Episode 3: Operational Discipline in the California Concentrate Market with John Lafata

In our third episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with John Lafata, Chief Executive Officer of Big Oil Co—a Type-7 cannabis contract manufacturing operation out of Los Angeles, CA—and the cofounder of BEAR Labs—a long-standing concentrate brand from the legacy market days.

John's cannabis journey started as a consumer when he was a motocross racer, and quickly morphed into a series of entrepreneurial ventures in the medical market—starting with a greenhouse grow operation after he graduated from university in 2014, all the way to today, where he's now at the helm of one of the largest manufacturing operations in CA.

John has a track record of success with bringing high-quality products to market—first with his brand Bananaberry Farms, which won several Cannabis Cup awards from 2016-2018 in CA and MI, and then with BEAR Labs—a brand that has won more than 20 awards and holds a spot as one of the 5 most-sold concentrate products in CA.

John goes into depth about how Big Oil Co has managed—through operational discipline and focus—to withstand market challenges, bad partnerships, and mistakes made along the way, in a market that has chewed up and spit out more than its fair share of cannabis operators.

For the episode notes, transcript, and linked resources, please visit https://podcast.diamondminers.co/episode-3/