In the black community, aunties are valuable and respected figures of our neighborhoods and families. Ranging from the ‘strict aunty’ that makes sure you’re always doing the right thing, to the ‘cool aunty’ that takes you to the poppin’ clubs and events with her. Shellise Rogers, MBA, and TiYanna Long, MPA the creators of Synergy Sesh™, are a more non-traditional type of aunty but equally valuable, known in the cannabis industry as “The Business Aunties™”; they are definitely the aunties that will get you lifted and also point you in the right direction on how to get your foot in the door in the legal cannabis industry.
TiYanna hailing from the west coast and Shellise from the east side, these two met at a CannaCultural event in New Jersey that sparked a friendship and soon-to-follow business partnership between two highly educated and entrepreneurial black women. They decided to create their own platform for POC in the industry. Synergy Sesh is an educational and development company that fosters upward mobility for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the formerly incarcerated.
“Our mission is to build a pipeline for entrepreneurship, networking and economic development that will serve as a single source to support the growth of ancillary and plant-touching business for people of color in the emerging cannabis industry. Our intention is to create wealth in (urban) communities through scalable solutions leaving a positive, lasting impact on our clients and communities,” according to their official media release.
Through Synergy Sesh they host workshops and networking events, as well as help their members and clients secure opportunities in the industry. I had the opportunity to talk to Shellise and TiYanna about their love for the plant and how they plan on diversifying the industry;
Iyana: Both of you didn’t start your professional careers in the cannabis industry. What made you want to pivot your focus and use your skillset and knowledge to create Synergy Sesh?
TiYanna: I was a banker before anything, my undergrad was in finance. I started to get really involved in our corporate philanthropy team. There I realized there wasn’t a streamlined way of government funds going into community projects and that was such a big deal to me. I developed Medisi Ventures in grad school to confront socio-economic issues utilizing cannabis as the catalyst. When I met Shellise we were both in the east coast cannabis space for a while, and when she and I were working together we really started to brainstorm what this space needed. Of course we were consuming while we were working together and that’s how Synergy Sesh was created.
Shellise: Yes that’s the story, we were literally having a sesh, we had a white board and created a whole 6-month plan on that board. We knew we wanted to launch during Essence Fest in July of that year. We had a clear road map of what we wanted to do.
TiYanna: We wanted to create a space for entrepreneurs of color with offerings that they can really utilize. Shellise and I have very different experiences, and being able to put them together to create this is powerful. We’re your business aunties, we won’t smother you but our main goal is like your aunt–to give you great advice and let you go, but you can always come back to us when you need us.
Iyana: Growing up did one or both of you have any interest or experience with cannabis and was it positive or negative?
Shellise: My parents are from the Caribbean so the cannabis plant was something very normal to me. I didn’t have my first contact with cannabis until I was in undergrad, at that point, it was a suggestion from a friend for my own mental health. My first experience with cannabis shaped the way I use and view cannabis now. It’s all medical to me. I started to wonder how we can be mindful of our usage of cannabis. Many consume the plant yet don’t understand how the plant itself works and the levels of how it affects us physically, emotionally, spiritually, personally and politically. There was no way I could sit it out and not say anything about it so I got into the industry.
TiYanna: I grew up with a parent that was a patient so I’ve been around cannabis my whole life. Also, growing up in Oakland, cannabis was always around but it wasn’t something I really had an interest in until I was older When I finished undergrad I became a user and it was a communal thing for me and my friends and family. It’s become a holistic experience for me. I really feel like it’s in my blood that I was supposed to be in this space. Then when conversations started about Colorado legalizing, I knew things were about to shake up our ecosystems. I took classes at Oaksterdam in 2012, and in search of more information and connection, I took it upon myself to go learn more about our political structure via graduate school. That brought me to New York and I dove into what the industry was like in the East Coast (around 2016).
Iyana: For many POC they have a hands-on experience and history with cannabis that hasn’t been as positive and profitable as the current industry, from that viewpoint it can seem like the industry is not being fair towards us. How do you think the cannabis industry can be more inclusive and make POC feel welcome?
TiYanna: There are always ways to be more inclusive, it’s just figuring out what that looks like and actually doing what is necessary to get there. “The Industry” is what we make it. People need an opportunity to work in the legal industry space. Simultaneously there’s never been a better time to create our own opportunities.. At different levels, we also need to think about more wrap-around services. You can give a job to someone after they come out of jail, but if they still don’t know how to manage their own finances or are unable to secure stable housing, what other services can the cannabis industry provide in collaboration with local and state agencies that can help produce more sustainable results. There are just so many more options to help people, especially those that have been wrongfully convicted, that need to be explored and implemented.
Shellise: I agree. I’m on the east coast and there are a lot of people discouraged or unwilling to encounter the bureaucracy of it all operating underground.The underground cannabis industry in New York is so robust that people don’t see a need for a legal industry. On one end it’s detrimental, because people should have access to lab tested cannabis products. On the other, many underground companies have built their brand loyalty. Not having to wait for a license or the legal market. We help these entrepreneurs legitimize their business through empowering them with knowledge and practical steps towards sustainability. I hope and feel that more people will want to be a lot more politically involved and embrace their civic rights because it affects everything from their businesses operations to the community they live and pay taxes in.
TiYanna: Many of the people that went to jail for cannabis didn’t want to sell cannabis in the first place. It was necessary to help support their family, so being in the cannabis industry after release could be a negative trigger. We need to ask how are we as an industry helping facilitate discovery of their passions and interest post-incarceration, and the development of necessary skill sets for success.
Iyana: What advice do you have for a young POC that is interested in getting into the legal cannabis industry but because of their income or community they just don’t know where to start or think they don’t have their experience or resources?
Shellise: Follow @SynergySesh and when you tap the link in our bio, you can sign up for our newsletter and keep ‘ya network poppin’. Look for other cannabis communities or people that are like-minded in your area, how can you work together, do you have common interests? Can they connect you to other people that you can develop or execute projects with? Networking and cannabis events are the only reason I met TiYanna. Networking is so important because it helps you understand more of what you want to do, and how you can make an impact in only the way YOU can. It’s also important to be confident in yourself and your decisions. Not letting the circumstances you’re in or what the people close to you think (about your involvement in the industry) stop you. Have resilience, be courageous, have patience, and build that community. Those are the first steps one can take to get involved,figure out what they want to do and build community, businesses and impact in a meaningful way.
TiYanna: I encourage people to analyze their skills. Think about what you are currently doing and just apply it to the cannabis industry. I also suggest that if there are not any cannabis communities in your neighborhood then to start one. Once you start, and continue,to educate yourself you become an expert to those around you, especially in this space and at this time. There are so many other industries that shy away from the topic of cannabis but it’s going to eventually affect their daily life as well. It’s going to be federally legal one of these days, so get as much knowledge and information and start conversations. Especially in states that are still moving towards full adult-use, being the person to start puts you in the mix of things and when legislators start to have those convos you can become the person that people come to. We need as many knowledgeable people as we can to get in this space ‘cause ignorance is not going to help on any level.
Although Synergy Sesh won’t be hosting anymore events the rest of this year they will be offering consultations to connect with more individuals interested in joining their community. Also expect some virtual education opportunities and more great projects from Synergy Sesh in 2020 and beyond. Stay updated on the amazing work Shellise and TiYanna are doing through their Instagram page or subscribing to the official Synergy Sesh newsletter.
Photography Credit: Corey Daniels (@shotbyarkitect)
