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Cannabis Creative Co-Founder and CEO Seth Worby talks about the TeeHC Open and creating change in the cannabis industry.

As the world makes rapid changes – like making cannabis an “essential” business and work-life begins to evolve in ways we’ve never imagined (fully remote teams, hybrid schedules, and possibly a four-day workweek), entire industries have to reimagine what it means to network and have professional development events.

Are old-school, in-person, weekend conferences going to become a thing of the past? Will Zoom fatigue result in unproductive industry events? Or will there be a happy medium that paves way for a new industry reality?

The Current Landscape of Traditional Cannabis Networking

The most common event we see in the cannabis industry is the trade show. They’re beneficial for people who are breaking ground in the industry: you get to bring awareness about your brand and meet people who consider themselves industry veterans.

Cannabis trade shows are usually set up as educational (read: corporate, stuffy, non-consumption) events for businesses and professionals to network. Typically, these industry events have an exhibition portion with booths as well as programming with guest speakers, panels, and more.

However, for many brands, trade shows are becoming repetitive. You’re seeing the same people in the same environments. After being in the professional cannabis industry for over 5 years, Seth Worby says “They’re tiring. You’re on your feet for eight hours straight. They’re expensive: food, hotels, travel, etc. A show can cost a team upwards of $10K.”

Moreover, everyone is in selling mode if they have a booth, and if you’re a brand that doesn’t want to buy the booth, you’re walking the show, which means you’re the one being sold to – whether you need it or not.

People attend trade shows to build meaningful relationships with other players in the industry, but these events only allow for brief, superficial at best interactions that may not always be worth the cost you put up in the long run.

Cannabis trade shows are simply not ideal for networking, and the truth is trade shows are stale.

Reimagining Cannabis Industry Events

Cannabis is a product that is experienced with all the human senses. The industry is full of people who embrace those senses and have a much more creative approach to doing business.

As the cannabis industry becomes more pronounced and brands become more sophisticated, interactive brand events that take advantage of all those senses are the future of industry culture. Imagine a Coca-Cola pop-up retail store, but for your cannabis brand. Or an exclusive, interactive Nike location for its app users, but for a CBD brand experience.

When Seth first started Cannabis Creative Group in 2017, he wanted to bring people together to help each other out. “Why not share these resources when it’s a small industry?”

Reimagining industry events means curating audiences carefully so we can share resources and build connections with people in a much more intentional way. We can activate brands, create exciting experiences, and bring people together – all by organizing an exclusive event driven by the commitment to truly serve each attendee.

How the TeeHC Open is Disrupting Traditional Cannabis Networking

If you want the Sparknotes version: the TeeHC Open is disrupting cannabis networking by having fun. 

As an invite-only day-long golf tournament and networking event, TeeHC Open is an all-around networking event for golfers and non-golfers to enjoy their time while building meaningful relationships.

Why Golf?

“For me, golf is fun,” Seth says. “But our co-founder Josefine Nowitz, as a non-golfer, wanted an opportunity to create a fun, networking experience for those people as well.” Seth has played in hundreds of charity and networking golf events, from cancer charity and client events to our local chamber of commerce (Charles River Regional Chamber) annual golf tournament.

In fact, he’s been playing the game with his father and brother for years – who also happen to be key partners in his business endeavors. “It’s not just a family business, it’s a family passion,” he says. 

But more importantly, “the idea for TeeHC isn’t just about the golf. The idea is to bring people together to help each other out…You can network and activate your brand with other brands and players that you want to target.” 

Work Hard, Play Hard

Although Cannabis Creative Group is hosting the event with our industry connections and knowledge, Joint Venture Co. has taken the reins on the non-golfing activities.

From drinks at the bar and flexible consumption policies to a helicopter drop and other fun, interactive experiences, the TeeHC Open is a golf and cannabis event unlike any other professional event you’ve been to. It’s “work hard, play hard” embodied.

Not to mention, most cannabis trade shows prohibit consumption (which is a bit ironic). The TeeHC Open is going to have more accessible cannabis consumption policies that are inclusive of all preferences.

Seth puts it best: “No matter what, you walk away with swag, new friends, networking opportunities, and an overall fun day.”

We’re allowing brands to get in front of their dream dispensaries, or vice versa. We’re putting cannabis professionals in a situation where they have a guaranteed opportunity to meet people they want to meet.

Get Involved with the TeeHC Open

For the first decade of our business, we sold everything by word of mouth. We never wanted to hinder the quality of our offer by growing too fast. In fact, both our parent companies, Champ Internet Solutions, and Cannabis Creative Group, are structured by referrals.

We put our flag in the ground, claimed our space, and gave our clients our best. But it doesn’t happen overnight, and the TeeHC Open is an opportunity for people to gain that. 

As an ancillary cannabis business, we have ears on the ground to what our clients, partners, and network connections need and we can help put them in a room together.

We’re putting our flag in the ground – and now, we want you to too. Our golf outing sponsorship packages allow the opportunity to create brand awareness for each sponsor and give them a place to activate their brand.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Contact us to put your cannabis brand’s flag in the ground!