The Emerging Tech Startups We’re Having Our Gen Z Team Members Stalk: Part 7

[Throughout this article we’ll be using “This” and “That” in place of the words that, believe it or not, keep getting us banned and censored. These words refer to a houseplant that’s not one just for the house but a plant nonetheless non-toxic for the soul. Thanks for working with us as we begrudgingly adhere to the internet lords.]

You know that kid in high school that, depending on which clique you were in, was That hookup, the best friend, the troublemaker, or the person you knew least about but seemed like someone your mom wouldn’t be stoked about you dating?

That’s one of the kid archetypes that society hates: the one just doing their thing and succeeding in exactly the way you’ve been teaching people not to. One is not supposed to be able to break all the rules and still make it. The school system wants him (or her, This is gender neutral) to prove them right by dropping out. His friends’ parents ask why his eyes are red, already knowing the answer. Yada yada yada.

But let’s be actually real for a second and not buy into the coming of age films written by people that are very much of-age: This is mostly decriminalized because we (a small sub-sect not confined to any specific generation but rather spanning all) FINALLY proved to the zeitgeist that it’s nothing like r33fer madness and is actually medicinally, psychologically, and physically world-changing for people.

So how do we make sure we don’t beat kid archetypes down in the future, knowing that we can be so, so very wrong? How do we become more open to things that don’t make sense in a culture that tells us different or foreign = bad?

We listen to the kids. We listen to those kids. We listen, genuinely, to the people around us and, if we feel like we need to defend ourselves or are offended, look inward first to see what internal biases we have that can be causing harm, and where those biases came from.  We stop stifling ideas, whack-a-mole-ing creative minds into a mold they don’t fit.

We listen to the st0ned kid.

Not Sponsored, Just Cool

As a top marketing and branding agency, we have a responsibility (and love) for listening to the offbeat. On this ep of “startups we’re hardcore stalking,” we’re looking at a sophisticated, sleek, tech savvy can-abyss company. Let’s do it:

We’re v@ping, boys.

No just kidding (but not really), we’re ~ oil vaporizing ~ can-abyss products. We’re dosing bliss. We’re dosing control. We’re taking doses of sleep, or arousal, or calm.

We’re talking about Dosist. This startup has effectively targeted the wannabe-st0ners-but-had-a-bad-experience-because-of-hitting-too-much, which honestly maybe I only know that’s the exact crowd because it’s me. But moreover they’ve effectively targeted the can-abyss, v@pe, slightly boujee, sleek-loving demographic of Gen Z and Millennial Cuspers as only a minimalist This brand could.

For 2 generations of people with increased mental illness WITHOUT pandering? Yes please.

They branded themselves not just as a wellness company (SOS no one wants your MLM wellness mood boost tincture, Sarah), but as a controlled way to manage health and happiness — all things Gen Z/ young Millennials already know can be found through can-abyss. A “can-abyss therapy” to be exact and, as these two generations opened the door to normalizing mental illness, Dosist invested in their transparency.

Technically Dosist has been around since 2016 (and honestly I’ve had them earmarked since then but haven’t tried all the strains yet), but their growth has primarily been just last year, doubling from 100 to 200 employees and still growing.

What we’ve noticed Dosist is doing differently is they’re fully embracing the medicinal and professional use of can-abyss for things like pain, inflammation, and insomnia without losing the laid-back, relaxed, st0ney lifestyle. And then adding in a solid flair of sophistication? To target an age demographic so wide? If it’s not obvious why we’re stalking them, we’ll direct you to how much precision must go into a brand like this.

Dosist has actually managed to create a boujee material that Gen Z and Millennials want, even though they’re the generations that spend the least on material items as opposed to experiences. Because what their brand upholds is that it’s not a materialistic product, it’s a means to have more control over your wellness and happiness.

*Cracks Egg* This Is Your Brain On Drvgs, Dosist, & We Want Some.

This is a startup-turned-moneymaker run by someone whose very passion for their product used to be looked down upon so hard that it could get them thrown in jail (and still can for less privileged populations). And now we’re praising their business building skills? Something’s gotta give. Someone’s gotta keep this train going of listening to the archetypes no one likes.

We hope we can be one of those people; we think we’ve built that into our branding pretty well. We haven’t always supported underdogs just because we like a good challenge, we always supported them because we are them (check out any of the 19 “People Don’t Believe My Boss Exists” blogs if you want more on that).

Here’s to you, Dosist. Keep breaking rules; keep surprising people. If you ever need insights from a team of growth hackers and fearless media gurus that have been in (and changing) the game for over a decade, we can skip the kickoff meeting– we’ve already been stalking you all this time.