[Podcast] Cannabis Events Need To Be More Useful Than Loud, Elliot Lane Says

IgniteIt cofounder and president Elliot Lane recently joined the High Spirits podcast to talk about the company’s evolution, its break from Benzinga and the thinking behind IgniteIt’s growing slate of regional events. Throughout the conversation with hosts Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein, Lane returned to a few core ideas: a sharper focus on financial health in cannabis, the importance of local expertise in a fragmented industry and a relationship-driven approach that has defined his work from the beginning.

Lane was clear that IgniteIt represents a full departure from the Benzinga cannabis vertical he helped build.

“We are no longer connected in any way to Benzinga,” he said, adding, “We are just founded by people who all come from Benzinga, including the founder of Benzinga, Jason Raznick… he’s our chairman here at IgniteIt.”

That separation, Lane said, created room to go deeper into cannabis rather than treating it as a bridge to mainstream finance.

“IgniteIt gives us an opportunity to step away from the kind of large mainstream perspective of cannabis and say, no, we are diving in,” he explained. “And we are diving in deeper at a time when this industry needs it the most.”

For Lane, that deeper focus is tied directly to the kind of value IgniteIt is trying to offer the companies and executives who attend its events.

“That value is driven around financial health. And I think that is also the big differentiator for us, is we are here to better your financial health,” he said. “We’re here to offer connections to each other who are there to better your financial health.”

IgniteIt’s Focus on Regional Markets

A major theme of the episode was IgniteIt’s state-by-state strategy. With markets defined by local rules and local operators, Lane said the company’s regional spotlights are designed to meet each market where it is. He also made a point of not pretending to be the expert in any given state.

“I start by acknowledging I really have no idea what’s happening in these markets,” he said. “I don’t know what’s happening in California, like you two do, and I don’t pretend to… For me, I lean on my network. I lean on our partners.”

That humility comes after a decade of grinding. Lane described his early days at Benzinga, where he grew the cannabis vertical through podcasting and relentless outreach.

“It’s been 10 years of cold calling. It’s been 10 years of connecting with people in this industry,” he said. “There are a lot of people that are not in this industry anymore that I’ve connected with and grown with over the way. It took me years to get Ben Larson’s email, literal years to get Ben Larson’s email.”

Lane also spoke candidly about what it feels like to step out as a founder in a volatile industry while raising a young family. When Larson asked what it is like to be “all in,” Lane did not sugarcoat it. He called it “a mix of pure terror with imposter syndrome,” then added, “I have to remind myself that, like, we built something of value, right? And I have to be confident in that. Because if I’m not, you know, it permeates into what we do.”

The payoff, he said, shows up in the deals and partnerships that trace back to IgniteIt events.

“I think what we have built is worth the fear, you know,” Lane said. “It’s worth the thought that, you know, I don’t come from legacy, I don’t come from the roots of this industry. But it doesn’t mean… that I can’t lean into people that do and provide a connection point there.”

Lane’s comments also underscored how much the cannabis conversation has changed. Operators are navigating tighter margins, uneven regulations and a media environment that often feels thinner than the industry itself. IgniteIt is shaping its events around those realities, with programming that stays close to the financial and operational pressures people are actually facing.