Cannabis Conference 2023 Keynote Highlight

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Chris Ball: What I’ve Learned In Cannabis

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

Chris Ball, CEO of Ball Family Farms, knows the hardships of the cannabis industry. From his experience with the painful repercussions of the failed war on drugs to his transition from a legacy cultivator to a bootstrapped social equity founder in the newly legal landscape in California, Chris knows the challenges of succeeding in cannabis. Even today, as new economic pressures hammer away at legal cannabis businesses, Chris knows that this is not an easy place to work—but he knows it’s a worthwhile endeavor. He shows up every day at Ball Family Farms with that conviction. With his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for the cannabis plant, Chris knows the value of building something for the long term in this industry.

In this candid Keynote Address, Chris will share:

how cannabis entered his life and embedded itself in his future,
details about his incarceration for selling cannabis at a young age and its impact on his life,
his transition and journey into to the legal market as one of the first Social Equity licensees in Los Angeles,
the steep learning curve he faced as a CEO of a startup cultivation operation in the world’s largest cannabis market (California … As some say, if you can survive in LA, you can survive anywhere!),
how he built a team while balancing family dynamics and professional relationships as the business grew rapidly,
his evolution as CEO as he worked to manage revenue and profit, costs and spending decisions,
his experiences and innovations in cannabis genetics, cultivation and the value of a brand,
lessons he has learned from the market downturn and how to adapt, and
his predictions for and insights into the cannabis industry’s future.

Don’t miss this heartfelt, inspiring story about the realities of the cannabis industry, from prohibition to profit … and how the most passionate and persevering can succeed.

Chris Ball

Owner and CEO
Ball Family Farms www.ballfamilyfarms.com/

Ball-Family-Farms

@BallFamilyFarmsLA

@BallFamilyFarms

Chris Ball is the founder of Ball Family Farms, and one of the first Social Equity licensed vertically integrated cannabis facilities in Los Angeles. Mr. Ball is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovative cultivator. The Southern California native began selling cannabis as a teen to put himself through junior college, where he played football. After discovering the cultivation side of cannabis while playing professionally in Canada, he began his self-taught botany education with no prior knowledge of the craft. Ball then acquired a 5,000-square-foot cultivation warehouse in Los Angeles –with only 14 lights in a tiny room and began growing for Prop 215 shops.

And in 2016, when Los Angeles adopted commercial cannabis regulations and announced its Social Equity Program (SEP), Ball saw it as the perfect opportunity to transition and grow his business. Ball Family Farms (BFF) incorporated in 2018 and launched its first commercial strain, Daniel LaRusso. The balanced hybrid instantly became a favorite strain in licensed cannabis retail. And in 2021, BFF doubled its facility size to 40,000 square feet and began expanding its slate of flower strains - from three to ten.

While Ball's initial goal was to create unmatched premium cannabis products, BFF also aims to promote equal pay, diversity and inclusion, and women's empowerment in the workplace. As a tribute to the company's activism and commitment to excellence, the company embraces its motto and tagline, "Cultivating the Culture…from the Ground UP!"

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