James Choe • Co-Founder/CEO • Vessel Brand, Inc. Getting Granular In Five Questions

^{Background on Vessel: We are based in Carlsbad, California. We officially launched in October of 2018, starting in out of our founders garage and have skyrocketed ever since. We now have a beautiful, two story, state of the art office in the “Carlsbad Research Center” next to the Callaway Golf Headquarters. The most notable vape pen battery we have is our “wood series” which is one of the only vape pens on the market to feature real wood. This is what started the buzz around our brand, in addition to our creative. Since, we’ve launched cases, charge stands, and have plenty more products in the works for 2020. In late 2019, we launched the B2B sector of our business offering custom designs and colors for select brands in the United States and Canada.} 

^{Notable Press/Partnerships: We recently partnered with Leafly.com at the MJBIZ Conference in Las Vegas. We are the first company Leafly has ever partnered with at such an event, and we are honored it was at the world’s largest cannabis conference. Rolling Stone also listed us as one of the “cannabis products we love” in an online editorial as well as featured us in their 2019 “Weed” issue. The Rolling Stone coverage was an unpaid, a purely organic mention.} 

Vessel Brand is in my studied opinion, the most elegant device on the market for the inhalation from a typical 510 cartridge. But first, what is a 510 cartridge? For those who do not know, it is a small, self-contained reservoir that is used for the inhalation of either CBD, or THC oil in a minute, vaporized & gaseous format. The device utilizes a self-contained battery that is adjustable in temperature and looks no more flashy than your high-end European writing instrument in your pocket right now. It also could resemble one of those expensive laser pointers if you are a PowerPoint wizard in the corporate world.

The overall color scheme runs the gamut of shades from the handsomely brushed chrome, to deep browns, burgundy, gold and muted black tones for the imbiber who does not need the attention. The act of inhalation from the Vessel is smooth and richly textured. A puff is never harsh, nor cheap feeling in the vapor. The tip against your lips is your own five-ten tip, the vessel is the the rest of the equation, the battery case. Think of what is would look like to put your favorite Mont Blanc pen up to your mouth and lightly pull upon it when you’re bored. Similar in appearance, with a much different result. And only you shall know!

I love what James Choe has done for the art of cannabis inhalation. He’s demystified the art of 510 vaporization by raising the bar of design, far beyond their closest competition. There really is nothing as well designed that I’ve ever seen.

Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me about yourself? Where are you from? Schooling? Engineer? Architect? Business? 

James Cho=JC: I’m originally a Northern California, Bay Area native (Saratoga, CA) but started heading south in college to attend school at UCSB, eventually graduating from SDSU. I’ve now lived in San Diego for a good part of nearly 20 years. I’ve always had a strong affinity for technology, health and wellness, and sports and my first startup, while in college, was a broadband company back in ’98 (Softnet). It was an amazing experience being part of the original group that eventually grew to 300+.

I learned a great deal but knew my heart was always in sports and so after Softnet I made the move and worked in sports for 12+ years representing athletes professionally. That led to building an agency supporting brands in go-to-market, building value, managing retail & direct to consumer experience, etc. I have an eye for design and marketing which has helped immensely – having the skill set to not only concept but to design and articulate vision has been key to my success.

WB: Why cannabis? Do you test your products? How do you develop new products? Do you use a panel of influencers in your product development? 

JC: 1.    I always knew cannabis would become a draw; I just didn’t know when. Doing what we do well, we caught the eye of some early movers in the industry and were asked to run workshops on go-to-market to build a major enterprise. Then and there we knew, this was our opportunity not only to support others in building significant value, but eventually finding an opportunity to do it for ourselves. We engaged and had an incredible run building one of the top brands in California. Another proof point that our formula and way of thinking and attacking a market worked. Our obsession has never been “product” but more intently, on developing expressions of the best consumer experiences at all touchpoints. We test our products constantly as a matter of QA/QC and as regulations continue to evolve. All products are concepted, designed in-house with support from key strategic partners that we work with to validate the engineering.

We use market data (learnings from consumers, retail, brands) to substantiate any of our considerations but generally the discipline begins there. Survey groups will only reveal so much; in a nascent industry many are developing opinions as they go. Sometimes they don’t know what they want so it’s our duty to think obsessively over “user experience” and use that as our guiding light to introduce new “standards” of how things CAN be. It’s definitely an art, not a science.

WB: What is your six month future state look like? Twelve months? What obstacles do you face? How do you anticipate removing those obstacles?

We will continue to support our fast-growing community with solutions-based products and accessories; innovation and “new” can never sleep. In December, we also formally launched our initiative to support brands and LPs (B2B) – giving select partners access to our entire platform to accelerate their time to market with a full suite of considered product. (Links: Customer Experience / Differentiation)

We’re in a highly trusted position as brand builders, product developers, go-to-market consultants and we think equally for everything operational – the people doing the hard work behind the scenes. Every action we take is to earn the proverbial “seat at the table” and execution is so key in demonstrating our market leadership. Our B2B launch includes new product platforms – innovative cartridges, power/batteries, accessories and more. Remember, this is not about “vaping” – this is about our mission to lead in creating the best consumption experiences which means how we consume, how we deliver the experience, how we store, organize, transport, etc.

The major obstacles will always be 1) regulatory/legal shifts (they too are learning as they go), and 2) market complacency, meaning, brands/LP’s need to continue to evolve and focus on more than being product/consumable obsessive. There’s more to the experience and perpetuating action based solely on cost sensitivities, etc. is creating headaches at many levels. In a restrictive market, one of the things we acknowledge is product (oil, flower, hardware, etc.) is really the most critical touchpoint we have to the consumer and yet the industry hasn’t quite recognized the value in investing more into product to be unique, differentiated – giving every consumer a reason to talk about their brand. It’s all still too transactional. We’re always thinking about brand and product design, but with a layer of discipline around customer acquisition costs, retention, etc. Product is our marketing and advertising, there’s no denying that.

As for how we remove obstacles – continuing to innovate at all levels internally will be key, but also our elevating our commitment to “strength in numbers“ and collaboration. It’s a new market, many haven’t done this before, and we believe it is so important for decision makers to identify strategic partners with core competencies and find ways to leverage strengths so they can cut the learning curve and execute. Any pitfall here is costly. Inherently, due to the nature of our industry, we’ve highlighted “curiosity” as one of our company values. Asking questions, seeking to understand. Anyone thinking they have this all figured out is severely mistaken. This is one of the reasons why cultural alignment is so important to us. Not everyone will be a fit and we’re often in positions where we do need to say “no” and walk away. That protects who we are, our way of doing an we won’t compromise there.

As for us directly – we can only control what we can control; staying nimble, unafraid to pivot, is always key. Failure is imminent, problems will arise. I think teams across the industry need to be better at developing a culture not only centered around growth and opportunity but also building confidence with team members by teaching principles centered around “failure recovery” – meaning when shit does hit the fan, how do we act, how do we communicate, and most importantly, how do we accept, learn and accelerate confidently moving forward. We see many becoming gun shy or paralyzed in making any future key decisions and as a team, no matter the role, this just can’t be. We stress this often, internally and externally – no doubt you can build brand with product and cool design, but nothing builds brand faster than how we respond to consumers when things don’t go as planned. Our reaction time, support and willingness to do right builds brand faster than anything you could imagine. You can’t buy that kind of authenticity or engagement. This is our #1 pillar and we encourage others to embrace this philosophy as much as we can.

WB: What is your favorite restaurant? Where? What kind of food? Do you cook? Who taught you? 

JC: I love restaurants and nearly every cuisine – and my year spent in New York made that abundantly clear. That said, I’m a huge fan of sushi (not places that have cream cheese as an ingredient on their menu though). I have a dear friend back at home who founded his own restaurant Oak & Rye that has caught the attention of the Bay Area communities – it’s pizza at its finest. When you consider the options, I think what’s always stood out to me are places where it’s not just about the food, but the environment; a place that creates an atmosphere of fun, community, and creating memories. And yes, sometimes that means indulging in McDonald’s every so often.

Do I cook? Yes. Randomly. Not sure anyone ever taught me but I have learned that the saying “never cook when you’re angry” is so true. Cooking, like design, is an art – there’s a fun in knowing you’re not a seasoned chef, but finding ways to mash together ideas and flavors. You might end up trashing the end result and Doordash-ing it but all good – it’s always about the process. I think some of the most memorable times in the kitchen are when you have a total mish mash of ingredients left in the fridge and somehow, then out comes my own masterpiece of culinary excellence.

WB: What is your passion?

JC: In a nutshell, my passion is building and giving people reasons to believe that we can do great things together. I’ve enjoyed my time doing the 0-100mph in startup mode and equally enjoyed opportunities to walk into a room full of strangers, to deliver workshops and watch how people’s energy changes, see them sitting 2” taller in their chairs – there’s a connection that I love making; relationships have been everything to me since day one. The older I’ve become and the more gray hairs I’ve sprouted along the way, you reach a certain point where you can smile and reflect. In my case, acknowledging that it was NEVER about my own ego or pride, it was never solely about the brand or the product. The value and importance in all that we do – is people. We don’t take any of this with us when it’s over – but what we can leave behind is immeasurable. We can support one another in how we think, how we do – mindset is so important. So many people don’t understand their own personal value and that so often we limit ourselves just by the way we think. I am firm believer, sometimes to a fault, ha, that, yes, it CAN be done. We CAN do better.