Every Friday we talk to someone doing cool stuff in Canadian business, whether they're a seasoned exec or an up-and-coming hustler.
This week we're joined by Jay Rosenthal, co-founder and President of Business of Cannabis.
The Peak: Give us a quick blurb on your professional background and current role.
Jay Rosenthal: For 25 years I have worked at the intersection of policy, politics, heavily regulated industries and media. (Also, for 35 years I have loved cannabis.) In 2017, me and 2 business partners were aiming to fill a gap in the emerging cannabis sector - and helping tell the entrepreneurial was the foundation of it. Since we launched, we have tried to provide value to our core audience - cannabis professionals and those working in and around the sector. With that as the focus, we build news, content, events, reports, education and networking opportunities. While I have loved cannabis and loved working in heavily-regulated industries - never did I think the two would intersect in quite the way they have. That said, much of what I did in my pre-cannabis professional career was near-perfect training for what I'm doing now - dealing with fast-moving changes, learning on the fly, bootstrapping everything, speaking publicly and through media, etc.
What's one book that has taught you a lesson that you apply to your daily business life? What's that lesson?
It will sound pretty 'basic' - but The New New Thing from Michael Lewis really struck me when I read it long ago and I think about it a lot. I was working in politics and saw many of my colleagues heading into established tech firms (Cisco, HP, Intel) - which seemed compelling for a stable, 20-year career. But the quest for what's the new, new thing seemed much more compelling. Lewis' book about Netscape was both an incredible start-up story about filling gaps in business, but also the need to constantly be looking ahead, shifting and changing. Proof of that perspective is required to be successful: when was the last time you used Netscape?
What evening and/or morning routines do you have that set you up for success?
Well, I don't sleep well. It's not great. BUT, it does mean that I'm up early and I've learned to embrace that. At about 5:30 I get up, clear emails, set the Business of Cannabis social media for the day and generally get settled. Then, an hour-long walk starting at 6:01. (Why 6:01? So I can download The Daily pre-walk.) Home by 7, breakfast, kids, drop off and back to the basement/office. In the evening, post-bedtime, it's usually more work - clearing emails, editing video/pods and generally doing work that requires focused, quiet time - but that can also be done while watching The Crown (or Ray Donovan).
What are you involved in outside of your company? As in mentoring, boards, volunteering or other activities? How do you recommend others engage in activities outside of work and how do you give and get the most out of them?
I have been involved in the kids' school forever. My kids attend a small Jewish Day School in downtown Toronto. I am the immediate past president, I chaired the Pandemic Response Committee from February through November. I now chair a Middle School Exploration Task Force about expanding the school. It is both the hardest and most rewarding work I do. It's important to me - and I think it is important to others too - to realize that you have skills that others absolutely need you to flex. With privilege comes responsibility.
What advice do you have for students or young professionals who are trying to position themselves in a competitive job market. What can they do to make themselves stand out?
I am a generalist. It has served me enormously well. But that's just part of it. I am obsessed with learning how to do new things to build my generalist's skills. We are living in a world where there are very few things that cannot be learned through YouTube. That might be an exaggeration, but you can learn an enormous amount of skills on your own. When you learn them, they are part of your tool belt. It both makes you a more valuable employee and founder, but also saves you money. It is a bootstrap essential.
What's one app or another piece of technology that improves your productivity and you couldn't live without?
Top 5 Right Now | 1. Hopin, 2. Canva, 3. Google Campaign URL Builder, 4. Hootsuite, 5. Livestream Studio/Vimeo
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