Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 16, 2023 Patrik Jonsson is the founding member of The Collective, a group of investors and industry experts who are partnering with social equity cannabis entrepreneurs to open new businesses in Connecticut. HBJ PHOTO | BRIAN AMBROSE Market Pivot Former Curaleaf exec Jonsson carves out new path in CT's growing cannabis industry By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com A fter more than four years working at one of the world's largest cannabis companies, Patrik Jonsson has stepped out on his own to launch a new business venture aimed at helping entrepre- neurs enter the industry. Jonsson, former Northeast regional president of Massachusetts-based multistate operator Curaleaf, is the founding member of The Collec- tive, a group of investors and industry experts who are partnering with social equity cannabis entrepreneurs to open new businesses. Jonsson also is CEO of the Higher Collective, a retail storefront brand nested under The Collective, that is helping open as many as eight cannabis dispensaries in Connecticut, including five in the coming months. The dispensaries will be owned by social equity entrepreneurs and outside investors, and operate under the Higher Collective brand. In total, Jonsson, 49, said he hopes to help open 10 social equity-led cannabis businesses in Connecticut over the next several months. Idea to execution Jonsson, who has a business background in various industries including finance and technology, has been involved in the cannabis industry since 2013. He got his start in Massachusetts, where he said he became the first operator with five licensed dispensaries. He joined Curaleaf in 2017, initially overseeing the Massachusetts market, and then the entire Northeast region, including Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont. The Collective was founded shortly after Jonsson left Curaleaf in March 2022. However, the consultancy's roots go back further than that, he said. "Even before I left Curaleaf I had spent a lot of my time helping young entrepreneurs get into the industry, which happened to be a lot of people of color because they are the ones who tend to have the hardest time finding access to capital," Jonsson said. "From there, it kind of started as an idea — if I were to leave Curaleaf, I want to work with women, minorities and veterans, because that is who I've been helping in different capac- ities get in the industry, because they're underrepresented and I have a pretty good network to figure it out." In addition to Jonsson, The Collective is made up of three other cannabis industry veterans who also worked at Curaleaf. They include Head of Retail Strategy Ricky Figueroa, Head of Retail Operations David Bernier and Brianne Dezzutti, head of brand and marketing. They've partnered with their former employer Curaleaf, several investor groups and social equity entrepre- neurs who are opening various types of cannabis-related businesses, but mostly dispensaries. The Collective doesn't own any cannabis retail companies. Instead, it's paid fees to provide consulting services to fledgling cannabis startups. Jonsson declined to name specific investors The Collective works with. He did say there are investor groups focused on different market segments, including retail, cultivation and other business types. "Everybody kind of brought their own area of expertise," Jonsson said. 'Operational experience' Jonsson said Connecticut's adult-use cannabis law gave The Collective a good opportunity to launch. The 2021 law incentivized existing medical cannabis companies — mostly multistate operators including Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries and Verano Holdings Corp. — to form equity joint ventures with qualified social equity entrepreneurs to open new businesses. Social equity partners must own at least 50% of any new business, while the remaining ownership can be split between the existing medical cannabis company and other investors. Jonsson said he successfully pitched the concept of The Collec- tive to Curaleaf, which announced last year it plans to partner with 10 equity joint ventures. Curaleaf has been operating in the state since the

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