Podcast: Elliot Lane On Disciplined Growth In A Tougher Cannabis Market

On High Spirits, IgniteIt Co-Founder and President Elliot Lane discussed the company’s post-Benzinga evolution, the realities of cannabis entrepreneurship and why state-specific events, focused media and disciplined value creation matter more than ever.

After years helping build Benzinga Cannabis into one of the industry’s best-known event and media platforms, Elliot Lane is now doing something riskier: building the next chapter on his own terms.

In a new episode of High Spirits, hosted by Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein, the IgniteIt Co-Founder and President opened up about the transition from Benzinga to IgniteIt, the emotional reality of becoming a founder and the strategy behind building a company centered on market-specific events, business-to-business value and disciplined growth.

A big theme throughout the conversation was intentionality.

Lane explained that IgniteIt is no longer connected to Benzinga, even though it was founded by a team that came out of that ecosystem. The goal now is not simply to preserve what worked before, but to go deeper into cannabis at a moment when the industry needs sharper infrastructure, stronger business connections and more financially relevant conversations. He framed IgniteIt’s core mission in practical terms: helping companies improve financial health by bringing decision-makers, operators, capital sources and regulators into the same room.

That focus has shaped the company’s event strategy.

Rather than relying only on large national gatherings, Lane described the logic behind IgniteIt’s Spotlight model: one-day, state-specific events built around the realities of individual markets. California, DC, Ohio, Colorado and other states all require different conversations, different operators and different mixes of regulatory and financial insight. Instead of pretending to be the expert in every market, Lane said the company starts by leaning on local relationships and trusted partners to identify the people who actually matter in those rooms.

That process, he suggested, is less about marketing than listening.

One of the more useful parts of the conversation came when Lane described his approach to business development. He traced much of his own network-building back to podcasting and years of direct outreach, saying the real goal has always been to lead with value. Whether through media exposure, thought leadership opportunities or access to the right conversations, the idea is to offer something meaningful first and build long-term relationships from there. In that sense, IgniteIt’s events are not meant to function as generic trade shows. They are designed to create return on time, return on attention and, ideally, return on investment.

The interview also offered a candid look at what it feels like to become a founder in cannabis in 2026.

Lane described the experience as a mix of fear, excitement, imposter syndrome and constant pressure to deliver. But he also made clear that the risk feels worthwhile because the underlying value is real. From dealmaking and licensing conversations sparked at events to new partnerships emerging shortly after a conference ends, he pointed to specific examples that reinforce why IgniteIt exists in the first place.

Another notable thread in the episode was media.

Lane said IgniteIt does not want to add to the noise by publishing yet another version of the same headlines everyone in cannabis is already reading. Instead, he described the company’s editorial approach as more of an industry dashboard, one that curates useful information while complementing it with focused insights, executive perspectives and event-driven business context. He pointed to niche B2B media brands and targeted information platforms as more useful models than broad, high-volume cannabis news churn.

By the end of the conversation, the picture was clear: Lane is not trying to build the loudest cannabis media and events company. He is trying to build one of the most useful.

That means growing carefully, staying close to operators, listening to what each market actually needs and making sure every event, article and introduction serves a purpose. In a cannabis industry that has become more selective, more local and more disciplined, that approach may be exactly what gives IgniteIt its edge.