For Peter Seay, culture is not a slogan. It is not an employee handbook, a social media identity, or a set of values printed on a wall.
It is the way people treat each other when the market gets hard, the way a leader talks about the people doing the work when they are not in the room, and the way a company remembers the consumer at the end of every decision.
As CEO of Curador, the company behind Head Change and Safe Bet, Seay has become one of Missouri cannabis' most recognizable personalities. But in conversation, he consistently redirects attention away from himself and toward the people around him: the team, the partners, the retailers, the competitors, and the consumers who ultimately decide whether a product delivered on its promise.
That instinct is not incidental. It is central to Seay's leadership philosophy.
“I love life, and I love people,†Seay said. “People are the most fascinating things to me.â€
That people-first view shapes how Seay talks about business, leadership, and the realities of operating in cannabis. In his view, the industry is too complex, too volatile, and too human to be reduced to balance sheets or brand positioning alone. Every operator is navigating pressure. Every team is managing uncertainty. Every decision is being made inside a market where regulations, access, capital, and competition can shift quickly.
“The cannabis industry is so complex,†Seay said. “The problems are so unique, and they're so volatile, and the dynamics are intense.â€
That volatility, he said, requires more than strategy. It requires empathy.
During the conversation, the broader Missouri market context included COVID-era disruptions, regulatory changes, adult-use conversion, consolidation, recalls, administrative holds, and shifting retail dynamics. Those challenges have forced operators across the state to adjust plans that were often written before the market looked anything like it does today.
Seay said those pressures can distort how people see each other if they are not careful.
“You start to meet these people and become personal with them,†he said. “You hear exactly the situation they're in and the pressures they're under.â€
Rather than viewing competitors as enemies, Seay sees them as part of an ecosystem. Competition can force better work, but it does not have to create hostility.
“I really cherish some of the influence I've gotten from our third-party partners and even our competition,†Seay said. “I love competition. It forces us to do better. And I like competing. Our whole team absolutely does. All things in balance. We also have to keep our arms open and make sure that we're hugging, shaking hands at the end of the game. Not making enemies, just building each other up and making each other work harder.â€
That idea is foundational to how Seay describes leadership. He does not describe success as domination. He describes it as participation in a larger system, where each business has a role to play and each relationship may matter in ways that are not immediately visible.
He compares the market to a forest, where large trees, smaller trees, and flowers on the forest floor all exist in relation to one another. The point, for Seay, is not that every company should be the same size or serve the same function. It is that each part of the system affects the others.
“You have to have them to create stability,†Seay said of the larger structures in a forest. “All the beautiful parts of the biome can all exist and thrive, but they also kind of have a role and a place.â€
That perspective influences how Seay talks about retail relationships and market participation. He said Curador tries to operate as a neutral, reliable partner across the market.
“The way we look at the market is we kind of think of ourselves as Switzerland,†Seay said. “There's nobody out there that I'm just going to hate.â€
That does not mean ignoring mistakes or pretending every relationship is perfect. It means leaving room for people and companies to change.
“People change,†Seay said. “That guy who decided to make the really bad decision that messed it up, he might go away, and you might need to be ready to forgive them because they might be the best partner to work with in some capacity.â€
Behind that approach is a deeper commitment to the consumer experience. Seay said Curador's real opportunity is to provide consumers with great experiences. That means understanding the person buying the product, the cost of a failed purchase, and the frustration that can come from spending limited money on something that does not meet expectations.
For Seay, that understanding is personal.
“I remember delivering pizzas and getting a bag and being like, ‘Oh my God, this bag sucks, and I'm not going to get another $50 for two weeks to spend on weed with all the other stuff I've got to do to keep my life up,'†he said.
That memory still shapes how he thinks about value and product development.
  “At Curador, we don't stop,†Seay said. “All we have to do is look in the mirror if we need to imagine that person.â€
That consumer-first mindset is one of the clearest threads in Seay's leadership philosophy. It is not only about quality, although quality matters. It is about respecting the fact that cannabis purchases are personal, sometimes medical, sometimes recreational, and often tied to a consumer's limited discretionary income.
Seay said the cannabis buying experience can be difficult for consumers because they are often asked to make choices with incomplete information. Product thumbnails, THC percentages, terpene data, and short menu descriptions only tell part of the story. For new consumers and experienced consumers alike, the fear of a failed experience can shape the decision.
“The fear of a failed experience is tantamount to the way they're thinking,†Seay said. “They have precious little information to base their choice on.â€
That makes internal leadership more important, not less. A team has to care enough to solve for the consumer before the consumer ever sees the product. That means product development, packaging, education, retail communication, and brand voice all have to work together.
Seay repeatedly credits the Curador team for building that system. When asked about the company's ability to identify market opportunities and act on data, Seay immediately pointed to others.
“I've got a really great team,†he said.
He cited team members with strengths in organizing data, interpreting market information, and comparing internal performance with broader market dynamics. Those people, Seay said, help the company make smarter decisions.
“These are the guys that you don't see that make me look smart,†Seay said.
That deflection is not a performance. It is part of Seay's leadership model. He describes himself less as the source of the company's success and more as someone trusted enough to be invited into the work of talented people.
“I wish I could tell some of those stories like, ‘Oh, it was me,'†Seay said. “But so often, I just have built enough trust with the person that really matters that they're inviting me in to support them or help in some way or partner with them.â€
That framing matters. In Seay's view, culture is not built by a leader taking credit. It is built by creating enough trust for people to contribute fully and by making sure their work is seen.
That also shows up in how Seay talks about Curador's public voice. In the conversation, Seay pointed to social media and campaign work as places where Curador can show the personalities inside the company, not just the products. He said social media gives cannabis companies a rare opportunity to show who they are, but only if they use it honestly.
“With social media, you have this real opportunity to show who you are to the consumer and personally connect,†Seay said. “That's a real luxury if you use it right. It's a total danger if you use it wrong.â€
For Seay, that means letting the team's personality come through. The brand can be funny, strange, sincere, and deeply rooted in cannabis culture without losing sight of the work behind it.
“We have a lot of levity amongst us,†Seay said. “You kind of have to laugh with some of these punches, or you're not going to make it.â€
That balance between levity and seriousness may be one of the defining features of Seay's approach. He is quick to talk about Grateful Dead shows, art, hash, humor, and the joy of shared cannabis experiences. But he is equally clear about the responsibility involved in making products for consumers who may be using them for relief, ritual, or both.
“I am one of these people that's so blessed that I don't have to use cannabis medicinally,†Seay said. “I get to choose to use it because I enjoy it. I don't survive because I have it.â€
That awareness keeps the work grounded. A product may be fun. A campaign may be playful. A consumer may be seeking enjoyment. But the plant still carries value for patients and consumers whose needs are more serious.
For Seay, the path to successful culture is not complicated, but it is demanding. Listen. Give grace. Share credit. Respect the consumer. Compete without dehumanizing. Build trust before taking credit. Let the team be seen. Keep enough humor in the room to survive the hard parts.
That approach may not fit the traditional image of cannabis leadership, but it reflects the reality of a market where culture is created in the small decisions as much as the big ones.
In Seay's case, the lesson is clear: a successful culture is not built around the CEO. It is built around the people the CEO refuses to overlook.
In Seay's case, the lesson is clear: a successful culture is not built around the CEO. It is built around the people the CEO refuses to overlook.
