Sean Dollinger, CEO and Founder of Namaste Technologies, has an entrepreneurial footprint that has seen him running or building businesses around the globe since 1998. There’s a common thread that connects his rather eclectic resume. “I’ve always loved finding opportunities in a niche market and being the best I can possibly be,” he says.
Sean has been innovating for years, challenging the business landscape with disruptive models across a range of different sectors. Whilst his tenure hasn’t always been smooth, this shrewd entrepreneur has maneuvered his career to a profitable path in the face of adversity.
Namaste Vapes (2010–2013) and Namaste Technologies (2014–present) is his latest success story. Heralded as Your Everything Cannabis Store™, Namaste Technologies is the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with: 32 sites in 20 countries; over 600,000 monthly visits to their e-commerce sites and a database of 1.5 million users.
“We’ll continue to pioneer new brand technologies and evolutions for new medical advances & implementation of medical cannabis,” says Dollinger.
This Tech Chief has a total willingness to invest in his end goal—and incredible endurance and ability to absorb risk. He has taken the business to extremes and prepares for aggressive growth strategies for global explosion to become the “Amazon of Cannabis.”
“We’re at the forefront for innovation in the cannabis sector and we continue to introduce ambitious new concepts and smart shopping solutions that provide people with an easy way to fully utilise cannabis,” he says.
Global online expansion may concern purists, however, Sean’s knowledge about e-commerce and the cannabis industry has earned steadfast credibility that works to encourage narrative and change perception. He enforces the power of ‘knowing your brand identity’ and knowing what you stand for as a company. “We don’t want to create a noise. We want to create a voice,” he says.
On Friday, September 21, Namaste received Health Canada’s First ACMPR sales—only License, the first of its kind to be issued by Health Canada. This represents the most significant milestone in the history of the company and is the final component of its platform and goal of becoming Canada’s leading online platform for medical cannabis.
Namaste Technologies is a serendipitous success story. Whilst on a trip to Israel Sean’s biological father, a yoga instructor in Laguna Beach California asked him to check out “these really cool vaporisers.” Sean instantly knew he could profit from this opportunity and decided to apply his e-commerce skills and sell them online. Three to five units a day, became one hundred, then a thousand. That moment changed everything.
Born in 1980, Dollinger had a humble upbringing. He saw beauty and opportunity when it was not pretty every day. Baseball showcased his superpowers and gave him an identity outside the paralysis of poverty that made him feel alive. He was hooked. “When you’re an athlete you become important. It made me. It saved me. When I ran on the field nothing else mattered and I was able to let go,” he says.
As a child he was developed beyond his years—his literacy, numeracy, recall, critical thinking was sharp. “Growing up I looked at my entrepreneurial grandfather and wanted to create a similar life for myself. It’s funny. When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said CEO of a publicly traded company. And now I am leading one of the most exciting companies in the world.”
At age 18, (1998) Sean launched Easy Touch, a delivery service which would pick up and drop off anything from cigarettes to alcohol, food and fashion. It became one of the most recognised and reputable companies which made between $100 to $5,000 cash a day. “At times the weather was brutal and requests unreasonable, but we met the demands and became the fastest and most reliable delivery services in the city.”
Whilst his client base grew and word of mouth spread, some of the hoops he had to jump through were humiliating. “I will never forget the time a very rich regular threw me a big bag of pennies at the door for being 10 minutes late. It was definitely a low point in my life, and from that moment I made a promise to myself that no matter how successful I became I will always treat people with respect.” Whilst faithless he has always remained trustworthy which has been the hallmark of his success.
Life became busy when he was offered a baseball scholarship to the USA (1998–2002). Money was a palpable signifier of the boy’s outside status. Whilst Sean’s peers could concentrate on the game at hand he had to find a way to pay for his rental, keep good grades, excel at baseball and bring in enough income to feed himself. “There are moments in life that define you. I was 19 years old and the rental cheque my mother had sent to the landlord had bounced so I had to sleep in the car for two weeks before heading back to Canada.”
At the age of 21, Dollinger launched his first e-commerce company selling electronic parts online. “We started by selling just a few a day to quickly 100’s and it was the most exciting things I had experienced since baseball. Once I saw FedEx coming every day, my bank account rising, I was hooked. E-commerce is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Nothing like making money while you sleep.”
His next entrepreneurial venture was with the successful establishment of the technology company Online Internet Consultant in Niche Markets. The company is designed for those interested in expanding their products around the world from marketing strategies online, handling support in multiple languages to handling logistics through specialized channels. The core of the business includes concept and market creation through international e-commerce marketing channels and the formation of strategic supply and distribution partnerships to secure and develop products, open logistics channels and improve customer service.
Following this, he then launched a fashion apparel company alongside Koodley (2006–2014) the first ever mobile repeater system company.
Dollinger’s high-performance management style, leadership depth and laser focus has pioneered all companies under his command to a profitable path.
“While the technology is all there, you need the people dimension,” he says. “That means getting the right talent and effectively globalising teams of people who are reliable and excited about the development of the cannabis space, and pushing them to be the best, every day.”
Sean’s thoughts are moving towards global explosion.
He has been recognised as a Top 100 MOVER, SHAKER & CANNABIS BAKER of 2018.
Photo Credit: Nick Potts: https://nicolaspotts.com/
