As the vice president of sales and retail operations at The Flowery, Ilya Shmidt has both his hands full.
On the one hand, he’s continuing to build the company’s dispensary footprint in Florida, the largest medical-only market in the country, while simultaneously establishing the brand in New York, easily the fastest growing adult-use market in the nation. The two states could not be any different in terms of regulations, licensing models or political climates.
But with more than a decade of experience in cannabis, Shmidt is well-equipped to handle the challenges of managing 11 dispensaries in Florida and six in New York, some of which are owned by licensing partners.
“My main focus is state expansion,” Shmidt says. “So I’m overseeing partnerships with our license holders and getting those stores in New York open as fast as we can, getting them staffed up and making sure they have all the resources they need.
Shmidt, who immigrated to the United States from Russia as a young child, says being involved in the cannabis industry and, in particular, joining The Flowery three years ago, has been life changing.
“If you told me 10 years ago that I’d make a career out of this, I’d think you were absolutely insane,” he says. “The main reason I fell into cannabis was that I was spending so much money on it, I wanted to get some of it for free. I’ve just grown so much as a leader and I’ve learned so much about myself from being the stoner that wants free weed to a person who’s really pushing the culture and leaving a positive impact on this industry.”