The CannaTech Expo was held June 21-24 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With an amazing speaker line up this conference afforded attendees the opportunity to access valuable information covering the entire cannabis technology spectrum from IT infrastructure to technologies supporting growing, processing, manufacturing, and retail/dispensaries. Harry Brelsford of The CannaTech Group sits down with Dan Foote to discuss this first year conference.
Video Transcription
Harry Brelsford
Hey, welcome back to the Canna tech podcast where we’re Dan foot out of sunny in Anchorage, Alaska. The days are long how you doing?
Dan Foote
The days are long and I’m doing well, Harry, it’s good to see you again. All right, well, what a couple of weeks? Yeah,
Harry Brelsford
well, since we’re in person, but I feel like I talked to you two or three times a week, we just got other activity going. So you were a speaker, presenter, you were on the floor at the inaugural Canada Tech Expo. Give me the good, bad and ugly from from your perspective and give it to a straight man.
Dan Foote
Well, I thought that our events, although, unfortunately, sparsely attended, the questions from the attendees were fantastic. And the panels that I sat on were, you know, really good. It was just very enjoyable to work with, you know, the likes of sterling and Randy, etc. And all that the whole team during meeting new people was great. On the on the flip side, unfortunately, I don’t think that we saw anywhere near the attendance that they were projecting nothing even close, which I thought was disappointing.
Harry Brelsford
Overall, it Expo
Dan Foote
overall it Expo because because I think, you know, as well, as I do that you’re gonna get some filter down. Some, you know, overflow, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. From a large attendance base, they’re gonna say, Oh, well, that’s interesting. Let’s go check that out. And we weren’t seeing we saw a little of it, but not much of it.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. Yeah, that shows a tough one to measure. I, it’s, you know, I have a long relationship with that show. And I’ll say back in the day, they, they drew a handsome audience in par with their expectations. But, you know, I think this time events are weird right now. Events,
Dan Foote
that’s no doubt about that. Hairy events are weird right now. So, so I’m not laying it on the show, I’m really laying it more on the reality of what life is like, in, in this the sphere of the world. Nothing is predictable, you have to be responsive, and you know, very malleable, you know, you just, we can’t run by the old standards and practices anymore. Best practices are now new practices.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. Yeah, I, I think events are gonna be different. You know, I don’t know exactly what they’ll look like, but they’re most assuredly they’re going to be different. And here’s what I mean, before we got on the air, you and I were talking about air fares. And that impacted our show, we had a couple of attendees who were, you know, committed and excited. And a friend of mine, in particular, out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and when he finally and he travels a lot, you know, he’s got a lot of built up miles, this, that and the other and he, he said, I can’t do it, I can’t justify the airfare. You know, it’s he said, it’s, I literally could go to Europe for the same amount of money.
Dan Foote
And a lot more fun. It’s, it is it’s, it’s, it’s really is a challenge. Fortunately, for for that event, and for both and retail now, which is coming up in two weeks. I had purchased my tickets back in, I think February or March. So before we started seeing this craziness, hit the hit the world, even more craziness hit the world, you know. So I’m prepped for retail now. I think and, and the nice thing about the Canada Tech Expo was that it got me back in front of people talking again. And, you know, looking at, okay, I can improve that. You know, I probably shouldn’t say that new things, you know, the self reflection that you hopefully get. Yeah. So I’m looking forward to retail now they have to Yes, I’m concerned. I’m concerned about the the Do you know the people that wait to the last minute to get plane tickets etc hotel rooms? You know, and last year’s retail now was great. That was that was really a good experience. I hope this year it’s it’s equal to and better to the task. Yeah.
Harry Brelsford
All right my friend will will talk to you next time. Thanks for your direct and honest feedback. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Retail now in Orlando with hosted by the RSPA folks it’s I call it sort of the end of the food chain they deal with point of sale primarily in boy howdy they they put out a good show. I really enjoy retail now.
Dan Foote
They are, you know, they are an amazing organization. Harry, I’ve you like you? I’ve been around enough organizations to know when you’re working with a leader. They are definitely a leader. They don’t break stride except to step farther forward.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. All right, well go out and do some fishing for me.
Dan Foote
Good luck with that. Take care
