Logo for Qredible providing the only digital registry of validated and verified brands in the legalized cannabis, CBD, and hemp industries.

Rick McDonald

President / Chief Operating Officer

Rick McDonald | President / Chief Operating Officer​ at Qredible

Why did you start Qredible?

Brian Fitzpatrick and I started off with BSA advisors. Through that experience, we discovered the truth of the industry: that there is a serious lack of transparency leading to quality and compliance issues. Our early conversations were largely based on our disbelief that there were no central resources to find reliable information about businesses operating in the industry. There are so many really fantastic companies out there. The problem is that, as the industry stands, it’s impossible to know if you’re dealing with one. My estimate is that 90% of companies out there want to do a good job, provide a great product, and protect their consumers. I just don’t know who they are.

What is your vision for Qredible?

I made Qredible to promote those good companies while exposing the bad ones. If you follow regulations and care about quality, you deserve to be distinguished from those bad actors and to get recognition for your efforts.
Unfortunately, it only takes one bad actor to spoil trust in the industry. So, I wanted to create a platform that gives reliable, trustworthy businesses a leg up over those that are misleading others.
But my vision for Qredible is for it to become a network of great businesses uplifting and connecting with each other. It will be a place where anyone can go to find the best companies in the industry—to partner with, invest in, work for, and purchase from.
And more than that, it can be a motivator for companies to quit corner-cutting and bad practices. Ultimately, it has the potential to create a safer industry for every party involved.
Eventually, I see Qredible becoming a symbol of transparency and trust. Consumers see a product on the shelf while shopping and look for that Q checkmark as a beacon of quality.

Why is Qredible important to you personally?

Something I love about Qredible is that it’s consumer-facing. There are plenty of companies out there that offer compliance, but none of them prioritize consumer awareness. To me, consumer safety is critically important. They deserve to know what they’re ingesting. Once we launch to consumers, they will, and the industry is going to be better for it. I also think the technology is amazing. It can do so much good. Protecting consumers and businesses; empowering customers with insights they’d previously never have access to; and highlighting these incredible brands that are willing to stand behind their products. And because it’s consumer-facing, it places a lot of pressure on businesses to improve their practices. Even if they don’t subscribe to the premium features, these businesses will start working harder to produce quality products, and that’s incredibly important to me. It’s why I do what I do. It’s why I made Qredible.