Business View Magazine | June 2022

35 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 W hen you want to satisfy your thirst and your cannabis appetite too, Cannalean is the name to remember. A totally unique, minority-owned Nevada start-up, Cannalean creates specialized THC and CBD infused beverages for the growing cannabis drink market. All Cannalean’s award-winning syrup products are sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, organic and incredibly tasty! Business View spoke with Cannalean CEO & Founder Chris Johnson and Chief Operations Officer Kenny Cottrell about their entrepreneurial spirit and how this innovative company is about to make its mark on the cannabis beverage scene. Check out the scientist and the business guru, as they tell it like it is… BVM: What inspired you to start the Cannalean biz? Johnson: “I’m the creator of the product. I have a background in organic chemistry – a degree from Cal State Fullerton and then I took an internship at a pharmaceutical company where one of the first things they taught me was how to make herbal-based cough syrups. I used that knowledge to see if I could do it with cannabis, which I did in 2013. A year later, I launched the product. At the time, it was the only cannabis- infused syrup on the market. So I had to bring the product to Nevada, just because the licensing was easier out here when I launched in 2019. Currently, we’re in 30 dispensaries out of the 80 that are here. And we do online sales.” Cottrell: “I was a fan of Cannalean before I met Chris. The first time I tried it was after getting a wisdom tooth removed and I needed something strong for the pain. My background is completely different from Chris. I went to Morehouse College and currently getting my Master’s in Urban Leadership/ Public Policy at UNLV. I have a background in real estate development, mobile app development, and finance. I met Chris at a Chamber of Cannabis event in 2021. We became friends instantly because we were one of the few African American males that attended the Chamber of Cannabis meetings. He explained how he was an organic chemist and all the various cannabis products that he created. He told me about his problems with website development, accounting, and operations. I told Cannalean