The Story
John Moore, student and aspiring entrepreneur, decided to test the boundaries of experimental legislation when he came up with the idea for his latest venture. The Grove is founded on the idea that like minded people who enjoy the influence of marijuana should be able to consume it in a safe, comfortable, and community-based public setting.
“The grove is a collective space with rotating food venders and artists as well as entertainment at night. It utilizes initiative 300 which allows business to host a consumption area for cannabis,” said Moore.
After his time working with Canopy, an accelerator that was helping to test initiative 300, he saw that public consumption is the future of the industry. Initiative 300 passed in November of 2016. In August of 2017, when the applications opened, Moore noticed that not many people were taking advantage of the new legislation and decided to jump on the opportunity.
Already, The Grove created partnered with 4 local Colorado Artists for instillation and has its eye on the River North Art District of Denver as a permanent location. The River North Art District, or RiNO, is known internationally for it’s breweries, street art, and live evening entertainment. What was once a shady area of Denver, quickly turned into a cultural hub and breeding ground for innovation.
The company hopes to eventually work with a franchise model that will allow them to expand to various cities around the country when they’re ready. Besides Colorado, other cities including California, Massachusetts, Ottawa, Nevada, and Vermont are also testing programs similar to Initiative 300. If things go well in Colorado, Moore plans to expand The Grove to theses cities as well.
As the founder and CEO, Moore has had his fair share of roadblocks during his path of entrepreneurship. He’s working to address many of the challenges for the future of The Grove in conjunction with Silicon Flatirons and the entrepreneurial law clinic at CU. Moore says that there is a lot of advertising roadblocks and consumption permits that accompany the marijuana industry in Colorado.
After The Grove won quick pitch night through the New Venture Challenge, Moore’s venture has quickly been gaining momentum.
“Pretty foundational to the grove is that we are tying to create a platform for the progression of public consumption while continuing to de-stigmatize what cannabis consumption can be in society. There are a lot of underlying problems with the stigmatization of cannabis. That’s the bug WHY behind the Grove,” said Moore.
Background
John Moore is a second semester senior studying business management and minoring in TAM at CU Boulder. He is enrolled in the Leeds program for entrepreneurial strategy. As the founder of The Grove, he hopes to provide at atmosphere where community members can gather to publicly consume marijuana while enjoying local venders and artists.
Problem It Solves
The Grove allows people to legal consume marijuana in public in a controlled and safe environment.
How It Works
Initiative 300 is experimental legislation that will allow the legal consumption of marijuana within the city limits of Denver. The Grove works to provide a place where adults that are 21 or over can go and enjoy food, marijuana, and art alongside other like minded people.
Current State
Moore and his team have build a foundational business model and are working to fix the kinks when it come to the confines of the current legislation within Colorado.