BuildMySOP.com, an Albuquerque-based startup aimed at helping cannabis operators build standard operating procedures, has been acquired by Chorus Compliance, a subsidiary of Santa Cruz, California-based SC Labs.
The deal, which was finalized in October 2023, brings BuildMySOP into Chorus’ suite of services, including regulation change tracking, training courses and cannabis license management.
BuildMySOP was launched in 2021 and aimed to act as a third-party cannabis compliance officer. This took the form of helping to build standard operating procedures for its clients, allowing them to avoid some of the compliance-related pitfalls endemic to one of the country’s newest and most scrutinized industries.
Kady Cravens, founder of BuildMySOP, said the deal with SC Labs was an easy decision, describing the acquisition as a win-win for both companies.
“We’ve been talking for a few years and I’m like, ‘Listen, you guys built out what I’m about to build out. I have this, I already have traction. I already have clients,’” Cravens told Albuquerque Business First. “We just said, ‘Let’s combine our efforts.’”
By the time of the acquisition, Cravens had garnered clients across 12 states who were attracted to her company’s unique services — specifically, the ability to use SOP templates developed during her years in the cannabis industry.
In New Mexico, operators like Sandia Botanicals, Best Daze and PhytoRemedies used BuildMySOP's services. One of BuildMySOP’s most coveted clients was Long Play Inc., the company that oversees Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Reserve and Kayak Cannabis.
Craven began her career as a janitor at Preferred Organic Therapy in Denver. She became a “yes man,” as she puts it, and eventually moved through the company’s ranks to become its compliance director.
Following that trajectory, she launched ACT — standing for Accuracy, Consistent, Transparency — Cannabis Compliance, a consulting firm helping operators with audits, inventory reconciliations and general advice on how to remain compliant under each state’s unique cannabis laws. Her work with SOPs in previous industry roles and at ACT Compliance led to BuildMySOP, a separate platform that focused solely on offering SOP-related services.
Cravens said different states’ complex laws surrounding cannabis, as well as the sheer difficulty of starting a cannabis business, have led to many operators having difficulty remaining compliant. Her target customers for BuildMySOP weren’t large legacy operators, but small businesses looking to make it in cannabis.
“My mission in life is to preach the power of SOPs to the cannabis operators of the world and help them understand how much they can actually assist them,” Cravens said. “I do really want to represent these small guys.”
With the acquisition, Cravens assumed the role of vice president of compliance services for Chorus — a role in which she hopes to take a broader approach to her mission.
Services like license, audit, vehicle and certification management systems are a top priority for the platform. In short, she wants Chorus to become the “compliance binder” for its clients.
“The field of compliance in this industry is massive, and overwhelming and daunting, but we figured it out,” Cravens said. “We want to help people be able to operate without having a full-time person taking care of all this.”
