Why Moondust Credits IgniteIt Events for Critical Market Insights and New Clients

In an industry where access is often the most significant barrier to opportunity, Moondust founder and CEO Swati Gupta says IgniteIt events have been a powerful equalizer. From the Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago to state-focused Market Spotlights, Gupta credits the connections and insights she’s gained at IgniteIt gatherings with helping her young brand secure new clients, understand emerging trends, and navigate rapidly shifting markets.

Gupta, a Harvard graduate, started her career working in U.S. education policy. She says that cannabis found her during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Describing her experience as a “revelation,” she says that cannabis inspired her to live a life she could be proud of every day, and to make full use of her talents and capabilities.

After the economy began to return to normal, Gupta saw her family’s India-based rolling paper as a stepping stone to entrepreneurship. She then founded Moondust, a 100% woman-owned business that provides cones, rolling papers, and custom packaging to cannabis brands and MSOs around the country and beyond.

Gupta credits her business’s success in part to the relationships she has formed and the insightful presentations at events produced by IgniteIt, formerly Benzinga Cannabis, attending her first event at the company’s flagship production in Chicago this past summer. Known as the Cannabis Capital Conference, the function brings together cannabis professionals, policymakers, and thought leaders for strategic networking and high-impact education.

Opportunity Shines on Moondust

Attending through a scholarship program designed to improve access to the cannabis industry for up-and-coming professionals, Gupta brought along her brother, who leads Moondust’s production in India.

“That event was a pivotal moment for us,” Gupta says in an online interview, adding that she landed a new client at the event. She also knew that she had found the perfect venue to grow her business.

“I felt like ‘I’m in the right space, having the right conversations, learning the right things.’ So it was just amazing,” she says.

Gupta next attended IgniteIt’s Market Spotlight Ohio in November. Again, it was a valuable experience, both professionally and personally.

“In Ohio, I met a client that I really wanted to get in touch with,” Gupta explains.

“I was able to form that really good connection with them and learn more about their work. And they specifically talked about some of the automation changes that they’re bringing in,” she continues. “So they’re really leveraging automation in their company to stay ahead in the industry.”

“I learned about that, and that was really good, because then I tied that in on how we have pivoted our product to fit and go along with that automation.”

Gupta also appreciates the IgniteIt Market Spotlight events because they are focused on individual or regional regulated cannabis markets. This perspective gives participants important insight into the issues unique to each market.

“It’s 100% local. It was very intentional for me to be in Ohio because the pre-roll market had just opened up,” she says. “So it’s a very new context, and the kind of regulation in Ohio is very different around it.”

Creating Inclusive and Meaningful Spaces

Gupta also credits IgniteIt co-founders Patrick Lane and Elliot Lane for curating meaningful events that offer significant value to the participants. She also appreciates the inclusive nature of their productions, which allow professionals of all backgrounds to network and build relationships.

“The Lane brothers are really intentional about opening up the doors for new people in the industry…and ensuring diversity at events,” she explains. “And I feel like I’ve benefited from it. My company has benefited from it. It’s such a mutually beneficial space to be in, for us, to invest in IgniteIt, for IgniteIt to kind of partner with us, is very beneficial.”

You can meet Swati Gupta at IgniteIt’s 2026 events. She is already planning to attend a Market Spotlight in the works for New Jersey and the Capital Conference’s return to Chicago, and says she would “100%” recommend other cannabis professionals take advantage of the opportunities.