Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 16, 2023 15 "CompuMail Delivered The Moon." — American Manufacturing Hall of Fame For thirty years CompuMail, Connecticut's full-service design/print/mail shop, has delivered out of this world service. This past April, CompuMail actually delivered the moon. Artemis I moonshot launch November 16, 2022 C o m p u M a i l . n e t 298 Captain Lewis Drive Southington, CT USA print & mail solutions Interested how CompuMail delivers for forward-thinking business clients Thomaston Savings Bank, American Manufacturing Hall of Fame, Hartford Business Journal/New Haven Business and more, visit compumail.net/goodnews or scan: "When you're hosting some of the world's leading advanced manufacturers, printing quality needs to be up to supersonic speed," said American Manufacturing Hall of Fame Chair, Timothy Clark. "As our o cial printer, CompuMail delivered the moon." As the o• cial printer of the 2023 American Manufacturing Hall of Fame, 41 Connecticut manufacturers instrumental in the Artemis I moonshot program were recognized for their achievements. But you don't need to be a rocket scientist to get great service. CompuMail also serves clients closer to home in fi nance, education, health, legal and non-profi t sectors. To learn how we can deliver printing and mailing solutions that are out of this world, visit CompuMail.net or Meghan Rickard at meghan@compumail.net. medical marijuana program launched a decade ago. It currently owns four Connecticut hybrid dispensaries and a cultivation facility in Simsbury. The Collective is helping Curaleaf and its equity joint venture partners get their businesses off the ground, including with the difficult task of finding startup capital. In addition to Curaleaf, investors working with The Collective makeup the additional 50% ownership of each equity joint venture. Jonsson said he personally doesn't have an equity stake in any of Curaleaf's retail equity joint ventures. "I said 'look, I can take all this off your plate.' I can find investors, I have operational experience and a team that wants to work on this, so I can find social equity partners based on people I've met in the industry for years," Jonsson said, describing his pitch to Curaleaf. In addition to recruiting investors and social equity partners, Jonsson said The Collective helps secure real estate locations, provides employee onboarding and offers other startup support. Right now, The Collective has locations finalized for five of the eight equity joint venture adult-use dispensaries, which will operate under the Higher Collective brand, he said. Two dispensaries — in Killingly, at 1078 North Main St., and Willington, at 11 Phelps Way — opened earlier this month. Several other dispensaries are expected to open by the end of this year, including in New London, at 595 Bank St., and near Hartford's Parkville Market, at 1396 Park St., Jonsson said. The Hartford retail site is being opened by social equity partner Kevin Henry, a city resi- dent and founder of professional consulting firm KTH Advisors. A dispensary in Torrington, at 53 McDermott Ave., has just begun construction and is expected to open in early 2024, Jonsson said. The Collective plans to announce other dispensaries soon, Jonsson said, but finalizing locations has been a challenge. State law says retail equity joint venture dispensaries owned by the same backer cannot be located within 20 miles of each other. "We should have hopefully three more in early 2024," he said. "It's a bit of a struggle because … we're running out of real estate. Connecti- cut's not that big." Future growth While retail has been the main focus so far, The Collective is supporting other sectors of the cannabis industry. It's currently helping open a micro-cultivation facility in New Britain, and has assisted the launch of Green Coach Delivery, a cannabis delivery service founded by former high school foot- ball coach Jack Cochran. Cochran, whose equity joint venture business partnered with Curaleaf, said Jonsson provided critical support to help him launch the business. Jonsson also personally has an equity stake in the business. "I couldn't have put my business up without (Jonsson)," Cochran said. "From A to Z, I just leaned on him, and if he didn't have the answer to something, he had the connections in the industry to figure it out." Cochran said he and Jonsson met by chance while attending a dinner event at Foxwoods Resort Casino. A collaboration spawned soon after that meeting. The Collective provided guidance on how to set up a website and manage a cannabis delivery service operation, Cochran said. Green Coach Delivery now has two full-time drivers on staff and a few part-time employees. It currently provides deliveries from four dispen- saries — three owned by Fine Fettle in Manchester, Newington and Willi- mantic, and one owned by Curaleaf in Stamford — that serve both medical and recreational customers. Jonsson said Green Coach will be the primary delivery partner for Higher Collective dispensaries. Former Connecticut high school football coach Jack Cochran is the co-founder of cannabis delivery company Green Coach Delivery, which launched operations earlier this year. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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