Hamid Hamrah is a Senior Vice President of New American Funding, partner in the cannibis industry at Root 66 Canna, and last but not least a loyal client of Gentry’s Limited. Being born in a war ravaged country, Hamid’s family moved to the United States to live a new life. Hamid, started early building a succesful career in mortgage the last 22 years, then ultimately dipped his toes into the cannabis market.

HH: “Well I have been in mortgage for 22 years, my official title is Senior Vice President of New American Funding but I got into the cannabis business about four years ago. I was very lucky to have a lot of really smart people to help build a team around me to get it going. We have a 50,000 square foot facility in Missouri where we grow and manufacture edibles, vapes, and we even have dispensaries where we sell it. I got into it as I really started to pay attention to the politics around drug companies. I feel like these drug companies out there just want to shove drugs down your throat but they do not care about what happens to these people due to taking the drugs. You see commercials that say for an example ‘if you take this it could cause blindness, diarrhea, and stomach ache,’ then a week later you see a commercial from a legal firm saying, ‘if you lost a loved one who was taking this, you may be entitled to a settlement.’ These commercials had me start doing my research with cannabis, and I learned that it is a natural substance with so many benefits that made me want to start this business so I could get it to the patients and the people that really need it. To see a person using my product, being able to increase their appetite, or decrease their anxiety or pain, without having to take drugs, some that can be addictive with crazy side effects, means the world to me. I also see that there is so much potential of cannabis that has yet to be unlocked to see what we can really do is a very exciting adventure.”

HH: “I wasn’t actually born in the States, I was born in Iran, and I moved here when I was six. My family first moved to El Dorado, Kansas, when the war between Iran and Iraq started. My family obviously moved here to give us freedom and to give us a place to rest our heads without having to think about being killed. We left our country with a couple of suitcases and that’s it.”

HH: “I went to Mizzou for school and I found that Saint Louis is a very family oriented town. It’s easygoing and compared to the fight my family had when we finally settled into this country, it was very refreshing. After moving to this country and living in Kansas, my family settled in Miami, so when you compare Miami to Saint Louis the difference is night and day. Miami is extremely fast paced from the highways, to restaurants, and even the ball games. It just doesn’t have that home feel, family atmosphere, and not to knock Miami, but it is two different lifestyles. Saint Louis is easy to network when you go out there and do it, because people here like to take care of each other. People here are big on ‘scratching each other’s backs,’ in Miami it is more cutthroat.”

HH: “I love to play golf when I can but, don’t get to play as often as I would like. I love basketball and watching football. I grew up as a Miami Dolphins fan but I grew into more of a quarterback fan. I know it’s not going to make a lot of sense to people but I love quarterbacks that can lead the charge. Tom Brady was a quarterback I gravitated to because not only did his skill on the field intrigue me, but also his business mind off the field. The way he carried himself off the field really got to me.

HH: “A big passion for me is building something from the ground up no matter what it is. I love anything I can transform, so creating a new startup from scratch, even though it’s hard work, excites me. The house I currently live in was a complete rehab job that took a year plus to redo start to finish. People thought I was crazy to take a 13,000 square foot house and renovate it with my own thoughts and ideas, but I love it so much.”

HH: “Dakota is very open minded and he brings something a little bit different than your average designer. He brings more flair. Where a lot of places are very dry with their swatches, Dakota is willing to mix and match. I like the stuff that is edgier but not over the top, that makes you stand out. Dakota brings that edgier look.”

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