From his first job coaching at Gene Cotter’s summer basketball camps where he learned that confidence and positivity attract investors and potential employees to becoming a leader of one of the largest ancillary marijuana brands nationwide, Nick Kovacevich, CEO of Greenlane Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: GNLN) has come a long way.
Kovacevich kicked off his entrepreneurial career by building and selling Pack My Dorm, then went on to found several other successful endeavors. As part of two disruptive businesses which he also co-founded, Kush Bottles and BigRentz, Kovacevich learned how to jump in with both feet and seize opportunities that others overlooked.
“Take the money when it’s available,” Kovacevich shared in an interview for Medium’s Authority Magazine. ”When times are good, you can be tricked into thinking the money you need will always be available.”
Speaking at Benzinga’s Miami event this past April he stressed that cannabis brands need to be consistent and reliable, as they are “going to be very important in the long term. In the short term, some consumers might buy what’s available.”
Kovacevich, one of the business leaders shaking things up in the industry will speak at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, which returns to Chicago on September 13-14, along with other executives and investors who will talk about the industry’s present and future.
KushCo & Greenlane - A Perfect Fit
Prior to Greenlane, Kovacevich was the co-founder, chairman and CEO of KushCo. From a company that was primarily a packaging provider, generating less than $2 million in annual sales and employing less than a dozen people, he built out public companies which exceeded $145 million in annual sales in fiscal 2019 with operations across the U.S. and globally.
KushCo merged with Greenlane last year. The combined company, now under Kovacevich’s helm, brought together two of the pioneering cannabis ancillary product and service companies with more than 26 years of operating history to create an undisputed leader in the cannabis industry.
The move resulted in Greenlane’s net sales rising to $46.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, compared to $34 million in the corresponding period of fiscal 2021.
"Building on a record and transformational 2021, we made meaningful progress executing on our strategic 2022 plan in Q1 2022, from reducing our corporate headcount to focusing more on our higher-margin Greenlane Brands," Kovacevich, said last month.
Greenlane’s Recent Moves
In the meantime, the company is showing no signs of slowing down, as it recently announced its plan to generate more than $30 million in liquidity as part of a strategic move to reduce its cost structure, accelerate its path to profitability and increase liquidity on a non-dilutive basis. The company recently entered into a definitive agreement with a single institutional investor, for the purchase and sale of 21.6 million shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase 21.6 million shares of common stock at a purchase price per share of $0.25 in a registered direct offering.
On the heels of announcing that it has begun shipping previously restricted vaporizer products to wholesale clientsunder a business and regulatory exemption to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act issued by the US Postal Service, the company’s shares skyrocketed, trading higher by 42.12% to $0.37.
Currently, Greenlane’s shares are trading 0.05% higher at $0.2181 per share during the pre-market session on Wednesday morning.
Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference In Chicago
Come and meet this extraordinary cannabis visionary and let’s network and learn together. Join us on September 13-14 at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference and stay at the historic Palmer House Hotel. Get your tickets HERE.
Photo: Courtesy of Benzinga
