Jonathon is currently a Managing Member of 317 Opportunities and a partner at FocusGrowth Asset Management. He has had a foundational and operational executive role in several cannabis companies over the last four years including Standard Farms, Local Dispensaries, and Deseret Wellness.
Prior to cannabis, Jonathon spent the majority of his career at Fortress Investment Group’s Credit Funds, one of the largest financial investors in the credit and lending industry. Jonathon worked at Fortress through the Global Financial Crisis and Europe’s debt crisis in the firm’s New York, San Francisco and London offices. He was also a Senior Analyst at Wingspan Investment Management.
Jonathon graduated from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Deseret Wellness all about?
317 Opportunities helps emerging cannabis companies build brands, go-to market strategies and stable capital structures. My partner and I take a value-add advisory role in the companies we work with. These relationships often start at inception as founding members and then move into Board roles once a business is on its feet. We typically only work with one or two companies at a time.
Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I spent most of my career in distressed debt finance and then about 5 years ago I made a big change to become a legal cannabis operator. I went from investing in dead and dying industries and companies to operating in one of the fasting growing industries in the world. My partner Peter and I applied for and won of the first 12 Grower/Processor licenses. We placed #5 of 177 applicants in a highly competitive merit-based process. After getting our feet on the ground in Pennsylvania, we went on to form teams and help these teams win licenses in Ohio and Utah as well. After selling our Pennsylvania business in 2019 we formed 317 Opportunities to help entrepreneurs who were in a position similar to us when we were starting out.
What are some of the projects you are working on right now?
Our most exciting project is Deseret Wellness (“DW”). DW won 2 of the 14 medical cannabis pharmacies in Utah with what I think are the best two locations in the state – Provo and Park City. I sit on the Board of Directors and am helping them through formative strategy in these early days of the company and market.
Quickly describe what an average working day is like for you?
I get up, meditate to clear my head, answer e-mails for an hour, then try to do something physical (surf or workout). After that its back on calls for the remainder of the day. I try to make sure that I cut off work at a reasonable hour because its easy to keep going and burn out when you work and live in the same place. Burnout is real.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
- Being a good listener,
- Having discipline,
- Not being afraid to change your mind
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
I think we are in the third inning of legal cannabis generally. We are going to drive growth at DW through building and expanding the nascent Utah market – making sure it’s on firm footing. We will make sure that DW is a responsible stakeholder within the Utah medical cannabis market, spread awareness about a therapy that most people still do not know exists in Utah, and advocate for change and progress as the industry evolves. Hopefully through the success and relationships we build in this project, we will find our next DW to advise.
How many users or clients do you currently have, and when do you consider your company a success?
DW is our only advisory client and we are agenting a loan for a publicly-traded cannabis company.
What were the top 3 mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
1. Hiring the wrong people
2. Rushing speed to market on some products
3. Casting too wide of a net with an investor base. The main lesson from all of these mistakes is that you should cultivate patience in your decision making process.
How do you go about marketing your business and what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Word of mouth. There is nothing better than having someone who you helped to win advocate for you.
What is your definition of success?
Having the freedom of being able to say no
Connect with Jonathon Goldrath
- Instagram: deseret.wellness
- Website – https://jonathongoldrath.com/
Random Shark Tank Interview: Shark Tank Winner Joe Altieri of FlexScreen Shares Wisdom
