Entrepreneur Field Days: Growing the People's Plant: Science, Passion, and Family Roots
Join us for the 2025 Entrepreneur Field Days series hosted across Greater Des Moines
It all started with the idea that entrepreneurs learn best from entrepreneurs. Take someone's hard-earned lessons and shared skills to jump-start business success. Seed the next generation of entrepreneurs. Cover a broad range of industries and subject knowledge expertise. Grow your perspective and see new areas across the community.
Growing the People's Plant: Science, Passion, and Family Roots
Speakers: Lucas Nelson, President of Bud & Mary'sBud & Mary’s is a multi-generational family-owned company named after the first generation of the family, Bud and Mary Nelson, who founded Kemin Industries in 1961. With decades of plant science behind the team, 3rd generation Lucas Nelson proudly prioritizes customers’ wants and needs and is pushing the boundaries of innovation through cannabis research to improve lives. The company manufactures its line of cannabis products and can be found in over 700 dispensaries in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Illinois.
Learn & Discuss:
- Creating a vertically integrated model--spanning cultivation, extraction, formation, packaging, distribution, and retail to ensure product quality, supply chain, and customer experience
- Brand diversification in a regulated market
- Integrating plant science with product innovation
- Navigating clinical trials and regulatory milestones to legitimize and advance medical cannabis
Open to Everyone! All Entrepreneur Field Days are free and open to the public, with registration required. Not an entrepreneur? No problem – you're invited too! If you’re a creative, mentor, educator, corporate leader, economic developer, investor, or simply curious about how things work – all play a role in building a strong community of support for entrepreneurs across Iowa.
Champion a Spirit of Curiosity! Entrepreneur Field Days is a space to learn from each other first and foremost! Bring a spirit of curiosity, shared respect, a notepad to capture your next idea, and the mindset to make new connections.
