Benzinga Chicago 2025

It's been a month since Benzinga in Chicago, and writing that I cannot believe a month has gone by. First of all, this is the longest I've gone after an event before writing my blog. And second of all, how has it been a month? It feels like the time has flown by but I guess that's what happens when you go to a conference and then come home and move a week later, and then shortly after that, the crushing blow to the market you love dearly comes that you fought to try and prevent. Not to mention everything else going on in this crazy world right now. June 2025 has been a doozy! But I firmly believe in reflection and telling my story so let's go back to last month and talk about the Benzinga Cannabis Capital conference in Chicago.

It took me a while to decide on going to Benzinga in Chicago this year. It's an expensive conference, and they changed it this year so they only did one national conference in Chicago in June instead of the prior years, where they did one in Florida and then Chicago in October. In the end, it made sense for me to go, but I ended up doing a short trip and not adding extra time to spend with my family.

I kicked off the trip by arriving at the airport early to catch Dr. Ben Caplan speak about tolerance during Mo Smyth's weekly Cannabis Public School. I try and join the class every Sunday and do miss it occasionally, but I'm a big fan of Dr. Caplan as a medical doctor who is pro-cannabis, and he shares important content. It was a really interesting and accessible presentation, and I highly recommend you take a listen when you have time.

My flight over was pretty smooth compared to what I was hearing from other people with cancellations and long delays due to summer storms and the chaos in air travel these days. We did have to circle for a while when we got to Chicago until the storm passed, which caused me to be a bit delayed, and then with heavy traffic from O'Hare into the city, I was late for my dinner plans. But I made it to my hotel and over to dinner to meet up with Steve Riparip and Sonya Kachinski before going to the Soho House with Rachel Wright for a Women in Weed event put on by Angela Pih, Laurie Parfitt, and Whitney Conroy.

On a personal note, I was emotional heading to Chicago. I had a lot going on, finding out the week before that I would be moving in a couple of weeks and would likely need to purchase a new car in the next couple of months. In addition, going to Chicago without plans to see my family feels weird. So my emotions were high, and it was a pretty intense experience walking into a room with one of my close friends, Rachel, and finding it filled with women that I love, respect, and trust after building relationships with them over the past couple of years. I could go on and on about the women in cannabis (and often I do), and I just felt so fortunate to have the conference kick off with love and acceptance of me for just who I am, in whatever state that may be. And then I was ready to work!

First stop Monday morning was the Women's Lounge, sponsored by a number of amazing organizations, including Women Grow and my close partner, Verdant Strategies. I took cute pics with Rachel, their founder and our friend, Kary Radestock, and also one with one of Verdant's newest rockstars, Scheri Mathaya.

In the talks, I got to sit with Bill Levers, Catherine Sidman, and Chelsea Mulligan. We sat and listened to some of the first few sessions, including a panel with Rachel talking about finance and the importance of real estate. When I got to the expo floor, I saw some other friends like Brian Holler, Laura Hand, and Matt Shterenberg. I also had a 1:1 meeting with Dr. Janice Makela, whom I met through Cannabis Public School.

I'll take this as an opportunity to comment briefly on the conference app and the 1:1 networking meetings that have made Benzinga one of the most productive conferences to attend. They used a different company for the app this year, and that was a real letdown. It was difficult to use, had lots of bugs, and it was very hard to schedule meetings or even chat to connect. I was able to have a couple of successful meetings, but it was pretty frustrating, and honestly, people wasted a lot of time trying to use it as we have in the past.

In addition to time upstairs, smoke breaks outside in front of the conference hotel are important to a successful conference. During one, I ran into Ian Rassman, whom I usually see all the time but hadn't seen recently, and it's always good to catch up. Also, did you notice my outfit change? I started the day in my signature pink blazer that I always wear at Benzinga, but then had to change after Lucia Cifonelli threw one of her new micro-batch pieces on me. I already have the pants to match that I was planning on wearing the following day, and I love Smoke Show.

Their booth kept pulling me over to it during the show, and was such a vibe. She partnered with her new office neighbor in LA, Matt from Deeproots. They had a number of women-owned brands on display, along with a couch where they filmed podcasts with some of my favorite women in the space, Sarah Falvo, Sandra Bergman, Angela Pih, Susie Plascencia, Steph Woods, and Dominique White, talking about marketing in cannabis.

I did want to talk a bit about a panel that I really enjoyed that my friend Sandra moderated. It was a discussion about things that are working for brands, cultivators, and retailers in various markets. My friends, Marianne Cursetjee and Scott Vasterling, were on the panel talking about their brands, Alibi and Humboldt Family Farms, respectively. Alibi just expanded from Oregon to New York, and Humboldt Family Farms has unique business practices and marketing that set them apart in a crowded California market. Unfortunately, the panel was in a small room and required a VIP bracelet. It's a shame because it was such a thoughtful conversation that a lot of the conference could have benefited from hearing, but I could barely find the room.

I also attended a panel about Latinos in Cannabis, which I really enjoyed. I love hearing from brands on what sets them apart and helps them to be successful. I work mostly with retailers, but the brand/retailer relationship is so critical that I like to always keep the brand perspective in the back of my mind. Also, a retailer's brand is critical to their success and something that sometimes gets missed. Benzinga did a great job of finding the right people to highlight success stories and things that are working that we can learn from.

Monday evening was a women's event followed by the Grasslands party. I ran around town with Rachel, Stephanie Jeffries, and Scheri from Verdant and had a blast. From singing 'Happy Birthday' in the Uber in French (only one of us speaks French) to talking our way into places, it's always so many laughs and good times with those ladies. It was great to see Carl Saling, whom I recently met after seeing him around for a while, and also spent some time with Rachel and Brian. The pic we took on the couch is one of my favorites and perfectly captures the vibes.

Day two had several good panels moderated by women I admire, like Angela Pih, Laurie Parfitt, and Lisa Battista. I particularly liked Angela's panel where they discussed how aesthetics can influence brand loyalty. There were lots of takeaways from brands that make strong statements and have seen it pay off. In addition, Weedmaps was represented on the panel, and Angela brought up a very specific issue she's seen when bringing clients online in new markets and finding images for another market being selected incorrectly. It's a great point and something that retailers need to watch out for when configuring their online menus. We all know, every state is different.

The best part of a conference is the people! Going to a conference is beneficial for a number of reasons, including hearing the talks and learning about new companies through the expo, but the reason why we all go to conferences as much as we do is to connect with people. And I am lucky and have some great people in my circle that I got to meet up with in Chicago and spend time with. Some I haven't already mentioned include Jessica Ferranti, Jeff Levers, Dee Sidhu, and Jennifer Makris. And I wanted to mention that Steph Woods played a very special role in helping me sort out my emotions at the women's event I went to the first night; her support has meant so much to me.

That really sums up the conference portion of this Benzinga. It was a good show. They had quality content from the panels to the variety on the expo floor. The catering is always on point at the hotel, and it's a good time. But it's expensive. I spent a lot of money on my travel, hotel, and ticket. Was it worth it? I think so. Time will tell, but the investment in my business and the relationships I'm building are valuable.

A dinner table so big that you have to photograph from both ends to capture everyone! Well, I'm exaggerating a little. These two photos were taken at different points in the dinner when different women dropped by to join in on the fun. But I should back up a bit. I've been planning casual dinners for women during conferences over the past year, and those dinners have become one of my favorite parts of these trips. We keep meeting more amazing women and inviting more, and this one turned into something I wasn't quite expecting. Logistically, it was a lot for me, more than I felt like I signed up for, but we made it work and looking at these pictures and seeing all the amazing women that got together and shared a meal, it's pretty special. I am grateful and very fortunate! I want to mention the women that I haven't mentioned previously, including Jeanne Sullivan, Lisa Williams, Stephanie Pow, Sara Brittany Somerset, Jamie Pearson, Diane Downey, Kristen Beury, and Mary Eggers Bernuth.

After dinner, we walked over to the Beard Bros after party, which was a cool setup close to the conference, but the music wasn't quite my vibe. I got this cute pic with Lisa and Sandra, and I should mention the new Beard Bros hemp products that they launched at Benzinga through their partnership with The Flavor Co. They have a few drink enhancers and a gummy, and they had a game where you could guess the mystery flavor, which turned out to be Watermelon/Grape. I guessed strawberry. After receiving several samples, I think this new line of products is going to be a big hit. There was a smoking terrace outside that I enjoyed and got to see my friends and meet a few new people, but didn't stay very late since it was already a busy past couple of days, and I still had one more day ahead of me.

Hoodie Analytics put on a day-long event adjacent to the conference for operators and industry professionals to get together and learn a bit about Hoodie and its new features, but mostly focus on how we could learn from each other and from operators that have been successful. I wasn't sure what to expect, and there were a number of logistical issues, but it turned out to be beneficial and fun.

When I arrived, I ran into Lindsay Roth, whom I last saw in Boston at NECANN, and she helped me figure out where to get coffee! I also got to chat a bit with AnnaRae Grabstein and Lauren Silberman. And last but not least, I can never get enough time with my good friend who works for Hoodie, Chris Carroll, who kept me company while I was waiting for my coffee. What can I say, it's really all about the people.

The day wrapped up with a happy hour where I met Jonathan Klein who participated in a panel during the event representing Smokiez. He was serving up hemp beverages from his side-gig, Re9ulated, and we chatted for a bit about alcohol and our experiences, and a question I had from his panel. I had just gone outside and smoked some Pink Jesus that Lauren had brought with her, and was feeling pretty chatty, and it was one of those conversations that went in a bunch of directions quickly. I very much appreciated the drink he gave me to enjoy on my walk back to my hotel. It was in the 80s, and I had to stop in the shade halfway to cool down. The drink was so refreshing and I love the normalization of walking down Michigan Ave in Chicago with a weed drink in my hand wearing my Stoner Scientist shirt :-)