City of Long Beach Cannabis Equity Program
Long Beach
Team Kickoff
Workflow, process, and how we run this program together.
Six things we’ll cover.
- 01The City’s Cannabis Equity Program — what we’re part of
- 02The 8-phase roadmap participants follow
- 03The LaunchMyCannabiz™ program — 6 live + 24 online sessions
- 04Meet the team — roles & who does what
- 05How we run TA — the Launch Playbook standards
- 06Our tech stack — ClickUp, Nutshell, Fellow, Harvest, Google Workspace
Part 01
The Cannabis
Equity Program
Three pillars of city support for equity applicants.
Established 2018 by City Council to address long-term harm of cannabis criminalization on low-income communities of color in Long Beach.
Up to $350K per applicant.
Funded by GO Biz. 4 milestones — secure location, drawing up plans, starting construction, opening. Grant amount scales by license type and square footage.
City fees paid via grant.
Application fees ($56), AUP fees ($4,720), CUP fees ($9,072), Cannabis Facility Consultation ($767), plus plan check & permitting fees that vary by license type.
This is us.
Free 1:1 advisory services from city-contracted consultants. Max 3 hours per applicant per week, across one or more consultants.
The 8-phase roadmap to launching.
City’s phased roadmap (revised March 2026). 25 steps across 8 phases. Our TA touches every phase.
Research, Kickoff & Eligibility.
Steps 1–3. Verify equity status, mandatory kickoff call.
Business Planning & Vision.
Steps 4–6. ≥51% equity ownership, license type, LOI, business plan.
Site & Facility Consultation.
Steps 7–8. Milestone A & B grant applications.
Location, Licensing & Early Fees.
Steps 9–13. Apply for license, Milestones 1, 1A, 1B, 1C.
Architecture, Plan Checks & Permitting.
Steps 14–18. Milestones 2, 2A, 2B, 2C.
Construction & Certificate of Occupancy.
Steps 19–21. Milestone 3.
Licensing, Launch & Operations.
Steps 22–24. Milestone 4. License issued. Doors open.
Compliance & Sustainability.
Step 25. Annual permits, ongoing compliance, growth.
What we deliver — and the rules of engagement.
What we cover
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✓Lease negotiation & business agreements
Property search & site selection → refer to Tkach Ventures (Yan Tkach).
- ✓Business plans, financial plans, budget projections
-
✓Capital readiness — investor pitch prep, financial prep, business planning
We prepare participants to secure capital — we don’t secure it ourselves.
- ✓State + local taxes, regulatory compliance
- ✓Payroll & accounting setup
- ✓Licensing & permitting navigation (city + state)
- ✓Branding & marketing
- ✓Human resources — employer accounts, job descriptions, handbooks
- ✓Legal support — operating agreements, lease review, dispute support
Rules of engagement
- !Max 3 hours per week per participant, across all consultants
- !Sessions are 1:1 only — no other reps without written city approval
- !Participants must give 24-hour notice for cancellations
- !3 strikes (no-show, late cancel, late-show) = reinstatement required
- !City policy questions go to City staff, not us
- !All participant info is confidential
Plus the LaunchMyCannabiz™ Entrepreneurship Program.
Every Long Beach participant gets access to our full curriculum — live Zoom sessions + self-paced modules on Teachable.
Live wrap-up sessions
Online sessions
50-minute Zoom classes · recordings, written materials, quizzes, resources, and optional assignments · instructors are cannabis business consultants · module wrap-ups include live Q&A
Introduction to Starting a “Cannabiz”
Industry landscape, local market & regulations, social equity, foundations.
Legal & Financial Foundations
Business structure, compliance, culture of compliance, financial literacy & taxes.
Building a Business Plan for Success
Plan components, real estate & zoning, operations, funding strategy.
Cannabis Business Types
Retail, delivery, cultivation, manufacturing. Certificate of Completion awarded.
Marketing for Cannabis Entrepreneurs
Branding, advertising rules, social media strategy, data-driven marketing.
Operations & Scaling for Long-Term Success
Inventory & workforce, risk mitigation, partnerships, scaling strategies.
Part 02
The team
Eight consultants working directly with participants.
Jessica Pichardo
Project Manager
Ruth Jazmin Aguiar
Cannabiz Specialist
Lesley Nickus
Branding & Marketing
Alexis Hartwell-Gobeske
CA Cannabiz Attorney
Khalil Ferguson
CA Cannabiz Legal Support
Teah Delfino
HR Consultant
Tashae Swan, CPA
Accounting & Compliance
Liberty Tanghal
QuickBooks Setup & Training
Four people supporting our consultant team.
They support the team — not participants directly.
Program leadership
Monica Colgan
Program Director
Program leadership
Dr. Dene’ Starks-McGee
Team Lead
Operations
Joel Hadley
Online Learning + Payroll
Operations
Lorena Ramos
Admin & Reporting
Part 03
How we work
Three standards every TA team operates by.
Show up, focused and on camera.
- ·Zoom meetings — cameras on
- ·Screen sharing during sessions
- ·Focused attention — avoid multitasking
- ·Proactive handoffs & follow-through
If it’s not written, it didn’t happen.
- ·Recordings in Fellow
- ·1:1 report after every Long Beach session (city requirement)
- ·Outstanding items → ClickUp
- ·Emails & files in Google Workspace
- ·Timely Harvest timecards (same day)
- ·Quick response to management requests
We’re one team.
Our goal is to help the business open holistically — not in pieces.
Keep your teammates in mind. Know who to refer participants to so they get the strongest support for whatever they need next.
The full Launch Playbook lives in the KB. PMs and team leads are responsible for staying current.
Part 04
The tech stack
Our Long Beach tech stack.
Project management
Space: TA - Long Beach
CRM & texting
Participant info & SMS
Notetaking
Agendas & meeting notes
Time tracking
Hours = invoices
Email & Drive
@launchindustries.biz
Every participant interaction is captured in one of these. If it’s not in the system, it didn’t happen.
Project tracking + participant relationships.
Single source of truth for project management.
- · Space: TA — Long Beach
- · Folder per participant
- · List per project / phase
- · Always set Assignee, Start Date, Due Date, Priority
- · Repeatable processes → Templates
Everything about your participant lives here.
In Nutshell you can:
- ·Look up contact info — phone, email, address
- ·See the participant’s business team — partners, attorney, CPA
- ·Add context notes — call summaries, requests, follow-ups
- ·See email exchanges synced from Google Workspace
- ·Text the participant — logged automatically
Notes, time, and email standards.
Notetaking & agendas.
- · Send agenda 24 hours before each session
- · Action items & decisions captured live
- · AI notetaker (announce at start — opt-out OK)
- · Shared visibility per participant
Time tracking = invoicing.
- · Project path: City of Long Beach > [Participant] — named Last Name, First Name — Business Name
- · Track time same day
- · Stay within 3-hour weekly cap per participant
- · Joel runs payroll from this
Email & Drive.
- · All emails from @launchindustries.biz
- · Never use personal email with participants
- · Client folders in shared Drive
- · Lorena will set up your account
For app support, contact Joel or Lorena.
Kickoff action items
- 01Verify your @launchindustries.biz Google Workspace login works
- 02Accept your invitation to the TA — Long Beach ClickUp space
- 03Log into Nutshell — confirm CRM access & texting works
- 04Install Fellow & connect it to your calendar and Zoom account
- 05Log into Harvest & verify Long Beach project shows up
- 06Read the materials from Long Beach (Cannabis Equity Program guidelines + Phased Roadmap)
- 07First participant assignments can start landing any time — from Dene’ or Monica
Long Beach Cannabis Equity Program
Thank you
Let’s help these entrepreneurs open the doors.