Femme Studios Francesca Morfini

I sit down with two women behind Truss, a cannabis beverages company. Meet Mel Smith, who leads innovation, and Lori Hatcher-Hillier, who leads marketing. Truss is one of the few companies that focuses only on beverages, and parents 5 different brands that are catered for very different customers and moments. In this episode, we talk about gender diversity within cannabis, commitment to product over profit, and what advice they wish they could have given their younger selves at the start of their career.

Irie Selkirk is a pioneer in the psychedelic and cannabis industries, focused on educating companies, individuals and doctors alike. Most recently, Irie co-founded Rise Wellness, the world’s first low-dose psilocybin retreat and Sansero Life Sciences, company focused on cultivation, research and potential applications for psilocybin and other compounds. I met Irie through MAPS Canada, the Multi Disciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, where she founded the Toronto chapter. In this episode, we discuss growing up in Jamaica and the impact that had on her perspective of plant medicine, her experience in the cannabis industry at companies like Tokyo Smoke, her move towards psychedelics. We also get into the foundational issues of legalization as she focuses on making the benefits of these natural medicines more readily available.

Elaisha Jade is a Meditation Instructor and Founder of Your Mindful. I met her a few years ago at a gathering to Soho House members and remember being captivated by her positive energy – she was a ray of sunshine, which you’ll hear through her voice. I followed her journey through social after our first meeting as she accredited herself as a meditation instructor, finding her sessions to be soothing, grounding and frankly just so fucking necessary during the wake of COVID. We sat down to chat about how she’s navigated learnings in mental health through meditation, the racialized nature of accessing mental health care, and understanding your “why?”.

Aila Morin, MERIT. A minimalist beauty brand that launched about a year ago and has grown to be one of the most coveted brands in the space. In fact, they just closed a $20M series A raise. And the growth is nothing new to Aila, who was one of the first hires at Mejuri, a Toronto based jewelry brand that has seen insane growth in the past few years. We sat down to talk about what it’s like to advance so quickly in your career and the power of self-teaching, along with how she’s learned that life is about more than just work, and in setting more boundaries, she’s been able to show up more at work.

If you’ve just finished listening to part 1, welcome! Skip over this intro.

Stacie Brockman is the founder of PLZ&THX, a brand incubator and venture capital fund. She previously co-founded METIER Creative, an advertising and creative agency, and before that was an early member of The Coveteur, a media company that looks into the closets and routines of today’s culturally relevant movers and shakers. Stacie and I chatted for hours and I distilled our conversation into two episodes. In part 1, Stacie talks about experiencing burnout and the pressures of being a leader. In part 2, Stacie shares her experience with KAP, short for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. It’s a therapy that uses psychedelics to tap into past traumas and support the process of healing. If you know me, you’ll hear me preach the power of psychedelic therapy – when done in an adequate, controlled environment of course. Set and setting are absolutely key, which is something we get into. I’ll leave it there and let Stacie tell you the rest.

Stacie Brockman is the founder of PLZ&THX, a brand incubator and venture capital fund. She previously co-founded METIER Creative, an advertising and creative agency, and before that was an early member of The Coveteur, a media company that looks into the closets and routines of today’s culturally relevant movers and shakers. We chat about the reality behind the toxic face of Girlboss, what it means to be a leader, burnout, prioritizing self-care and MSN messenger nostalgia. Stacie and I talked for hours and I distilled our conversation in two episodes – this was one of the most eye-opening episodes I’ve recorded to-date. Check out part 2 to hear us discuss her experience with KAP, Ketamine Assisted Therapy and the power of psychedelics.