Playing to Win - 029 - From FBI To Entrepreneurship

00:00:00.000 Welcome to another episode of the Playing to Win series.

00:00:03.500 I really do enjoy this series. It's one of my favorite.

00:00:06.120 I hope you guys spend a little more time in this playlist.

00:00:08.080 There's a whole bunch in there. We're on episode number 29 right now.

00:00:11.400 I'm joined today with Andrew Knapp. Welcome, Andrew.

00:00:14.420 Hello there.

00:00:15.460 So we're going to be talking to Andrew a little bit about his background story,

00:00:20.480 how he got into what he's doing right now.

00:00:22.700 I mean, his current role is with Green Mountain Flower Company,

00:00:25.660 which is basically focused much of its production, it seems, on mushroom-slash-CBD-infused products.

00:00:34.200 But he's got a really interesting kind of like a Batman origin story,

00:00:37.420 which I want to spend just as much time on as far as what the company's doing.

00:00:41.660 But he's the head of sales and marketing at this company.

00:00:45.960 But it didn't start that way for you.

00:00:47.980 Like, this is one of your earlier intros into entrepreneurship.

00:00:51.840 I know you're also into real estate as well, but you started from Idaho.

00:00:56.840 You know, you were a young man in Idaho that was graduating school,

00:00:59.260 and you're looking to, you know, do something, you know, as a man,

00:01:04.520 as you're kind of thrown into the world, and you had a couple options.

00:01:07.400 Talk a little bit about that origin story for yourself.

00:01:10.440 Yeah, I grew up in, like, super rural Idaho.

00:01:13.380 So home county is maybe 3,000 people over, you know, several hundred square miles,

00:01:19.040 up in the mountains, middle of nowhere.

00:01:21.880 Really not a whole lot of options in that environment.

00:01:24.140 I think the immediate income was, like, maybe 26,000 a year for a household

00:01:27.840 in the town I grew up in.

00:01:29.680 So pretty desolate.

00:01:31.220 Dad was a nuclear engineer.

00:01:32.600 Family kind of disintegrated when I was a kid.

00:01:35.240 And, you know, felt kind of rudderless and directionless as a kid.

00:01:39.360 So, you know, part of that discovery course was figuring out, you know,

00:01:42.780 college or military.

00:01:44.160 This was right at the height of the Iraq War.

00:01:46.300 I mean, I was born in 87, so peak millennial, right at the middle of kind

00:01:51.500 of my age demographic.

00:01:53.460 But, you know, the choice in 2006 when I was graduating was, you know,

00:01:57.240 either going to the military for this war that, you know, probably, like,

00:02:00.900 it didn't make strategic sense to me at the time as a high schooler.

00:02:03.480 So I wasn't really enthusiastic about that, despite coming from a military

00:02:07.120 family or go to college.

00:02:09.140 So I went to a college in Boise, Idaho, studied philosophy, political science,

00:02:13.500 that sort of thing.

00:02:14.740 And then, you know, also with great timing, graduated right in the middle

00:02:17.900 of a financial crisis.

00:02:19.040 So there's, like, no opportunity anywhere whatsoever.

00:02:23.020 So from there, I ended up going to grad school in D.C.

00:02:27.380 I went to – I grew up with, you know, family stories.

00:02:31.300 I have, like, an old Anglo-Saxon family.

00:02:33.100 But my great-uncle had been one of the founding members of the CIA, so he was

00:02:37.580 OSS, had the machete scar on the face, and all the stereotypical, like,

00:02:41.620 straight-out-of-essential casting kind of backstory.

00:02:43.920 So I grew up with these stories, always really cared about the intelligence

00:02:47.300 world, and ended up going to grad school in D.C., then graduated into

00:02:54.860 sequestration, so government spending was cut.

00:02:57.380 I had been interning with Naval Special Warfare, which is the command responsible

00:03:02.660 for Navy SEALs, SWICs, that sort of thing.

00:03:05.600 That job was cut.

00:03:06.700 So I was – basically, there's no work.

00:03:08.800 I had just invested, taken out student debt to get into this world.

00:03:13.040 And I have, like, really, really cared about it.

00:03:15.760 How old were you at this time?

00:03:16.920 I was 24 at this time. 0.99

00:03:19.680 So, you know, pretty young, still stupid, but very, very invested in this kind 0.97

00:03:26.120 of world, ended up working as a personal trainer for a while, you know, just to get 0.99

00:03:30.620 by.

00:03:31.260 And that was all right for the time being, but I, like, invested a lot of, like, not

00:03:36.700 just my personal energy, but, you know, my self-identity and kind of working in this

00:03:41.320 field, and it was just all uphill.

00:03:44.280 So I ended up working for Think Tank for a little while, you know, met some

00:03:48.880 interesting people.

00:03:49.780 That's a long story.

00:03:51.020 But I ended up eventually getting into the FBI as a contractor.

00:03:54.700 So I had kept my clearance from my job with the Navy and was really fortunate.

00:03:59.980 I had – so in grad school, I had studied human intelligence, which is the actual

00:04:03.660 process of how you run human spies inside an organization and did, you know, all the

00:04:08.700 Harvard business law-type case studies to execute that.

00:04:12.100 So I was fortunate to do something very similar inside the Bureau.

00:04:15.340 I stayed basically in one unit.

00:04:16.880 I was a targeter within the FBI.

00:04:18.960 So managing a lot of these cases for – this is the height of the Iraq War.

00:04:22.780 So managing, you know, how ISIS interacts with people in the United States and

00:04:28.380 Europe, everywhere else, it was pretty damn exciting.

00:04:31.120 Like, I loved it.

00:04:32.380 I miss it a little bit.

00:04:33.780 But as a result of getting in, I mentioned I had to take out student loans to get

00:04:37.980 out of my, you know, tiny town.

00:04:39.900 Go through this career and kind of realize that there wasn't much opportunity

00:04:43.660 there, and a lot of the opportunity was almost impossible to get to.

00:04:47.780 And I didn't feel free.

00:04:49.900 Like, I've always been kind of independent-spirited.

00:04:53.180 And, you know, going through that, just to give you some rough examples, you know, most

00:04:59.220 government employees, especially in D.C., are young guys that live with housemates or

00:05:04.260 roommates in, like, a tiny apartment up until they're 35 on a government salary and oftentimes

00:05:10.600 making half the pay of their bosses.

00:05:12.340 Their bosses will take all the holidays off.

00:05:14.420 The analysts are responsible for, you know, going into work on Christmas.

00:05:17.780 I actually, I think I worked on every single Christmas day for some crisis or another.

00:05:22.940 And, you know, no bonuses for that or really anything.

00:05:25.620 It's just, you know, a government job.

00:05:27.560 What's the average compensation for an FBI contractor in that role?

00:05:32.240 So I had transitioned to a blue badge at the time.

00:05:35.260 So I was an official government employee.

00:05:36.840 For a contractor, you're talking, the role I started in for what I was doing, I was making

00:05:42.140 48 a year, and then in Northern Virginia, losing 40% of that taxes.

00:05:48.640 So it was absolutely brutal.

00:05:51.480 Yeah.

00:05:51.920 So, I mean, like, you're, yeah, you're definitely living with roommates at that level of compensation,

00:05:57.260 especially if you've got student loans and overhead, right?

00:06:00.340 Exactly.

00:06:00.980 Yeah.

00:06:01.480 But, I mean, like you said, it was a lot of fun because, I mean, it sounds like you were

00:06:03.820 watching, well, you know, fun from the perspective of excitement and fulfillment with what you're

00:06:09.240 doing.

00:06:09.520 I mean, it's never fun to watch somebody die on a screen, but you mentioned that you

00:06:12.800 watched a lot of, you know, drone strikes and stuff like that.

00:06:16.800 Like, how much of that can you talk about?

00:06:18.980 Just kind of waved up.

00:06:20.300 I mean, I got to interact with all the partners you would assume somebody in that role would

00:06:24.900 interact with and really loved it.

00:06:26.800 Like, the FBI, DOD, and other government agencies all have, like, their own pretty unique

00:06:32.720 culture and getting to be in the middle of basically the food fight between all these

00:06:37.160 agencies and, you know, getting to deal with, you know, knowing, okay, that guy, like, who

00:06:42.240 I just had coffee with is hunting the number one terrorist in the world.

00:06:45.420 Or, you know, this, you know, my coworker literally just found, you know, a plot inside the United

00:06:51.680 States through an op she was running.

00:06:54.120 Like, that sort of stuff is, there's really no way to describe that, but it's really fulfilling.

00:06:58.340 But at the same time, if there's no promotion potential, and, you know, you're working your

00:07:03.400 ass off, you're working Christmas, and you literally, like, I mean, I calculated I maybe

00:07:08.880 had $200 left after, you know, after I had paid my bills to, you know, go out on a date

00:07:14.940 or, you know, spend that on, you know, just clothes or, you know, eventually save up for

00:07:19.160 a nice watch or something like that.

00:07:21.180 And no matter how good the actual work was, at least for me, it was just corrosive.

00:07:26.220 Like, I, uh, my stress level was up here 90% of the time and, um, started to feel the

00:07:32.840 health effects of that too.

00:07:34.840 What's that show that they ran on Netflix for a while with that FBI, um, profiler, that

00:07:41.140 chick, she's always wigged out and on medications. 1.00

00:07:43.800 Uh, what is it?

00:07:44.460 It's a blacklist or are you, um, is this a Homeland Homeland?

00:07:48.740 That's it.

00:07:49.200 Yeah.

00:07:49.780 Is that like, is that a fairly accurate representation of what guys can expect if they start working

00:07:55.540 with that agency?

00:07:57.300 There's a scene at the start of season five in Homeland where they're all sitting in the

00:08:02.040 basement of the CIA and talking about how ISIS is sneaking into Europe.

00:08:05.920 And I like, it was funny watching that because I had literally been in that conference room

00:08:10.220 like a day before.

00:08:11.640 So they actually use the actual conference room, like the set.

00:08:15.380 Uh, so Jack Ryan, that show actually used the CIA's headquarters building a little bit

00:08:19.760 for filming, but, um, but for, uh, a lot of Homeland that was filmed in South Carolina and 0.90

00:08:25.260 it's, uh, some of it's just dumb.

00:08:27.540 So for example, they mentioned big, like roads that are huge in Northern Virginia, like a four 0.92

00:08:32.380 or five lane highway and it's a two lane road in the show.

00:08:35.840 So a lot of that and a lot of the trade craft and a lot of the storyline is pretty wacky for

00:08:41.240 Homeland, but Homeland season five is super accurate.

00:08:43.960 Like that, that was pretty close to real life.

00:08:47.420 So, um, you're living in DC here, you're in your twenties.

00:08:51.120 You pretty much don't have a pot to piss it or a window to throw it out of.

00:08:54.120 And you can't afford any of that stuff because of the compensation you work.

00:08:56.740 Like, do you work seven days a week when you're in that agency?

00:09:01.120 Oh, pretty close.

00:09:02.300 Yeah.

00:09:02.580 I mean, the expectation is just to work the 40 and to kind of be a government employee,

00:09:07.980 but on paper, but the expectation of real life, especially if you're managing anything

00:09:12.400 with import, like anything that really matters.

00:09:15.180 Um, I was probably in there six days a week and I mean, fortunately they had a gym in the

00:09:19.080 basement.

00:09:19.700 So that's where I'd hang out on Sunday if, you know, I had nothing else to do, but, um,

00:09:24.400 it was free.

00:09:25.160 So, but, um, yeah, it's, uh, I would say probably 50, 60 hours a week at the height of like real

00:09:31.700 height of the Syrian war.

00:09:33.240 I'm talking about mid 2016, probably spent 70 hours a week in there.

00:09:37.760 Um, and, um, and that's for, again, like, I think I was getting paid like 60,000 a year

00:09:42.820 at the time.

00:09:43.620 So, um, yeah, the, uh, business side of it, not that appealing.

00:09:48.660 So overall you, like, is this a career that you'd recommend guys get into or avoid?

00:09:54.640 Like what's your view on that?

00:09:56.240 Um, it's really, it really depends if you're, uh, I mean, for me, it was kind of a patriotic

00:10:01.180 thing and a little bit of a thing.

00:10:02.700 Like I wanted to know if I was good enough.

00:10:04.580 And after getting in, like, that was, that was really important to me is like, I want

00:10:09.020 to make it in that field.

00:10:10.820 But, um, at the same time, if, uh, like imagine taking out, you know, a significant amount of

00:10:16.120 student debt for a job that you have $200 left over after you pay your student loans.

00:10:20.140 Like if you want to, I mean, I'm like, I'm, I'm a fairly traditional guy.

00:10:24.540 I want the, you know, wife, the kids, the, you know, white naked fence at some point in 1.00

00:10:28.380 my life.

00:10:29.040 How old are you now?

00:10:30.260 Uh, I'm 33 now.

00:10:31.900 Okay.

00:10:32.140 So, but, uh, just, uh, and this was kind of like, I mean, to borrow a term, like this

00:10:37.240 was kind of my red pill moment was being in the middle of this and like trying to hold

00:10:40.720 relationship together and trying to, you know, save up for a house and these sorts of things

00:10:44.480 and realizing, you know what, at current trajectory, this is pretty well possible.

00:10:49.620 And, um, that was, uh, so slowly kind of realizing that kind of, you know, I was introduced

00:10:55.660 to your channel.

00:10:56.340 I was introduced to a few other sources and started to really think through like what, uh,

00:11:00.980 you know, I know I'm a capable person, but I'm clearly on a pathway that I'm, I wouldn't

00:11:05.000 say getting taken advantage of, but the opportunity for growth and the opportunity for me to have,

00:11:09.360 you know, the basic things I really care about in life, you know, I've, I'm basically playing

00:11:13.620 to lose, so to speak, or playing just not to win there.

00:11:17.600 Yeah.

00:11:17.880 Playing not to win.

00:11:18.580 So to speak, like the, uh, the opportunity for a win wasn't there.

00:11:21.780 Um, you mentioned that you were kind of red pilled, um, having a conversation or sorry,

00:11:28.520 being lectured on toxic masculinity by a girl that you were seeing.

00:11:32.660 Can you talk about that a little bit?

00:11:34.880 Yeah.

00:11:35.180 I, uh, I mean that year, I think it was 2017.

00:11:37.920 I had dated four women named Julia in a row and Julia number four was, Julia number four

00:11:44.040 was gorgeous, but, um, she was, uh, she had, you know, a liberal job in DC. 1.00

00:11:48.860 We agreed on like most, you know, value stuff, you know, being from a similar culture, but,

00:11:53.860 um, she basically like snapped at me because I said the word illegal immigrant because people

00:11:58.960 aren't illegal or whatever.

00:12:00.320 And then it may like easily a two hour lecture on toxic masculinity and how I'm being toxic

00:12:05.740 and that sort of stuff.

00:12:07.020 And it just occurred to me, like, I mean, she's gorgeous.

00:12:10.140 She's probably one of the most attractive women I've dated and I like her a lot, but I, 0.95

00:12:15.300 um, it seems like I'm being shit tested constantly. 0.80

00:12:19.020 And, uh, just, I like, I can't win here. 0.96

00:12:22.040 And why am I trying so damn hard to just get lectured by somebody that, oh, I feel like

00:12:27.460 I'm a reasonably accomplished person.

00:12:29.120 Like I'm not where I want to be, but, uh, I'm trying my best, try my best to be, you

00:12:33.580 know, an ethical grounded person.

00:12:35.320 And I just can't win.

00:12:36.440 Like, this is just, uh, I'm the enemy.

00:12:39.160 And, um, you know, after, after that, you know, there was a moment that, uh, led to a

00:12:44.240 little bit of personal bitterness, a little bit of anger relationship, obviously, you

00:12:47.520 know, fell apart for natural reasons.

00:12:49.140 But, uh, after that, it was trying to find some intellectual system or some approach to

00:12:53.900 life that, uh, would number one, you know, be rewarding.

00:12:57.580 Also let me be myself, which, you know, I couldn't, uh, really in a government job, like

00:13:02.920 your freedom's grossly constrained, both financially and just in terms of like, even what medications

00:13:07.980 you can use.

00:13:09.600 And, um, you know, after doing that, probably a year of kind of exploring, you know, looking

00:13:13.680 at the red pill movement, reading a lot of philosophy, had been a philosophy major in

00:13:17.440 college, um, and, uh, looking into entrepreneurship.

00:13:21.440 So, uh, I was watching your channel.

00:13:23.480 I read, uh, Peter Thiel's zero to one, which, uh, you know, excellent book everybody should

00:13:27.920 read, but kind of just realizing the math of, you know, what a revolutionary idea looks

00:13:32.300 like, and, uh, I had a friend at the time that, um, you know, I, uh, that I had known

00:13:38.220 through church and that, you know, still very close friends with, and, uh, this person was

00:13:42.460 a U S Senate staffer at the time.

00:13:44.120 And we started a conversation, like, clearly the housing market's broken.

00:13:47.440 Like it's not working.

00:13:49.180 If you have a majority of the population in most of these cities that can't afford any

00:13:53.940 on-ramp into ownership.

00:13:55.560 So we, um, you know, progressively thought through a few methods and it started to click like,

00:14:00.360 Hey, not only is this possible, you could really build like a revolutionary company to

00:14:05.720 execute this process.

00:14:06.980 So I can talk probably a little bit more about that later, but, um, that was kind of the

00:14:11.460 moment that, you know, yeah, there are more options than this.

00:14:13.840 And I, you know, as, as good as it is to, you know, have the security of, you know, government

00:14:18.220 work at the same time, like I wouldn't feel personally, just like I wouldn't feel personally

00:14:22.780 fulfilled if I didn't work in the intelligence world when I was like a, you know, 17 year

00:14:26.800 old kind of watching movies it's, uh, you know, 26, 27, I wouldn't feel fulfilled if

00:14:32.340 I didn't pursue building a company, being free, like creating value, being out in the

00:14:37.680 world, all those sorts of things.

00:14:39.380 So just kind of became the next step.

00:14:42.040 Did you stay in DC or did you move from DC?

00:14:44.200 Like where are you now?

00:14:45.260 So I'm actually in the DC area right now.

00:14:47.600 I was, uh, I had moved to Austin, Texas for a while, which was, you know, pretty great

00:14:52.980 experience for city, easily one of the best cities in the United States.

00:14:57.180 That's one of the big hubs for startups right now.

00:14:59.400 Really is.

00:15:00.080 Yeah.

00:15:00.300 So about 33% of the economy in Austin is all tech companies, all the Silicon and Silicon

00:15:05.480 Valley is, you know, basically South of Austin.

00:15:08.440 Um, like all the chip manufacturers, uh, tons and tons of startups, a pretty healthy scene

00:15:13.600 there.

00:15:13.840 I had, uh, so, you know, I had, um, getting out. 0.99

00:15:18.080 So the transition from government to entrepreneurship, you don't know a lot of shit. 0.98

00:15:22.980 And, uh, I, you know, made some mistakes. 0.98

00:15:25.960 I, uh, tried to work with somebody that I considered a friend at the time and somebody

00:15:30.600 I'd known for a lifetime and had some really fundamental disagreements.

00:15:35.200 Uh, their mental health wasn't in, you know, great spec exactly.

00:15:38.980 And, uh, it became very apparent to me going through this process that number one, this

00:15:44.100 person can't hold the company, sees me as a threat to their masculinity and, um, has

00:15:49.760 some mental stuff that will, you know, probably embarrass the company.

00:15:52.540 If they, you know, go on a tirade, you know, 20 beers deep at a bar or anything like that.

00:15:57.700 So, and then COVID hit.

00:15:59.860 So it's like, okay, this is pretty damn clear.

00:16:01.800 Like time to walk away from this.

00:16:04.220 I've learned a lot.

00:16:05.300 That method is not going to work.

00:16:06.980 And then have spent most of the summer kind of rebuilding from there.

00:16:10.420 The, the, um, the guy that you partnered with, with that business.

00:16:13.680 And I'm not a big fan of partners in business unless there's like a true compliment, right?

00:16:18.060 Like there's a good synergy.

00:16:19.180 Like I think, uh, Steve jobs, Wozniak are probably one of the best examples because jobs

00:16:24.760 was the outside guy.

00:16:25.880 He was the guy that would stand on the stage and, you know, push the marketing.

00:16:28.680 He was a big idea guy. 0.99

00:16:29.860 And then Woz would sit in the back kind of, you know, making all the shit. 0.94

00:16:33.560 Um, but it usually doesn't work out that way with a business partnership. 0.94

00:16:36.920 I mean, the failure rate with business partnership is probably just as bad as, uh, marriage, you

00:16:42.340 know, to be honest with you, it's probably even worse.

00:16:44.480 Um, why did you think that it, that it was going to work out?

00:16:47.340 Like at the time, why did you sign up with a partner?

00:16:50.540 Um, so at the time, like, uh, number one, I wasn't familiar with it.

00:16:54.840 And this person would seem to have been successful.

00:16:56.920 So they had some capital to invest in a software background and, you know, I wouldn't slander

00:17:01.740 the guy.

00:17:02.100 This person is absolutely brilliant.

00:17:03.640 Like when we were friends, uh, when we were younger, like one of the most, uh, you know,

00:17:08.980 outstanding people I knew, I didn't know how much their mental health had deteriorated

00:17:12.920 and also, uh, evolving in terms of like, this person would brag about manipulating me

00:17:18.040 to my face, not to mention parties and would talk down, like interrupt and talk down to

00:17:23.660 me and pitch meetings and that sort of stuff.

00:17:25.320 So like clear, clear.

00:17:27.900 Was this early on or was this into the partnership?

00:17:30.420 Uh, so this was, uh, later in the partnership, there were signs of it earlier and I wish I

00:17:35.340 had just picked up on those and put my foot down, but there really is.

00:17:39.020 I mean, you talk about a red pill for how men and women interact.

00:17:42.300 There's equally, if not more detail in terms of how people interact in the course of a business.

00:17:47.340 I'm personally not at all a fan of 50, 50 partnerships.

00:17:50.280 I think no matter what, it's going to be asymmetric and there has to be somebody who's the lead.

00:17:55.140 And if there's somebody there who's like actively stealing responsibility from other people,

00:18:00.040 like won't let other people make decisions and then doesn't execute, like that's the most

00:18:04.280 toxic possible, um, combination you can get.

00:18:07.920 And there are actually, you know, plenty of people who fit that category, some unwittingly,

00:18:11.920 but, um, that's, that's something to, um, that I would always look out for.

00:18:17.180 And I don't think, I mean, I think by having a 50, 50 partnership, you're usually asking

00:18:21.380 for trouble.

00:18:21.980 Like somebody has to be in charge.

00:18:23.980 Yeah.

00:18:24.340 I mean, people that start up businesses are, um, you know, they're like, you have to have

00:18:29.880 a degree of narcissism to start up a business.

00:18:32.720 Literally you do.

00:18:33.560 I mean, you're just never going to be successful unless you have some of the narcissistic traits,

00:18:37.800 but at the same time, um, my old business coach, I had him on a plane to win.

00:18:42.500 I think it might've been two or three episodes back.

00:18:44.380 You guys can go back.

00:18:45.140 I think it was episode number 26 or 27 with Cameron.

00:18:47.680 He was saying that almost all successful entrepreneurs that he knows that are doing over a million

00:18:51.680 dollars a year in annual sales are clinically or could be clinically diagnosed as bipolar.

00:18:57.400 Right.

00:18:58.160 Um, it's, you know, it's a bizarre thing because you're celebrated when you go and create something

00:19:04.280 that has some impact and you're often, um, admired by many people, but nobody truly understands

00:19:11.280 the kind of crap that you go through as somebody that's the founder or the co-founder of the

00:19:16.620 business, because playing the wind is not easy. 0.99

00:19:18.700 It's pretty fucking hard actually.

00:19:20.860 Um, you know, like the mindset is the starting point, but so, so I mean, like you had that 0.83

00:19:26.100 mindset shift, you're like, okay, so I tried this with this guy.

00:19:29.140 He's clearly not going to work out COVID hits.

00:19:31.300 And then you get involved with this, um, mushroom CBD infused supplement or, or a nutraceutical

00:19:38.300 company.

00:19:39.160 Yeah.

00:19:39.740 So, um, I had, uh, you know, I had the good fortune of meeting like really quality advisors.

00:19:44.820 And, uh, one of those introduced me to a green mountain flower company.

00:19:48.760 So they're kind of a growth stage, a CBD company based in Austin, one of the oldest, uh, CBD

00:19:53.800 dispensaries in Texas and in Austin specifically.

00:19:57.840 And, um, you know, being growth stage, they didn't have a sales presence.

00:20:01.560 So, uh, uh, my advisor basically asked me, Hey, like, uh, let me set you up here.

00:20:07.040 Like, uh, we'll work on the real estate stuff later.

00:20:09.580 But, um, for right now it's, you know, kind of about, you know, using our time appropriately.

00:20:14.080 And there's a role here.

00:20:16.220 So, uh, started with that about, uh, three months ago.

00:20:18.720 So right now I'm managing the, uh, so VP of sales and marketing that covers wholesale,

00:20:24.560 that covers affiliate marketing, that covers pretty much all stack, everything from cold

00:20:28.740 calling all the way up to, uh, you know, more strategic management, let's say a grocery

00:20:32.840 store or somewhere else.

00:20:34.680 Uh, I had not tried CBD personally before, you know, being in government and I didn't experiment

00:20:39.520 with it after I got out.

00:20:41.240 So trying it for the first time, especially after like, I had a coworker, I found out a

00:20:46.400 few weeks ago, she literally cracked a tooth in half because of the stress levels, just 0.64

00:20:50.180 gritting her teeth all the time.

00:20:51.800 It would have been nice to have something like, you know, CBD in that environment.

00:20:55.220 But, uh, after trying it and kind of seeing the different scope of, uh, you know, different

00:21:00.220 products, all a hundred percent organic, like organically derived made for the human body

00:21:04.780 and, uh, kind of seeing the business potential of that as well as just in terms of, you know,

00:21:09.720 psychological health as an entrepreneur and also just, uh, psychological and physical health

00:21:14.140 generally is kind of not just a maintenance thing, but also a supplementation thing to, you

00:21:18.200 know, feel decent and be able to, uh, you know, conduct your business in a responsible

00:21:21.980 way.

00:21:22.980 So, um, it's pretty competitive when it comes to CBD type of products.

00:21:28.980 I mean, I think from 20, 2012, 13 to at least the last few years, I've seen a lot of companies

00:21:36.980 pop up that are selling CBD oil, um, products that like maybe vape pens or anything like that.

00:21:42.980 Like it, like the whole delivery system changes depending on who's putting it out there, but

00:21:46.840 there's a lot of competition for CBD products.

00:21:50.040 I mean, the, like, can you talk about the different kinds and what the benefits are?

00:21:54.940 Cause I've, cause I've got a note here from you, but I mean, you basically messed up your

00:21:59.380 road, your rotator cuff, but you couldn't supplement with CBD at the time cause you were working for

00:22:04.000 the government.

00:22:04.520 I guess they P test you and that would have like, you know, got you fired or something, but 0.99

00:22:08.180 yeah, but I mean like you can have sons of politicians do blow off a stripper's butt and 1.00

00:22:14.500 they're totally fine. 0.99

00:22:15.960 Right.

00:22:16.580 Yeah.

00:22:17.380 Yeah.

00:22:17.780 So talk a little bit about that interest in CBD and, and why you basically double down on

00:22:24.100 it.

00:22:24.200 I mean, that's, that's a very, very competitive space.

00:22:26.700 I mean, for me, like I don't like physical products personally, and it's also a very competitive

00:22:30.700 space, but I mean, you guys seem to have a great product.

00:22:32.760 I mean, I've been using it for the last couple of months, but talk to, talk to me more about

00:22:35.620 the CBD component of it.

00:22:37.260 I also want to talk about the mushroom stuff separately.

00:22:40.000 Yeah, we're definitely, definitely a quality player.

00:22:42.100 There's a lot of CBD out there.

00:22:43.660 A lot of stuff is just white labeled.

00:22:46.220 Then you'll have like one producer producing for volume.

00:22:49.100 And then a lot of these different brands that are selling basically the same thing.

00:22:52.560 Where does it, where does it mostly come from?

00:22:54.360 Does it come from China?

00:22:55.240 Is it like a powder that's reconstituted?

00:22:58.880 Thankfully not.

00:22:59.660 Definitely for us.

00:23:00.440 So we grow our own in Colorado and bring that to Texas.

00:23:04.240 We also, for smokable flour, get that from Vermont.

00:23:08.520 So, but all of our, everything we make is number one, American made, 100% within the

00:23:14.340 borders.

00:23:14.880 And also we lab test every single batch we have for output, for quality and freshness.

00:23:21.080 There are a lot of pitfalls in the CBD industry, especially when it comes to manufacturing quality.

00:23:25.620 You've got, I mean, I won't mention specific competitors, but you've got certain bigger

00:23:30.940 companies that have struggled with mold.

00:23:32.700 So you'll order a tincture or something and it'll come and basically mold will come out

00:23:36.340 when, you know, when you open the package.

00:23:39.560 So for us, at least everything that we have has a one-year shelf life.

00:23:44.400 And when it's delivered, it's, we've only had that product for usually a month at most.

00:23:48.380 So maintaining the best freshness for that.

00:23:51.740 When it comes to different products, obviously people are putting CBD and a lot of things.

00:23:57.900 We, we have a handful of unique products.

00:24:00.880 One of the top ones we have right now is now forever natural hemp, kind of a long name,

00:24:05.640 but it's the first water soluble coffee supplement.

00:24:09.560 So taking that is a lot like taking L-theanine in an energy drink.

00:24:13.920 It'll mellow out the caffeine.

00:24:15.260 So a lot of the coffee shops we wholesale to sell out rapidly, but what it does is you,

00:24:21.840 you know, you combine it with your coffee, but instead of getting the jitters or starting

00:24:26.100 to get distracted, usually you can keep a pretty close focus for several hours.

00:24:31.040 And that's kind of, I mean, it's a little bit biohacking, but it's also just using CBD

00:24:35.080 appropriately to modulate the stimulants that you're taking.

00:24:38.600 So that's one of our headline products selling super well.

00:24:41.700 Um, we, uh, also have a handful of, uh, classic tinctures.

00:24:46.120 So classic oil that's absorbed through the liver and usually get about between 15 and

00:24:51.260 40%, depending on, you know, physical health in terms of bioavailability.

00:24:55.480 So a lot of places produce that we, ours is an extra strength.

00:24:59.460 So it's a 2,400 milligrams per bottle, which is pretty high by industry standards.

00:25:03.980 And then, um, I mentioned the coffee additive is water soluble.

00:25:08.000 We also have a, uh, handful of water soluble tinctures that are very close to 100% bioavailability.

00:25:14.480 So you're talking about, you know, five milligrams doing the job that 30 milligrams of oil would

00:25:19.300 normally do.

00:25:20.140 So much, much more efficient when it comes to bodily absorption.

00:25:24.860 Um, I skipped over this question, but I made a mental note to ask you what, what was

00:25:29.920 it that brought you to my channel?

00:25:31.120 Cause it, cause for most guys, it's usually some kind of trauma.

00:25:34.360 I'm not sure if somebody introduced you or if it's, you know, you're on the homepage

00:25:37.660 one day and YouTube recommended a video, but how'd you come across my stuff?

00:25:41.100 You know, honestly, I think I searched it on YouTube and I was, you know, trying to figure

00:25:45.180 out some personal stuff after, uh, you know, after a tough breakup and kind of thinking like

00:25:49.180 Julie number five, right?

00:25:51.200 Yeah.

00:25:51.680 We were to anticipate Julie number five, but, um, after kind of going through that, like

00:25:58.000 it really occurred to me, I was doing something wrong.

00:26:00.160 Like clearly, clearly I'm making the exact same mistake over and over.

00:26:05.200 And, you know, all the, you know, so-called adults, I know you people, two, three generations

00:26:09.200 older than me seem to make these mistakes too.

00:26:11.900 You know, it would seem to be best practices.

00:26:13.940 Like if somebody really cares about best practices to try and identify like an intellectual system,

00:26:19.200 your channel came up, I think either number one or number two and started watching through

00:26:23.220 that.

00:26:23.520 So, yeah, it's interesting.

00:26:25.680 I've, I've started to notice that a lot of like, as you, as you described Julie, who

00:26:30.780 was feminine, beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls that you've dated, it's, it's starting

00:26:36.020 to become obvious to me anyway that, you know, there's a lot of guys that will say, oh, just

00:26:41.000 stay away from like short haired, obese, tatted up, purple haired, um, you know, unemployed 0.99

00:26:47.200 or coffee barista chicks that look like total toxic feminists. 1.00

00:26:51.380 And that's not enough anymore because feminism has, and it's toxic form that we deal with 1.00

00:26:56.520 today.

00:26:56.720 Like, you know, the, the sort of example that you talked about where you got lectured for

00:27:00.100 an hour about toxic masculinity, because you mentioned something about immigrants being 0.63

00:27:05.200 illegally placed in the country.

00:27:07.660 Um, there's a lot of very beautiful women out there that have the toxic version of feminism 1.00

00:27:14.140 infused in them.

00:27:14.980 So it's not just enough to avoid what looks obvious.

00:27:18.100 You actually have to spend time with women to see where their, um, uh, headspace is actually 1.00

00:27:24.400 in.

00:27:24.840 It's, you know, it's one of the longer things that, um, guys will need to do as they're

00:27:29.500 spinning plates and dating is, you know, okay, well, what is this chick's opinion about certain 1.00

00:27:33.860 things that toxic feminism feeds to women? 1.00

00:27:37.140 Because it's everywhere.

00:27:38.120 It's, it's unavoidable.

00:27:39.880 Right.

00:27:40.260 Yeah.

00:27:40.640 And I mean, this is a, this is a topic we could probably talk about for a bit, but I mean,

00:27:45.700 women, my age, especially, you know, people in a little bit younger are told that, you 0.71

00:27:49.920 know, they need careers.

00:27:50.880 They need to, uh, you know, forget about having kids.

00:27:53.720 So complete anti-natalist, uh, kind of attitude that absolute sexual freedom is good.

00:27:59.440 You know, whatever we can think what we think on that.

00:28:02.040 But, um, they're also told they need to, you know, live in a tiny apartment and, uh, just,

00:28:07.860 you know, spend 60, 70 hours a week working.

00:28:10.120 I mean, who tells you all those things except somebody who just wants to keep you at the

00:28:13.760 mill, like, you know, keep you working to have you live a meaningless life, focus on,

00:28:18.780 you know, sexuality and consumption as opposed to like really important, you know, personal

00:28:23.240 and spiritual growth.

00:28:24.180 And, um, you like, no, plenty of women are going through that process too. 1.00

00:28:29.300 And kind of thinking, you know what, I've been lied to, I'm going to miss out on having

00:28:32.100 kids and a family and I need to realize a way to, um, you know, have something better

00:28:36.660 than that.

00:28:37.900 Yeah.

00:28:38.280 I mean, I always talk about how guys love to complicate their lives and justify why,

00:28:41.800 but women do it just as much as guys do. 1.00

00:28:44.320 I mean, I, I'd more specifically talk to men when I'm on this channel, cause it's like 95%

00:28:48.540 views come from dudes.

00:28:50.340 But, um, yeah, like men and women do it from their own different perspectives.

00:28:53.880 It's, it's, it's just, uh, you know, it is what it is guys.

00:28:57.240 You just have to get used to it and, uh, you know, get really good at, at, at spotting potential

00:29:02.240 train wrecks and red flags.

00:29:03.400 Um, okay, so let's, uh, let's dive into more of the mushroom stuff because I'm super interested

00:29:12.420 in what's happening with fungi.

00:29:15.640 I don't know if that's the best way to just, you know, describe it's, it's, it's benefits,

00:29:20.840 but, um, I think it was chaga mushrooms, which I first got, uh, the intro on about five or

00:29:28.460 six years ago and the benefits around them because of anti-aging and reduced inflammation

00:29:32.680 and better cholesterol profiles.

00:29:34.180 But I'm listening to this book right now that I'm, that I'm going to put out as a book club

00:29:39.400 for my guys community, which is called how to change your mind, but it deals more specifically

00:29:43.860 with psychedelics.

00:29:45.480 Um, again, more specifically psilocybin and a little bit of talk in there about LSD, but

00:29:50.600 it's mostly about mushrooms.

00:29:52.180 Uh, there's a lot of discussion in the book about the therapeutic use of mushrooms, um, the

00:29:57.100 medicinal use of it, but they also talk a lot about the psychedelic use of it and how

00:30:00.500 it's very good at, you know, curing, um, like none of this stuff has psilocybin in it.

00:30:06.080 Just to be clear, the sort of stuff that Andrew puts together out there with CBD is the non-psychoactive

00:30:11.180 stuff, but I find it fascinating as an up and coming industry.

00:30:14.500 I did a broadcast a couple of weeks ago on playing to win with Ronan Levy, who's, um, one

00:30:20.240 of the co-founders of a company that does, um, uh, psychotherapy.

00:30:24.540 I'm going to butcher this, but I think it's called, uh, psychedelic assisted psychotherapy

00:30:31.040 and they've got a bunch of clinics that they've just opened up.

00:30:34.180 Now I became an investor and an early investor.

00:30:36.220 So I'm real, I'm super interested, but I want to talk to you about the stuff that's available

00:30:40.560 on the market, like over the counter.

00:30:42.120 Like you've got, um, I've got a bunch of them here on my desk.

00:30:45.300 Cause you guys sent me this a couple months ago.

00:30:47.140 So I've got lion's mane and CBD.

00:30:49.220 So talk a little bit about the different kinds of mushrooms and the benefits on this one.

00:30:53.360 And it talks about cognitive enhancement and a bunch of other things.

00:30:56.960 Let's just go through them one by one, just so people know what they are and what the

00:30:59.620 benefits are.

00:31:00.140 Cause I get a lot of guys are like, okay, so how do I level up?

00:31:02.260 How do I, you know, become more focused, more, more productive.

00:31:04.720 I got problems with sleep.

00:31:05.860 All of, all of these solve some area of that actually.

00:31:09.500 Yeah.

00:31:09.960 Lion's wave is actually our top seller right now.

00:31:12.300 So let's say a nootropic it's, um, plenty of research out there.

00:31:15.860 That's pretty easily accessible, but, um, for lion's mane specifically, it's, uh, is very

00:31:21.360 close to what the myelin sheath around your neurons uses.

00:31:24.440 So starting close to that, uh, usually, I mean, when I personally take it, like I feel

00:31:28.940 more curious, more intellectually awake, but, um, lion's mane has been shown to actually

00:31:33.940 reverse neural damage in mice as, uh, you know, one aspect of it.

00:31:38.160 But a big element of, uh, that is supplementing brain chemistry and giving your brain the

00:31:42.620 architecture that, or not the architecture of the components and needs to, uh, don't put

00:31:46.960 itself together.

00:31:47.580 So both CBD and, uh, lion's mane have been shown to stimulate neurogenesis.

00:31:52.680 So growth of new neurons.

00:31:54.340 And, uh, that's one of the primary use cases for it.

00:31:57.180 Got it.

00:31:58.460 Uh, and is there a reason why you guys infuse it with like each different mushroom blend

00:32:04.580 with CBD?

00:32:05.700 Um, so it's, uh, it's really kind of two sides of the same equation from a, um, from a supplemental

00:32:12.960 standpoint.

00:32:13.920 So CBD is a much more simple compound and, um, you know, your body's endocannabinoid

00:32:19.420 system basically runs everything.

00:32:21.460 So it runs your mood, runs your immune system, runs, you know, a lot of other aspects of your

00:32:26.580 life, your sleep cycle.

00:32:27.940 And, uh, adding the CBD to the mushroom is just basically hitting both of those sockets.

00:32:32.260 There's that.

00:32:32.880 And then there's also the polysaccharides and compounds you get from mushrooms, which are,

00:32:37.720 I mean, the molder weight of some of these compounds is about half a million.

00:32:41.960 So you're talking very, very complex, uh, chains of, um, of, uh, components that are in that.

00:32:50.780 So, um, where CBD is, you know, about the size of a caffeine molecule.

00:32:54.780 So, uh, adding those together, you're getting the calming effect of CBD as well as the, um,

00:32:59.920 supplemental, uh, mushrooms.

00:33:01.740 And there are so many compounds in each mushroom that it'd be difficult to go into the weeds on

00:33:06.040 each of those.

00:33:06.600 But, um, it's, uh, it's basically just trying to dovetail and hit both sides at once.

00:33:12.180 I noticed a lot of these seem to help with heart health and cholesterol, like the shiitake

00:33:17.000 ones, the next one that I got here.

00:33:19.100 Um, I mean, I'm almost through these bottles.

00:33:23.120 There's 60 caps in them.

00:33:24.640 So I've been using them for at least, um, month and a half, maybe even a little bit longer.

00:33:29.400 Cause sometimes I don't take them daily, but I just had my blood labs come back from my doctor

00:33:34.380 on my TRT.

00:33:35.520 And, you know, he always goes over the cholesterol, the red blood cell, the white blood cell.

00:33:39.380 And he's like, yeah, you're doing very good.

00:33:40.840 In fact, your levels got a lot better.

00:33:42.280 One of the things he said, he goes, you actually have better cholesterol and heart markers

00:33:46.160 than a lot of the athletes that I, uh, treat.

00:33:49.460 So I was kind of impressed to hear that.

00:33:51.900 Cause I don't really like, I'm not an athlete.

00:33:54.600 I mean, I take care of myself, obviously, you know, I try to eat right as much as possible.

00:33:58.140 And I almost wondered if, you know, some of this stuff was assisting with, uh, some of

00:34:02.880 the blood labs, but talk a little bit about shiitake and CBD.

00:34:06.180 It says here on the cover of this one, lowers cholesterol, heart health, supports circulation.

00:34:11.140 Yeah.

00:34:11.620 So, uh, that one specifically has a lot of antioxidants.

00:34:17.920 It's actually a culinary mushroom.

00:34:19.540 So out of, uh, you know, all five, like that one probably has the best flavor.

00:34:22.920 It's usually served with sushi and, you know, classical Asian cuisine.

00:34:26.000 But, uh, in terms of, uh, reducing cholesterol and so on, that's, uh, the particular polysaccharide

00:34:32.060 compounds in shiitake, um, have some of the strongest associations with cardiovascular health.

00:34:37.700 So each of these supplements is hitting a specific subsystem of the human body for lion's mane.

00:34:42.860 It's, you know, nootropics, it's neurons, it's your central nervous system for a shiitake.

00:34:48.100 That's, um, your circulation system.

00:34:49.960 Um, so even though they dovetail with each other, so there are a lot of common antioxidants and so on,

00:34:55.780 each of these is designed for at least one system of the human body.

00:34:59.760 And go ahead.

00:35:01.220 Is there a best time of day to take these things?

00:35:02.760 Like, is it in the morning?

00:35:03.680 Is it with like late in the afternoon?

00:35:05.720 Like when do you usually recommend people take these?

00:35:08.100 Um, there's not necessarily a time dependent one.

00:35:10.380 I usually take it before going to bed or, uh, early in the morning with the exception to reishi.

00:35:14.780 So reishi is, uh, your sleep system, uh, reishi also affects the testosterone cycle.

00:35:20.140 So, uh, there's a one Italian study that I have in mind and, uh, taking reishi and I think

00:35:25.520 cordyceps together in a cocktail, um, Italian athletes had a double boost in free testosterone.

00:35:32.120 So they literally doubled their free testosterone and increased their recovery times by a 30%.

00:35:37.120 So, uh, reishi specifically is, um, you know, very much focused on the sleep side of the equation.

00:35:42.820 I take that one in the evening.

00:35:44.780 Um, I've got this one.

00:35:47.620 That's the reishi one, by the way, which I kept separate because, because that's part 1.00

00:35:50.740 of my bedtime pill routine with magnesium, GABA, tryptophan, HTP, uh, five HTP.

00:35:57.840 Um, those are the other supplements.

00:36:00.000 Um, sleep's been good for me.

00:36:01.840 I mean, I've got an aura ring that tracks.

00:36:03.660 A lot of you guys have asked me what this ring is.

00:36:05.160 It's just a, it's just a health tracker ring, but, um, you talked about reishi.

00:36:08.980 So I'll set that aside.

00:36:09.940 By the way, guys, if you want to like grab any of these, uh, products that Andrew's talking

00:36:14.380 about, I, I put a link in the description.

00:36:17.000 I'll pin it in the top comment when I get off the broadcast, but I'll drop this in the

00:36:21.300 chat here.

00:36:22.340 Um, it's green flower mountain company.

00:36:24.480 And that link already has a 10% discount code that I've just dropped there.

00:36:29.600 Andrew gave me that this morning.

00:36:30.720 Um, so if you want to grab some of this stuff and check it out, you'll get the 10% off.

00:36:35.420 Talk about the, uh, chaga mushroom and why that's important.

00:36:38.680 So you've got chaga and CBD as well.

00:36:40.760 That's anti-aging, reduced inflammation, lower LDL cholesterol.

00:36:45.620 Yeah.

00:36:46.100 So chaga is, uh, I mean, it's one of the few mushrooms that doesn't have an Asian name.

00:36:49.900 It's actually a Russian or it's more using Russian cuisine, but it's a conch that'll grow

00:36:55.000 on a birch tree, but traditionally it's boiled down to, uh, make a tea and, uh, or, you know,

00:37:00.680 coffee drinks, that sort of thing.

00:37:01.920 But, uh, chaga itself is, uh, primarily used for the aging process.

00:37:07.360 So you're affecting like the telomeres on your health.

00:37:10.460 And, um, in terms of reducing inflammation, again, that's, you know, very similar to, uh,

00:37:15.660 CBD, but, um, chaga itself is more of a general, more than any of the others.

00:37:21.280 Chaga is a general purpose, uh, supplement.

00:37:23.420 All right.

00:37:25.040 And I got another one here with turkey tail, immune support, free radicals, antioxidants.

00:37:31.700 Yeah.

00:37:31.920 Turkey tail is probably the most, uh, tailored specific one, but a lot of research out there

00:37:36.400 on, uh, turkey tail and cancer medication.

00:37:38.920 So a lot of people when they're undergoing chemotherapy will take a turkey tail as a supplement

00:37:44.480 to that.

00:37:45.520 Um, a lot of studies, um, seem to indicate that, uh, it helps the body's immune system

00:37:50.420 recognize free radicals and recognize, you know, basically carcinogens, dying cells and

00:37:55.520 help flush that out of the system. 0.73

00:37:57.600 So, um, you know, a handful of different studies, like this, this is the medical claim by us.

00:38:02.720 It's just, you know, citing what's in, you know, current circulation and study, but a turkey

00:38:07.780 tail more than any other is an anti-cancer and pro immune system supplement.

00:38:11.780 Um, there's some other stuff on your site as well.

00:38:17.280 I mean, you gave me a, um, a stick.

00:38:20.480 It was a CBD stick, I think, but it was infused with lavender.

00:38:23.680 There's a few other ones.

00:38:25.160 Um, I don't take any products that have lavender in them cause I know that they're estrogenic

00:38:28.960 in the male body.

00:38:30.320 So I try to stay away from those cause I'm already a, a fast converter of estrogen to,

00:38:34.780 uh, or sorry, uh, testosterone estrogen with my, uh, AI system.

00:38:39.680 But, um, talk a little bit more about some of the other stuff that you guys have in what

00:38:45.120 you're working on in the future and why you're working on that.

00:38:47.280 If you, I mean, you obviously don't want to get, give away trade secrets to the farm,

00:38:51.180 but what are the next steps for you and the company?

00:38:54.280 Yeah.

00:38:54.820 Um, so, I mean, uh, you're mentioning the bomb, the bomb's one of our oldest products.

00:38:59.360 Uh, the lavender is there to get a CBD through the skin.

00:39:03.340 And so if you have a shoulder locked out or something like that, I mean, I use it for

00:39:06.740 a delayed onset muscle soreness.

00:39:08.480 Yeah.

00:39:08.840 I actually gave the stick to my dad cause he's got a bad knee.

00:39:11.080 So he puts it on his knee.

00:39:12.660 Yeah.

00:39:13.120 It's a, so for a kind of a physical pain, either a musculoskeletal or, you know, based

00:39:18.340 on an actual skin issue, that's what the bomb's for. 0.99

00:39:20.960 The bomb comes in, uh, tins, sticks.

00:39:23.600 Uh, we have three sizes of it, um, other products too.

00:39:26.900 So we just, uh, last week, and this is a little bit, um, into the weeds, but, uh, we

00:39:32.860 started, uh, getting Delta eight.

00:39:35.160 So Delta eight is a similar to TH it's very chemically similar to THC, but, uh, how it's

00:39:41.780 legally derived in the United States, you have cannabis, which is anything over 30 bits of

00:39:46.280 THC, like, uh, Delta nine THC.

00:39:48.640 And then with hemp, uh, if you take hemp, uh, transfer the, uh, THC or chemically process

00:39:56.100 the THC into CBD.

00:39:57.440 So it's all CBD.

00:39:58.720 You can change that CBD again to get Delta eight THC.

00:40:02.580 So it's legally derived THC.

00:40:04.700 And we have, uh, we're getting these on the side side as we speak, but we have both vapes

00:40:10.380 and gummies for that really it's a sleep supplement.

00:40:13.340 So I've been taking that for a couple of weeks now.

00:40:15.660 And, uh, with 30 milligrams of Delta eight, you're talking, I I've been getting 10 hours

00:40:21.120 of sleep, just knocked out and waking up in a great mood.

00:40:24.740 What, uh, Delta eight is specifically is a neuroprotective.

00:40:28.340 So you're talking about, again, affecting the nervous system and, uh, you know, deepening

00:40:32.740 the REM cycle and, uh, that sort of thing.

00:40:34.900 So that's one of our newest products, uh, and it's not really, I wouldn't characterize it

00:40:40.300 as recreational.

00:40:40.900 Like it definitely, I mean, it can taste good.

00:40:42.760 It can, you know, be fun to take in the evening, not nearly the same kind of high that a Delta 1.00

00:40:47.440 eight would give you.

00:40:48.480 You don't get paranoid.

00:40:49.280 You might get the munchies at the worst, but, um, for the actual kind of use cases for 0.95

00:40:54.360 that, that's kind of, uh, the frontier for right now, the coffee supplement water solubles

00:40:59.320 are kind of a pillar for us.

00:41:00.460 Like we're one of the very few companies that, uh, has nano emulsified CBD.

00:41:04.900 So that's, um, in terms of the output you're getting significantly better talking about going

00:41:10.180 from getting, you know, a trace amount of an oil to getting almost a hundred percent and

00:41:14.480 being able to.

00:41:14.980 So if somebody likes coffee, but they get the jitters from the coffee, you're saying this

00:41:18.960 will actually let them enjoy the coffee, but they don't get the jittery component of it

00:41:23.660 because of CBD oil.

00:41:24.580 So, uh, you're talking about, and you know, sometimes I'll combine it with a cup of coffee

00:41:29.380 and maybe a cigar or something, but the way that CBD acts, especially when it's, uh, emulsified

00:41:34.860 like that is a lot like L-theanine and, uh, in terms of regulating the jitters that you get

00:41:40.340 out of a stimulant.

00:41:41.080 So whether it's, you know, nicotine, caffeine, you know, some other stimulant, uh, what it's

00:41:46.580 going to do is, uh, give you like one cup of coffee.

00:41:49.280 I'm usually good for an hour, a cup of coffee with especially water-soluble CBD in it good

00:41:54.260 for four or five hours of just straight work and not losing my flow state.

00:41:58.160 So that's, that's one of the primary selling points of kind of that aspect.

00:42:01.940 Okay.

00:42:02.840 Um, did you want to talk a little bit about, um, and we've got another five or 10 minutes

00:42:07.240 left, you know, before we need to start to wrap up, but did you want to talk a little

00:42:10.040 bit about the, the other stuff that you're working on?

00:42:12.580 I know that you're also in real estate.

00:42:13.880 Um, again, you know, the series is really about dispensing some wisdom to guys out there

00:42:19.580 when it comes to playing the win in life, rather than playing not to lose.

00:42:23.420 Um, I mean, the sooner that you can lose, like learn that skill in life, the better off that

00:42:28.320 you're going to be a lot of, a lot of the questions that I get is, you know, how do I

00:42:32.180 make better choices in my life?

00:42:33.740 Like, how do I get a, um, like an early start?

00:42:36.540 And it's like the sooner that you guys can learn the lessons that a lot of these guys that

00:42:41.620 I've put in the plane, the wind series have made in their lives, like these stories that

00:42:45.200 they're telling, I guess, I guess what I'm driving at here, Andrew is what advice would

00:42:49.560 you give yourself?

00:42:50.240 If you could go back into a time machine when you were leaving school in Idaho and you're

00:42:55.940 like, okay, I've got military or I can go and work at the Walmart sort of thing.

00:43:00.080 Like what sort of lecture would you give yourself aside from the fact that there is no such

00:43:04.800 thing as toxic masculinity, there's just conventional masculinity. 1.00

00:43:08.820 Uh, yeah, that would be a long, long lecture.

00:43:11.360 I'm not sure I can afford a time machine to go back that far.

00:43:13.600 But, um, in, in terms of advice, my younger self, I mean, debt sucks.

00:43:18.260 Like there's no, no two bones about it.

00:43:20.860 I, um, for me, it was like, you know, I got to use leverage to get out of this situation.

00:43:25.340 Like, um, and I don't regret it.

00:43:27.460 Like it's a, it's kind of the cost of doing business at the same time.

00:43:31.380 I think, um, the most important thing, at least in my life.

00:43:35.640 And I think a lot of lives of the people I know is sad.

00:43:38.940 The one thing, like, uh, you know, you might accomplish your goals and then be disappointed.

00:43:42.660 Like, Hey, I landed in the FBI, you know, I'm doing exactly what I want to do, but it's,

00:43:47.020 I'm unfulfilled.

00:43:47.660 Like it's not satisfying spiritually right now.

00:43:50.580 Definitely not financially satisfying for me.

00:43:54.120 I would, um, was there, was there a period of your life where you found the frustration

00:44:01.000 and the lack of satisfaction in the job that you were doing with the FBI where it's like

00:44:05.180 your soul was dying every day doing it?

00:44:08.440 Yeah, definitely.

00:44:09.340 Uh, definitely.

00:44:10.200 How long, how long did you do it after the point that you recognize that your soul was

00:44:14.520 dying every day?

00:44:15.300 I think, um, so I was in for almost exactly four years.

00:44:19.620 So I, and before that, I was a contractor for the year for a year, but the last two years

00:44:24.960 was really, really grating.

00:44:26.380 So I, you know, I have a long story.

00:44:28.440 Uh, we could get into a bit of it, uh, back in the Trump transition, Trump's team asked

00:44:33.000 me to join the national security council, um, went through that process, the FBI and the

00:44:37.720 white house were fighting.

00:44:38.620 Uh, my career got stomped on, you know, basically I was stuck between the white house and the FBI

00:44:43.600 for about three months.

00:44:45.340 And, uh, that's, that's a super long story, but especially after that, like, I mean, I,

00:44:50.640 I felt like I was sort of playing to win.

00:44:52.320 Like, I mean, imagine being 29 years old and being in the white house and like dictating,

00:44:56.280 not dictating, but assisting in terrorism policy and being like the number three guy for that.

00:45:00.700 Like that's, uh, that's exciting to be in.

00:45:03.400 Like I already, you know, picked out, um, what I was going to get myself and that sort of

00:45:07.780 thing.

00:45:07.980 And I took the piss test, all the rest of it.

00:45:10.340 Um, but, um, after that, like, basically after I was stuck in limbo for, you know,

00:45:16.320 several weeks, I, um, kind of realized, Hey, this, this is not going to happen.

00:45:20.880 Like, I'm going to go back.

00:45:21.920 I'm going to be stuck in that job.

00:45:22.900 I went through the agent process, uh, year after that, you know, had Sterling test results,

00:45:27.220 all the rest of it got to the very end.

00:45:28.920 And then they told me now.

00:45:30.540 And, um, you know, the FBI itself was, was, and is a fairly like insular kind of political

00:45:36.400 environment and I don't harbor any malice towards anybody, but, um, after going through

00:45:40.580 that, I'm like, why, why would I stick around and reapply?

00:45:43.880 And why would I continue to take like a salary that I can't afford, you know, a lot of the

00:45:48.040 basics, like I can get by with housemates, but that's not, that's not life.

00:45:52.240 Um, why, why would I do that as opposed to leave and like trust myself and take some risks

00:45:58.080 and go do it?

00:45:59.340 And I mean, the fact of the matter is most people who, um, live life have a lot of risk

00:46:04.400 on the table that they absolutely could take.

00:46:06.880 They're not taking.

00:46:08.040 And, um, that's, that's the asymmetric part of it.

00:46:12.020 Yeah.

00:46:12.100 This is, this is a very distinct story of playing not to lose working for the government versus,

00:46:18.180 okay, I'm done with this.

00:46:19.360 I'm going to go and do my own thing and get into real estate, get into nutraceuticals and,

00:46:24.660 you know, at least, at least hop in the driver's seat.

00:46:27.160 Cause I think whenever you do what you were doing during that four year span, you're basically

00:46:32.900 a passenger on the bus.

00:46:34.100 It's cross the T's, dot the I's, color within the lines.

00:46:37.480 Don't think outside of the box too much, you know, give us some ideas, but we've always

00:46:41.300 kind of done it this way.

00:46:42.120 So don't go too far out of that, you know, system.

00:46:44.780 So, yeah, I mean, if you want that sort of flexibility guys, I mean, um, it's good to

00:46:49.980 get it out of the way early on and see how, you know, the establishment does things and

00:46:55.640 always has done things, but don't get too caught up into it where you find yourself

00:47:00.560 like your soul's dying every day for many, many years after that.

00:47:03.860 You only did it for two more years, but it was enough for you to say, okay, this is, you

00:47:07.320 know, this is enough.

00:47:07.880 It's time for me to go try.

00:47:08.760 Well, like just on a final question, was the relocation from the DC area to Austin, uh,

00:47:16.500 pivotal in the shift from, um, you know, playing not to lose to playing to win.

00:47:21.740 And like, was the environment, a big part of that too?

00:47:24.680 Environment is a huge part.

00:47:25.880 I mean, if you're in a town that's, uh, I mean, DC is a government town.

00:47:30.220 If you're in a place that there's a particular industry that's dominant and you can't just

00:47:34.600 crack it in that industry, like move, like there's a, the situation matters a lot.

00:47:39.900 Austin's a great town, but I would say in terms of like genuinely playing to win, uh, that's

00:47:45.260 always been a transition.

00:47:46.920 Like it's, uh, it's more of a sliding scale than it is like an on off switch, at least

00:47:51.760 for me personally, but in terms of having the freedom to actually do that, I mean, in

00:47:56.180 terms of like the stress level of working in government versus the stress level of having

00:47:59.540 no income, being broke and trying to make something, uh, give me the second one every

00:48:03.660 single time, like a complete paradigm shift in terms of like getting free of the one system

00:48:08.700 and moving into, uh, you know, being responsible.

00:48:11.400 Yeah.

00:48:11.940 Love it.

00:48:12.680 Love it.

00:48:13.380 All right.

00:48:13.600 I'm going to drop the link again here in the chat.

00:48:15.620 If you guys want to grab, uh, some of the mushroom CBD supplements and the other stuff

00:48:20.200 that's online, you click that link, everything's 10% off with that, uh, code.

00:48:24.380 I've also pinned it in the top comment.

00:48:26.080 If you're watching the replay and you can't see the live chat, so you can just go there

00:48:29.920 and grab it.

00:48:30.520 Um, Andrew, appreciate you hopping on and, you know, sharing some stories, uh, check out

00:48:35.380 all the products that, you know, he's mentioned here with all this stuff with mushroom and

00:48:38.900 CBD.

00:48:39.260 It's, it's, it's high quality stuff.

00:48:41.440 I mean, um, I've certainly slept better with the reishi supplement and I do take the other

00:48:46.640 daytime stuff that you kind of walk through with the other mushroom stuff.

00:48:49.180 I'm really excited to see what happens with, uh, the fungi industry.

00:48:53.820 I'm going to call it the fungi industry, but, um, you know, super stoked with it.

00:48:57.620 So yeah, thanks for hopping on and sharing that one, Andrew.

00:49:00.480 Hey, thanks again.

00:49:01.820 Where can people find you if they want to follow up or see what else you're up to?

00:49:05.960 Are you on social media or?

00:49:07.800 Yeah.

00:49:08.020 If you want to hit me by email for wholesale, anything like that, it's just Andrew at green

00:49:11.940 mountain flower.com.

00:49:13.380 Um, uh, a David Knapp on Twitter, if you want to connect there and, um, yeah, those are both

00:49:18.400 good spots.

00:49:19.540 Cool.

00:49:19.820 All right.

00:49:20.060 Thanks brother.

00:49:20.520 Appreciate it.

00:49:21.320 All right.

00:49:21.720 Thanks again.

00:49:22.060 Thanks again.

Playing to Win - March 02, 2022

029 - From FBI To Entrepreneurship

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