From the Dorm Room to King of Cones with Bryan Gerber

From Dorm Room Idea to Building a Pre-Rolled Cone Empire

Brian Gerber turned a college-side hustle into Hara Supply and HEMPUR, companies that now dominate cannabis accessories and subscription merchandising. His story begins in a university classroom where he prioritized building, testing, and iterating over conventional internships. That early hustle led to a business model inspired by subscription services and a manufacturing breakthrough: becoming a leading producer of pre-rolled cones.

Starting a business in college and the subscription economy for cannabis accessories

Gerber's first venture leaned on the era's momentum for subscription models, positioning a discovery-driven, privacy-focused experience for cannabis consumers. Instead of relying on awkward head-shop encounters, he created an online storefront and curated subscription boxes to remove friction and introduce new products to a hesitant market.

Focus, timing, and the hedgehog concept applied to niche manufacturing

One of the recurring threads in the conversation is the role of timing and positioning — sometimes being in the right place at the right time matters more than we admit. Gerber cites the hedgehog concept: intersecting passion, economic opportunity, and the ability to excel. For him, that intersection was manufacturing pre-rolled cones at scale, a product that fit existing demand and could be optimized for customers' operational realities.

Practical strategies for early-stage entrepreneurs

• Hire for who, then what: Prioritize people with complementary skills and clear lanes to avoid early team overlap.
• Guard your runway: Treat every capital dollar like it could be your last to prevent premature scaling and burnout.
• Let sales lead: Momentum from sales and customer validation fuels resilience and helps overcome setbacks.

Spotting and seizing unexpected opportunities by mastering your domain

Gerber emphasizes deep market knowledge as the precursor to recognizing unopened doors. Their cone division pivot came after being approached by a packaging customer; because Hara already understood manufacturing constraints and retailers’ needs, the team quickly developed tailored solutions. That domain mastery translated into helping dispensaries increase accessory revenue from a tiny fraction into a meaningful sales stream.

Differentiate by being a solutions partner, not just a vendor

Rather than pushing more product, Gerber positioned his companies as problem solvers. That meant doing the R&D to adapt cones to a client’s filling equipment, removing barriers for buyers and creating sticky, outsized partnerships. In crowded markets, this approach converts commodity offerings into customized operational advantages.

Underlying everything is a reminder about time and persistence: building something meaningful takes years, not months. The arc includes mistakes, pivots, and continual learning, but disciplined cash management, customer obsession, and an openness to new revenue tentacles compound into sustainable growth. These ideas combine actionable hiring advice, a practical sales-first mentality, and product-led differentiation to form a playbook for founders juggling discovery and scaling.

In short, focus on mastering your niche, treat funding conservatively, build teams who complement each other, and design your product to solve real operational problems — and recognize that long-term persistence is often the biggest competitive advantage.