This month, we reached out to Sirita Wright, a co-founder of the multimedia company EstroHaze. Sirita, along with her co-founders Kali Wilder, and Safon Floyd, focus their company’s mission on highlighting the businesses and lifestyles of multicultural women in the cannabis industry.

Cannabis Industry Sector:
Media/Entertainment

NCIA Member Since:
January 2018

Tell us about your background and why you launched your company?

Storytelling is the heart of what we do. We found a void in mainstream media’s coverage of minorities building brands within the industry and we decided to start EstroHaze for the purposes of uplifiting those voices. Having worked together for years at another media company, we saw a great opportunity to build a bridge for others looking for opportunities in the cannabis industry.

What unique value does your company offer to the cannabis industry?

Our value lies in our ability to represent and truly connect with our community via ‘edutainment’. From our original video series EstroHaze Escapades, where we explore the inner workings of the legal cannabis industry in states like Colorado and take in cannabis experiences like ganja yoga; to our podcast where we talk startup life and brand-building, as well as interviews with cannabis thoughtleaders and influencers. If that isn’t enough, head to our website where we feature dynamic profiles, blueprints for building your own cannabusiness, cannabis recipes, information on lobbying and more! Bottom line, EstroHaze provides a connection to cannabis and culture that resonates with the people.

Cannabis companies have a unique responsibility to shape this growing industry to be socially responsible and advocate for it to be treated fairly. How does your company help work toward that goal for the greater good of the cannabis industry?

This is the reason why we started EstroHaze – to be a space that amplifies voices that are shaping this industry, voices that, far too often, have been ignored. With ever-expanding cultural influence and increasing buying power it’s reckless to ignore one of the fastest-growing, most educated, and entrepreneurial demographics in the world. In telling stories – the good, bad and ugly of the cannabis industry – we ensure that people are aware of bias and held accountable. The cannabis industry is bigger than any of us and has the power to save lives and improve well-being. Recognizing this, EstroHaze serves a higher purpose and we create content and partner with brands that are intentional about that higher purpose.

What kind of challenges do you face in the industry and what solutions would you like to see?

The challenges we face are typical of any startup, to be honest. Add being women and a woman of color led brand and those issues just compound! Access to capital, government support as a small business, social stigma towards the use of cannabis, etc. We are a startup like any other with opportunity to grow to unlimited heights and that takes capital. The solution is simple–-show us the money and access to opportunities to produce content on a larger scale. For instance, Netflix, VICE, and HBO are just a few networks that have cannabis themed content that is not led or hosted by women of color, specifically black women. Enough already! EstroHaze as content creators can help with that.

Why did you join NCIA? What’s the best part about being a member?

Our NCIA membership was actually gifted to us by a member who was impressed with us and our Demo Day pitch at Canopy Boulder. This membership has given us an opportunity to build more bridges with other like-minded brands, get industry data that is not available to the public, which is priceless, and access to informative conferences and trade-shows.

Learn more about EstroHaze