Banking and Compliance
The backbone of navigating successful operations are driven business is adherence to compliance, inventory controls, and a reliable banking solution. The single biggest pain point in the industry is removing cash. We help solve the problem of banking by connecting financial institutions and guiding adherence to compliance with smart software solutions, customized standard operating procedures, smart inventory controls and experienced oversight that enables banking in this otherwise restricted industry.
Expertise: With experience building RegTech software tied to a FinTech ecosystem instrumental in banking underbanked individuals and industries our knowledge of managing onboarding, monitoring, and validation for cannabis-friendly financial institutions helps to solve the single biggest pain point in the cannabis industry… removing cash as point-of-sale. Our expertise extends to Enterprise Resource Planning (E.R.P.) and software-driven inventory controls (P.O.S) as well as customized SOP’s designed to mitigate compliance risk and employee and patron theft.
Product Developement
Product development, sales, and distribution extend to plant-based products, medical devices, apparel and products. Additional expertise comes from building proprietary Point-of-Sale and inventory control solutions designed to mitigate theft and support seamless online sales. Although there is much to be learned and a model to be followed from product development, sales and distribution in traditional industries.
Launching products in legal States requires adapting to individual State regulations, carefully crafted strategic partnership agreements and vendors. Similarly, companies looking to launch products will now compete with traditional industries and large brands who continue to normalize plant-based alternative to otherwise toxic pharmaceutical options.
Expertise: Our team has experience formulating and developing products for top-selling vertically integrated companies with product formulation and development, sales and distribution extending to infused products, medical devices, children’s products, and apparel.
Growth Management
We partner with start-ups looking to advance their company through strategic planning, regulatory compliance, proven process and procedures, inventory controls, smart technologies and connection to trusted vendors, licensed brands, investors and strategic partners in retail, healthcare, FINtech and REGtech industries.
Expertise: Our team’s growth management experience spans two continents and industries including manufacturing, product development, financial services (RegTech + FinTech), software development, restaurants, retail stores, product development, branding, manufacturing and distribution.
We couple exceptional retail, sales, marketing and business development experience with a smart, positive perspective uniquely positioned to bring balance, integrity and common sense back to business.
Retail and Sales
The key to successful retail operations combines customized processes and procedures guided by strict regulatory compliance, smart software solutions and incentivized employee management programs designed to reduce theft and increase profits. Guided efficiencies in purchasing, inventory controls and product selection in vertically integrated cannabis operations provide an advantage in long term success. Integral to prosperous retail operations we help guide product development, merchandise selection, and sales.
Expertise: Our team specializes in creating, building and operating retail stores with up to 25 years of continuous operations selling products ranging from vinyl, music, and media, children’s and maternity support products, vintage resale, specialty grocers and restaurants.
Marketing and Branding
Instrumental to the successful product launches, brands, chains and box stores requires the know-how and marketing strategy of traditional product launches coupled with the ability to navigate an industry fraught with hurdles and pitfalls that will take traditional product distribution by surprise. Adapting the lessons learned from traditional product development and launch, we focus on building brands that appeal to women.
Expertise: Our team brings years of marketing and media experience in some of the most competitive industries in the world including wireless, music, and retail. With a focus on developing and launching products focused on women we couple marketing and product development with strategic planning and team building.
Our Story
At Water+Trees, we have walked this road before. We understand the benefit of building trust and bring the experience required to help grow your business.
We bring years of experience derived from building companies ranging from healthcare to retail stores, restaurants, product development, manufacturing and distribution, franchising, film, marketing and media including wireless and music. We have walked the road before you and will help guide, problem solve, pivot quickly and add value where you least expect it. We understand the value of building trust and bring balance, expertise and common sense to business
We partner with like-minded companies looking to learn from our mistakes and successes.
Our Team
Tanya Griffin, CEO
A serial entrepreneur, Tanya brings over three decades of growth management experience helping start-up companies scale to meet growing demand amidst a strict regulatory environment. In 2011, she focused her attention from retail, restaurants and healthcare to the MJ industry where she helped win and operate dispensary, manufacturing and cultivation licenses in multiple states before building the first U.S. registered vertically integrated national franchise.
Understanding the challenges of cannabis-friendly banking and payment processing she then focused on building on FINTech and RegTech solutions designed to solve the biggest pain point in the cannabis industry, i.e., removing cash from point of sale.
Tanya couples exceptional business development experience with a smart, positive perspective uniquely positioned to bring balance, integrity and common sense back to business.
Joseph Ring, COO
Joseph brings strong management, strategic, organizational direction, fiscal responsibility, and regulatory compliance to the companies we own, operate and serve. A retail business owner going on 25 years, his direct, common sense approach to scaling small businesses has led to success across retail, manufacturing, brand development and product manufacturing.
Since joining Water + Trees in 2014, Joe gained invaluable knowledge navigating cannabis operations by driving smart systems and technology solutions to optimize farming and cultivation, extraction and manufacturing, and retail and distribution all navigated around transparent and stable banking and electronic payments solutions.
Approaching every business as if his own, Joe provides measured, sound advice rooted in years of experience managing people, balancing budgets and growing a business built on returning customers.
Andrew Cordes, Director of Operations
An experienced retail, dispensary and restaurant operator, Andrew comes with extensive experience operating MSO dispensaries as well as traditional mom and pop operations. His management skills coupled with his strict adherence to regulatory guidelines allows him to clean up fledgling operations and fix theft, leakage and cost overruns including revising S.O.P.'s to stabilize management and encourage employees to exceed expectations.
Getting into the cannabis industry when few states were legal, Andrew has been able to take part in this quickly evolving industry. He brings knowledge on how to start dispensaries from scratch, including writing applications, processes and procedures. His experience extends to adapting large scale operations from medical to adult use.
Andrew adds to the already established team of problem solvers at Water + Trees to bring rock solid advice on current or future vertical cannabis operations.
Lucas Nelson, VP of Compliance
Lucas, brings deeply rooted influence and connections that extend from transparent banking and electronic processing to regulatory compliance and MJ licensing and operations. His experience extends from operating and successfully scaling start-up including hemp-derived and cannabis products to running online MJ education platforms to writing and securing multi-state, vertical cannabis licenses. Always with an eye for compliance and maintaining strict adherence to State and Federal mandates, Luc brings a conservative approach to managing regulatory oversight.
Luc’s rare talent for guiding companies through strategic planning and operations is a tribute to his ability to pivot quickly and solve problems using viable solutions tested in the cannabis industry.
A weathered soldier in the MJ industry since 2009, Luc stands by his word and will consistently under-promise and over-deliver.
Lauren Schmidt, Director of Bussiness Devolpment
Lauren brings a wide range of experience and value to the Water + Trees team including B2B sales, operations, marketing and event planning on top of years as an Executive Administrative Assistant. Her diverse skill set and knowledge is pulled from industries such as Aerospace, Communications, Energy, and now Cannabis.
Coming from the fast paced start-up world she works hands-on in nearly every department. Her grounded and organized nature focuses the team and creates order out of chaos. From sourcing materials to handling sales accounts, Lauren is an integral asset to the Water + Trees team.
Deborah Jourdan, Strategic Advisor
Deborah is an accomplished Global Marketing Executive with 20-years of performance-driven marketing leadership. Deborah brings her years of marketing, management, business and financial acumen to Water + Trees as a strategic advisor on new product launches.
She is an entrepreneurial, creative force that leads through vision, drive, and big picture thinking. Her expertise encompasses marketing, messaging, brand identity, digital marketing, marketing channels, demand generation end-to-end strategy, packaging, planning, and customer experience. She brings with her strong relationships throughout the marketing and global business community that were built through fostering strong, highly collaborative relationships with all members, levels, partners, and clients.