Talking Hard Work and Hip Hop with Matt Frost of the AI-Powered Cannabis Retail Solution, anna
One of the perks of working at a cannabis PR and marketing agency is getting to know our awesome clients—and getting an insider’s look at some of the most innovative brands and companies out there. In this monthly feature series we ask a different client the same five questions, and we share those tasty tidbits with our readers.
This month we’re excited to spotlight Matt Frost, founder and CEO of anna, an AI-powered cannabis retail solution.
Five Questions: Matt Frost
- What is your favorite part about leading anna? The people. I am really privileged to choose the people I work with on a daily basis.
- What was your most interesting job before working in cannabis? For about half a summer, I worked at a ritzy private golf club in the south shore of Massachusetts. I met a lot of cool people, while I had the liberty of cleaning their cleats.
- Where can we find you after work? Trick question because I'm a workaholic.
- Tell us your go-to karaoke song: Given my era of hip hop knowledge, anything Slim Shady or Lil Wayne.
- What advice would you give to other cannabis industry professionals? This is going to be an industry like any other, once water finds its level. With hard work and dedication, you can become anything you want in this industry.
Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist and cannabis futurist, widely respected in both modern media and drug-policy circles. He was appointed The Denver Post’s first-ever cannabis editor in 2013 and founded news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the advent of the U.S. adult-use cannabis market and related issues around the world, as seen in the feature documentary Rolling Papers.
Ricardo launched Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency® in 2016 to work directly with business leaders in highly regulated industries, from cannabis and psychedelics to spirits and healthcare. In 2023, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appointed Ricardo to the state’s first-ever Natural Medicine Advisory Board to contribute to policy development around the state’s eventual psychedelics framework.
Named one of Fortune’s 7 Most Powerful People in America’s Marijuana Industry in 2016 and Marketer of the Year by AdCann in 2019, has received numerous accolades for his trailblazing work. In addition to his previous journalistic coverage of drug policy, cannabis business and culture, Ricardo continues to host panel discussions at events nationwide and contribute columns for a number of top publications including Rolling Stone. He is also a sought-after thought leader in media, cultural events and podcasts, and has spoken on The Colbert Report, NPR’s All Things Considered, TEDxBoulder, TEDxMarin and multiple years at SXSW.
Three media outlets I check every single day: The Denver Post, Vox, The New York Times
Super inspired by: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
My monthly #GrasslandsGives donation: The Marshall Project
When I’m off the clock (in five words): Travel. Design. Writing. Feminist. ENFP.