Get ready to dive into the captivating world of cannabis entrepreneurship with a new three-part series focusing on the rise and fall of Adam Bierman, the visionary behind MedMen Enterprises Inc., the first American cannabis unicorn. This series, a collaboration between Bungalow Media + Entertainment and writer/producer Zach Goldbaum, will bring Bierman’s story to life based on his upcoming tell-all book, “Weed Empire: How I Battled Gangsters, Investment Banks, and the Department of Justice to Build the Cannabis Industry in America,” scheduled for release in April 2025.
Robert Friedman, CEO of Bungalow Media + Entertainment, describes the series as “an amazing origin story about one man’s fight against the establishment.” Bierman’s journey through the “new Wild West of hubris and greed” promises to be a captivating exploration of building a successful cannabis company while navigating a treacherous landscape. The series will offer a glimpse into the challenges of attracting a diverse customer base, from suburban moms and dads to seasoned cannabis enthusiasts.
Bierman, along with co-founder Andrew Modlin, established MedMen in 2010. What began as a single store in California rapidly expanded, earning the title of “the first mainstream cannabis company in the world to hit every screen in America.” This rapid growth led Bierman to take MedMen public in 2018, achieving a remarkable $2 billion valuation. However, after a failed 2018 bid to acquire PharmaCann in a $682 million all-stock deal, Bierman parted ways with MedMen in 2020. In 2023, after years of legal battles, Bierman secured a $3.1 million arbitration settlement from MedMen.
Looking back on his time at MedMen, Bierman reflects on the company’s pioneering role in the cannabis industry. “We were the first cannabis unicorn, the first billion-dollar valuation in history in the US, first private equity fund to raise money to deploy into plant-touching businesses, I think we were the first nationally union-friendly cannabis business, raised a lot of money, bought a lot of assets, built a lot of stores, pissed a lot of people off, made a lot of mistakes, learned a lot of lessons, and along the way had that ‘north star’ of making the world a better place through access to legal regulated cannabis. We were doing things for the first time (…) and inevitably means you are pissing people off,” Bierman shared during a 2022 Benzinga Cannabis Insider episode.
Now, Bierman is ready to share his story with the world, shedding light on the challenges and triumphs of bringing cannabis to the mainstream. “Living at the intersection of criminality, politics, finance and pop culture; I dealt with gangsters, shakedowns, loan sharks and government corruption at the highest level,” Bierman said in a press release. “It’s a dynamic story and the Bungalow team’s commitment to sharing the account with the world has been invigorating.” This new series promises a fascinating glimpse into the world of cannabis entrepreneurship, offering viewers a compelling narrative of resilience, ambition, and the evolving landscape of a rapidly growing industry.
