Empowering Local Governments
WHO WE WORK WITH
We Welcome our Latest Partners
We partner with cities, counties and states to ensure that their local cannabis industries are compliant, safe and successful!
We provide 1:1 coaching and technical assistance to Social Equity operators in the City of Los Angeles’s in partnership with Oaksterdam University!
We were recently selected to design and administer Modesto’s Pledge program, for the city’s Social Equity operators. Coming Soon!!
We have worked with the City of Oakland since 2018, and provide 1:1 coaching and technical assistance to Oakland Social Equity operators.
SERVICES WE PROVIDE
How we Help Local Governments
We provide numerous services to assist local governments administer successful cannabis programs that support compliant, profitable, tax-paying businesses.
Licenses & Permitting
Tulip & Oak constantly monitors updates and changes to state law and regulations for the cannabis industry. We provide general consulting and participate in various calls, meetings, and events that relate to statewide topics – helping to keep your program relevant.
Our team supports application development, the permit renewal process, application evaluation, and background checks that supplement and expands upon the State required information.
Audits & Compliance
Our Audit Team is led by Patrick Finnegan, CPA – an expert in Accounting for Cannabis Businesses. We provide on-site financial and tax audits, audit preparation workshops, accounting, tax, and financial services. We have partnered with the CDTFA to offer webinars related to taxes and to provide regulatory updates.
Our Finance Team is led by Andrea Unsworth, MBA – an expert in Finance for Cannabis Businesses. We provide regular webinars for operators, and attend monthly City meetings to provide assistance and answer public questions during live Q&A sessions.
We are experts in compliance, and have taken part in multiple DCC inspections. We offer pre-inspection tools for business operators, to ensure a smooth and efficient audit or inspection process.
Social Equity
Tulip & Oak’s foundation is in creating an equitable and diverse cannabis industry. Our founder, Andrea Unsworth and her partner have fought for and helped design many of the state of local California’s Cannabis Social Equity programs. We help design and implement Social Equity programs for local governments.
Tulip & Oak currently provides 1:1 Coaching and Technical Assistance to Social Equity operators throughout California.
Technical Assistance
Tulip & Oak is a cannabis business consulting firm providing a multitude of services, including hands-on training based on experience. We teach operators foundational business coursework and help them understand and work through the barriers at each stage of the business cycle.
We design curriculum for Technical Assistance Programs including: Business Planning, Finance & Accounting, Operations, Package Design, Advertising & Marketing, Distribution Strategy, and Sales.
Subject Matter Expertise
Collectively, our group has had direct experience owning and/or operating almost every type of Cannabis License in California. We have hands-on experience in the cultivation, manufacturing, packaging & labeling, distribution, and sales of commercial cannabis.
We design: SOPs, Master Manufacturing Protocols, Templates, and Best Practices Guides for the cannabis industry.
HOW TO START
Get in Touch
We have bandwidth to take on any project necessary! Click below to contact us or schedule a free consultation with us to see if we ar ethe consultant you need!
MORE ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES
What we have Done
Over Two Decades of Working with Local Governments
In the cannabis industry specifically, Tulip & Oak has been heavily involved at every stage of California’s transition into a legalized market since 2014 in various roles in each sector of the industry. We have worked with the City of Oakland, as well as the city’s contractors to directly support the City’s cannabis program for over a decade. We have also worked in the cities of Palm Springs, San Francisco, and Los Angeles providing technical assistance to cannabis operators.
Prior to the cannabis industry, our founder worked as a bond analyst for local governments at Moody’s Investors Service, authoring a number of articles on the impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington states and their ability to repay public debt.
Proven Leadership in the Cannabis Community
Within the first year of operating under the Prop 215 model, T&O began working with cannabis business owners, community stakeholders, and city council members to increase support for legalization at the local level. We recognized a need for leadership, organization, and policy formulation that was necessary to create a legal and equitable industry.
In 2015, Andrea led the Bay Area chapter of Women Grow, a national for-profit entity whose mission is to serve as a catalyst for women to influence and succeed in cannabis.
Strong Understanding of State & Local Cannabis Laws
Tulip & Oak has a strong familiarity with state and local cannabis laws, having been an outspoken advocate of licensure and Equity programs in the State of California for the last ten years. Much of our work has included drafting legislation and proposals for local and state cannabis laws, and working with local jurisdictions to develop and implement cannabis regulations.
We have years of experience with the permitting and approval process of the State of California, local governments and public agencies, and have completed multiple CUP applications.
We worked intimately with the City of Oakland and Elevate Impact to develop and design a successful commercial cannabis Loan & Grant program and then processed and reviewed applications for the first months of the program.
We have also worked with both local and state enforcement through numerous on-site audits and inspections of each license type.
We design: SOPs, Master Manufacturing Protocols, Templates, and Best Practices Guides for the cannabis industry.
A Deep & Personal Understanding of the Impact of the War on Drugs
Tulip & Oak has a deep and personal understanding of the impact of the War on Drugs, and in 2015 Andrea co-founded Supernova Women with the mission to foster community empowerment through education, advocacy, and network building. Supernova champions for the education and advancement of individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs as they pursue their entrepreneurial goals. The organization continues to foster a safe space for and amplifies the messages of their constituents at the local, state, and national level.
EMPOWERING PEOPLE OF COLOR TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT SHAREHOLDERS IN THE CANNABIS ECONOMY
While Equity programs are designed to serve the operators most harmed by the War on Drugs, the result is a benefit for the entire community, the consumers, and the cannabis industry as a whole.
A frequent speaker at national cannabis conferences, Andrea has successfully testified on behalf of cannabis regulation before the State of California and worked on many cannabis policy issues.
Years of Experience as an Operator in the Retail, Distribution, and Manufacturing sectors
Through our years of experience as operators, we have applied for and won nine retail license applications on behalf of clients throughout the state. As an expert in compliance as well, those years were spent drafting SOPs and manufacturing protocols for cannabis businesses.
As board members of the Oakland Equity Collective, we designed and implemented the first $2.3M tax-funded cannabis shared-kitchen program that hosts (6) cohorts; each receiving a rent-free space and technical assistance to get their businesses operational.
Through a partnership with Oaksterdam University, we also provide one-on-one technical assistance to the City’s 600+ Equity operators with support including operations, compliance, licensing, inspection preparation, inventory management, business planning, and manufacturing protocols.
Let’s Effect Positive Change Together
We love working with Local Governments to ensure that the programs that go into effect have the greatest success with the least backlash.
Book a free consultation with us today and we show you how T&O can be one of your organizations most important assets!
