Role track • Operations Leader
Operations Leader
Executive-level coursework for the people who own multi-store P&Ls: directors of operations, regional managers, founders scaling past one location, and MSO leaders running portfolios. The arc opens with the strategic fork between MSO and independent paths, then walks the full scaling playbook (portfolio architecture across formats and markets, vertical-integration strategy, regional org design, the leadership bench, compensation at scale). The financial arc covers the consolidated P&L through the 280E lens at MSO complexity, banking and capital access, unit economics across the portfolio, and pricing across markets with different competitive dynamics. The expansion arc is the end-to-end new-store playbook from licensing through real-estate to launch ops. The course closes with the emerging models (delivery, dark stores, consumption lounges) that will define the next decade.
24 lessons12.4 hours0 section quizzes6 chapters
Begin courseFree during early access
What you'll master
Outcomes you can defend.
- Decide between independent, regional, and MSO paths with the financial analysis to defend the choice
- Architect a multi-store portfolio across formats, markets, and price tiers
- Read the consolidated P&L at MSO complexity and identify the operating leverage
- Build the leadership bench and compensation system that survives expansion
- Run the new-store opening playbook end-to-end without burning capital on preventable mistakes
- Evaluate emerging models (delivery, dark stores, lounges) and decide what belongs in your portfolio
Curriculum
The full syllabus.
Every lesson, in the order we recommend you take them. Click any lesson to begin. Your progress saves automatically.
Part 01
5 lessons • 159 minScaling Strategy
- 01From One Store to Many: The Operator's Scaling PlaybookHow a single-store operator builds the strategy, the org chart, the financial chassis, and the launch plan to grow from one location to two, three, and five, including the specific decisions that decide whether store two compounds the original or kills it.39 min
- 02Portfolio Strategy: Store Formats, Positioning, and Market CoverageHow to design a multi-store cannabis portfolio that wins by covering distinct trade areas with deliberately different formats and positionings, and how to keep the assortment, pricing, and capital deployment coherent across the whole network rather than per store. Note: as of April 22, 2026, state-licensed medical cannabis is Schedule III; adult-use remains Schedule I, and Section 280E relief applies only to the medical portion of dual-license operators going forward.27 min
- 03MSO vs Independent: The Strategic ForkHow to read the structural advantages of MSO scale against the structural advantages of independent focus, model both paths through the Strategic Profit Model, and use break-even math to prove which path your specific store and market can actually sustain.27 min
- 04Vertical Integration: When It Wins, When It Traps CapitalHow an operations leader decides which tiers of the cannabis supply chain to own, which to contract, and when to dis-integrate; the per-state, per-tier discipline that separates portfolios that compound from portfolios that strand cash in depreciating grow facilities. For state-licensed medical cannabis operations, Section 280E relief is now available going forward as of April 2026, but recreational cannabis remains Schedule I and subject to 280E.37 min
- 05Interstate Ambition and Federal Rescheduling: What to Prepare ForHow to plan a multi-state operation against four live federal variables (Schedule III rescheduling for medical cannabis, SAFER Banking, interstate commerce, and the 2026-11-12 hemp reset) including a SWOT-driven playbook that turns federal uncertainty into a sequenced operating plan rather than a guess.29 min
Part 02
4 lessons • 113 minMulti-Store Org
- 06Regional Org Structures: GMs, DMs, and Span of Control Across StoresHow a multi-store cannabis operation actually staffs itself once it crosses the second, fifth, and tenth store thresholds, including the math on how many GMs a director can run, where the director-tier roles slot in, and how labor productivity discipline keeps the regional org from quietly bloating one headcount at a time.24 min
- 07Hiring Executives and Building a Retail Leadership BenchHow to hire your first GM, your second compliance manager, and the inventory lead who keeps Metrc clean; how to build a written progression ladder from receptionist to GM; and how to model the full economic cost of a leadership opening so the next bench seat is funded before the current one breaks.26 min
- 08Compensation at Scale: Salary Bands, Equity, Bonus StructuresHow to build a defensible cannabis compensation system at multi-store scale: market-anchored salary bands, the four base pay models and where each fits behind a budtender counter, phantom equity at the senior tier, and the bonus and labor-productivity math that makes the whole package pay for itself.32 min
- 09Labor Relations Across Multiple StoresHow a multi-store cannabis operator structures union relationships, tip policy, benefits, and compensation plans across locations without producing the wage drift, compliance gaps, and litigation exposure that quietly destroy multi-store operations. State-licensed medical cannabis operations can now deduct ordinary business expenses going forward under IRC Section 280E, but recreational operations remain subject to the restriction.31 min
Part 03
4 lessons • 128 minFinancial Command
- 10The Consolidated P&L and the 280E Lens at MSO ScaleHow an operations leader reads, builds, and defends a consolidated P&L for a multi-store cannabis operator: the chart-of-accounts shape that survives 280E, the dual-view (reported and cash-effective) reporting cadence, the segment math that exposes weak stores, and the break-even and ROA frames that turn a stack of store P&Ls into a single decision tool.37 min
- 11Banking, Capital, and Treasury for Cannabis MSOsHow an MSO operations leader builds treasury, banking, and capital structure for an industry where state-licensed medical cannabis has moved to Schedule III (as of April 22, 2026) but adult-use remains Schedule I, including the per-archetype banking math, the sale-leaseback decision, the cost-of-capital calculus, and the operating discipline that turns a 30-day closure notice into a non-event.33 min
- 12Unit Economics Across the PortfolioHow to read every store, every category, and every customer cohort as a unit-economics problem; how to use ROA decomposition, GMROI, and CLV-to-CAC to compare seven stores against each other on the same scoreboard; and how to spot the unit-economics liar before it eats the portfolio.27 min
- 13Pricing Strategy Across MarketsHow an operations leader running stores across multiple market-maturity tiers sets a defensible pricing posture for each location, calibrates category-by-category through the lens of elasticity and gross margin, and protects portfolio cash flow against Section 280E tax treatment that applies only to recreational cannabis operations.31 min
Part 04
5 lessons • 164 minExpansion Playbook
- 14Opening New Stores: The Operator's End-to-End PlaybookHow a multi-store operator runs a new dispensary opening end-to-end: from the strategic gate that justifies the project, through licensing and buildout, into hiring, inventory, soft open, and the first ninety days of operating rhythm. State-licensed medical cannabis operations now benefit from Section 280E relief on operating expenses, while recreational cannabis remains subject to 280E restrictions.40 min
- 15Market Entry: Licensing Paths by StateHow to read a state cannabis market before committing capital, including the open-versus-limited license decision tree, the local-approval gauntlet, the trade area math that decides whether the license is worth winning, and the seven-step strategic process that turns a market scan into a defensible site.30 min
- 16Real Estate: Site Selection, Lease Negotiation, Landlord HandlingHow to find a green-zoned site, qualify the trade area, negotiate the cannabis-specific lease clauses that decide whether the deal is survivable, and handle landlords across the spectrum from cannabis-experienced to hard-no.34 min
- 17Buildout Cost Benchmarks and Where Operators OverspendWhat a cannabis retail buildout actually costs by line item and by market, the four overspend traps that swallow first-time operator capital, the break-even discipline that decides whether a six-figure finish upgrade pays back inside the lease term or just bleeds working capital, and how to read buildout costs through the lens of evolving federal cannabis scheduling.30 min
- 18Launch Operations: The First 90 Days of a New StoreHow to plan, open, and operationally stabilize a new dispensary in the first ninety days, including the inventory budget by store type, the category allocation that survives contact with real customers, the launch-week traffic curve, and the weekly adjustment loop that decides whether the store compounds or stalls.30 min
Part 05
3 lessons • 74 minTech Stack
- 19Tech Stack Decisions at Scale: POS, ERP, CRM, AnalyticsHow an operations leader assembles, evaluates, and rebalances the cannabis retail tech stack at portfolio scale, choosing among all-in-one bundles and best-of-breed components, and instrumenting the stack with the operating metrics that turn vendor pitches into defensible procurement decisions.29 min
- 20Compliance Systems Beyond MetrcHow an operator stitches together the full compliance technology stack beyond Metrc, including BioTrack, Leaf Data Systems, state-built trackers, COA aggregators, banking and payments compliance platforms, and the workflow discipline that turns disparate systems into a defensible audit posture.18 min
- 21Ecommerce and Omnichannel at ScaleHow an operations leader stitches POS, ecommerce menus, loyalty, delivery, and SMS into a single omnichannel customer profile under cannabis's specific constraint stack, then runs the unit economics that justify the integration spend. As of April 2026, state-licensed medical cannabis is Schedule III; adult-use remains Schedule I. Section 280E relief applies to medical operations going forward.27 min
Part 06
3 lessons • 109 minEmerging Models
- 22Delivery Operations at the Regional LevelHow a regional operator runs delivery as a real operating unit: the launch decision, zone math, W2 driver economics, dispatch design, compliance posture, and the unit economics that decide whether each zone earns its keep. State-licensed medical cannabis operators can now deduct delivery expenses going forward under the April 2026 partial rescheduling; recreational delivery remains Schedule I with no 280E relief.39 min
- 23Dark Stores, Micro-Fulfillment, and the Future of Cannabis FulfillmentHow to evaluate dark stores, delivery hubs, and micro-fulfillment for a cannabis operation, including the cross-industry lessons from grocery and Q-commerce, the cannabis-specific overlays that change the math, and the break-even discipline that decides whether the second site compounds the first or burns capital.33 min
- 24Consumption Lounges, Events, and On-Premise ExperiencesHow an operator decides whether on-premise consumption belongs in the portfolio, sizes the trade area for a lounge or event venue, picks the purchase model and experience archetype that fits the local market, and reads the unit economics through the 280E lens before committing capital.37 min
Ready when you are
Operations Leader starts with one lesson.
From One Store to Many: The Operator's Scaling Playbook, 39 minutes. Pick it up here whenever you have time.
Start lesson 1