40 Under 40
For the past five years, the Marijuana Venture staff has compiled an annual list of some of the brightest young leaders and influencers in the cannabis industry. As in past years, we have narrowed the list from hundreds of worthy candidates to present 40 individuals from the vast and ever-changing business in the United States and Canada.
It is our honor to share their stories.
Mimi Lam
Age: 28
Company: Superette
Title: Co-founder and CEO
With bright colors, diner booths, stools, deli cases and milk crates, Superette in Ottawa, Ontario, is different from nearly every other major cannabis retailer — and that’s on purpose. It is designed to not be “the next Apple Store.”
“We’re intentionally normal,” says CEO Mimi Lam. “We imagine Superette is the kind of cannabis store you would get if cannabis had never been illegal in the first place.”
Lam began her career in investment banking, working mostly with mining businesses, but after two years decided she didn’t want to spend her life “behind an Excel spreadsheet” and was intrigued by the emerging opportunity of legal cannabis. She found a home at the Tokyo Smoke retail store in 2017. When that company sold to Canopy Growth, Lam again saw opportunity as Ontario shifted from government-run retail stores to privately owned shops.
Working with co-founder Drummond Munro, the pair founded Superette in September 2018 with the idea of creating a playful, interactive alternative to the mostly clinical cannabis retail space. And business is booming. This year, the company plans to open three new locations in Toronto and one in Ottawa. Beyond that, it definitely beats spreadsheets.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Lam says.