Fast Company Brasil Editorial 6 minutes of reading
Entrepreneurship in the cannabis segment means educating the public daily, fighting for new regulations and constantly learning from new research. All this while finding ways to enable a sustainable business, with positive social impact and quality products.
Navigating these turbulent paths does not take away the good mood of Ana Júlia Kiss, CEO and founder of Humor.
The challenges only work to give more energy to the entrepreneur in the cannabis sector. Founded in 2022, Humora produces and sells cannabidiol (CBD) isolated with other herbal medicines and also offers medical advice for obtaining treatments with the product in Brazil.
Ana Júlia founded Humora after spending years leading the family business, a large company in the chemical sector, and brought to the world of cannabis part of the vision that technology is essential for gaining scale. Made based on nanotechnology, Humora products come in spray formats, which help with absorption by the body.
In this interview with Fast Company Brasilthe entrepreneur talks about prohibitionism and lack of knowledge about the properties of the plant, the technology incorporated into the products and the challenges of the medical cannabis market.
FC Brasil – According to Kaya Mind, more than 430 thousand people make therapeutic use of cannabis derivatives in Brazil. Even with regulatory issues, it is a growing audience. What are the challenges in making this market even broader and what are the prospects for the segment?
Ana Júlia Kiss – There are two pillars: regulation and education. Regularizing, legalizing, having clearer standards for importing products, this is all a challenge that the market needs to overcome.
When we talk about education, it is necessary to educate doctors about the endocannabinoid system, which is a very recent discovery, dating back to 1991. I joke that there are doctors who graduated before this discovery.
In 10 years, the topic won’t even be about whether cannabis is good for you or not. We will be at another time.
There are many colleges that do not present this system in their courses. The endocannabinoid system is formed by the group of THC and CBD receptors spread throughout the body. The system helps balance the body.
The pillar of education also means educating the population and potential patients about the benefits and misclassification of cannabis due to prohibition.
It is a plant that has been part of human culture for more than five thousand years, and has had more than 300 modifications created by man. It has several uses, provides a series of products, but we stay away due to prejudice.
For me, these are the biggest challenges: educating the population that this is not a drug, educating the system for doctors and legalizing it. When we talk about regulating, it is regulating something from nature, a herbal medicine, not a black-and-white medicine.
FC Brasil – What is Humora and how does it differentiate itself in the cannabis market?
Ana Júlia Kiss – Humora assumes that, if we all have an endocannabinoid system, we should all use medicinal cannabis to feed and supplement this system.
Our product is water-based, easier for the body to absorb. The market usually makes them oil-based. Our products have CBD nanoparticles that penetrate deeper into the body, faster.
We make formulas focused on people’s conditions, for example, to treat premenstrual tension or to improve sleep. We empower the patient to get to know their body and what their complaints are. We have cashback social, donating part of our revenue. We have the eu-recycle seal, we offset the carbon of air freight.
FC Brasil – What has it been like for you to navigate a new industry, which requires breaking down prejudices and promoting knowledge and awareness?
Ana Júlia Kiss – It’s been a fun journey. One of the great pleasures of being on this journey in the medical cannabis industry is that every day I learn, not only because it is new, but because every day there are new studies, new possibilities.
And there are also new rules, making us rethink our business plans. For me, it has been a pleasure to be constantly challenged to think differently. This values the human aspect of the journey.
The biggest challenges are educating the population that this is not a drug, educating the system for doctors and legalizing it.
Because it is about prejudice and the need for education, this makes us have a vision beyond our cycle, outside our bubbles. We have to put on an empathetic lens to understand how the issue is seen on the outskirts, how it is seen in Faria Lima, how it affects every section of society.
This encourages us to have empathy, a great echo with each of the humans who come into contact with us. In 10 years, the subject will no longer be about whether cannabis is good for you or not, we will be at another point. It’s great to be part of this journey.
FC Brasil – You took over the family business in the chemical industry and were an angel investor in companies such as AppJusto and RoupaTeca. What was your journey like until you created Humora and what motivates you to support startups?
Ana Júlia Kiss – I was trained on three fronts. Having managed my family’s company made me have the mentality of working in an industry “in the race”, which had to maintain itself without external investors, with money limited.
Then, when we made the sale to a North American group, I came into contact with a completely different way of seeing: scale, globalization, the abundance of money.
Credit: @monking.br
When I became an angel investor, during my gap year, I chose to look at startups with high social impact. It was a place for me to renew, connect with the agile mindset.
Having gone to the world of startups gave me a lot of literacy about the existence of new industrial models, because I came from an old model, with a factory floor. In my role as an angel investor, I saw that there are other types of liquidity, tangibility and other ways of doing business.
When I founded Humora, it was a little bit of everything. Working with cannabis is pure impact, because you are talking about changing the law, talking about an economic and also social alternative. Because there is the issue of reparation for those who suffered harm as a result of it being prohibited for so many years.
FC Brasil – You describe yourself as an entrepreneur full of enthusiasm and good humor. We know how complex it is to be an entrepreneur in Brazil. How to undertake and maintain a good mood?
Ana Júlia Kiss – I’m a hemp-entrepreneur, and for me, good humor is everything. It’s what builds relationships, what defuses a fight. Working with a good mood creates bonds, a smile on our faces, and makes it easier for us to face challenges. These challenges will come, and it is tiring, yes.
But, when you maintain a good mood and assume good intentions, you accept adversity and are willing to think differently, without pain or targeted bias, you think more about solutions, see the positive side, see the glass as full.
Good humor in adversity makes you have more solutions. You see diversity as something that will develop you. It’s a place to play.