Software developer and consulting entrepreneur Roger Obando credits his Costa Rican immigrant parents for making their American dream his reality. The serial entrepreneur is a graduate of Duke University’s class of 2000 where he earned his B.A. in computer science, visual design. After various entrepreneurial endeavors, Roger Obando served as co-founder and CTO of the cannabis industry customer relationship management software brand Baker Technologies.
With five years of cannabis experience under his belt, Obando now hopes to do the same for underrepresented communities that his parents did for him. In his book, The Highest Common Denominator, the entrepreneur aims to shed light on why a lack of people of color exists in cannabis—and why they should enter now.
Roger Obando, who spent five years building Baker to a nine-figure exit, said he is inspired to create more diversity in the emerging space. “I feel like it was almost a bit of my responsibility to shed some light on things that I’ve seen, both in the industry and within our own communities of color, that are preventing people from finding these opportunities.”
In The Highest Common Denominator, the New Jersey-raised Obando highlights several restraints he believes hold back underrepresented communities from entering cannabis. One that can be seen as a gift and a curse is the idea of one’s tribe.
He writes that your tribe is “that group to which you were born, or belong, or mirror, at least on the surface.” While pivotal to a person’s development, the author goes on to highlight how the tribe defines a person, but not entirely. “…your tribe is part of you, but you are not your tribe.” He elaborated, “You are you. And you are capable of defining your own limits. You can, should, and must characterize yourself.”
Author: Andrew Ward / High Times
