Inspiring Conversations with Chelsea Kossower of Puffco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Kossower.

Hi Chelsea, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story starts in the back of a kitchen in New Jersey. I was 19 and struggling to find my path in life. I talked my way into a gig as a sous chef, but I knew I was going to do something different. I’ve always had a way with sales; I mean, I hustled my way into the kitchen, I planned on hustling my way out.

I don’t fit the typical mold of a salesperson in my position. I was in college but I wasn’t happy and didn’t have a major that I was passionate about. There was no excelling at my studies or training for my industry, and there were certainly no mentors in my life. I had to harness my skills and sharpen them to figure out my path in life on my own.

That all changed when I met Roger. The Founder & CEO of Puffco, Roger Volodarsky gave me my first big break. He believed in me, and I believed in him. I was pulled into his vision. I understood it. I believed it and I believed in him. The best part of it all was he believed in me too. I’ve always been a misfit, not doing well in school, always goofing off but was smart enough to know that I wanted more out of life than what society told me I needed to be. I’m a big believer in the spiritual world and everything happening for a reason. I believe people come into your life and provide lessons that you might not have otherwise learned on your own.

It all started back in 2012 when my friend asked me to come over after work to hang out. My friend’s buddy was there, explaining his predictions for the future of cannabis consumption and was speaking so passionately about hash and how it’s the future. How right he was! This brilliant orator was of course Roger.

I was pulled in from the beginning. He showed us this small pen looking device and handed it to me to try it (this was the first prototype of our first Puffco pen). Back then, we were in New Jersey and cannabis was very illegal. So the fact that I was able to hit a button and medicate was liberating! I begged him to let me intern, anything I could do to be a part of his vision. I was SOLD. It took a few weeks but I finally convinced him to bring me on full time. I’ll never forget the phone call where he told me to put my two weeks into my shitty job. I was elated and out of the kitchen.

Then the fun started. It was just the two of us and we had no idea what we were doing but we had a dream. We’ve worked our asses off to make that dream a reality.

There was a point when Roger and I drove up and down the East and West coasts, asking every store to carry our product. We would leave it on consignment just let us put it on your shelf! 99% of them told us no, but now they ALL carry our full product line.

We never gave up. We never stopped pushing, innovating and now we’re here. 100+ employees made up of some of the most amazing humans I could have ever asked to know. People ask all the time, “What’s the best part about Puffco?” THE PEOPLE. Hands down. I would not be where I am today if I did not have a group of people around me believing in me and teaching me. Allowing me to fail and succeed but helping me back up after my failures and teaching me why it happened and how to not make it happen again. I am fully convinced without the people around me, I would not be even remotely close to where I am now. It’s the collective. That’s the secret sauce.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Dropping out of college to pursue Puffco full-time was the best decision I have ever made. Taking that risk and jumping in full time was terrifying but so rewarding. However, it was a double-edged sword. I had to learn and learn quickly. Our CEO was able to teach me so much, but it took a lot of learning on the fly and secret under the table Google-ing to really get up to speed.

I am beyond thankful for the people around me that allowed me the ability to not only learn but to fail. They allowed me to fail and taught me why I failed and how to succeed in the future. Roger was and is my mentor. He believed in me so much that he hired me a coach and sales director to teach me how to do the job (Shout out to K.Smith!) He also encouraged and put me through a Sales Management Extension course at UCLA. The role at Puffco was growing quickly, but so was I.

My classroom was the office. My mentors were my professors. My deals were my tests. My grades were the revenue.

I do think it’s important to mention that being a young woman in this industry was very tough as well. There were times I was sitting in board rooms with men ten years older than me that came from huge beauty and tech brands. It was tough to earn my seat at the table, but I never gave up. I never quit, I kept learning and growing. Whether it was taking those courses at UCLA or listening to audiobooks, I was determined to do this. I would not fail.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Puffco?
My name is Chelsea Kossower and I’m the Head of Sales & Business Development at Puffco. Puffco is a hardware company that makes devices for consuming cannabis.

Puffco is the cleanest, most potent and flavorful consumption experience with no learning curve. Industry-leading innovation, strictly done in-house. No glues, fibers, or chemicals in any airways. The most awarded vaporizers and products.

Why settle for anything but the best? We saw concentrates as the future of consumption because they contain strictly the best parts of the plant. This selective extraction process leaves you with the most potent, flavorful, and healthy product. Our mission became developing the perfect consumption platform to unlock its true potential.

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, so we did just that. We staffed an experienced in-house design and engineering team whose priority is giving every user the ability to unlock the power of concentrates. This starkly contrasts the industry norm of slapping a logo on a foreign-designed product solely to make profit. Your consumption device should never be designed by people who aren’t consuming like you.

Before we arrived, most vaporizers utilized fibrous wicks (which gives you a burnt cotton taste), glues that held the bowl or coil in place (which created a toxic bi-product), and/or plastics used in the airpath (also creating toxic bi-products).

Why smoke the pen when you could be smoking strictly what you decide to put inside. In response, we developed a cleaner, safer, and more flavorful industry standard by doing away with all of the above. We also added the first temperature controls to a vaporizer pen, so you could further dial in your experience.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Everybody. Every person that came my way on this journey I’ve learned from. The main person I want to shout out is Roger. He took a chance on me. He believed in me and still to this day, believes so much in me. He gave me my shot and taught me so much. I was so blessed to be able to sit next to him for years and listen to him speak, story tell and teach. Proud to say he is still my mentor and I am so proud to be his protégé.

I also want to shout out is my sales team, especially my management team. Jason Olver and Shannon Sunwoo are rock stars and are a crucial part in helping me build the Puffco Sales Department. They are some of the hardest working people in the world and I love learning and working beside them every day.

I want to shout out my family too. My sister Alana Wagner constantly believed in me and cheered me on from the sidelines. My girlfriend Jasmine Moczo for standing next to me every step of the way and moving with me across the country to pursue this crazy dream. I must also mention every single executive and employee at Puffco. I would be nothing without the collective.

One more person who deserves the most credit is my late Mother, Eve Rosenberg Kossower. Everything that is love and light inside of me came from here. Everything I do I do in her honor.

Contact Info:

• Website: Puffco.com
• Instagram: chelsea_puffco