Episode 23
Dispense Co-Founder & CEO, Kyla Sirni
Today's guest started building a strong work ethic at the age of 12, and never stopped. Understanding she learned through work, it was fundamental that her choice in University had an emphasis on learning through action. She followed her interest in event production to a premier events company in Boston, producing high-end events like a Super Bowl Ring Ceremony at the team owner's house. It was in her time managing Boston's most select night clubs that she noticed a gap; The Ultra Premium club life was Ultra antiquated in how they managed guest bookings. To solve that, she co-founded TabelList to modernize Night Club and event reservations. They soon expanded Nationally, and beyond the club too, landing the most Ultra Premium event of 2017... Fyre Fest! Wow! You may have seen the documentaries, but facing $3.5M in chargebacks! Just Wow! Following that, she took over as CEO, and with 4 others stayed to rebuild the decimated company. Just as things were growing again, she lost her Mom to Cancer. This was all just before COVID hit, shutting down every nightclub and event in the World.
A call came in from an old contact from Boston, who needed help managing the growing queues at their dispensaries during Covid. Could their software help? Bring hospitality to Cannabis, please enjoy the Founder's Journey of Kyla Sirni, Co-Founder & CEO of Dispense.
Professional Summary:
Kyla (Moore) Sirni is the Co-Founder & CEO of Dispense, an e-commerce and order management software for cannabis dispensaries. Before Dispense, Kyla worked for nearly two decades in the hospitality industry, planning prestigious events for high-profile clients and managing several nightlife venues. In 2013, experiencing firsthand the lack of technology and tools available for venue operators, Kyla Co-Founded Tablelist, a ticketing, reservations, and guest management software that is now being used in 50+ cities worldwide. When hospitality shut down because of COVID 19, Kyla saw an opportunity to utilize her experience and the Tablelist infrastructure to bring a hospitality-driven, customer-centric software to help retailers in the cannabis industry.
Company Summary:
Dispense is B2B e-commerce software focused on providing cannabis dispensaries with the technology and tools they need to sell products online, manage operations, build direct customer relationships, and scale their businesses.
Show Notes:
- Playland Park
- Rafanelli Events
- Tabelist
- Abner Kurtin, Ascend Wellness
- NextView Ventures
- Emily Paxhia, Patrick Rea, Poseidon Asset Management
- Dispense
Top 5 Articles/Interview with our Guest:
- Ticket Vendor Tablelist Sues Fyre Festival Organizers for $3.5 Million
- Miami Party Organizers Select Tablelist as Event Operations Partner to Streamline Guest Experience for the Big Game
Kyla Sirni, Co-Founder & CEO of Dispense
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylamoore/
https://www.facebook.com/dispenseapp
https://www.instagram.com/dispense_app
https://twitter.com/dispense_app
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dispenseapp
Brian Weber, Producer & Host, Lit Up Cannabis: A Founder's Journey
www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/
www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/
www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/
Listen to the episode here or on our website litupfounders.com for links to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts or RSS to your favorite podcast app.
