Springbig

Sam Harris and Natalie Shaul were there from the beginning, when springbig made the pivot from a general marketing company to one that would focus solely on developing loyalty programs and marketing tech for the cannabis industry.

That transition proved to be a game-changer for the Florida-based company.

Harris, the company’s chief product officer, says cannabis companies were eager to adopt new technology.

“The people who were running the cannabis retailers were much more willing to engage,” he says. “They were faster learners and they had interesting retail environments, so introducing new retail tech was really different than it would be for the guy running the hardware store or an ice cream shop.”

While Harris focuses on developing the product, conceptualizing new features and working directly with engineers, Shaul is tasked with marketing the platform to brands and an industry where many conventional methods of marketing are unavailable.

However, since the company committed to cannabis, its growth has been explosive, landing in the top 100 of the Inc. 5000 two years in a row (No. 99 in 2020, followed by No. 69 in 2021 with a three-year growth rate of 1,236%). The company was also named to Inc. Magazine’s list of best workplaces.

And with legalization only continuing to spread throughout North America, Shaul sees an even brighter future for the company — and a world with far more marketing options.

“Legalization would be great personally, spiritually and professionally,” she says.