Former Ottawa business lawyer Koby Smutylo was one of many entrepreneurs prepared for that auspicious day on Oct. 17, 2018, when it became legal to sell recreational marijuana in Canada.
Highly knowledgeable and experienced in the budding industry, he raised millions of dollars through investors. He began leasing downtown storefronts, hiring staff – only to have his plans for his cannabis startup, Ouid, stubbed out when the Ontario government changed the rules. It temporarily capped the number of stores that could open and introduced a controversial lottery system that saw licenses awarded to 25 outlets across the province.
Ouid wasn’t one of them. But it was far from the end of the rollercoaster ride for Smutylo, his partners and countless other retail entrepreneurs keen to jump into the emerging sector.