Silicon Valley has made "start up" a sexy term. And tech products have a high-burnout and turnover, coupled with incredible ease to market, if you hit the right nerve. It's a sexy craps shoot. Tobacco? Not so much. The only glamor is in the grind and satisfaction of that new creation.  So we forge ahead. [...]

Like I said, the bulk of my time working on the Hestia Tobacco project for the past few years has been spent scurrying down various rabbit holes of regulatory mayhem. Primarily, this is a result of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2009 to much fanfare. [...]

While in college, I used to smoke Marshall McGearty cigarettes.  If you didn't live in Chicago at the time, you likely never heard of them.  And if you didn't live in Wicker Park, I doubt you ever enjoyed them. Marshall McGearty cigarettes were fresh.  They were new.  They were rolled in the store for me. [...]

My name is David Sley, and I am proudly launching the most transparent and authentic organic tobacco company.  As one might imagine, this can be a messy business.  I have been actively trying to placate various government agencies since late-2010. And as of this writing, I remain a few weeks away from finally selling the [...]