“Grow No Little Plans”
Daniel Burnham, father of the Burnham Plan
Chicago in 2023 rightfully can be considered the “Silicon Valley of Cannabis.”
Five of the 10 largest U.S. cannabis companies operate out of Chicago, spawning a cottage industry of digital startups and professional services firms. The $30 billion industry will grow exponentially once the federal government gives a green light to banks. Local research institutions are poised to capture federal dollars to study the medical and agricultural applications. Canna-curious corporations – financial services, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, logistics and marketing – are champing at the bit. A handful of social equity startup operators finally are entering the market.
Chicago in 2023 rightfully can be considered the “Silicon Valley of Cannabis.”
Five of the 10 largest U.S. cannabis companies operate out of Chicago, spawning a cottage industry of digital startups and professional services firms. The $30 billion industry will grow exponentially once the federal government gives a green light to banks. Local research institutions are poised to capture federal dollars to study the medical and agricultural applications. Canna-curious corporations – financial services, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, logistics and marketing – are champing at the bit. A handful of social equity startup operators finally are entering the market.
Our second chance to get it right
The last time Chicago had a head start on a new industry was 30 years ago when the commercial internet was invented at the University of Illinois. But industry pioneer Marc Andreessen was not supported by local investment, corporate and civic communities. He took his talents and his company, Netscape, to – you guessed it – Silicon Valley.
Without better planning among corporate, civic, government and research institutions, the same thing could happen again. Chicago and Illinois could lose their lead role when cannabis becomes a $300 billion industry. You see what’s happening: corporate operators and hemorrhaging cash and unable to obtain financing; 90 percent of social equity startups can’t raise the money to open. Mainstream corporations are scared to publicly acknowledge their interest in the market. Research institutions in states where cannabis was legalized earlier have a significant head start.
Grown In: connector and catalyst
Grown In’s mission is to create and cultivate commercial connections among cannabis industry professionals with complementary interests for the purpose of fueling economic development, access and opportunity for all stakeholders in the emerging industry. Through events, publications and professional education, we engage with all parts of the industry (and those who quietly want in).
The Burn ‘Em Plan™
Our remedy is simple. Make a plan. More than a century ago, in the wake of the Great Chicago Fire, the Commercial Club of Chicago commissioned Daniel Burnham to develop a plan where stakeholders with common interests collaborated for the greater good. The Burnham Plan made Chicago a global metropolis.
Grown In’s Burn ‘Em Plan similarly will engage stakeholders with common interests to fortify Chicago’s leadership position in commercial cannabis.
We invite your participation in the late July launch of the Burn ‘Em Plan. Grown In will convene stakeholders and thought leaders to map the strategy positioning Chicago as global leader in commercial cannabis and modeling for the world how to get things done in this ascending industry. Join us!
