Bryan Zises of Spark'd Cannabis: Inside the Strategy to Pivot from Medical Dispensing to Safe Social Consumption Lounges

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan Zises.

Bryan Zises is Co-Owner and Founder of Illinois’ Newest Recreational Cannabis Dispensary Concept, Spark’d as well as the popular Dispensary 33. Spark’d is a collective of curious and helpful stoners looking to propel cannabis culture to new highs with their very first location now open in Hoffman Estates, with openings to coming in 2023 in Wicker Park, South Loop and Crystal Lake, IL.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I spent nearly 10 years working in Affordable Public Housing in Illinois between the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Chicago Housing Authority. I felt that cannabis was a big issue in the public sector that was really important for Illinois to get right.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Cannabis went from being illegal to essential business in a span of 3 months in Illinois. We went from being a mom & pop medical dispensary to seeing thousands of new potential recreational customers every day. Illinois inventory could barely handle the demand and the COVID-19 pandemic caused our team to pivot to a preorder system overnight. It was like drinking water out of a firehose. Our team learned to adapt quickly and not hold onto systems that didn’t serve us in times of need.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Spark’d Dispensary is opening new dispensary locations in Wicker Park, South loop and Crystal Lake, IL as well as locations with consumption lounges in Richmond and Winthrop Harbor in summer of 2023. Right now, cannabis is legal in Illinois but there aren’t many legal places in Illinois for people to consume the products they just bought. Our consumption lounges solve that problem. People will be able to buy cannabis and consume it in a safe, 420 friendly environment with staff available to answer questions or teach people how to roll a joint.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Gene Moreno is someone I met along the way who has kept the same core morals of cannabis safety, which includes widespread access and a safe space for consumption. We met in the public sector while working in the housing industry, and she has helped me figure out how to be a force for good through charitable giving to the DuSable Heritage Association.

This industry is young, dynamic and creative. Does your company use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Even if you don’t consume cannabis, you’ve probably heard of Indica, Sativa and Hybrid and use them as a compass to guide your experience and product selection. We’ve turned that concept on its head and educate our consumers about terpenes, which are the compounds found in the plant that are responsible for the flavors, aromas and effects in each product. Larger companies rely on Indica, Sativa and Hybrid to label their products but a lot of information gets lost in translation along the way. For a more educated consumer base, industry leaders need to talk about the full cannabinoid and terpene profile.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

Things that excite me are:

• access to a safe plant product that has been consumed for millennia
• society having a healthy relationship with cannabis
• consumption lounges being a safe space for people to consume cannabis

What concerns me is:

• an open market that ends up with cannabis being like the candy aisle where nobody can compete with the big guys like Marz and Wrigley
• A highly regulated market is a good way to protect independent and social equity groups in cannabis.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Don’t get in the way of your employees’ creativity and success — trust young people know what they’re doing and have an important outlook. My generation and the generation before me caused a lot of systemic harm in society, especially when it relates to cannabis. It is up to us to trust younger generations to repair the damage and lead the way with new ideas.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Cars are the scourge of the earth. Everyone should give up their cars and rollerblade, bike, walk, take public transit.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!