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Sackville & Co. co-founders Lana Van Brunt and Hayley Dineen spoke to NY Cannabis Insider about building their company, the obstacles women in cannabis – and in general – face when embarking down the path of growing a brand, and words of wisdom they’d impart to their younger selves.
Women are vastly underrepresented in cannabis, and not just in New York. From 2019 to 2022, executive-level females have seen their industry wide status drop from 37% to 23%. Yet the MRTA makes things very clear: women-owned businesses are a key component of the state’s social and economic equity plan.
NY Cannabis Insider is seeking to elevate women in cannabis through a hyper-focus on female story sourcing, quoting and visual layouts, balanced representation in our “People to know” and “Behind the story” series, and prioritized guest column submissions.
This series will last for as long as submissions come in.
Why did you launch your career in the cannabis industry? Were there any women who inspired you to do so? How did you do it?
Lana: When we started I didn’t know anyone who was working in cannabis. I also didn’t know anyone personally who even had their own business. It was a complete leap of faith jumping into the cannabis industry and deciding to bet on ourselves.
When we began talking about the idea of starting Sackville it was 2017 and the cannabis industry was exploding but no one was reimagining the smoking experience. And no one was focused on the female market, so it was a no brainer for us to dive in because we knew the power the female market holds as cannabis consumers, which today still continues to be the highest-spending demographic as well as the fastest-growing demographic in cannabis.
Hayley: Like Lana said, when we started, the idea of working in cannabis felt pretty niche. I wasn’t really thinking about changing my career to focus on cannabis; instead, I saw the opportunity to use my skill set that I had from working in fashion to fill a clear market gap in the cannabis industry. Both of us came from creative industries and we both bonded over the fact that we felt the burgeoning legal cannabis market was missing more diverse voices and aesthetics.
What do you think is the most significant barrier to women leadership? Are the barriers different in cannabis than any other industry?
Lana: There are endless barriers to women in business and even more for women trying to excel in their field and lead. It’s a patriarchal society after all, so women feel the scope of discrimination at all turns. Whether it’s being sexualized and objectified in the workplace, not being taken seriously no matter the extent of your experience and education (which as we know women are far and wide more educated than their average male counterparts), being tasked with significantly more and paid less, and the endless demand on women to prove themselves in a way that men have never been required to do.
These are just a few of the constant issues women face in business and leadership and it doesn’t even begin to speak to the lack of access to funding – including the scrutiny from institutional lenders at a level that our male counterparts do not experience. It also doesn’t speak to the relationship with success and being disliked that women are thrust into as the more successful women get, both their female and male subordinates dislike them more, as opposed to men who see an opposite correlation with success and likeability growing together.
If you’re a woman in business you have to face adversity at every step. But cannabis has a unique opportunity for women to change the future narrative as the industry itself is still at its infancy.
Hayley: I think there are many barriers to female leadership opportunities across industries. Cannabis is particularly glaring as it is such a male-run industry at this point and there are only a handful of women in top leadership positions. Women are often overlooked for leadership positions so it will really take the current leadership to make a concerted effort to bring women up the ranks.
In cannabis particularly, the female audience has long been overlooked and underrepresented, which makes it even more vital now to have more women in leadership who can relate to and speak to the female demographic (We have all seen the pink-ification of cannabis branding that spawns from all-male boardrooms.) I think it’s vital to have diverse voices in leadership to ensure there are more points of view representing the consumer.
What’s the most common behavior or trait that you have seen derail women leaders’ careers, or at least negatively impact them?
Lana: I think the biggest behavior or trait that derails women is their self doubt. Because we have grown up in a society that values us less, we have built a sense of self worth that mirrors that at times, and it’s at those times that we second guess ourselves when our male counterparts do not. So, unfortunately we take ourselves out of the race by assuming someone else in the room is smarter, better, more experienced, etc.
It’s a constant effort to reprogram our internal value system to match that of our male competitors to say “why not me, of course I can do this, I can figure it out just like everyone else, I know what I’m doing.”
Hayley: Women have been taught for decades that to be professional and respected, you need to stay quiet. It is so important, now more than ever, for women to voice their opinions and be heard. We need women to stand up and speak freely and be open about their perspectives. I think for many women, it feels like speaking up means you will be seen as pushy, unlikeable and “bitchy,” and that unfortunately promotes the cycle of women staying quiet in work places.
What are the benefits to having women in leadership? What benefits have you received from your leadership experiences?
Lana: There are endless benefits to women being in leadership from increased employee engagement to increased financial performance, and so much more. It’s a no-brainer to have women in charge! The benefits I’ve experienced personally are endless. Being able to see women excel in their own fields allows women like me to know it’s possible and that’s really everything.
Hayley: Having women in leadership positions broadens your perspective and understanding – leadership roles across all industries have been dominated by men and that leads to a very narrow perspective for the growth as a whole. The more diverse a team is the better chance they have to connect with the community they are looking to serve. In cannabis particularly, there is such a massive gap in understanding of the diverse female market, which is quickly overtaking men as the highest demographic for cannabis consumption, but is routinely underserved. Female consumers deserve to be spoken to with respect and inclusion and I think that starts from having women in leadership positions.
Shout out your other favorite women-owned or women-led businesses in the industry.
Lana: It’s hard to nail down a fave, any woman who is out there hustling, getting up everyday and not f*cking quitting when the going gets tough has my complete admiration and respect. It’s tough out there and I am beyond happy and inspired to see other women killing it.
Hayley: Like Lana said – this industry is hard, and any women-owned business out there that is working to bring their vision to life gets our respect. Whether you’re a big VC-backed brand or a one-person shop, we love to see more women creating diverse brands in the space.
Who/what are your favorite tools and resources in the industry?
Lana: We have established an incredible network of creatives that support our brand, which truly is the life blood of a brand like ours. Being able to have a team that so accurately takes your vision and helps you turn that into a graphic representation is so valuable. Shout out to the graphic designers of the world!!
Hayley: I think that the fact that there are so few women in the industry has actually led to many of us becoming a tight network that are always connecting to help each other out.
What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?What advice would you give to the next generation of women leaders?
Lana: I think I’d take some of the pressure off of my 25-year-old self and let her know that you don’t actually have to have the plan completely worked out, leave space for opportunity to reveal itself!
Hayley: At 25, I definitely thought I needed to know exactly what my career path was, and the truth is the best thing you can do is try as many things as you are interested in, fail, and try again. Failure is so important to figuring out how to succeed – so 25 year-old self: don’t be hard on yourself when something doesn’t work out, be thankful for the lesson and get up and try again.
Lana: You’re not in competition with anyone but yourself. Keep a set of blinders on, don’t worry about what anyone else is doing (if you’re seeing it on social media it’s not an accurate representation of what’s going on anyways) and just focus on outdoing the last thing you just did – for yourself – and the fulfillment you will get out of that is definitely worth it.
Hayley: Agreed, there is an inherent part of society that likes to pit women-owned businesses against each other, as though there can only be one. Remember that your vision is unique because it’s coming from you; don’t get too caught up in what other people are doing or comparing yourself to their paths because your path will always be different, and that’s a good thing.
Is there anything we left out that you’d like to add?
Hayley: If you have an idea you think needs to be out in the world – try and build it. You will learn 100% more by trying and iterating.
If you’d like people to connect with you, please share your favorite methods of contact (email, phone, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).
Lana + Hayley: hello@sackvilleandco.com , Follow us on instagram @sackville.and.co, TikTok @ sackville.and.co
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