![]() ![]() Howard’s great-grandfather was a sharecropper in Mississippi, whose ancestors were slaves. Based in Martin, Tennessee, Gold Standard was founded in 1941 when current CEO Jarrel Howard’s great-grandfather bought 40 acres of land after saving up $3,000 over 10 years. The most successful story to emerge from his incubator is the hemp company Gold Standard Farms, which minted one of Harrington’s first cannabis millionaires. Hemp Empire: Among the first entrepreneurs Harrington worked with was Gold Standard farm in Tennessee-but not until he "put his hands in the soil." Courtesy of Al Harrington He doesn’t invest in ideas, rather he buys into companies that are already up and running. Harrington takes between a 10% to 25% stake in exchange for help with marketing and fundraising. The company has since invested around $700,000 into four companies, including Mezz, a vape and pre-roll company in Colorado and Los Angeles-based Butter Baby, which makes THC-infused butter to use in baking things like brownies. Viola launched its incubator program two years ago. Harrington has already helped mint a handful. A million dollars might sound like small potatoes, but in the context of this industry, particularly for small business owners, it’s a lot of money. Like a one-man Y Combinator for cannabis, he is pursuing a plan to create 100 Black cannabis millionaires. Through Viola, Harrington is trying to right some of the wrongs caused by America’s drug war, one entrepreneur at a time. “The opportunities in our communities need to be owned by us-period,” Harrington says. By 2030 the industry is expected to generate $65 billion in annual sales, up 160% in a little less than a decade. Today, cannabis is legal in some form in 37 states. Harrington’s main goal is to help Black and Brown entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry build equity in one of America’s fastest-growing economies. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Josh Childress, and DeMarcus Cousins.īut selling weed is only part of Viola’s mission. Other investors include some of “his guys” from the NBA, including Ben Gordon, J.R. Harrington invested $6 million himself and owns about 40% of the company. In total, Viola has raised $34 million and is valued over $100 million. He already inked a licensing deal to bring the brand to Canada last year. The company also plans to open two dispensaries and a cultivation site in St. In January, Viola raised $13 million from investors to expand to Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We also thoughtfully repurpose old properties to turn into long term rentals which is no easy feat.Viola Teammates: Harrington partnered with NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson to create the Iverson 01 cannabis strain, which was released in March. In a fast moving world and even faster on social media, you can find the unhurried renovation of our 1927 Tudor home along with our joyfully slow paced life. We currently reside in Minnesota with our three sweet children. My passion for homes and classic interiors led me to launch this blog to document my design and renovation process with my husband, Brian. Designer, until I pivoted to my ‘work at home’ mom role. I was in product design and development for 13 years at Target HQ as a Sr. I have a BFA degree in Interior Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and worked in both residential and commercial design before transitioning to product design. That dream manifested into reality and is a big part of my story. Growing up in low-incoming housing, I would daydream of living in a nice home one day which sparked my interest in design. We sought for safety in three refugee camps before being sponsored to live in the US. My family fled our war-torn country in Laos when I was a child. Before I was immersed in this creative world, my story is that of a very humble beginning. ![]()
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