EPISODE #63 Entrepreneurial Challenges Within European Cannabis with Fabian Friede, Co-Founder of S
EPISODE #63 Entrepreneurial Challenges Within European Cannabis with Fabian Friede, Co-Founder of S
This week we’re joined by Fabian Friede, Co-Founder of Sanity Group – cannabinoid based pharmaceutical, and wellness startup based in Berlin, Germany.
Join us as we explore; the entrepreneurial challenges Sanity Group have faced, their major Series A funding, and the importance of building a solid team in startup culture.
About Fabian
Fabian has nine years experience in building companies and managing international teams in various industries including marketplaces, eCommerce, Tech and more. He founded three of his own companies before Sanity Group and has a strong passion for creating value for customers & patients.
Episode Summary
• After exploring the start-up scene across various businesses in multiple countries, Fabian returned to Berlin in 2013 when we started his first company – Locafox.
• Between 2013 and 2018 Fabian founded and grew his own businesses until Sanity Group was founded in 2018, alongside Finn Hänsel.
• In 2016, it was decided that patients in Germany with a prescription for medical cannabis could cultivate at home.
• In March 2017, the German parliament signed a law allowing the medical use of the cannabis plant. The law entitles doctors to prescribe the plant – mainly the dried cannabis flower or cannabis extracts – to people with severe diseases.
• Sanity Group focuses on two pillars – medicinal and wellbeing. The holding company has a number of portfolio brands including pharmaceutical company Vayamed and direct to consumer wellbeing company Vaay .
• Vaay’s takes a holistic view, with a wide range of CBD based products which integrate into everyday rituals.
• In 2019, the company embarked on a Series A funding round which saw the company raising $22M in investment from venture capitalists internationally.
• At the moment, the company is operating within Germany only – Europe’s largest CBD market but plans to expand post Covid-19.
• Much like the UK, access to medicinal cannabis in Germany is not easy. Doctors have to overcome many hurdles to be able to prescribe and there is also a high rejection rate from insurance companies (between 30 and 40 percent).
• Fabian has a positive outlook for the future in regards to the industry recovering from Covid-19. He suggests that the healthcare and pharma industry has not been affected in the same way that other industries have such as retail.
Quotables‘
Fall in love with the problem, not the solution’ 06:05
‘Recruiting is extremely important to the success of your business’ 18:31
Resources
Join Fabian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianfriede/
Join Sanity Group on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanitygroupeu
Join Sanity Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanitygroup/
Sanity Group Website: https://twitter.com/sanitygroupeu
Great work. If you would like, let’s discuss the CBD market in India. I have been researching on the rich history of Cannabis use in India and I think you will enjoy digging these stories 🙂
I found your podcast today! Definetly going to listen more often!