Today we’d like to introduce you to Zane Witzel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I first came up with the idea of Cannador® in a Los Angeles apartment in 2013 because I wanted a place to keep my cannabis organized and fresh. At the time, there weren’t many storage products available, so I thought about adapting the elements of a tobacco humidor for cannabis and in 2014 after iterating several prototypes, I was ready to launch the first line, starting with two models. As time went on, I heard from many different customers with diverse needs, and their feedback helped me design various configurations with different capacities. The most important feature of course is humidity, and cannabis needs to be kept at a lower relative humidity (RH) than tobacco, so I found a patent for a humidity control product that was already in existence but wasn’t being utilized to its full potential and acquired it from the owner. I then rebranded it to VaporBeads™ and include it with every Cannador® so there’s nothing additional customers need to purchase. The coolest feature of the Cannador® is that you can choose to use it as a stash box or a humidor because it comes with both airtight lids and ventilated lids (used in conjunction with the patented VaporBeads™ humidity control system).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was actually a pretty smooth road with minor bumps along the way. Even though I’m not plant-touching, cannabis-related products are frowned upon by financial institutions as well as big tech platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google. I’m lumped into the same category as alcohol, tobacco and firearms in terms of advertising restrictions, which is frustrating because one, it’s been over 10 years since states began legalizing cannabis; and two, plant-touching companies such as dispensaries and growers can now advertise, but I can’t. They left ancillary companies like mine in the dust. Sure, there’s ad agencies now that will promise you the moon to get around these restrictions, but there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed and furthermore, there’s still risk of getting shut down.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cannador®?
Cannador® is a uniquely designed humidor for short and long-term storage of cannabis using a patented VaporBeads™ humidity control system to maintain potency and freshness. What sets Cannador® apart from it’s competitors is that it’s more qualitative than a stash-box by having a double-slotted seal on all enclosures to ensure air-tightness, it comes with an easy to use humidity control product that only requires adding water to maintain the ideal relative humidity (RH) between 58-65%, and it’s versatile in that you can choose to use it as a humidor or stash box because each lid to the glass jar within the Cannador® comes with both airtight and ventilated lids. Plus, you can label each jar with the appropriate strain name, and keep your accoutrements organized in various drawers or nooks that each Cannador® model features.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
This is the first biggest risk I’ve ever taken and it paid off. Prior to launching this brand, I was working at a management consulting firm in Los Angeles and by night I was getting my MBA at the Drucker School of Management in Claremont, CA. Once I felt like the product was ready to launch, I quit my job and took a leap of faith. The first three years were tough, but by the fourth year, the business generated over $1M in revenue and I was able to start paying myself more than I’d make at a regular job given my experience. It’s changed my perspective on risk in that a regular 9-5 job is now more risky than starting your own business since you have greater control over your destiny. Employment these days has completely changed and people can be laid off at a moments notice without warning. I’ve seen plenty of articles over the past 12 months from people who’ve been looking for work and still can’t find it. Unfortunately, you can’t trust employers anymore so the real risk now is being a wage earner.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cannador.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannador/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannador
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cannador/
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/cannador
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Cannador-products
