Before MJBizCon 2025 jumped into full swing in Las Vegas, hundreds of industry stakeholders kicked off the week of festivities at Tech Jam 2025 to discuss the critical issues facing industry operators and their expectations for the industry.
Highlights include:
- Shawn West, founder of Curafin Advisors, believes 2026 will be a prolific year for the market. West specializes in managing retirement plans for cannabis industry employees, helping keep accounts from being shut down or frozen.
- Kevin Hart, founder and CEO of Green Check Verified, is excited for new industry collaborations. He is looking at 2026 with more tempered, but realistic expectations.
- Michael Mejer, founder of Green Lane Communication, is excited to have the industry together at Tech Jam 2025 to kick off the "Super Bowl of the cannabis industry."
- Jonathan Ballard, vice president of Leafypack, says operators are looking for better ways to sustain their businesses with automation. A more mature industry is now drawing on expertise from other sectors, and Leafypack plans to shake things up by bringing end-of-line robotics systems into its fold.
- Nohtal Partansky, founder and CEO of Sorting Robotics, is debuting the company's Telti unstructured assembly system. Partansky says operators have spent the last few years stabilizing and are now turning their attention to optimization.
- David Hua, CEO and co-founder of Meadow, came to the show to network, meet new customers and sample new products. Hua has created e-commerce and technology solutions for retail dispensaries and is now expanding into the New York market.
- Ed Keating, CDO of Emerald Intel, is closely following recent changes in the hemp industry and watching as new states come online. While he is focused on opportunities in Minnesota, he says the big story is Virginia, which is likely (and finally) to bring its program online. Keating was a co-founder of Cannabiz Media, which was recently acquired by Emerald Intel.
- Marc Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of Green Leaf Business Solutions, continues to identify industry pain points and develop solutions. He says it seems like the industry is on life support, but driven by a group of individuals passionate about its success.
- Adam Rothstein, founder and CEO of The Plug Society, came to Las Vegas to learn more about emerging markets, especially international export. Been lobbying a lot in Washington, D.C. for standardization and improved consumer safety.
- Drew Tybus, founder and CEO of Oak PR, is watching companies as they find new ways to grow. He helps companies improve PR efforts by using every channel available to them (not just those socials).
- Harrison Bard, co-founder of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers, has some exciting new developments on both the consumer and business-to-business sides of his businesses, including a new cone loader and a humidor, which he believes will play an integral role in the future of cannabis.
- Robb Harmon, founder of Veterans Cannabis Care, is looking for sponsors to help improve free access to cannabis for U.S. veterans. Harmon says many veterans want to try cannabis treatments, but don't have the money to cover the fees. Harmon has helped sponsor 900 veterans since his nonprofit was created.
