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Jazz Samra at Sativa Bliss Cannabis

Jazz Samra is a successful real estate agent turned cannabis industry trailblazer and small business advocate.

Samra started off as a real estate agent and with the support of a mentor quickly developed a team and had 15 agents working with him.

“I got talked into the cannabis industry by some people when it was first starting,” he says. “They took their companies public and told me about the great future CBD was going to have, it caught my attention.”

Samra originally planned on running a business of CBD extractions and products, but COVID came and destroyed his plans.

Opening Sativa Bliss Cannabis Boutique

“A retail opportunity came up and I went at it full force,” he says in reference to Sativa Bliss Cannabis Boutique. Today, the independently owned chain has six cannabis stores across Ontario with a seventh coming soon.

The stores opened in quick succession, with the first opening in January 2021. “I worked my butt off every day and was busy with my Dad doing the construction,” Samra says. When the fifth store opened, Jazz was able to take some time to breathe and enjoy the stores.

Launching VIP Media Group

Not one to sit still for long, Samra started VIP Media Group in 2022, an association of mostly independent cannabis stores in Ontario, with the goal of providing support to retailers in a challenging industry.

“It came about last June,” he says. “I attended a few industry events and met some retailers who shared how nice it was to speak with other retailers. If we don’t talk to each other, we just look at each other as competitors. Retailers wanted events that focused on them and offered a space to share best practices and connect with LPs to pursue mutually beneficial business opportunities. I could see this was missing in the industry.”

VIP Media Group hosted its first gala in September 2022 followed by a second 420 Celebration Gala in April 2023. Samra proudly says, “It was one of the best events in the cannabis industry in the last five years. Over 600 people showed up to an Arabian nights themed party. There were no consumers and no budtenders—we brought together decisionmakers. I believe in doing business with others based on developing relationships, but we need the space to build those relationships.”

The galas led into Samra hosting a conference, the Elevate Cannabis Industry Expo in September 2023.

A Lifelong Entrepreneur

“Every single business I have run has transferrable skills,” Samra explains. He has been a lifelong entrepreneur, starting his first business at the age of 22 in Vancouver—a Yellow Pages for the Indian community that still exists today.

His previous business experience has contributed to the success of Sativa Bliss. “I truly believe you can have passion for cannabis but more important is to understand the business fundamentals and systems required to be a successful retailer,” Samra says. “Having a great menu and great customer services is also really important.”

Trailblazer and Advocate

Empowering the ‘small guys’ and finding new ways to make the industry successful for everyone are core values in Samra’s work. He also hopes the stigma around cannabis continues to decrease and that positive policy changes are on the way, like removing the requirement for window coverings on cannabis stores.

As for what’s to come in his business, Samra has a couple technology companies launching this year—including Dank Reviews, an app that does blind reviews of cannabis products in the market—that he hopes will continue to help promote great products and push for innovation of new products.

Tags: cannabis retailer (82), cannabis trailblazer (5), Elevate Cannabis Industry Expo (1), Jazz Samra (1), Sativa Bliss Cannabis Boutique (1), VIP Media Group (1)