Lauren Carpenter
34
CEO
Embarc
A self-described bridge builder, Embarc CEO Lauren Carpenter worked for several Fortune 500 companies, plus two cannabis retail chains before launching her own retail business.
“Working at multiple cannabis retailers before launching Embarc gave me tremendous insights into who and what I wanted Embarc to be, where I wanted to focus and, perhaps most valuably, lessons learned from earlier stumbles,” Carpenter says. “When we started, the idea of a dozen stores seemed beyond my wildest dreams, and now we’re looking at about two dozen, with more on the horizon.”
In May, Embarc opened its 15th cannabis store in California, making it one of the Golden State’s leading retail brands. Carpenter and her team opened the first Embarc store right at the onset of the pandemic in June 2020.
“We have a sick sense of timing around here,” she says. “What a wild time it was, but also, in a strange way, it was a welcome focus during the uncertainty of the pandemic’s early days.”
The retail chain has earned commercial and critical praise, including being named by the advertising trade publication Adweek for having the best cannabis marketing campaign of 2023.
“It was a true leap of faith to start a retail company at the outset of a global pandemic and to do it with my partner,” she says. “What our team has been able to accomplish in the years since has been beyond my wildest dreams.”
Q&A
You’ve worked for several Fortune 50 companies and two cannabis retail chains before launching Embarc – is there one lesson from those prior experiences that helped in co-founding Embarc?
I often describe my pre-cannabis career as one of being a ‘bridge builder’—I engaged communities to advocate on policy issues and engaged policymakers to understand diverse perspectives on emerging regulations. That background drives my passion and is a huge part of my day-to-day role at embarc where I work with communities who are reticent to allow for local cannabis activity and work—sometimes for years—to build coalitions around the idea that cannabis businesses can be vital community contributors.
The greatest lesson I’ve learned from these processes is humility. Change takes time. It takes compromise and a willingness to engage with diverse perspectives that are often antithetical to my own. Navigating communities that are reticent to allow for cannabis is very humbling in every way.
I’d add that working at multiple cannabis retailers before launching embarc gave me tremendous insights into who and what I wanted embarc to be, where I wanted to focus, and, perhaps most valuably, lessons learned from earlier stumbles. Insights from successes and failures are invaluable to anyone who is building something from scratch. While you can’t get bogged down in the past, you can save so much time and emotional capacity by utilizing learnings to inform what comes next.
Ultimately, beyond humility, the greatest lesson I’ve learned from previous experiences is to never, ever stop driving. As I said before, change takes time; it takes patience, and it takes both steps forward and backward. I’m here for the long haul and love this process every day.
I would love to learn about the co-founding of Embarc in general, when did the company open? What would you say has been the key to its success? What would you say Embarc is doing that is resonating with consumers?
We have a sick sense of timing around here, having launched embarc right before the beginning of the pandemic and opening our first store in June of 2020—in a tourist community straddling the border between two states with different pandemic regulations. What a wild time it was, but also, in a strange way, it was a welcome focus during the uncertainty of the pandemic’s early days.
Fast forward a handful of years and we’re opening our 14th and 15th shops; a true testament to the grit and perseverance of our team. When we started, the idea of a dozen stores seemed beyond my wildest dreams, and now we’re looking at about two dozen, with more on the horizon.
While there is no silver bullet for success, and I do not take it for granted for one moment, I give tremendous credit our team. Most of us have worked in cannabis pre-embarc, and have the benefit of utilizing lessons learned to shape embarc’s execution. We stick to the basics—we manage our funds, put our customers first, and care about and contribute to the vibrancy of the communities we serve.
In terms of resonating with our customers, a key driver of our team is customer obsession. No matter what department you work in, we are here to support our customers and the community, because without them, embarc ceases to exist. We stay flexible and open to new ideas, listen to feedback without being overly reactive, and maintain strong relationships with our customers to make sure they feel appreciated.
We’re focused on building a lasting brand, not just four walls of a store. This involves creating a culture that’s both distinctive and meaningful, inside and out. We understand that every community we serve is unique, and we embrace these differences. Our teams, stores, merch designs, marketing and content are all tailored to reflect the local culture. This local focus helps each embarc store blend in with its community, making our brand more relevant and strengthening our connection with customers across diverse regions.
What would you say has been your biggest milestone in the industry thus far?
In less than a decade, cannabis has transformed from quasi-legal to being deemed essential in California. And while certainly not my accomplishment, I believe it is an incredible perspective for all of us working to advance normalization.
Personally, the milestone I am most proud of is starting embarc. It was a true leap of faith to start a retail company at the outset of a global pandemic and to do it with my partner. What our team has been able to accomplish in the years since has been beyond my wildest dreams. From having the infrastructure and process in place to open multiple stores on the same day to having true partnerships with the brands on our shelves to being recognized by Adweek as having the best cannabis marketing campaign of 2023, this team has exceeded my expectations of what is possible. We are scrappy and committed.
I’m also proud of what we are doing to redefine the role of cannabis in partnership with some of the nation’s largest festivals and live events. Integrating onsite sales and consumption into large scale festivals is fundamental to our North Star of destigmatizing cannabis at scale. As just one example, our work to broaden the role of cannabis within the California State Fair is a big milestone and one that I know I will look back on in twenty years with disbelief.
But even with all of that in mind, I believe the best is yet to come. We’re still in such early days of navigating this ever-shifting frontier, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in this complete reimagination of societal acceptance of cannabis during our lifetime.