Hello, I’m Derek.

Following our passion for the Arts, Sustainable Living, and the Great Outdoors my wife, Bronwyn, and I relocated to Asheville in 2007 as newlyweds.  Surrounded by a community of growth minded individuals, with a zeal for the entrepreneurial spirit, WNC has given us the environment to flourish on both a personal and professional level.

In addition to being my best friend, Bronwyn is the lead vocalist of her band Jazzville, a composer, voice instructor, and published children’s author!

Our two energetic and loquacious children keep us hustling.  My daughter and I share a passion for volleyball and boards games, whereas my son and I prefer to be on wheels, albeit mountain bike or rollerblades, when he’s not up in a tree.

At any given moment you may find us hunting for waterfalls, playing pickleball, or whipping up a family meal in the kitchen ala Chef Ramsay!

Hello, I’m Luke

Derek was one of the first people I met after moving to Asheville in 2009 and we became fast friends over our love for entrepreneurship, humor, and disc golf! We co-founded a payment services provider, CannaMerchant, for the legal cannabis market in 2015 and I’m now looking forward to using that decade of experience to work for you.

In addition to building CannaMerchant, I’ve run my own hemp company and a kratom wholesale company based in Asheville, so I understand the challenges and frustrations business owners face, which uniquely qualifies me to support your business, especially if you’re in a “High Risk” vertical.