Mr. Michael Pesce
Mr. Pesce is an established business executive with over 15 years experience leading banking and lending institutions. At Hartford University, Mr. Pesce graduated with a degree in Finance/Insurance, while receiving a full scholarship as a NCAA Division 1 baseball player. He began his career in mortgage banking with responsibilities focused on recruitment, training, marketing and management to significantly expand upon business operations. In this role, Mr. Pesce trained and supervised hundreds of loan officers/team leaders aiding them to execute agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars in value for the institutions. The hands-on knowledge, continuing education requirements, and annual testing led him to develop a nuanced understanding of the industry, providing unique insight, which allowed him to form relationships with an array of networks and markets.
In 2013, Mr. Pesce redirected his efforts to focus on the cannabis industry and joined the TC Labs team. After taking the leap, he combined his years of business and marketing experience, and led the company in becoming the leading third-party processor and concentrate brands in Colorado to date. Mike applied his innate ability of developing strong business teams to connect with business owners and store managers placing TC Labs, Concentrate Supply Co., Beezle Extracts, and several other significant brands on the map, making them staples of the marketplace.
Being an early pioneer in cannabis manufacturing, Mike realized the need to capitalize on compliance and safety. Combined with the knowledge of his partners, he developed the company Extract Outfitters providing the first plug-and-play Class 1 Division 1 laboratories designed for the cannabis industry. Extract Outfitters’ machinery and methods have been approved as a safe and effective solution by multiple municipalities across Colorado, California, Illinois, and Maryland. Mike will continue to seek out new growth opportunities with innovative partners, and provide remedies for the ever-changing regulations, and challenges, the young and nuanced cannabis industry is faced with. He has a firm belief, always being one step ahead is crucial to ensure longevity and stability in the forever changing industry and world of cannabis.
Matthew Van Benschoten
Mr. Van Benschoten an industry veteran since 2007, attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied Political Science. During his time at the University of Colorado Boulder, Mr. Van Benschoten fully immersed himself in the emerging medical cannabis market. The previous year, in 2006, Mr. Van Benschoten, who suffered a traumatic brain injury sought cannabis to treat his chronic migraines and social anxiety. This alternative medical treatment provided Mr. Van Benschoten with a newfound quality of life, and spearheaded his work in the new cannabis industry where he operated in a multitude of
apacities including both retail and cultivation management. Matthew worked alongside many of the early industry leaders to shape the market and well-known brands such as Denver Relief, Green Dream Health Services, Boulder RX, and Colorado Dispensary Services.
In 2012, in order to capitalize on the young, nuanced concentrate marketplace, Matthew and partners launched a new endeavor, TC Labs. During the initial days of this new industry, members were faced with scrutiny from the City of Denver and the State of Colorado regarding safe volatile manufacturing. Mr. VanBenschoten had the foresight to establish Extract Outfitters with his partners to provide plug-and-play extraction laboratory solutions which were ETL listed and compliant with all local and OSHA regulations. Matthew’s insight helped to create this innovative framework which led to the formation of several cannabis regulatory models across the country. In an effort to develop new refinement processes, Matthew relocated to Northern California in 2015 and partnered with an established brand, Beezle Extracts. As a result of this new partnership, Matthew was able to develop a successful SOP manual/tracking module for THC distillation and terpene removal from cannabis oil, which affirmed his brands’ place as pioneers in the marketplace. During his time in California, Matthew became a community leader where his industry knowledge aided in providing a working tax structure and regulatory ordinance for cannabis manufacturing. This effort established Beezle Extracts as the sole volatile manufacturing facility in Sonoma County. Due to their success, VanBenschoten and team have since utilized their business model to assist several clients in acquiring cannabis manufacturing licenses in rigorous limited license
marketplaces such as Illinois and Maryland.
Matthew currently oversees on-going operations in California, while also developing new lab space across the county. His vision and leadership will continue to place his companies at the forefront of cannabis science and safety.