Under the Microscope with Jenny
I am your host, Jenny Germano - the founder of ICS Consulting. With over 17 years of hands-on experience in the regulated cannabis Industry, I spent 6 years operating vertically integrated licensed facilities in Colorado and the last 11 years consulting nationally across the U.S. This podcast is dedicated to new and existing cannabis operators and those looking to launch a licensed cannabis business in one state or across multiple. Expect candid conversations on compliance, market-specific insights, startup pitfalls, operational strategies, and tips to manage the overwhelm that comes with launching and scaling in this complex industry. Join Jenny Germano every Wednesday at 12pm EST in navigating cannabis compliance and launching successful regulated cannabis operations. Whether you’re just entering the industry or scaling up, this is your go-to resource for real talk, real truths, expert insights, and actionable strategies. I've got a great line up of interviews, expert breakdowns and host insights.
Episodes
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Alex Hearding, Founder of Red Wolf Risk, to discuss DEA readiness as the first wave of inspections takes place at registered medical cannabis operations. Jenny and Alex break down the current rescheduling landscape and why operators should be preparing now rather than waiting for federal requirements to become finalized. They discuss the DEA reg...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Gail Rand, CPA and Founder of Grand Consulting, to discuss what it takes to run a smarter, more financially disciplined cannabis business. Gail shares her journey from cannabis advocacy and launching the first licensed medical cannabis cultivation operation in Maryland to helping operators better understand their finances, cash flow, and true co...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Annie Macheca, COO and Co-Founder of Monarch Waste Company in Missouri. Annie shares her journey from sustainable agriculture into the cannabis industry and building a specialized cannabis waste destruction company. Jenny and Annie break down common cannabis waste compliance mistakes, including improper waste destruction, mixing requirements, ca...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Nicole Kennebeck, Marketing Director at Michigan-based cannabis processor and manufacturer Lion Labs. Nicole began her career in Colorado's emerging medical cannabis market, giving her firsthand experience with the industry's rapid growth, evolving regulations, and changing consumer landscape. Drawing on that experience and her transition into c...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano explains why building a compliance-first culture is one of the most valuable investments a cannabis business can make. Drawing on her experience in cannabis operations since 2009 and consulting operators nationwide, Jenny discusses why compliance has evolved beyond simply passing inspections. Today, it serves as a competitive advantage that strengthens operati...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano continues the Cannabis Operator Series with Jarell Wall, CEO and Creative Director of Gentleman Quinns, a Retail Product Manufacturer in Denver, Colorado. Jarell shares his journey from television production in Atlanta and Colorado into cannabis, ultimately co-founding Gentleman Quinns with former dispensary coworkers. He discusses building the brand from the ...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano continues the Cannabis Operator Series with Tucker Holland, Partner and CFO of Entourage Cannabis in Eugene, Oregon. Tucker shares his journey from being a high school chemistry teacher and football coach to cannabis entrepreneur, detailing how they started with a small medical caregiver grow before expanding into extraction and processing. He discusses the ch...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano takes a deep dive into why every cannabis operator should have a compliance audit program and how an important tool like proactive auditing can help reduce risk, improve operations, and strengthen overall compliance.
Drawing on her hands-on experience in cannabis operations since 2009 and consulting operators nationwide, Jenny breaks down what a compliance au...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Scott Newman, a business consultant at Adaptive HR and OneDigital. Scott shares his journey into the cannabis industry in 2019 after attending NECANN in Boston and becoming Adaptive HR’s first full-time employee, and scaling nationally through acquisitions by Resourcing Edge and then OneDigital. Jenny and Scott explore how strong HR proces...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano continues the Cannabis Operator Series with Amanda Terpstra, CEO, and Laura Trujillo, COO and co-founders of BestBüds Dispensary, a women-owned dispensary in New Jersey. Laura shares her journey from graphic design and corporate work at Samsung to launching a community-focused cannabis retail business with Amanda, whose background includes finance, HR, wealth ...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Darren Gleeman of MBO Ventures to discuss how cannabis founders can potentially scale and transition ownership without selling to MSOs or private equity. Darren shares his background in hedge funds and explains how ESOP-based ownership structures are being used in cannabis as operators face limited exit opportunities, scarce lending, valuation c...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano breaks down what it really takes to launch a cannabis business in a mature and saturated market. Jenny explains why licenses alone are no longer the competitive advantage in established markets and why success now comes down to execution, compliance controls, operational discipline, branding, customer experience, and financial sustainability. She covers the hi...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano continues the Cannabis Operator Series with Forest Palmer, CEO of Kansas City Cannabis. Forest shares his journey from the service industry and the United States Marine Corps into cannabis, including his early work with American Shaman before joining Kansas City Cannabis during the launch of the Missouri medical market. He walks through the early licensing pro...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano, welcomes Alex Hearding, President and Founder of Red Wolf Risk, to discuss the hidden costs of operating a cannabis facility without a Quality Management System (QMS). Alex explains how a QMS creates accountability, consistency, and continuous improvement while helping operators strengthen compliance, training, and traceability. Jenny and Alex break down why ...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Will Read, Founder and CEO of CannaPlanners, to break down how cannabis operators should approach marketing in today’s saturated market.
Will shares his journey building CannaPlanners from early hemp and CBD projects into a full-scale agency supporting cannabis brands with websites, SEO and retention marketing. Together, they focus on a ke...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano, sits down with Founder and of RZA Legal, Rachael Ardanuy to unpack the evolving and highly complex conflict between state-legal cannabis use and federal firearm restrictions. Jenny and Rachael break down how the federal Gun Control Act and ATF firearm purchase forms currently pose real risks for cannabis consumers, including denial of firearm purchases or pot...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano, sits down with Chris Van Dyke, Partner at Cogent Law, to break down one of the most complex and often misunderstood areas of the cannabis industry: banking. Chris brings a rare, dual-perspective background, having helped launch one of the early cannabis banking programs and serving as a state regulator during the rollout of the 2014 FinCEN guidance. Today, he...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano sits down with Dina Nagib, Principal Consultant at Grass Goddess Consulting, to break down one of the biggest operational pain points in cannabis - software overload. Dina brings a unique perspective from her background in pharmaceuticals and software development. Together, Jenny and Dina explore why dispensaries in particular face a heavy software burden, man...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano, welcomes Amanda Eastling, Founder of Eastling Services. Amanda shares her path into cannabis HR, starting with a Minnesota-based, tribally owned cannabis startup where she built HR systems from the ground up developing policies, procedures, and operational frameworks tailored to the industry’s unique and highly regulated environment. Together, they unpa...
🎙In this episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny, host Jenny Germano continues her Cannabis Operator Series with Anthony “AJ” Mollins, Founder of AJ’s Craft Cannabis Farm in Colorado, for a deep dive into legacy cultivation, innovation, and what it really takes to build a sustainable cannabis operation in today’s market. AJ shares his journey from California’s legacy market, including launching Tah...
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