Troy Datcher, CEO of Jay-Z's The Parent Company: Build 'Amazon-esque' Brand Focused On Inclusion And Social Equity

Troy Datcher, CEO of TPCO Holding Corp, GRAMF, which does business as The Parent Company, spoke with the Business Insider about his role working with Jay-Z and their efforts to build The Parent Company into an "Amazon-esque" CPG brand with a focus on inclusion and social equity.

As the company's chief visionary officer, Jay-Z leads a social equity initiative that has given out $10 million in funding to brands led by Black and other minority entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry, a topic that Datcher addressed at length with the Business Insider.

The Parent Company: an "Amazon-esque" CPG brand

“Some things that I would say are Amazon-esque that I value as someone that likes to build brands,” said Datcher who added that companies can create the right ecosystem to control the entire experience of consumers and gain a competitive advantage vis-a-vis other companies.

“For example, we own everything from cultivation to the moment in which the products are either delivered to you across the counter with a budtender or at your doorstep through delivery. The thing I like about that is that we control every aspect of the experience, and that allows us to have an opportunity to get that all right, and it'd be a material difference in terms of what we offer versus others. So, there's some things I love about Amazon, like the convenience factor of Amazon,” Datcher explained.

Datcher highlighted Jay-Z’s financial commitment.

“You've probably read that we have $10 million in an equity fund set aside to help support Black and Brown entrepreneurs in this space. But in addition to the financial support, we're gonna make sure that we break down any barriers to entry for folks to get into the industry (...) and ensure they're successful.”

The CEO described Jay-Z as an “incredibly engaged and involved partner” and “a visionary who has been successful in many other places.”

Datcher shares Jay-Z's vision of “an impactful company, one that's not only obviously successful in every business sense of the word, but that has an impact on the communities in which we live, work and serve.”

Datcher, whose historic appointment as CEO of TPCO Holding was the first time a Black CEO was named to lead a major publicly traded cannabis company, told the 2021 Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference that The Parent Company is tied as the second-largest retail footprint in the state of California. 

"Our state objective is, by the end of 2022, to be able to reach 90% of California with either delivery or in one of our dispensaries," Datcher said.