Minnesota's most anticipated cannabis investment gathering returns this May, and 23rd State founder Leah Kollross will be on the stage — bringing more than 16 years of operational experience to a forum built around connection, community, and capital.
When the Flourish Investment Forum opens its doors on May 12-13, 2026, it will mark one of the defining moments of Minnesota's young adult-use cannabis market. The two-day forum gathers regulators, attorneys, bankers, cultivators, beverage founders, equity advocates, and the investors who back them — under one roof, in one of the most closely watched emerging cannabis markets in the country.
We're proud to share that 23rd State founder Leah Kollross is part of the official 2026 speaker lineup. For Leah, for our team, and for everyone watching Minnesota's cannabis beverage category come into its own, this is a meaningful moment.
What Is the Flourish Investment Forum?
The Flourish Investment Forum — branded online as #FIFCONF2026 — is a Minnesota-based cannabis investment conference designed to do what many industry events fail to do: actually connect operators with capital. Co-founded by attorney and entrepreneur Calandra Revering, Esq., North Bloom Magazine co-founder Angelique Zerillo, and event strategist Vivian J, the forum was built specifically to "foster connection, community, and capital" inside Minnesota's emerging legal market.
That mission shows up in the speaker roster. Walk through the lineup and you'll see the people actually shaping the state's industry: Eric Taubel, Director of the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), and Jessica Jackson, OCM's Director of Social Equity. You'll see attorneys like Jason Tarasek of Vicente LLP and Carol Moss of Hellmuth & Johnson — both of whom helped shape the legislation that made adult-use cannabis legal in Minnesota in the first place. You'll see capital and banking experts including Cory Lake of Lake Group Insurance, Erica El Hilali of Bridgewater Bank, Shelly Doll of Falcon National Bank, and Colin Kelley of Merida Capital Holdings.
You'll also see operators, scientists, and storytellers: Indigenous cannabis pioneer Rob Pero of Canndigenous, University of Minnesota cannabis geneticist Dr. Clemon Dabney, GreenState editor Rachelle Gordon, and Lindsey Renner, who advises Tribal Nations on sovereign cannabis enterprises.
It is, in short, the room where Minnesota's market will be built.
Why Leah Kollross Belongs in That Room
Leah's path to cannabis didn't start with cannabis. It started with infrastructure — the unglamorous, deeply consequential work of payroll, tax, benefits, and people operations. She spent more than 16 years building that foundation before turning her attention to entrepreneurship across regulated industries: beauty, real estate, hemp, and ultimately cannabis.
That sequence matters. Cannabis is the most regulated consumer product category in America. It demands founders who don't flinch at compliance, who can read a rule, see the constraint underneath it, and design a business that turns the constraint into structure rather than friction. Leah's background — licensing, product development, manufacturing, go-to-market strategy, and a relentless focus on trust and compliance — is exactly the operational profile this market needs and rarely gets.
She's also a Minnesotan building for Minnesotans. 23rd State takes its name from the moment the state became the 23rd in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis. Our brand isn't transplanted from Denver or Los Angeles — it was born here, designed here, and built around the consumers and the regulators we share a zip code with.
When Leah joins her fellow panelists at FIFCONF2026, she'll bring the perspective of a founder who has actually done the work: stood up a beverage company in a brand-new regulatory environment, navigated licensing through OCM, built supply chains, commissioned independent clinical research, and put product in the cooler at retailers across the state.
The 23rd State Story She'll Bring to the Stage
23rd State is one of Minnesota's leading cannabis beverage brands, with a portfolio that has helped define what "intentional alcohol alternative" actually means in this market:
- SHAKE — THC + CBG edible glitter drops in Emerald, Cosmo, and 24k Gold
- FRESH PRESS — a THC + CBG pear cider (perry) for the wine-and-cider drinker
- Blush Crush Infused Bubbly — a sparkling-wine-format THC beverage available in cans and 750mL bottles for the occasion drinker
What sits underneath that portfolio is the part investors and fellow founders tend to lean in on. 23rd State is one of the few cannabis beverage brands in the country to participate in the MoreBetter Real-World Infused Beverage Study — independent, real-world research validating dose consistency, onset, and consumer experience in cannabis drinks. In a category where most brands market on vibes, we market on data. That distinction matters when capital is in the room.
The brand also leans hard into the harm-reduction story behind cannabis beverages — the growing body of evidence that sober-curious consumers are using infused drinks to reduce or replace alcohol. As Minnesota's cannabis market matures and the conversation about responsible consumption sharpens, that's a category Leah has been talking about, building toward, and putting research dollars behind for years.
Expect her to bring all of it to FIF: the operator's eye, the founder's narrative, and the credibility of a brand that has chosen to back its claims with science.
Why This Forum Matters Right Now for Minnesota Cannabis
Timing is everything in emerging markets. As Minnesota's adult-use rollout accelerates through 2026, the questions on every operator's mind have shifted from "Will this happen?" to "Who's going to build it, who's going to fund it, and who's going to get squeezed out?"
The Flourish Investment Forum sits squarely on top of those questions. The event is positioned as an investment forum — not a trade show, not a consumer expo, but a deliberate, focused gathering aimed at moving capital into operators who are positioned to scale responsibly.
For founders, that means access to the people who write checks and the advisors who structure them. For investors, it means direct exposure to the founders, scientists, and policy voices who actually understand the regulatory edges of this market — the difference between a deck that pencils and a business that survives its first OCM inspection.
For Leah, who also serves on the NCIA HR Committee and is represented by her senior advisor on the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Board of Directors for the 2026-2028 term, the forum is also a chance to keep pushing the conversation she's been advancing nationally: the urgent need to unify the adult-use cannabis and hemp policy conversations, especially as federal reclassification deadlines approach. Minnesota is one of the few markets in the country where that unification debate is already live, and it's a debate FIF is uniquely positioned to host.
A Speaker Lineup That Reflects the Real Market
One of the things that makes FIFCONF2026 stand apart is how honestly the speaker lineup reflects who is actually building Minnesota's cannabis economy. It's not a closed circuit of out-of-state consultants. It's local operators alongside national experts. It's regulators in the same room as licensees. It's social equity leaders sitting next to capital allocators.
You'll find brand founders like John Barthel and Benjamin Haley of Honest Cannabis, Lance Asher of Green Elevator, and Josh Wilken-Simon of Legacy Cannabis. You'll find financial and compliance specialists like Jennifer Makris (the "Cannabis Cash Queen"), Don Releigh III of Evolve Payment, and Marci Knight on cannabis banking strategy. You'll find legal heavyweights like Mitchel Chargo, Jim Boland, and Sumer Blackner of Signature Law Partners. You'll find cultivators and scientists like Bryant Jones and Dr. Stephen Brockman, advocates like Fatima Moore of Firefly Advocacy, and impact investors like Elaine Rasmussen of ConnectUP! Institute.
For Leah to be on a stage built that intentionally — alongside the regulators, the lawyers, the bankers, and the operators who will define this market — is, frankly, the kind of room every Minnesota cannabis founder should want to be in.
Event Details: How to Attend FIFCONF2026
If you're an operator, investor, advisor, or simply paying close attention to how Minnesota's cannabis market matures, this is the event to circle on the calendar.
- Event: Flourish Investment Forum 2026 (#FIFCONF2026)
- Dates: May 12-13, 2026
- Location: Minnesota
- Tickets & Speaker Lineup: flourishinvestmentforum.com/speakers
We'll be sharing more from Leah's panel discussion in the weeks leading up to the forum — including the specific topic she'll be speaking on, what other founders should expect from the conversation, and how 23rd State is thinking about the next chapter of cannabis beverage growth in Minnesota and beyond.
In the meantime, if you're going to be at FIFCONF2026 and want to connect with the 23rd State team, reach out through our site at 23state.com. And whether or not we see you in person at the forum, thank you for being part of the community that's making Minnesota's cannabis market what it's becoming.
We're proud to be built here. We're proud Leah is being recognized as one of the voices shaping what comes next. And we're proud to flourish — together — alongside the founders, investors, regulators, and advocates who showed up for this industry when it mattered most.
Stay tuned for our recap blog post following the Flourish Investment Forum on May 12-13, 2026.
