Michael Mayes
| Michael Mayes | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | United States |
| 🏫 Education | Entrepreneur |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Founding Quantum 9, Inc. |
Michael Mayes is a Chicago entrepreneur known for his expertize in the cannabis industry. He is the founder of a consulting firm called Quantum 9, Inc. that helps government policymakers and investors in the United States and abroad get into the legal cannabis business.[1][2][3][4]
Career[edit]
Mayes has consulted legislators in the United States, Canada and in Germany about medical cannabis. [5] He is widely considered an international expert on cannabis, having been sought out by journalists at NBC News,[6] Bloomberg News/WSJ.com,[5], Chicago Tribune,[7] Canadian Broadcasting Company,[8] and other national and international news media.
Quantum 9, Inc.[edit]
Mayes founded Quantum 9, Inc., an international consulting firm that assist both licensures and licensees interested in the sale of medical cannabis. Industry leaders turn to Quantum 9 for advice on staying legal in the ever-changing cannabis industry.[9][10][11]
The legal cannabis industry still attracts bold investors who are in it for the long haul. When Canada announced legalization, Mayes told NBC News: “Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity firms have all been reaching out to us.”[6] But he also told Bloomberg/WSJ.com that “institutional” U.S. investors “won’t touch the cannabis industry with a 10-foot pole,” especially in Canada.[5][12]
Work In Cannabis[edit]
Finding reliable employees in marijuana industry jobs can be difficult, The Chicago Tribune reported in its piece quoting Mayes. That’s why Mayes created Work In Cannabis, a sort of social networking site for the cannabis industry.[7]
Other challenges include high start-up costs associated with building high-tech, maximum security facilities. Then cultivators complain it can take several months and many spoiled batches of cannabis to get the growing formula just right for each strain.[13]
Mayes offers automated solutions to these problems through the use of software he has developed. The Chicago entrepreneur has found success in helping others prevent his own mistakes. Mayes developed software that tracks cannabis from “seed to sale,” a legislative requirement in some states. Mayes later sold the code to that software, now highly in demand as more states legalize cannabis.[14]
Mayes since has developed new technologies that help cultivators operate efficiently and create condition-specific medical cannabis strains. Quantum 9 developed software that shows where money might be getting lost in the cannabis cultivation process. It monitors greenhouses for factors that can impact yield, providing analytics and other reports.[15][16]
Greenwave Naturals LLC[edit]
In 2016, Mayes started with his brother Greenwave Naturals, LLC, a medical cannabis dispensary located in Lansing, Michigan. Mayes became well known locally for assisting a prominent Michigan physician’s son with autism, helping to raise the profile of medical cannabis.[17]
Critical Mass LLC dba Good Meds[edit]
Mayes also serves as equity owner at Critical Mass LLC dba Good Meds. He owns two dispensaries and a cultivation center in Colorado.
Mayes comes from a working-class family where his dad worked as a truck driver and his mother a nurse. Helabored at construction jobs during college summers and saved his money. He became an investor in 2009 in a home-based grow operation called Good Meds. Led by Mayes and others, Good Meds grew into a 90,000-square-foot downtown Denver cultivation center.
Legitimizing cannabis[edit]
Beyond helping investors make money in the cannabis space, Mayes has worked to destigmatize cannabis and legitimize its use as medicine.[18] Until 2017, not even PTSD was included on Illinois’ limited list of qualifying conditions. Mayes and others successfully lobbied Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to add it, The Chicago Tribune reported.[7]
In 2011, Mayes founded Patients for Medical Marijuana, an advocacy group also good for business. The idea is to show how different marijuana strains with different cannabinoid and terpenes profiles convey different medicinal properties. This helps target specific and emerging strains to treating specific illnesses.[19]
Awards[edit]
Innovation has earned Mayes several awards, including the Stevie in 2017.[20][21] He also appeared on the cover of Gamechangers magazine.
References[edit]
- ↑ Mc Coppin, R., "Medical marijuana businesses anxious as patient numbers remain low", chicagotribune.com, July 2, 2015.
- ↑ Carla K. Johnson., "Illinois businessmen invest millions in medical marijuana", spokesman.com, April 4, 2015.
- ↑ Katlyn Smith.,"Medical marijuana: 'Don't ask, don't tell' for state pot growers", dailyherald.com, September 7, 2014.
- ↑ Katlyn Smith., "Illinois towns see jobs in medical marijuana", dailyherald.com, December 7, 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 George Cash, D., "Canadian Exchange Weighs Risks in Trading U.S. Marijuana Stocks", wsj.com, September 13, 2017.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lovitt, R., "Will Canada Become Pot Tourism Destination? Don’t Count on it", nbcnews.com, October 28, 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Marotti, A., "Slow growth, low patient count, political uncertainty: The state of medical pot in Illinois", chicagotribune.com, January 4, 2018.
- ↑ Munroe, I., "Medical Marijuana Spinoff Companies Look to Cash in on New Rules. Canadian Broadcasting Company", chicagotribune.com, October 18, 2013.
- ↑ Smith, A., "U.S. legal marijuana industry is booming", CNN.com, January 31, 2018.
- ↑ Katlyn Smith., "Medical marijuana shops: We need more customers", dailyherald.com, January 18, 2016.
- ↑ "Rauner issued marijuana licenses before FBI background checks", chicagotribune.com, .
- ↑ "Meet Michael Mayes of Quantum 9 in River North", voyagechicago.com, .
- ↑ "Legal weed market to hit $10 billion in sales", businessinsider.com,
- ↑ Rolph, D., "Marijuana is the Next Big Investment, But Here’s Why Most Investors Will Have to Wait", forbes.com, December 12, 2017
- ↑ Pellechia, T., "Legal cannabis industry posed for big growth in North America and around the world", forbes.com, March 1, 2018
- ↑ "Expert: First Medical Pot Grown In Illinois Could Be For Sale In 2015", chicago.cbslocal.com,November 5, 2013 .
- ↑ "Privateer picks up equity investment check from Peter Thiel’s $2 billion fund", marijuana.heraldtribune.com, January 8, 2015
- ↑ Harroch, R., "20 Things All Entrepreneurs Should Know About Angel Investors", forbes.com, February 5, 2015
- ↑ "Michael Mayes Contributing Writer", bizjournals.com,
- ↑ "Stevie Award presented to Michael Mayes", stevieawards.com,
- ↑ "2017 Management Award Winners", stevieawards.com,
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