Emerging sector
“We were able to hold a mirror up
to the industry and show it was
a professional and interesting
business space.”
an opinion. His early appointment
of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General
caused some dismay in the industry
as Sessions was on record as saying
he thought the Ku Klux Klan were
decent people until he discovered
they smoked pot. Then Sessions fell
out spectacularly with his boss.
Farrington was confident that
the pace of growth would lift her
news site and conference business,
MJBizCon, into a key service for those
who wanted to navigate the choppy
waters. It wasn’t plain sailing.
“You’d be shocked how quickly
people were booked up,” she told the
audience. “But we put 400 people
into a Masonic Lodge in downtown
Denver.
Her business grew from 15
employees to 30, and then in 2018,
from 30 to 60. The company, which
is self-funded, achieved US$27m of
revenue in 2018, up 50% from $18m
in 2017. Most of the revenue comes
from the events business, which
comprises three large expo-type
events, including MJBizCon.
In addition to the flagship
conference, the catalogue of events
from Marijuana Business Daily
includes MJBizConINT’L, an event
held in Toronto to evaluate the
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Canadian market; MJBizConNEXT
in New Orleans, a show with the
purpose of reviewing the upcoming
advancements in technology for the
marijuana industry; MJBizDaily’s
Latin American Cannabis Symposium,
an event held in Colombia to
evaluate the nascent Latin American
marijuana market; the Hemp Industry
Daily Conference, a show dedicated
to the burgeoning hemp market; and
the MJBizDaily’s European Cannabis
Symposium in Denmark, which
recognises the emerging European
medical cannabis space.
Left:
Indoor
marijuana
growing
room
Below:
Farrington on
stage at ECEF
in June
“We are able to marry together our
journalism mission with the support
of the industry. We feel we are part of
the industry,” Farrington said.
That said, she is clear eyed that
as a woman in both the media and
cannabis worlds she faces challenges.
Less than four years ago, top jobs in
the cannabis industry were among
the most female-friendly in the world,
with women occupying 36% of senior
positions. But as the industry grew,
women started to bump into the so-
called ‘grass ceiling’.
By 2018, women were only
occupying 27% of senior level
positions in the marijuana industry.
And alongside issues of diversity, the
sector also faces huge sustainability
questions. But Farrington insists that
her business is there to help find
solutions to these thorny problems.
MJBizCon 2019 will attract 35,000
attendees in December 2019 at the
Las Vegas Convention Center.
“It’s on us to continue to serve that
marketplace in the way it needs,”
Farrington says.
Issue 5 2019
51