When Joanne Wilson decided to launch Gotham, her flagship cannabis dispensary in New York City, it wasn’t just another business move. It was the culmination of decades of experience in retail, investing, philanthropy, and culture, and a bold attempt to rewrite the narrative of cannabis in America’s most complicated market.
“I am the founder and CEO of Gotham,” Wilson told me. “And that is one section of my life.”
Sections, indeed. Wilson has been many things: a retail buyer out of college, a media entrepreneur in the early days of New York tech, a prolific angel investor with more than 150 companies backed, and the organizer of women’s entrepreneurship festivals that changed the city’s startup landscape. Her through-line has always been culture, community, and an unshakable instinct for what’s next. Cannabis, she says, was the natural next chapter.
From Angel Investor to Cannabis Entrepreneur
Wilson’s résumé speaks for itself. After investing early in media companies like Eater and Curbed, she became known as the Gotham Gal, a sharp-eyed backer of women, Black, and brown founders. “My mission was to really only invest in women and Black and brown founders,” she explained. “Not that I don’t have a few white men in there, but that was my focus.”
But after 150 investments, multiple boards, and a major conference series, burnout set in. She began thinking about what came next. A call from a friend changed everything.
“They asked me, do you know what’s going on in New York?” Wilson recalled. “At that point, I was thinking, yeah, maybe I’ll open a store. My original career was in retail. I love the immediate understanding of how your business is on a day-to-day basis. I love the interaction with people that work in the stores, the …
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Author: Kyle Rosner / High Times
