis market has also experienced unprecedented levels of change and disruption, which has made entering the world’s largest cannabis market daunting for even the most seasoned cannabis businesses.
For more information, visit https://www.cannhq.com/.
About Headquarters
Headquarters (HQ) is a strategic advisory collective that works with clients to unlock accelerated growth in California’s multi-billion dollar cannabis market. From purpose to products, brands to experience and customers to operations, HQ brings the insight, expertise and relationships needed to both uncover and realize transformative opportunities. With a suite of business strategies, data, products and services solutions, marketing campaigns and expansion programs, the firm brings a host of services to discover and seize upon transformative growth opportunities. HQ arms clients with breakthrough insights to launch and build businesses and brands in a smarter and more efficient way. For more information, visit https://www.cannhq.com/.
