San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Business owner pays it forward
Born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, Josh Chase has been hustling since he made the varsity baseball team at Skyline High School as a freshman. To make sure he was good enough, Chase got to the practice field an hour earlier in the morning than his teammates so he could work on his skills undisturbed. By the time he was a senior, he was the team captain, leading Skyline to its last Transbay Championship.
After graduating from Santa Clara University in 2011 with a degree in economics, Chase transferred his athletic grit into a career as a cannabis entrepreneur. He learned as much as he could about cultivation and retail in Washington state, which legalized cannabis three years before California did. After an equitable split with his partners in Washington, Chase brought his experience to the newly legalized cannabis market back home.
His grit has once again paid off. Chase’s thriving Have a Heart dispensary on Broadway in downtown Oakland will soon be joined by a sister location near Lake Merritt. He also runs a delivery service and a distribution facility. Though Chase qualified for and obtained an equity license (which contains certain restrictions on business operations), he also earned a general license, and he has also a license to incubate potential equity candidates. He is currently mentoring nine equity licensees in part by providing them with free space at his facility for three years.
“I’m very positive about the equity program because, for me, it wasn’t a full gas tank, but it was enough to get me to a place where I could keep working,” Chase said.
Chase believes his track record in Washington showed what he was capable of without institutional assistance, but he still appreciated the city of Oakland’s help in getting his businesses up and running.
“There was a lot in the program that really helped me because I was an entrepreneur that was used to having to do everything for himself,” Chase said. “When I found out about the equity program, I was like, ‘This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.’ They’re going to help me with fees for building, planning and such. On top of that, there’s a whole bunch of benefits of the equity program, like networking events, access to lawyers, access to accountants, access to business development, businesses and plans.”
Chase has 38 employees, 78% of them Oakland residents. Half of his managers had been incarcerated for cannabisrelated crimes.
“We’re much more than just a cannabis operator. I’ll tell you right now, out of all these big guys that are in the industry, I’m doing much, much more than these large operators are saying they’re doing,” Chase said. “I’m a man of my community, and I want to do it for my community. The equity does need some tinkering, but at the end of the day, it is doing great compared to other industries.”