Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 3, 2023 Derrick Gibbs Jr. is co-founder of Budr Cannabis, a new company hoping to open five adult-use marijuana dispensaries in the state. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Changing Gears Home healthcare entrepreneur Gibbs sets ambitious sights on cannabis industry By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com M ore than 15 years after starting a home health- care business fresh out of college, Change Inc. President Derrick Gibbs Jr. is shifting his sights to a new industry — cannabis. Partnering with an industry veteran, a team of social equity entrepreneurs and a Chicago-based multistate cannabis business oper- ator, Gibbs said he hopes to open five recreational marijuana dispen- saries in the state in the next few years. His first in West Hartford — to be called Budr Cannabis — is expected to debut this summer and will be among the first social equity busi- nesses to open since Connecticut's recreational market debuted Jan. 10. The process hasn't been without hurdles, though. Residents are appealing Gibbs' approved dispen- sary in the town of Westbrook, and Budr has already had to shift plans for a location in downtown Hartford as some municipalities push back against recreational marijuana businesses. Regardless, Gibbs said he's moving forward with a sharper focus on his cannabis company. In March, he stepped down as CEO of Change Inc. and handed over the company's top job to Marcus Steinle, formerly chief operating officer. Gibbs said he'll remain president of Change Inc. "My goal is to kind of step back a little bit and let the company run and kind of shift my focus on cannabis," Gibbs said. "I'm going to spend most of my time (as president of Change Inc.) on acquisitions and business development." Safer path Gibbs' footprints track across the state. He's a Hartford native who grew up in East Hartford before attending college at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic. He founded Change Inc. in Middle- town in 2009 as a 21-year-old recent college graduate. The company has grown to more than 300 employees, including through several acquisitions in recent years, said Gibbs, now 36 and living in Stamford. Like advancements he witnessed in the home healthcare industry more than a decade ago, Gibbs said he wants to be at the forefront of the adult-use cannabis industry. "It isn't a new product, it's a product that's been around for a long time, but it's now becoming legal," Gibbs said. "When I first started my home healthcare company 15-16 years ago — I don't want to say it was unheard of — but it was a new thing to not put individuals in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and instead keep them in their own home." Budr Cannabis received approvals from West Hartford in late 2022 to open its first dispensary at 1037 Boulevard. The company is leasing space and will use up to 4,000 square feet for the dispensary. Budr Cannabis recently hired Berlin- based Fortunato Construction Group to build out the location. Gibbs said in mid-March that he expects to receive building permits to begin construction "any day now." Gibbs, admittedly, hasn't always been a cannabis fan. He was actually against the state's legalization efforts before learning more about the plant's medicinal uses and relative safety compared to other drugs with addictive properties. "When I go to the zoning meetings, and I hear what people are saying, I'm like, 'yeah, it's everything I was saying before I got into this,'" Gibbs said. "But then … you see the fentanyl issues that are going on across our state. This is a safer path for people." Industry partnerships Without direct experience with the plant, Gibbs needed a partner to get his cannabis business off the ground, so he teamed up with Carl Tirella, 36, of New York. After more than a decade of working in finance, Tirella shifted to the cannabis industry in 2018, joining New York-based multistate cannabis company Acreage Holdings as director of treasury. He took over as Acreage's Connecticut general manager in 2019, overseeing the company's three dispensaries in the state. "I worked in their corporate office in New York City for about 18 months and then realized that I actually wanted to be on the ground with the people and see how the power of the plant really affected people from the medical perspective," Tirella said. In 2022, Tirella started thinking about branching out on his own. He said he and Gibbs met through a mutual friend years ago, and once they started talking, it was clear they'd gel as business partners. Gibbs has business connections in Connecticut; Tirella brings cannabis industry experience. The two co-founded Budr Cannabis in 2022, forming an equity venture partnership with a team of social equity entrepreneurs and Chicago-based Green Thumb Indus- tries (GTI), which owns West Haven cannabis cultivation facility Advanced Grow Labs and two Connecticut dispensaries. An equity joint venture is a busi- ness that is at least 50% owned and controlled by an individual or individ- DERRICK GIBBS JR. Founder & President, Change Inc. Co-founder, Budr Cannabis Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, Eastern Connecticut State University; Executive MBA, UConn Age: 36 Carl Tirella

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