---
title: "Startup Stories: National Industrial Hemp Council"
id: "48261"
type: "post"
slug: "startup-stories-national-industrial-hemp-council"
published_at: "2019-10-15T08:40:35+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-10-29T18:08:31+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/10/15/startup-stories-national-industrial-hemp-council/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/10/15/startup-stories-national-industrial-hemp-council.md"
excerpt: "New associations launch to fill a void in their sector. Here, newbies tell us what got them started, how they’re succeeding, and what they plan to do next."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Advocacy"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "Advocacy"
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Business"
  - "Hemp Industry"
  - "Market Development"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Executive Leadership"
---

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 » Startup Stories: National Industrial Hemp Council

### National Industrial Hemp Council

**Launch:** May 2019

**Leadership:** Board Chair Patrick Atagi

**Website:** [hempindustrial.com (opens in a new tab)](https://hempindustrial.com)

### The Mission

NIHC was launched to promote the market development of hemp-based products, support new entrants into the field, and educate consumers. “We’re looking, long term, to protect the brand of hemp,” says Atagi, who owns a hemp farm. While hemp is a versatile crop, it is often conflated with marijuana and CBD oil. “That is one sector of the industry, but it is way more than that—hemp is a plant with broad applications and benefits: animal feed, human feed, and textiles. If something happens in one sector, you don’t want it to affect the entire industry.”

### Early Successes

Atagi has spent decades working at associations, so he knew how get the ball rolling. NIHC already has two state affiliates (Arizona and Florida) and organized a [major meeting (opens in a new tab)](https://hempindustrial.com/events/)
, scoring top-level regulatory officials as speakers. “Really, these things usually take three years,” Atagi says. “We are extremely quick.”

### What’s Next?

Currently relying on management by an AMC, a few contractors, and its volunteer board, NIHC wants to establish a more permanent structure to carry out its mission. “We need our own brick-and-mortar space and full-time employees. We are looking at raising $1.5 million in the next year,” Atagi says.

(Ivan Mikhaylov/Getty Images)

[Rasheeda Childress](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

Rasheeda Childress is a former senior editor at Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

Tags: [#Advocacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/advocacy/)
 [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/)
 [#Hemp Industry](https://associationsnow.com/tag/hemp-industry/)
 [#Market Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/market-development/)

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