Written by Derwin Wallace, NisonCo Investor Relations
My name is Derwin Wallace and I am the manager of NisonCo’s Investor Relations team. Here is my story of entering the cannabis, hemp and CBD sectors.
I was born in one of the most notorious ghettos in Chicago – Maplewood Courts / Rockwell Gardens. My father worked at the railroad and had a side business fixing people’s homes. After six years of living in the ghetto, my father finally saved enough money to move our family to the west suburbs of Chicago. My father was extremely strict and demanded I work to help pay bills when I was only in the sixth grade, so I got a job at a local dry cleaner cleaning clothes, sweeping, and mopping. My father required I donate half of my pay to the family bill fund, so I did. The balance of my pay was used for school fees, books, supplies, clothes, and lunch. I did not have much time for extracurricular activities and never attended a high school football or basketball game. I finally graduated from high school and my father assumed at that point I was a man and should leave the nest. I wondered around for several years with really no direction before I decided to attend college.
Building a Strong Financial Education
One day, one of my friends told me, “Because you meet the criteria for low income status, you could receive a lot of financial assistance for college, significantly more than you would need for tuition, room and board.” So I signed up to take the ACT, and without any prep, I took the test and scored a 28. I then enrolled at a local university and started receiving funding for low income students.
After my tuition, room and board was paid, I researched and learned about the stock market and invested the balance of the funds in stocks. I followed this strategy for four years and decided to enroll in a master’s program to keep receiving the funds and investing in stocks. When I graduated, I had an MBA with a Concentration in Finance, Bachelor of Science in Accounting, stock portfolio, and stock trading experience. Shortly afterwards, I received my first real job as a stockbroker at Chatfield Dean Investment Banking in Atlanta, GA.
From Finance to Investor Relations
Fast forward to today, where I currently manage the NisonCo Investor Relations Program. In addition to building this necessary financial cornerstone of the cannabis, hemp and CBD sectors, I am the founder of CannaInvestor Magazine and HempCBD Investor Magazine. I have accumulated more than 16 years of investor relations and financial controller experience at companies including Home Depot, Cox Cable, Isle of Capri Casinos, ResCare Home Care, and First Data.
Passionate About Cannabis, Hemp and CBD and Growing New Industries
As an investor relations professional, I have extensive experience communicating with and educating institutional investors, retail investors, research analysts, and financial media, including those interested in the cannabis, hemp and CBD sectors. I decided to bring my investor relations experience to the cannabis industry in 2014, when cannabis legislation was finally passed in Colorado. During this time, I researched and learned about the medical benefits of cannabis and how it had the potential to impact people’s health. When the Farm Bill legislation was passed in December 2018, I expanded my investor relations knowledge and experience to include hemp and CBD.
In addition to the wide benefits that cannabis, hemp and CBD provide, I always wanted to be part of an emerging new industry, due to the fact I missed the dot com era and the real estate boom. Finally, this was my chance to be part of something special! NisonCo has given me the opportunity to assist cannabis, hemp and CBD industry companies in giving people a better quality of life.
NisonCo Provides High Quality Cannabis Investor Relations Services
NisonCo investor relations service offering assist clients in designing and implementing current and future investor relations strategy and programs and collaborate internally with client’s leadership team in order to communicate all elements of our client’s value creation strategy, including their corporate vision, business operations and financial performance.
NisonCo has a significant advantage over its competitors – an integrated communications strategy paired with deep knowledge of the cannabis, hemp and CBD sectors and its inner workings. NisonCo offers unmatched public relations services that have helped grow companies for years, customized marketing and SEO services, and investor relations services. Treating public relations, marketing, and investor relations as one entity increases transparency, communication, and assists investors in making an informed investment decision.
Your one-stop shop for all segments of the cannabis, hemp and CBD sectors, we provide an integrated approach to communications which ensures that all channels are aligned and following the same strategy, overarching our clients’ business objectives and company values.
