“Working with Dama has been absolutely life changing.”
Todd Winter, founder, Winter Greens
CASE STUDY
Products used:
Premier Banking • Paytender
The customer
Winter Greens is a California retail non-storefront delivery servicing the Lake Tahoe area (Truckee) and Orange County (Costa Mesa). An attorney by trade, Todd Winter (WINTER LLP) founded Winter Greens in 2018 after a decade helping licensed operators up and down the coast successfully navigate the complexities of the cannabis industry, from corporate transaction to real estate and IP transactions, to trademarks, branding, and regulatory work. In addition to running his newer venture, Winter remains one of California’s preeminent cannabis lawyers.
“I wanted to create a business and culture that would be a great example for our kids while also helping to protect our community.” - Todd Winter
The challenge: banking
“I tried to navigate things with a couple credit unions while constantly scouring trying to find a bank account, but it was virtually impossible until Dama came on the scene.”
Once on the other side of the advisor/client desk, Winter personally experienced the stress of running a licensed cannabis business. Within three months of opening a bank account for Winter Greens, the new account was promptly shut down.
The closure forced Winter Greens to scramble.
“We went all cash for a really long time. I tried to navigate things with a couple credit unions while constantly scouring trying to find a bank account, but it was virtually impossible until Dama came on the scene,” Winter said.
The solution
Winter engaged with Dama and never looked back.
Winter was deep into the application process with a new credit union when he became aware of Dama. Despite the time already invested, he decided to switch direction, citing Dama’s lower fees, easier application process, and user-friendly interface as key reasons.
“Working with Dama has been absolutely life changing for me personally, and game changing for our business. Being able to sleep at night, not worrying about being shut down, my experience has been amazing,” he said.
A happy customer
Winter’s satisfaction with the attention he’s received as a Dama client is hard to overstate.
“Dama’s responsiveness and customer service is really top shelf. It’s hours, usually less, when I get a response, and any issues we have are usually dealt with in less than 24 hours,”
he said, adding that when a trusted member of his support team got promoted, she graciously stayed on his account.
Paytender
“Once you’re set up, it’s really incredible.” Todd Winter on Paytender
Once Winter Greens was up and running with Premier Banking, Winter integrated Paytender into Winter Greens’ POS—to great success. Text-to-pay electronic payments now account for nearly 40 percent of overall sales.
“We love Paytender, we try to get everyone on it,” he said. “Once you’re set up, it’s really incredible, and so easy to use. Everyone who uses it loves it. Our drivers love it too. The tip feature is great.”
Spreading the word
Winter Greens now has three Premier Banking accounts managed by Dama, and Winter has become an enthusiastic—and credible—Dama advocate at his law practice. “I recommend Dama to all of my clients based on my own use as an operator,” he said.