The Digital Stronghold quietly gathered five men's apparel labels under one roof - from Taylor Stitch to Boston Scally - on a single contrarian bet: the fastest way to kill a good brand is to grow it too fast.
NorCal Cannabis Company is a vertically integrated, seed-to-sale cannabis operator based in Northern California. Founded in 2014, it grew out of the region's long, pre-legalization cannabis culture into a licensed holding company spanning cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, a portfolio of consumer brands, and retail dispensaries. The company scaled revenue from roughly $2M to over $70M in a few years and raised more than $50M in capital, positioning itself as one of California's more compliant, operationally mature cannabis businesses.
Nicholas Ling is the co-founder and CEO of Pattern Brands, a New York house of direct-to-consumer home goods brands. A physics graduate turned consultant turned brand builder, he ran the branding agency Gin Lane, which helped launch the likes of Harry's, Hims and Stadium Goods, before closing it in 2019 to build and acquire his own portfolio of brands including Open Spaces, Equal Parts, GIR, Yield, Letterfolk and Poketo. He pairs analytical rigor with a mission rooted in helping people enjoy time at home.