IgniteHer’s Jessica Ferranti: Visibility Is The New Currency For Cannabis Founders

As cannabis operators compete for capital, partnerships, and market share, Jessica Ferranti believes many founders are overlooking one of their most valuable business assets: visibility.

Ferranti, Founder, CEO of The Mycelia Group, and co-creator of the #IgniteHer initiative alongside IgniteIt, will bring that message to Chicago during the Cannabis Capital Conference on June 15 and 16.

The 2026 IgniteHer theme, “Visibility Is the New Currency,” reflects what Ferranti sees as a persistent challenge for entrepreneurs, particularly women founders.

“One of the last things on a founder’s mind is personal branding or LinkedIn influencing—and I can tell you that is a grave mistake,” Ferranti says. “Visibility builds trust, relationships, and opportunities.”

According to Ferranti, success is not determined solely by talent or operational execution.

“In this industry, and in corporate America as a whole, your success isn’t directly tied to your talent and capabilities. It’s tied to who you know. And, more importantly, who knows you.”

Why Good Work Isn’t Enough

That perspective sits at the center of IgniteHer, a multi-event scholarship and access initiative designed to increase women’s visibility, access, and deal flow throughout the cannabis industry.

Ferranti argues that many founders assume strong performance will naturally attract attention from investors, customers, and potential partners.

The reality, she says, is often very different.

“If you aren’t singing your own praises, the truth is that no one else will,” Ferranti explains. “If people don’t know about your good work, you could be missing out on anything from potential business to partnership opportunities and more.”

Those challenges become even more apparent when capital enters the conversation.

Despite research showing that women-led companies frequently outperform on capital efficiency, women continue to receive a disproportionately small share of venture funding.

Ferranti believes the explanation is straightforward.

“The truth is, it’s inherently based on gender bias,” she says, pointing to studies showing different investor responses to identical business pitches depending on whether they are delivered by men or women.

Why Chicago Matters

For Ferranti, one of the most important aspects of IgniteHer is that it takes place within a broader capital markets conference rather than as a standalone women’s event.

While dedicated spaces for women remain important, she believes meaningful change also requires greater access to the rooms where investment decisions are being made.

“We must emphasize getting more—significantly more—women into rooms with investors and male-led organizations to even the playing field and bring more opportunities, capital, and access to women,” Ferranti says.

Attendees participating in IgniteHer programming in Chicago will have access to workshops, networking opportunities, media training sessions, pitch development resources, and conversations with some of the cannabis industry’s most influential executives and investors.

“We have two women emceeing, countless women on panels, workshops on building effective pitch decks, media training sessions, and so much more,” Ferranti says. “The opportunity to be in the same rooms as many of the world’s most successful cannabis executives to learn, build relationships, and network is simply not worth missing out on.”

As the cannabis industry continues to mature, Ferranti’s message is simple: talent matters, execution matters, but visibility matters too.

And increasingly, it may be the difference between being overlooked and being funded.