“Idrasil was ultimately born in a prison cell.”

After nearly two decades pursuing one idea, Steele Clark Smith III is still fighting to answer a controversial question:

Can cannabinoids move from the dispensary counter to the prescription pad?

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Steele, CEO of C3 Pharmaceuticals, for a conversation about pharmaceuticals, cannabinoids, opioids, regulation, government, AI, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to pursue a mission when the road lasts far longer than anyone expected.

Steele's story is anything but conventional.

His interest in the problem was deeply personal. After being prescribed opioids, Steele describes an extremely difficult withdrawal experience that ultimately helped shape his perspective on patients, medicine, and the difference between sympathy and genuine empathy.

Then came another defining chapter.

While incarcerated following a 2007 indictment, Steele remembered a former patient whose insurer had been willing to reimburse his cannabis expenses.

That triggered a bigger question:

What would cannabis have to become for a physician to actually prescribe and dose it like medicine?

Steele says that question ultimately led to Idrasil, which he describes as a standardized cannabinoid tablet designed around pharmaceutical dosing rather than the consumer cannabis model.

In this conversation:

• Why Steele separates pharmaceutical cannabinoids from recreational cannabis
• Why standardized dosing matters to his thesis
• How his personal opioid experience shaped his mission
• Why he says Idrasil was “born in a prison cell”
• What nearly 20 years of persistence taught him
• Why he's exploring a government-first strategy
• His vision for a roughly 100,000-square-foot pharmaceutical operation
• How he thinks about manufacturing, security and hiring at scale
• Where AI can transform pharmaceutical data and regulatory workflows
• Why humans still need final approval in high-stakes AI workflows
• How founders distinguish conviction from stubbornness
• Why Steele believes perseverance has been his greatest advantage

What makes Steele's story fascinating isn't simply the product.

It's the length of the fight.

He has faced legal battles, regulatory uncertainty, capital challenges, changing markets, and years of waiting for the environment around his idea to evolve.

Yet when asked why he hasn't quit, his answer is simple:

“I truly was born for this.”

This is a conversation about what happens when a founder refuses to let go of an idea, even when proving it takes decades.

Steele Clark Smith III is the CEO of C3 Pharmaceuticals and the founder behind Idrasil, a cannabinoid-based tablet he has spent nearly two decades developing and advocating for within a pharmaceutical framework.

Steele's background includes experience across cannabis, pharmaceuticals, legal and regulatory matters, patient advocacy, and entrepreneurship.

Today, his focus is building the infrastructure, team, regulatory pathway, and government relationships he believes are necessary to bring his pharmaceutical vision to scale.

Website: Idrasil.com

Company: C3 Pharmaceuticals

LinkedIn: Steele Clark Smith III

Personal Website: SteeleClarkSmith3.com

Steele also says he can be found on X, Truth Social, and Facebook.

AMERICA IS 90 DAYS FROM EMPTY GROCERY SHELVES

We assume the grocery store will always have food.

Kendell Lang believes that assumption is far more dangerous than most people realize.

After witnessing firsthand what happens when critical infrastructure and food supply chains fail, he's building a radically different model—one designed to make communities more food-independent while making regenerative agriculture economically viable.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Kendell Lang, CEO of mOrganic Holdings, for a fascinating conversation about food security, agriculture, technology, AI, carbon markets, and what it will take to build more resilient communities.

Ken's mission can be summarized in one sentence:

“We are making healing the planet the most profitable business in the world.”

His journey to that mission is deeply personal.

After his late wife was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2001, Ken began questioning what he understood about food, health, plants, medicine, and the systems surrounding them. That experience ultimately became part of a much larger mission around food security and the legacy he wanted to leave his children and grandchildren.

In 2016, Ken moved from San Diego to Puerto Rico, where approximately 95% of consumed food was being imported, according to his account. Hurricane Maria later demonstrated just how quickly interconnected systems can break when electricity, water, transportation, agriculture, and supply chains fail simultaneously.

Today, he's applying those lessons in Hawaii through mOrganic.

But this isn't simply farming.

Ken describes an ecosystem combining controlled-environment aquaponics, regenerative soil systems, agroforestry, livestock, renewable energy, sensors, real-time data, blockchain infrastructure, carbon measurement, and AI.

In this conversation:

• Why Ken believes food security must become hyperlocal
• What Hurricane Maria taught him about fragile infrastructure
• How mOrganic achieved 52 consecutive weekly harvests in Puerto Rico
• Why billion-dollar vertical farming companies can still fail
• How regenerative agriculture can become profitable
• Why Ken believes carbon markets need better measurement
• How sensors, blockchain and AI fit into modern agriculture
• Why food security increasingly intersects with national security
• How technology can amplify human expertise instead of replacing it
• Why Ken believes environmentalism and capitalism can work together

Kendell Lang is an entrepreneur, real estate developer, agricultural innovator, and CEO of mOrganic Holdings.

Ken brings decades of experience spanning sophisticated real estate development, controlled environments, agriculture, infrastructure, and capital markets. During the conversation, he describes developing more than 12 million square feet of real estate, helping take two companies public, and advising another before turning his focus toward food security and regenerative agriculture.

His mission:

Make healing the planet the most profitable business in the world.

Connect With Kendell Lang

LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendelllang/

mOrganic Holdings: morganic.ag
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morganically/

You can have a 720 credit score and still get denied.

And you can spend years chasing an 800 score without understanding what actually makes lenders say yes.

Dave Burgio believes most people are solving the wrong problem: the goal isn’t perfect credit. The goal is becoming fundable before you need the money.

You can have a 720 credit score and still get denied.

And you can spend years chasing an 800 score without understanding what actually makes lenders say yes.

Dave Burgio believes most people are solving the wrong problem:

The goal isn't perfect credit. The goal is becoming fundable before you need the money.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Dave Burgio, Founder of Trifecta Credit Solutions, to break down what entrepreneurs, real estate investors, operators, and everyday borrowers misunderstand about credit and access to capital.

Dave's interest in credit started early.

He watched his parents struggle financially after a divorce damaged both of their credit profiles. Years later, Dave experienced the other side himself when the 2008 financial crisis hit and his own credit suffered.

Today, his work has expanded from credit education and positioning into business funding and private lending, helping clients understand what needs to happen before they urgently need capital.

In this conversation, Dave and Louis discuss:

• Why a high credit score doesn't automatically make someone fundable
• How someone with a 720 score can still get denied
• Why credit is usually an afterthought until a major opportunity appears
• The danger of waiting until you desperately need capital
• Why business owners often damage personal credit funding their companies
• What lenders evaluate beyond the score
• How entrepreneurs should think about capital readiness
• Why newer investors and founders often struggle to get financing
• How private lending is changing real estate investing
• Why banks are tightening as consumer debt increases
• What Dave learned from operating businesses in multiple industries
• How AI is helping simplify internal operations
• Why people, processes, and systems still determine whether a company scales

One of Dave's strongest lessons is simple:

Prepare for capital when you don't need it.

Dave Burgio is the Founder of Trifecta Credit Solutions, where he helps individuals, entrepreneurs, operators, and real estate investors move from credit positioning to capital access.

His work spans personal and business credit education, funding readiness, business financing, and private lending.

Dave began working in credit as a side business in 2016 before launching Trifecta Credit Solutions in 2020. His mission is to help clients understand their financial position, become better prepared for financing opportunities, and avoid waiting until capital becomes an emergency.

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveburgiocredit/

Trifecta Credit Solutions:
www.trifectacreditsolutions.com