Pivoting into Cannabis: Using What You Already Know to Start Your Canna-Business

Nkem is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of creating and selling successful start-ups. As co-founder of Adendox, LLC, MediTaurus LLC and co-creator of Florance™, Nkem works on a broad range of business, operational, fundraising, marketing, product development, transactional, and legal issues, and is passionate about building businesses and creating strategic partnerships world-wide. Nkem previously co-founded/co-owned and then sold her 50% stake in Inkfree, MD™, Houston’s premier medical aesthetic laser clinic. Her past experiences in Washington, D.C., includes working as a Senior Business Manager in the Law and Policy Division at Fannie Mae. She also worked as a corporate transactional attorney at the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernard, McPherson and Hand (now DLA Piper). Nkem is admitted in the State Bar of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar and is certified in mediation, negotiation, and project management, and has experience with transactional projects involving various contracts, leases, and joint ventures. Nkem graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from Georgia State University. She also earned an M.B.A. degree with honors and graduated from Tulane Law School. During her undergraduate studies, she was awarded a full athletic scholarship for the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Team and elected Captain and Most Valuable Player. While in law school, Nkem was a semi-finalist in an international law Moot Court competition, an editorial assistant to the World Arbitration and Mediation Report and served in the Appellate Advocacy Clinic

Jessica is from Brenham, TX, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture and minor in Business. She is an expert in her field with 21 years’ experience working in greenhouse growing, propagation, and management in the horticulture space. She has been employed with Creekside Nursery for 15 years, and has been the Production Manager for 3.5 years overseeing operations for 500 acres of landscape plant production. Her knowledge and contacts within the horticulture industry allowed us to easily integrate hemp growing into our production footprint operating our license as Riverside Botanicals.

Houston Hemporium is a locally owned boutique started by Kimberly Phipps-Nichol and her husband Dr. Nguyen “Tom” Griggs in 2019. Kimberly, a licensed commercial interior designer, is a transplant to Houston after having lived in FL, CA & NV. Thrilled to call Houston home, she also owns Blue Water Studio, a design and planning firm, and is partner in RoKi Design, a silk scarf company. Kimberly’s ancestors were US founding fathers, whalers and sailors who grew hemp in New England and also used it for sails and ropes until cultivation was outlawed in the 1930’s.

Lukas Gilkey is the CEO and co-founder of Hometown Hero CBD. In the Coast Guard, he did counternarcotics work. Now? He sells cannabis—specifically, federally legal hemp-derived THC products. In 2021, his company made the cover of the New York Times. Lukas took on the Texas Legislature and won within that same year, keeping hemp-derived THC legal in the Lone Star State. And his motivation for all of this? It has always been about helping veterans in need. Since its founding, Hometown Hero CBD has been actively donating to veteran charities, and Lukas has his sights set to increase his company’s charitable efforts exponentially.

Andrea is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Oklahoma. She is a member in the Real Estate Practice Group as well as a member of the Hemp Industry Team of Frost Brown Todd LLC, a full service national law firm with more than 550 attorneys across 15+ markets and Washington, D.C. Andrea has deep rooted knowledge and experience with cannabis law, with her business clients spanning the supply chain spectrum from cultivators to retailers, as well as distributors, testing labs and more. She advises on regulatory compliance, hemp/medical marijuana licensing, cannabis-related business issues, product labeling/marketing, policy-making participation and real estate issues. Andrea also frequently advises clients on issues unique to the industry, such as delta-8 and other novel cannabinoids, conducting state-by-state research and providing guidance and analysis on proposed laws to policymakers and others. She currently serves as co-chair of the Legislative Advisement Committee of the International Cannabis Bar Association and as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law and Policy Committee.