Cannabis Startup Leverages High Search Interest in Sour Diesel and THCV for Explosive Growth

As a former Wall Street analyst, Degelis Pilla knows the value of data. It has served her well in all aspects of her professional life—from the stock market's Big Board to the boardrooms she entered as the COO of several startup companies. And today, as co-founder and CEO of TribeTokes, Pilla leverages data to get her cannabinoid wellness products in the hands of customers.

"In 2016, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the burgeoning cannabis industry," said Pilla. "It was an election year and several really major states were voting on legalizing cannabis. I was looking for my next project, and I believed in the cannabis movement."

The next year, Pilla met her future co-founder, Kymberly Byrns, at an event for women in the cannabis industry. The two founders connected over shared interests and goals, and ultimately, their clean cannabis brand was born.

Finding Purpose in Pure Cannabis

Pilla and Byrns decided that they'd tackle a specific issue within the cannabis world: product quality—and transparency.

"People love to vape. I prefer it over smoking, because it's discreet, doesn't smell, and is a bit easier on my lungs," said Pilla. "But some legitimate cannabis brands were putting things in vapes that they shouldn't, like e-cigarette base products or artificial flavoring instead of plant terpenes."

The first TribeTokes product, a CBD vape, was available online by 2018—and in 2019, consumer awareness around vape quality reached a critical peak.

"There was a vaping crisis. Some of the formulations that bad actors were producing wound up sending people to the hospital," Pilla said. "It really shone a light on the fact that not everything in the cannabis world was created equal."

TribeTokes' commitment to clean cannabis products gained some media attention around this time, as they offered an alternative to mainstream vapes of questionable origin.

"Everything we sell is lab tested," Pilla said. "Because there aren't many industry-wide rules on the regulatory and compliance side, we self-regulate. We're the gatekeeper to our customers. We want to make sure that everything's safe."

The positive press provided a great runway for TribeTokes to launch additional clean inventory like gummies—and gave Pilla a crash course in search engine optimization (SEO) at the same time.

No Ads, No Problem: Leveraging SEO for Growth

One of the trickiest things about running a cannabis startup in the United States is that proprietors can't advertise their products online. No Google Shopping, no search ads.

"Cannabis is blocked from most forms of paid advertising. But we grew organically early on from good press in Rolling Stone, Forbes, and Allure" said Pilla. "It was then that I realized we ranked for CBD keywords. So I learned how to optimize our site."

Pilla uses a mix of tools, including Semrush and Exploding Topics, to figure out what keywords are most relevant and valuable to TribeTokes.

"The advertising ban means we don't have a huge demand creation engine, but SEO gives us demand capture," said Pilla. "And some of the keywords we find are niche, too. For example, it's easier for us to rank for 'sour diesel vape' than it is for 'cannabis vape'."

Pilla also worked to build up a healthy backlink profile pointing to the TribeTokes site, getting products to appear in organic search results, and converting new website visitors to email subscribers. Today, the site has a healthy backlink profile—and a loyal list of repeat customers.

Using Trends to Drive Research and Development

Pilla not only uses search trends to market TribeTokes, but to inspire new product development, too.

"There are thousands of cannabis strains, so we'll look at search volume trends around different strains to guide our research and development process," said Pilla.

While not all of those trending strains will pass TribeTokes' high standards for taste, effect, and wellness benefit, SEO and trend data helps to point the team's research in the right direction.

"I've been subscribed to the Exploding Topics newsletter for years, and it's so fun and useful," said Pilla. "I use it for a mix of both work and life research. I personally started taking creatine after learning about it in the newsletter, and I also implemented some business software that was trending, too."

Moving Fast Amid Market Shifts

Pilla's ongoing desire to discover new ideas and products is one of many traits that make her a successful founder. That—and a healthy dose of discipline.

"Our company is entirely bootstrapped," she said. "I've gone back and forth on whether I would raise venture capital money if I did this again, but one good thing about being bootstrapped is that it's a forcing function for discipline. You have to consciously resist every shiny opportunity and get really good at the things that make you money."

Ultimately, choosing not to get investors meant that Pilla and Byrns could retain control over their vision for clean cannabis products.

"Not having investors has given us the opportunity to move really fast and stay nimble in an industry that's changing constantly. We don't have to worry about what investors are going to think, or if they'll be mad we're making a change," said Pilla. "We're able to just do what's best for us and the business."

Pilla recommends that other aspiring founders stick to what they know is best for their businesses, too.

"If I had told my 22-year-old Wall Street analyst self that I would be a legal drug dealer at 40, I'd have spit out my coffee," she said. "I recommend just staying open, trusting your instincts, and embracing change, whether it's in the world or in yourself."

Looking Toward the Future of Clean Cannabis

The TribeTokes evolution is ongoing, and Pilla continues to examine the trends that'll shape the future of her industry.

"We're currently working through the R&D pipeline for a THCV gummy," Pilla said. "That's another non-psychoactive cannabinod—a chemical precursor to THC—that suppresses your appetite and can help you focus. We had decided to combine THCV with CBD, but when we saw it appear in Exploding Topics, I got a nudge to push it up the release calendar."

The company is also working to expand its footprint across the United States.

"Our next step is to launch into the state cannabis market. We're in the queue to get our New York state manufacturing license, and we're a partner in a new license in Maryland," Pilla said.

Ultimately, it's feedback from customers that motivates Pella to keep expanding TribeTokes in new ways.

"When you're writing a product review or giving feedback online, it can feel like it's just going into the ether, like no one's ever seeing it," Pella said. "But we read every single comment. And when things get tough, that feedback keeps me going."