Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, as a first-generation Chinese-American, Lulu Tsui says plant medicines, including cannabis, have always been a part her life.
“It just turned out that everyone who took care of us, helped us acclimate, learn English and just ‘become American,’ were cannabis growers,” Tsui says. “So, ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been around cannabis.”
Cannabis remained a constant for Tsui even after leaving Oregon to participate in the tech boom of the ‘90s which led her to New York. She spent years working in tech for companies such as Mastercard, Bloomberg LP and McGraw-Hill, until some longtime friends who happened to be working in the legal cannabis industry reached out for some help with their tracking software. And suddenly, the idea of working in both tech and cannabis became a much more attainable reality.
“I’m very grateful for these brothers, to invite me into their world,” she says.
Today, Tsui is the co-founder and chief experience officer at On The Revel, a minority-owned company that produces a variety of educational and networking experiences, including Dope People, a free online cannabis community with a weekly podcast where members can share information, network and support each other, and Revelry, which fosters the same goals as Dope People but only through in-person, East Coast events.
“The first event was maybe like 50 people and is now turned into a very large enterprise with about 300 to 400 people, including culture, music and all the things that we love about New York,” Tsui says.