Vince Ning31
CEO
Nabis
Vince Ning, the co-founder and CEO of Nabis, helped grow the cannabis wholesale platform to serve thousands of retailers and more than 300 brands across the U.S. with more than $500 million in cannabis products annually.
“I believe our most significant milestone has been fostering a thriving community of partners within the cannabis industry and seeing that continue to grow,” Ning says. “By providing like-minded partners with tools and services to streamline their daily transactions and operations, we’ve been able to build strong, lasting relationships with thousands of best-selling and up-and-coming brands and retailers across major markets.”
Ning and co-founder Jun Lee took a hands-on approach during initial stages of Nabis, regularly meeting clients, delivering products and gathering feedback during the day and then spending the evening coding and refining the platform based on insights from operators. While the process was exhaustive, Ning says it was a necessary step to ensure the platform wasn’t developed in a vacuum.
“It’s clear that the time we spent at the very beginning of Nabis, immersing ourselves in the day-to-day operations, has been essential to setting us apart today,” he says. “Being on the ground allowed us to build strong relationships with our clients and gain valuable insights into their unique challenges and requirements, which ultimately shaped the development of our platform over the past few years.”
Q&A
There have been a number of wholesale platforms aimed at cannabis, what was Nabis doing differently to secure such a good foothold in the market?
Nabis provides “need-to-have” services for all of its partners, as the platform is built with flexibility at its core and focused on empowering brands to conduct business on their own terms. We provide them with the tools and control to determine how they sell to retailers and which retailers they choose to work with, ultimately promoting a more dynamic and adaptable marketplace. Our platform encapsulates cannabis-specific marketing/advertising, robust analytics, efficient fulfillment options and tailored financing opportunities. It also securely houses critical sales and credit data, which we make available to our customers. This transparency enables them to make informed decisions and ensures they are transacting with vetted, reliable partners, fostering a safe and trustworthy business environment.
What prompted your interest in cannabis?
My passion for the cannabis industry began in its early stages, as I developed a keen interest since college in learning about the plant, its potential benefits, and the complexities of the industry itself. By combining my passion with my professional background in computer science, economics, statistics and public policy, I saw an opportunity to create a platform that could support the rapidly evolving cannabis industry. My goal is to contribute positively to this burgeoning sector by providing tools and services that boost access across the industry, create a more equitable market, and help businesses navigate the unique challenges and opportunities they face in our generation and beyond.
The website bio said you and your partner were (cannabis) delivery drivers – how did that help inform the design of Nabis?
In the early stages of Nabis, my co-founder Jun and I adopted a hands-on approach to ensure we were building the right solutions. We would spend our days delivering products, meeting with clients and gathering feedback, and our nights coding and refining our platform based on those insights. This iterative process allowed us to avoid the pitfalls of developing in a vacuum, ensuring that our platform was both accurate and precise in addressing the needs of our customers. It’s clear that the time we spent at the very beginning of Nabis, immersing ourselves in the day-to-day operations, has been essential to setting us apart today. Being on the ground allowed us to build strong relationships with our clients and gain valuable insights into their unique challenges and requirements, which ultimately shaped the development of our platform over the past few years.
What would you say has been your biggest milestone thus far in the industry?
I believe our most significant milestone has been fostering a thriving community of partners within the cannabis industry and seeing that continue to grow. By providing like-minded partners with tools and services to streamline their daily transactions and operations, we’ve been able to build strong, lasting relationships with thousands of best-selling and up-and-coming brands and retailers across major markets. As the industry continues to evolve rapidly amidst widespread policy reform, both nationally and globally, we remain committed to being a reliable and innovative partner for our clients, helping them navigate the complexities of this dynamic landscape.