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This month, PayRio celebrates its 1st Birthday!

Making it a year in any industry is quite a feat in todays economy. Add in the craziness that is the Cannabis Industry, and making it even one full year seems to elude a lot of promising companies. 

To help celebrate its birthday, PayRio’s Founder/CEO Aubrey Amatelli and the PayRio team hit the Buyers Club in San Francisco on August 3rd for an evening of infused cupcakes, great Cannabis, and some truly amazing Cannabis professionals. R.W. Navis and The CannaPac were hosting an event there that evening, and with PayRio being one of the sponsors, it became a PayRio Birthday Party of sorts!

The Buyers Club in San Francisco is a Cannabis community institution. It has evolved over the years into a truly unique space where they have multiple Cannabis manufacturers displayed on their beautiful showroom floor. There, Cannabis manufacturers and Dispensary owners/buyers can network and discover new Cannabis Brands. They’re also starting to hold other Cannabis friendly events that are open to the public! Be sure you keep an eye on their website and social media for some dope upcoming events.

Filling a Need

Aubrey, a self proclaimed “payments nerd”, started her career with the prestigious JP Morgan. The 10+ years she spent there would end up being her “super-power”, so to speak. It gave her invaluable experience in the payments space, and led her to the career that she is now so passionate about. 

Having been a Cannabis consumer for years, the Cannabis Industry always intrigued her. After Prop 64 passed in California, businesses started sprouting up everywhere. One common issue Aubrey noticed was that all of these Cannabis businesses were having problems finding a safe, compliant, and reliable payment processor.

Aubrey took her many years of experience, and on August 2nd, 2022, she officially started putting them to work for the Cannabis Community by launching her company, PayRio. Painstakingly finding the best tech in the business, and focusing exclusively on helping normalize payments in the Cannabis space.

Women in Cannabis

Though I truly believe that the Cannabis Industry as whole believes in uplifting women, the numbers are still lacking. A report released by MJBiz in October of 2021 showed that the number of female executives in the Cannabis space fell from ~36.8% in 2019 to only ~22.1% in 2021. This decrease could be due to numerous factors really, including the global pandemic the world is still reeling from… But regardless of the reason, these reports offer glaring proof that the number of female executives in Cannabis really needs to improve. 

Multiple studies have shown that companies with Women in their C-suite offer their customers higher-quality service, and tend to not only be more socially responsible, but more profitable as well. PayRio is a shining example of all of this! The PayRio team really prides itself on its exceptional customer service. Plus, we’ve seen substantial growth in the profits of companies we’ve helped with payment processing. That is HUGE! Especially for the women-run businesses PayRio helps, which notoriously receive less funding than their male counterparts.  

From helping Cannabis dispensaries/businesses across the US (including my For:20 Minutes blog) grow, to volunteering on the committee for the 2023 Women’s Cannabis Awards, Aubrey will do anything she can to uplift other women in Cannabis. (More to come on the 2023 Women’s Cannabis Awards. It takes place November 11th, 2023 in Sacramento CA and you are NOT going to want to miss it!)

Taking the Industry by Storm

Since its inception in 2022, PayRio has been taking the Cannabis industry by storm. Aubrey has been making a splash at events and conferences across the US, such as the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Miami, The Emerald Cup Awards, and MJBizCon. She’s also been featured in many articles and podcasts, including CannabisNow and the CannabisRadio.com podcast.

You’ll be able to see Aubrey in person this year at MJBizCon in Las Vegas, where she will be speaking during their Real Story Quickies: Real Lessons From Other Women in Cannabis segment on Tuesday, November 28th 2023 starting at 1:45pm. She will also be attending the 2023 Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Chicago this September. The fabulous Elise McRoberts and I will be there with her, so come say hi to us at booth E34!

Helping Just Feels Good!

One of the things Aubrey has found most rewarding over the past year is how much she has seen PayRio customers grow. We’ve talked about it multiple times, and I never get tired of seeing her face just light up when she runs a new customer’s numbers and sees the tangible increase in profits within a few months…  She always beams and says “It makes me feel so good, knowing that we are actually helping the Cannabis community grow!” 

For:20 Minutes is incredibly honored to have such an amazing sponsor behind it. PayRio has been beyond supportive of me in my Cannabis-Writing journey. I am so very appreciative of all the love and encouragement shown by Aubrey. She is an amazing woman, who truly cares about the Cannabis community. That IS the reason she found PayRio in the first place!

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAYRIO! Here is to many more years of PayRio spreading love, normalizing payments, and helping others in the Cannabis Industry run successful businesses!