Thomas Winstanley
Vice President of Marketing
Theory Wellness
Great Barrington, MA
By the time you read this, we hope to have opened the doors to our first dispensary outside of our home state of Massachusetts. Coincidentally, today (September 8), we received our first recreational license in South Portland, Maine, which means we are now officially a multi-state operator and we have a lot of work ahead of us.
Becoming a multi-state operator changes some of the dynamics for us. Theory Wellness started its operations as a vertically integrated medical business that transitioned into recreational dispensaries. One med store became two med stores. Then we added a rec store, then another, and so it goes. With each opening, it feels less like a flag-plant moment and more like an opportunity for growth through the acquisition of new information about all aspects of our operation.
To continue the trajectory of growth, we take every new opportunity not only to look forward but to look backward at what got us there. This approach carries across all verticals from our cultivation and manufacturing to our compliance teams, retail operations and even marketing. Our systems are developed to capture data that allow us to scrutinize our performance and identify areas of improvement continually. It can be things as broad as seeking to improve page loading times on our website or shifting the placement of bins in pre-order packing to bring additional efficiency.
Fundamentally, the ability to scale has, in part, come from our ability to remain nimble. We know we’ll get some things right, but there will always be opportunities for improvement. One of the most frequent questions asked by our CEO, Brandon Pollock, is “What can we learn from this?” It’s a question we all ask ourselves, and the answer depends on our ability to review the information at hand, which can then guide our decision making and help us to scale.
Now, six years from the start of our operation, we are on the cusp of a larger inflection point as a multi-state operator. We’ve been preparing in a host of ways to scale the operation with a new website, new cultivation facility and finalizing our retail space, but we know there are going to be more challenges that remain unseen today.
The best we can do, which we strive to do every day, is to examine the data, look for the opportunity and prepare for the unexpected where we can.