High Touch with Jake & Duffy
High Touch with Jake & Duffy
Podcast Description
High Touch with Jake & Duffy dives into how today’s cannabis businesses create emotional impact and real-world value—from seed to software, and store design to storytelling. Hosted by two cannabis tech founders who’ve seen it all (and still have questions), each episode brings candid conversations with the founders, creatives, and operators shaping the industry's future. Whether you're in the biz or just curious, expect human stories, hard-won insights, and maybe even a little lift along the way.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into themes such as brand development, consumer education, and industry innovation, with episodes discussing topics like brand loyalty strategies, the future of dispensary design, and insights from cannabis marketing pioneers. Specific episode highlights include discussions on how PAX established a premium market position and what retail can learn from other product categories.
High Touch with Jake & Duffy dives into how today’s cannabis businesses create emotional impact and real-world value—from seed to software, and store design to storytelling. Hosted by two cannabis tech founders who’ve seen it all (and still have questions), each episode brings candid conversations with the founders, creatives, and operators shaping the industry’s future. Whether you’re in the biz or just curious, expect human stories, hard-won insights, and maybe even a little lift along the way.
What can cannabis learn from luxury fashion retail? Melissa Hanson, VP of Operations at Flowhub, brings decades of experience leading teams at Michael Kors and scaling cannabis retail at MedMen and Sunburn. Now at Flowhub, she’s focused on helping dispensaries operate smarter, smoother, and more profitably.
In this conversation, Melissa explains why true retail excellence comes down to people, process, and purpose—not hype. She shares her philosophy on clienteling, building technology that empowers budtenders, and the importance of data-driven decision making in a fast-changing regulatory landscape.
Whether you’re an operator, brand, or tech partner, this episode offers practical insights into creating cannabis retail experiences that last.
Topics Covered
- Lessons cannabis can borrow from luxury fashion retail
- Clienteling vs. loyalty programs in dispensaries
- How Flowhub’s tools support budtenders and operators
- The pitfalls of chasing “shiny objects” in product strategy
- Compliance complexity and adapting to shifting regulations
- Upselling, promotions, and smarter inventory decisions
- The role of empathy and culture inside Flowhub’s team
- E-commerce and pre-ordering as game-changers for cannabis retail
- Balancing open APIs with seamless all-in-one solutions
- The future: data-driven operators and lighter regulatory burdens
About Our Guest
Melissa Hanson is the Vice President of Operations at Flowhub. She has led 500-person retail teams at Michael Kors, launched cannabis delivery operations at MedMen, scaled vertically integrated retail in Florida, and now helps dispensaries run smarter with technology that empowers their staff and streamlines compliance.
Links & References
- Flowhub: https://flowhub.com
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