{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"053: MJ Unpacked Recap & A Chat with Old Pal CEO, Rusty Wilenkin","description":"Today, Rick and Jeff \u201cunpack\u201d their experience at the MJ Unpacked conference at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan as they share their thoughts, highlights, and the sights and sounds from the event. At this high-energy event, they saw more deals get done than ever before, tons of new brands working to enter the space, and a huge number of opportunities taking shape as New York and New Jersey grow into the gigantic markets they\u2019re inevitably going to become. While they were there, they caught up with Rusty Wilenkin, CEO of Old Pal. In his words, Old Pal is aiming to create the \u201cBud Light of weed\u201d\u2013a cannabis product for the everyman that\u2019s accessible, affordable, and simple, reminiscent of the era when weed was weed. In this episode, you\u2019ll hear more from MJ Unpacked and learn about a ton of exciting brands we discovered at the conference. Then, in our interview with Rusty, we get into how he transitioned out of the legacy market and invented a category, how he\u2019s building a cannabis brand at a massive national scale, and his long game for growing Old Pal\u2019s portfolio in a fast-moving industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why the cannabis industry is maturing so rapidly, attracting more capital than ever before, and on track to skyrocket with legalization on the East Coast. How Rusty defines the \u201ccore user\u201d in the world of cannabis\u2013and why so many brands aren\u2019t reaching those people. Why great brands often fail to achieve success at scale\u2013and how Rusty learned from the critical mistakes he made in the first year of Old Pal. What Old Pal is doing to get themselves into emerging markets as they open up. What it means to launch the \u201cFour Loko\u201d of cannabis products\u2013and why Rusty is so excited about it. Show Notes For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com\/53 To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com\/GreenRepeal ","author_name":"The Green Repeal - A Guide to Cannabis Marketing & Advertising","author_url":"https:\/\/sohoexp.libsyn.com\/","html":"