Seth Yakatan Says IgniteIt Is Where Real Cannabis Business Happens

If Seth Yakatan is telling people where to be in 2026, it’s worth paying attention.

In a new LinkedIn post, Yakatan shouted out Elliot Lane, Patrick Lane and Jason Raznick, then made his plans clear: attend every event hosted by IgniteIt this year. IgniteIt Events are on his calendar, and not by accident.

The post came with a short video, but it lands as more than a promo. It’s really about what still works in cannabis when capital is tighter, teams are leaner and nobody wants to waste time on the wrong event.

“Shaking hands is the most valuable next step in a business conversation,” Elliot Lane says in the clip. “Hands down. Like, I will bet money on that.”

That’s the thesis.

Lane says IgniteIt is intentional about how it builds its events. The number is not the point. Whether it’s 200 people or 500, the goal is the same: operators, investors and actual decision-makers in one place, having conversations that can turn into something real.

“We are intentional with how we curate our events,” Lane says. “I don’t care if it’s 200, 500, but it’s gonna be operators, investors, and people who make decisions in their companies.”

Yakatan, one of the best-connected people in cannabis capital markets, takes it a step further. In the video, he credits Lane for helping shape part of his own “influence” in the space, then boils IgniteIt’s value down to two words: efficiency and connectivity.

That matters, because Yakatan is not the kind of person who needs more random conferences on his schedule. If he’s saying these are the rooms worth showing up in, that says something.

Lane also makes the bigger point plainly: people are still doing business in cannabis. There is still real energy in the industry for the people willing to go get it. And in his view, luck tends to find the people who actually show up.

“You create your own luck by being in the rooms,” Lane says. “If you’re not out at events, I understand budgets are tight. It’s cannabis. It’s tough out there. However, shaking hands is the most valuable next step in a business conversation.”

Yakatan closes the clip by naming IgniteIt’s 2026 run, before adding: “I’m gonna be at all of them.”

The comments under the post only reinforced the point. Angela Pih called IgniteIt “the rooms to be in.” Catherine Sidman, while noting she has to be careful with self-funded travel, said she had “one firm YES in IgniteIt Cannabis.” Stephen Adele added that the industry still needs “analog, three dimensional spaces” where people can meet, exchange ideas and change the trajectory of a business.

That’s really the whole pitch. Not bigger rooms. Better ones.

And when Seth Yakatan says IgniteIt is where he’ll be, people in cannabis tend to hear that for what it is: a recommendation, a signal and maybe a little warning not to miss the room.

Upcoming events include:

• April 30: Cincinnati, OH
• June 14-16: Chicago, IL
• September 18: Denver, CO