Founder to Know: Chip Paul, Palm Beach Vapors

Photo Courtesy of: Entrepreneur

Along with e-cigarettes, Paul is also an advocate for marijuana legalization and heads the 501c4 non-profit organization Oklahomans For Health, which was responsible for petitioning efforts for medical marijuana in the state. Paul is currently working on a new endeavor: Native Grow - a sister company to Palm Beach Vapors that focuses on cannabis oil products. Currently, Paul is hoping to patent his method for producing a cannabis oil product to be used with e-cigarettes called the M-System.

With marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington, and with referendums passed in Alaska and Oregon, Paul hopes that Native Grow will be on the forefront of marijuana e-cigarettes.

What inspired you to open Palm Beach Vapors?

My wife and I both vape and grew increasingly dissatisfied with both the customer service and product selection at the vape shop we were frequenting. We decided to open a shop near our house, kind of for fun, that had great customer service and a very open and inviting theme. The store was met with immediate success, and in fact we were successful in a very saturated market, so we knew we were on to something.

Was it a concept you instinctively knew would thrive?

Not initially, but as soon as we started getting feedback and inquiries about licensing and franchising, we knew we were going somewhere.

What challenges did you, as a founder and owner, face this past year?

Wow. Well this was our first full year of operation as a franchise company. We went from one franchised unit to 11. At the start of the year, we were planning on hardware distribution being handled by a partner. Our partner could not handle our relationship so we had to bring this complete operation in-house. This is dealing with tens of suppliers in several countries, managing inventory and pricing, setting up a website so that franchisees could order, etc. Basically we had to set up a wholesale distribution and procurement business which does about $30k in sales a month within our franchise business – it was not easy.

What is your vision for the Palm Beach Vapors brand in 2015?

I want to continue to build our brand. We have a very unique position within our industry, and we will continue to massage that unique position.

If you could give any piece of advice to your younger entrepreneurial self, what would it be?

Start early, find your passion, and then find a business that supports your passion! Never be afraid to spend money to make money. You will succeed and you will fail, try to learn from both!