We had the good fortune of connecting with Tatev Oganyan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tatev, how does your business help the community?
Community is at the heart of our practice. We are involved in at least one community event or pro bono project each month, primarily focused on human rights, education, women, or veterans.

Most recently, we announced the launch of our pop-up café series — OG Garden Café. Our café series amplifies socially responsible brands to bring high caliber art and entertainment to our community.

We featured a beauty bar in our cafe at Planet 13 Orange County during a Farmer’s Market. The event was a neighborhood sample sale and immersive experience of quality products. All our café vendors were 100% female owned and operated Orange County businesses.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We practice with integrity and a creative, entrepreneurial mindset. We enjoy bringing to life our client’s imagination.

The Oganyan Agency is the only company specializing in building and scaling compliant commercial cannabis businesses in California from seed to sale through premiere legal and business consulting services. We can license and permit your wildest cannabis dreams.

Our practice is highly specialized. We guide cannabis businesses through every stage of operations from getting started, to obtaining licenses and permits, to building the infrastructure for compliant operations, to advocating for businesses on the local, state, and federal front lines.

Our clients make up a consciously selected portfolio of cannabis brands that positively impact communities and prioritize corporate social responsibility. Most of our clients are big tax contributors to counties and cities which in turn benefits community programs.

We are very proud to be part of the movement to break the cannabis stigma. The cannabis plant has survived thousands of years in the shadows until most recently. Yet, it is a plant that builds communities today. Revenues from the cannabis industry were crucial during the pandemic, despite the myriad of hurdles cannabis businesses face.

The industry is not for the faint hearted because every day feels like war against misinformation and overregulation. We are here today because we challenge the status quo relentlessly on the daily. Most people resist change and since progress takes a long time, so many give up along the way.

The lesson I remind myself is that launching a cannabis business requires tenacity, grit, and a gunner mentality. Most cannabis companies are still startups. You must be relentless to survive and thrive. The challenge is invigorating but it demands an appreciation and understanding of the culture and complex laws.

Operators, regulators, and professionals who are out of touch with cannabis culture have a greater learning curve (some never overcome) which leads to poor counsel and higher operational costs. We have learned that it is crucial to integrate yourself into the cannabis culture for long-term industry success.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend wanted to visit, I’d tell her to splurge and book a room at Paséa Hotel & Spa for lodging because it’s biking distance from our office. The poolside lounge has panoramic views of the beach and DJ entertainment on weekends. There is also rooftop live entertainment on select days. It’s one of my favorite hotels in Huntington Beach.

For a supply run, I would plan a private tour at my favorite dispensary, Planet 13 Orange County. Every visitor (of age) must try California cannabis, it’s the best in the world.

I’m a seaside CEO so the beach is a must! During the day, we would do a pub crawl at the beach bars, such as The Huntington Beach House, and make time for a bonfire during twilight hour.

We would golf one morning. I recently joined a women’s clinic at Pelican Hill Golf Club, where you can play the best oceanside courses. For lunch we would go to the Farmhouse at Rodger’s Gardens for some farm fresh al fresco dining followed by a walk through their amazing gardens.

We would bicycle to Epic Burrito for breakfast burritos or Fermentation Farm for morning tacos and kombucha, where they have a dozen kombucha flavors on tap.

One of the days we would take a Pilates class then lunch at Arc Butcher & Baker where we would split a wedge salad and a bruschetta wood oven pizza.

At some point we would head over to Semi Tropic Wines in Costa Mesa for some beer or wine on tap. For some classic martinis and steaks, we would head to A Restaurant in Newport Beach.

For some island adventure, we can take a ferry to Catalina Island for the day. There’s so much to do in surf city year-round, we love showing our friends around!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate my shoutout to Ani Oganyan, my sister. We were both born in Armenia and immigrated to Burbank, California in 1992 with our parents. My sister paved the way and included me with open arms, lifting me up as she advanced in her education and career. We both went to UCLA together, where they called us the OG Sisters. Our majors were very different – she studied biology and I majored in history and political science. Yet, we studied very well together and enjoyed LA nightlife at its prime living in Westwood. I eventually went to law school at Pepperdine, and she went to the business school. I recruited her at my first cannabis job and today she is the Operations & Estate Manager at The Oganyan Agency. Ani helped build and scale my company and her beauty brand just became my client. We are collaborating on some big projects!

Website: www.theoganyanagency.com

Instagram: @theoganyanagency @ladytatev

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatevoganyan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoganyanagency/

Image Credits
The Oganyan Agency

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.