Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

I'm so grateful that NY welcomed me into the community. I commit to bringing the knowledge I've been fortunate to learn in the Canadian market and an unwavering drive to help my peers become successful.

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

Golf is one of the best analogies for life. Here are a few things I've learned since playing this game:

1. You are only competing against yourself
2. Preparation starts the moment you wake up
3. If you make a mistake, you must have a short memory
4. When you're rolling, save those shots in the confidence jar for later
5. What matters is how many times you are setting yourself up for the opportunity aren't always going to close, but you can't close if you don't get on the green in the first place
6. Play flow-state is critical for success. Choke too hard on the club, and you're done. Have some fun, and don't be so serious

🎥: Jason Seto

#lessons #golf #birdiebaaz #salesforce #PSG

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1 year ago | [YT] | 0

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

Good partners are like bubbles in a Soda.

I Appreciate ‪@reachagencyinc‬ for all their help and for hosting me for the night at their Client Appreciation Par-Tee.

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1 year ago | [YT] | 0

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

Had the privilege and opportunity to em'cee the event and leverage my platforms to help drive awareness to this historic event at The New York Academy of Medicine.

3 Key Takeaways:

1. The role of the em'cee is so much more than being on-stage. The em'cee needs to understand the flow of the show, and the tone, understand what success looks like, and be able to tie everything together holistically.
2. There can't be anything that is not relevant. Content needs to match the audience and the audience needs to be incredibly specific and highly targeted.
3. It takes a village to produce a wonderful event. Congrats to Matt Freemantle, Stephen Murphy, and BoC.

If you're putting together a high-level event and looking for an em'cee or someone to help with the flow of the event, do not hesitate to reach out.

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1 year ago | [YT] | 1

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

Recently read the book, “Think Again”, by Adam Grant. It was a reminder that the world is moving quickly. The way we consume information, understand information, and apply it has changed significantly from even 20 years ago, and will continue to do so with the advent of AI. You need to be able to consistently reshape your mind, how you view the world, and what problems need solving.

Now more than ever, growth requires more connectivity, knowledge of your customer’s problems, and rich insights that help you make decisions quickly. Growth requires storytelling and thought leadership. Growth requires you to have a community.

The next chapter in my book is all about connecting the right dots to help you expand. Similar to the local watering hole in the Kenyan Savannah in Masai Mara, the purpose of SKVentures is to provide a dense, nutrient-rich, actionable ecosystem that drives accelerated, sustainable & repeatable growth for elite companies and leaders.

Welcome to SKVentures, your plug-and-play Growth Ecosystem.

📸: Moment Communications

#growth #revenue #leadership

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1 year ago | [YT] | 1

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

You’re leaving a company that just raised 600m and is valued at 3.75 B for...a print magazine?

This was the question I was asked 2 years ago. The sheer look of confusion on everyone’s face who broached the subject with me was laughable but also concerning.

But what most didn’t realize at the time was that I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. That opportunity was belief from the legend Joshua Nagel. A moment in time when I could bet on myself and use the skills I had learned to help build something very real and drove a tremendous impact on people, their mentalities, their energy, and their hope.

2 years ago I joined ‪@kindmagazine780‬ as the Managing Director. Joshua Nagel, Ben Kaplan, and I were fresh off the very first event I ever got to executive produce-from dream to inception to execution. The Inaugural KIND Winter Fair was a needed respite at a time when the world was a very dark place.

A little bit of KINDNESS, a little bit of LOVE, and a little bit of WEED could help create a monumental snowball effect that facilitates inspiration, creativity, and empathy.

Over the next 2 years, we proceeded to innovate. We added top talent/all-stars in Nicole Wolff & Serena Somani.

We threw the best executive events known to the world of cannabis or just deal-making in general (KIND Gala x 2).

We created a space where 5k+ retailers, budtenders, brands, and consumers could bask in the sunshine and relate cannabis and KINDNESS to their everyday lifestyle through street food markets and carnivals (KIND Summer Fair x 2, KIND Winter Fair x2).

We helped write the playbook for budtender sampling across provinces with over 100,000 grams of cannabis sampled (KIND Gardens x 3). I still remember the day I was writing this on my desk in my condo, so excited to send it off I didn't even include a letterhead 🤐 😉

We created a space and a lifestyle where cannabis could be normalized and accessible. We had ‪@wizkhalifa‬ on our cover, Paulina Gretzky, David Ortiz!

I learned about content creation, design, scaling events, how people buy tickets, and something I like to call "combustion time".

I learned how to stand in front of an audience and be an Emcee who is responsible for the run of the show even when people don't want to pay attention (circa #KG22)

I learned what it means to go beyond your capacity and create something out of ...nothing. That if you have the right team of 5, you can get more than if you have 100.

I learned about cash flow management and decision-making quickly, and how to win within the regulatory frameworks and policies.

I learned to be a walking, talking, laughing marketer. I learned that the Canadian Cannabis Industry has the brightest, most resilient, most forward-thinking humans on the planet.

Thank you KIND Media and Events and thank you to all of my partners and friends for giving me a chance to do something magical.

Follow me at SKVentures for what's next.

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1 year ago | [YT] | 2

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

When I started this, I literally did not know what I was doing.

I knew I wanted to interview leaders I admire to increase the conversation and amplification of our magical industry. Each of these humans is responsible for so much innovation, experimentation, and cutting-edge knowledge.

My goal was simply to showcase the best of the best in this industry and demonstrate cannabis´ability to permeate mainstream lifestyle.

Little did I know how challenging this whole campaign would be and the skills I’d glean from it.

3 learnings:

1. How hard it is to create + execute content. It really does take a village.

2. That content really does sell and educate while you sleep. A lot of potential opportunities came from this content that I wouldn´t have necessarily been on the radar for..including The Amazing Race Canada.

3. The world we live in today runs off of content. It’s all about attention and focus. There is an opportunity cost in not creating content.

Here is an overview of the impact of this campaign.

45K Impressions
69K Views
156 Total Hours Watched
4K engagements

How do we continue to drive the narrative around cannabis, creativity, design, community, lifestyle & health & wellness?

Thank you to ‪@kindmagazine780‬ for the platform, and to all of the leaders interviewed at the world´s best cannabis adjacent festival, KIND Summer Fair.

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2 years ago | [YT] | 1

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

EastCann are true OGs. No suits, but ties that will last forever.

2 years ago | [YT] | 1

Shahbaaz Kara-Virani

New York will be the Global Capital Cannabis of the World. Honoured to host this historic event at the NY Academy of Medicine. Join me on NOV 3.

Navigate to www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/460059047997/?discount=SKV1… and use code "SKV15" for a 15% off discount.

2 years ago | [YT] | 2