Episode Description In Hemp S02E09 of the Beyond the Baja Hemp Podcast, host Aaron Furman examines why the modern hemp industry — and many industries like it — are struggling not from a lack of innovation, but from a breakdown in mentorship and institutional learning.
This episode introduces the framework of BIG M and little m mentoring, exploring how judgment, standards, and decision-making historically moved through proximity, exposure, and consequence — and what happens when those systems disappear. Drawing on real-world conversations with Ken Elliott of IND Hemp (Montana) and professional context shaped through dialogue with Eric Hurlock of The Industrial Hemp Podcast (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), the episode grounds theory in lived operational experience.
Furman traces the failure of knowledge transmission across hemp supply chains — from regulation and compliance to capital discipline and commodity standardization — and connects it to broader historical systems, including guild structures, commodity markets, and industrial maturation. Rather than treating mentorship as nostalgia or workplace culture, this episode reframes it as critical infrastructure required for industries to develop memory, enforce standards, and survive beyond hype cycles.
Beyond the Baja is not a podcast about hemp alone. It is a systems-focused podcast about how industries are built, how they fail, and how they mature — told through the lens of hemp, agriculture, policy, and global markets. This episode challenges listeners to rethink how knowledge actually moves, why content cannot replace experience, and why serious industries depend on mentorship to remain credible.
Keywords:Aaron Furman, Beyond the Baja Hemp Podcast, Hemp Podcast, Mentorship in Hemp, BIG M little m mentoring, Ken Elliott IND Hemp Montana, Eric Hurlock Industrial Hemp Podcast Lancaster PA, hemp supply chain, hemp standards, hemp regulation, commodity markets, institutional learning, hemp industry maturation, hemp policy, hemp fiber, agricultural commodities, systems thinking
