Why We’re Using Apparel to Fund Research (Because No One Else Will)

Research & Progress Update

Jul 01, 2025

Progress takes backbone.

We’re in the middle of building one—quietly—into Founder Drop 001.

This month’s focus?
Warehousing options. Grant structures. Licensing pathways.
And most importantly: how to turn apparel into a permanent funding mechanism for research that can’t wait two years.

Founder Drop

The Reality

To launch a cannabis research and controlled substance storage facility, the route is clear but brutal:

You need R&D licenses.
You need compliance-ready units (ideally prefab).
You need capital to operate at a loss while navigating that process—easily 18–24 months.

And right now?
There’s no public mechanism that helps you get there.
Not in cannabis. Not in psychedelics. Not even in AI education.

I talked with other researchers—same wall, different fields.

Why Scotland Needs This Now

Scotland is standing at a crossroads.
It has the policy frameworks, the university talent, and the economic need to lead in cannabis, plant-based medicine, and hosts of other emerging industries.

But infrastructure like this doesn’t show up on its own.

We don’t just need studies. We need storage, licensing, and the ability to say:
“Yes, we can hold that. We’re permitted. Let’s run the trial.”

That’s the difference between theory and progress.
And it’s a gap that Drop 001 is designed to fill.

The Apparel Hack

The reason Business Casual even exists is simple:

We needed a way to fund infrastructure that doesn’t qualify for traditional grants.
So we used apparel. A hoodie to get a license. A drop to open a door.

What we’re building is a cultural revenue engine for underfunded science.
It starts with cannabis. But the model is bigger.

Because when governments cut budgets, when elections threaten legitimacy, when research needs time and space—we need to be able to move.

Quietly. Elegantly. Strategically.

And right now, we are.

What’s Next

🏗 Reviewing prefab R&D units
🏢 Shortlisting warehouse sites between Edinburgh and Glasgow
🧾 Grant structuring + partnership alignment
🔍 Licensing pathway: MHRA, Home Office, Controlled Substance Storage

It’s happening slowly—but it’s happening.

And the backbone is forming.

“Subscribe to follow the licensing and facility build from the ground up.”

A Simple Ask

If you’ve ever worked in research and hit a funding wall—
or if you’ve ever looked at the future and thought: we should be moving faster—
leave a comment below.

Or forward this to someone who still believes in building something properly.

Because no one else is going to fund this.
So we are.

Business Casual