A personal witness to pain and tragedy inspires a co-founder
Imperious co-founder Eric Norton witnessed pain and tragedy in 1990 as a licensed chemical dependency counselor. He worked as a case manager in the Dallas County Judicial Treatment Center, a nine-month program that treated convicted felons for addiction, giving them a chance to re-join society instead of serving long terms in prison.
For Eric, the tragedies he faced daily became personal, leading to a short career as a drug counselor. But, years later, when a family member suffered debilitating pain, reality hit home. Although treatable with medical cannabis, that method of relief was not legally available at that time in Texas. Fortunately, they now lived in Colorado. However, the inequity struck Eric as evident, “Something needs to be done.” So Eric did.
A new business model: “Business Before Pleasure”
In October 2015, Imperious Expo, LLC was founded in Tyler, Texas to promote the legal use of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes. The vehicle would be well-planned business expositions, B-to-B trade shows in emerging markets across the U.S.
Because they planned to exclude recreational traffic, Imperious championed this new cause with the slogan, “Business Before Pleasure,” leading to a successful 2016 launch in Seattle-Tacoma in 2016 followed by Phoenix in 2017.
Valuable information resource, professionally led forum
Imperious Expo has evolved into a committed group of professionals from different walks of life who combine unique talents to bring the highest possible level of education, networking opportunities, and investment information. We have also become a reliable source for employment advice and contacts in the emerging national market
Our network consists of well over 40,000 people from the west coast to the east coast. Their consistent participation is evidence that they look forward to joining our two-days events that average 120 exhibits, 70 plus speakers, and 3,000 to 4,000 attendees. Our focus is now on the “Ark-La-Tex” region: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
Our philosophy stresses knowledge, experience, and integrity
The Imperious approach is to bring top-level cannabis experts together under one roof. The mission of this diverse talent pool is to teach and acquaint peers and newcomers with the most current, up-to-date information about the expanding legalized cannabis market.
Because we focus only on medical cannabis and industrial hemp, our philosophy and business model set us apart. You see, we go to great lengths and expense recruiting speakers with the highest level of integrity. To that end, we do not sell our educational stages to the highest bidder.
All of our speakers are pro-bono. We only cover the bare travel expenses for our keynoters. As Eric will tell you, “The reason for this is simple: we have all been lied to about this plant (cannabis) long enough!”
A loyal following gives Imperious rave reviews
We credit our expo success (and your enjoyment of these events) to our loyal exhibitor following. They continue to humble us with a substantial reoccurring compliment, saying, “Imperious Expo has the most diverse exhibits in the industry, well done!” This accolade is a direct reflection of our nation-wide recruiting process and large contact base of cannabis industry professionals.
But, the best compliment yet? It’s when many continue to tell us, “We can send our grandmother to your show, and she could ask a question without feeling awkward or be offended.” Eric’s response? “We just smile and say thank you.”
Imperious is a story of people helping people improve human health, well-being, and productivity. Please join us. The best is yet to come.
Eric Norton, Co-Founder/CEO, Imperious
Expos, launched at Seattle event in 2016
In 1992, Eric became youngest licensed
drug counselor in the state of Texas.
After stops in Seattle, Phoenix, and Little
Rock, Imperious has scheduled an encore
event in Little Rock with its fourth show,
the upcoming Ark-La-Tex cannabis expo.
Imperious events average 120 exhibitors,
70-plus speakers, and 3,500 attendees
and boasts a support network of 40,000.
OK 2021 SPEAKER LINE UP
We’re excited to have Ed Rosenthal back as our keynote speaker! Everyone knows Ed. He’s a pioneer in the Cannabis Industry. His life is a legacy. If you’re new to the space, just Google him, or visit his website.
Chip Paul was named by Cannabis Business Executive Magazine as one of their 100 most influential people in cannabis due to his work in Oklahoma with Oklahomans For Health and discoveries made within his company – GnuPharma.
We’re just getting started here! Our speaker line-up will grow tremendously as we get closer to our Oklahoma City show date.
Check back for here as we’ll be adding more speakers soon. You won’t want to miss a single speaking event. This is where we all learn and grow. Thank you!