Canopy | News & Articles

Meet The Founder: Redfield-Proctor

Written by Meghan Grabow | Sep 18, 2017 7:28:20 PM
Meet The Founders is a series of interviews with our Fall 2017 class founders. Each team is working to bring a product or service to the cannabis industry through the Canopy accelerator (and in some cases, are currently operating in the space), helping to alleviate the pain points in this growing industry. Want to know more about how to launch a cannabis business? Canopy's JumpStart Conference for Entrepreneurs & Startups is on October 19th in Denver, CO. This FREE half-day conference is packed with panels on brand trends, the regulatory environment, cultivation best practices, dispensary operations and more. Space is limited - register now!
 
Stephen Martin- CEO & Founder, Hamilton, Bermuda
 
What is Redfield-Proctor, and what problem does it solve in the cannabis industry?
 
RF reduces waste for cultivators, benefiting the environment and an operation's bottom line. Colorado cultivators must go through the following to dispose of post harvest waste (vegetative leaf, stalk, roots, soil):
 
1. Shred it with a wood chipper.
2. Mix it to a 50/50 ratio with compost activation ingredients.
3. Place the resulting mixture in a sealed plastic bag.
4. Place the bag into a locked dumpster.
5. Have the dumpster picked up by a third party waste management service (who take the bags to a landfill).
6. Then, pay for a separate soil delivery just so they can finally begin growing their new crop.
 
This method produces millions of pounds of discarded soil, tens of thousands of pounds of plastic waste, and costs thousands of dollars a week for cultivators!
 
We at Redfield Proctor believe cultivators shouldn't be paying thousands of dollars to contribute to an environmental catastrophe. With our service, when a cultivator needs to throw away waste, they call us and they're done. We show up to their facility with however much new soil they need, we mix and shred their waste for them with our own equipment and employees, and we take the resulting mix back to our compost facility where we use the power of earthworms to turn it into the next batch of that same soil they were just delivered. R-F custom blends every batch of soil to meet the nutrient requirements of every separate customer, so every cultivator gets exactly what they asked for. And both our soil delivery and waste management services are both less expensive, so cultivators save time and money while helping save the planet.
 
What is your background? Is this your first venture in the cannabis industry?
 
Before this I worked in intellectual property and product design, helping small inventors go from provisional patent to licensing deal as quickly as possible. This is my first cannabis venture.
 
How did you find about the Canopy Accelerator, and why did you decide to apply?
 
I found the Canopy accelerator program via Google, and applied because they seemed like the best fit for what I wanted to do as a cannabis startup, and the reviews about them were all very positive. I'm hoping to make industry connections through the program, which has already happened, and am most excited about the networking and strategic support provided by the Canopy team.
 
Any predictions you'd like to share for the future of cannabis?
 
A while ago on an askreddit thread I saw a question that was something along the lines of "What product doesn't exist that you wish did?", and the number one answer was "a very low strength strain of cannabis for those who don't regularly smoke". I'm not a regular consumer, once every couple of days at most. When I went into a dispensary I asked for the "mildest stuff you have" and got given Blue Dream and Girl Scout Cookies, both of which are far from mild. I think that in the future an intentionally low-strength high-flavor brand of pre-rolls will do very well.
 
As a founder, your days are packed. What do you do in your free time?
 
Lifting weights, hiking, and enjoying a refreshing cold Colorado brew.
 
Indica or sativa?
 
Sativa