Smoking marijuana is a fabulous journey all in itself, but legalization is opening up a new world of discovery and it’s hard to ignore the possibilities. So far, I’ve been to one cannabis convention, worked at a dispo briefly and attended one cannabis consumption friendly event. Each of these only felt like the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come. Right now I find the industry to be one of the most fascinating things about cannabis. I heard someone compare the booming cannabis industry to the gold rush and I want in on the scoop. For me, it’s an opportunity to see some of the most fascinating stories come to life right before my eyes.
Recently I came across such a story via an Instagram post from a guy named Arend Richard Lenderink.
I started following Arend early 2020. At the time he was the founder of what used to be TheWeedTube – a weed friendly video streaming app. I was lured into following him because of his authenticity and openness. He later revealed in a heartfelt post that TheWeedTube was no more and I continued to follow him because I generally enjoyed his content.
Now Arend has started the process of opening a consumption lounge named Cirrus. Since I’m not in the Denver, Colorado area, the news seemed distant to me until he made a recent post for “transparency.” There he laid out a story of a passionate and driven entrepreneur on a mission to turn his vision into reality. I found it inspiring for myself and for the future of cannabis enthusiasts.
The story begins in 2022, when Arend started work on creating a smoke lounge. He was met almost immediately with resistance after finding out the requirements for a license involved all but an operating business. True to the nature of a relentless entrepreneur, Arend spent months gathering all the requirements, some of which include a ventilation system design that would have initially cost over $1M, and rent for the property he was required to have before approval.
Cirrus finally got the license approval – you can feel the joy and excitement in a post on Cirrus’ Instagram page. However, as Arend arrives at a big Cirrus 4/20 event, his investment partner calls with devastating news – that Arend would no longer have his financial support. I watched the Instagram post celebrating Cirrus’ license approval after reading about this story, and I couldn’t help but reimagine the initial joy, while feeling my own sadness hovering in the background with the knowledge that this joy turned into tragedy shortly thereafter.
Nonetheless, Arend held his head up during the event which turned out as good as he imagined, possibly even better. This made Arend believe in his vision even more, calling the event at Cirrus “a sign” that it was “meant to be.” He immediately went back to the drawing board to start pitching investors with no experience raising capital for a business.
Over the next 4 months he pitched investors while money was running out and his internal panic was palpable. It was here that Arend claims to have met his low point. Maybe it’s true what they say, that it’s always darkest before dawn.
Dawn would soon come for Arend in mid-December when he got his first investor. He got a couple more and by February he raised the first million dollars for Cirrus.
One. Million.
Talk about starting from the bottom.
As he claims to still be in the middle of this process, I’m compelled to jump on the Cirrus bandwagon, cheering the business on from my icy dungeon in the Midwest. According to the website Cirrus is set to open late 2024. It is a true inspiration for those who love the plant and its many benefits. Also, I think Arend was brave to candidly share his story of triumph and defeat to inspire many others behind him. The potential of cannabis is beginning to blossom, and hopeful enthusiasts like Arend and the like are paving a way for new experiences with cannabis we’ve never been exposed to before.
With the heart of the community pulsing louder than ever before, I for one could not be more excited to see what love brings.