Cannabis Opportunities: Entrepreneur Wendy Bronfein on Funding, Franchises and Scaling Wellness
Release Date: 11/04/2025
Wings of Inspired Business
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Maria Castellucci Moore is the founder of the boutique winery and real estate business, Castellucci Napa Valley. She’s also a multi-award-winning author of the children’s book series Traveling Mindfulness, including Vivian in Paris and Sophia in Rome, and winner of the Gold Mom's Choice Award. First-generation American and mother to four children, Maria is also a board member of the San Francisco Opera Guild and Napa Valley's Ambassador to Charitable nonprofit organization, Roots of Peace— an organization that demines war torn lands and plants fruit orchards and vineyards worldwide....
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Wendy Bronfein is the Co-Founder, Chief Brand Officer and Director of Public Policy at Curio Wellness, Maryland’s leading medical cannabis company, where she focuses on driving the company’s legislative agenda across multiple states and building the Curio brand. Wendy made the leap into the medical marijuana space after a long career in television. She was Creative Director of On-Air Promotions at LIVE! With Kelly & Michael and was a Managing Producer at BBC Worldwide Americas from 2006-2010. She has also served in various freelance production roles in New York and Los Angeles working...
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Chelsea Ryckis is the award-winning founder and president of Ethos Benefits, a firm dedicated to advancing fiduciary-driven health insurance strategies for employers nationwide to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse from employer healthcare plans while increasing savings for both employers and their employees. After suffering a traumatic brain injury as a Division 1 college athlete, Canadian-born Chelsea experienced the US healthcare system firsthand, inspiring her pioneering entrepreneurship in healthcare. Chelsea was awarded the industry’s most prestigious award, Advisor of the Year, by...
info_outlineWendy Bronfein is the Co-Founder, Chief Brand Officer and Director of Public Policy at Curio Wellness, Maryland’s leading medical cannabis company, where she focuses on driving the company’s legislative agenda across multiple states and building the Curio brand. Wendy made the leap into the medical marijuana space after a long career in television. She was Creative Director of On-Air Promotions at LIVE! With Kelly & Michael and was a Managing Producer at BBC Worldwide Americas from 2006-2010. She has also served in various freelance production roles in New York and Los Angeles working on shows such as The Andy Milonakis Show, Wanda Does it, and The Sharon Osbourne Show.
🔑Key Takeaways🔑
🛠️📝 Navigating Regulatory Roadblocks: How to scale a business in a challenging industry like cannabis, where U.S. federal Schedule 1 drug status means excessive taxation and restrictions on banking, research, and marketing. This, when research shows safer communities, more state tax revenue, reduced opioid use, and lower teen consumption where cannabis is legal.
🤟❤️ Branding in a Constrained Industry: What to do when traditional marketing and advertising channels are closed off, and how to make creative, high-touch approaches, community engagement, and “ground game” outreach earn customer trust and build awareness.
🌈 🤎 Empowering the Next Generation of Diverse Entrepreneurs: Learn how Curio Wellness is taking bold steps to offer franchise opportunities specifically designed to help women, minorities, and disabled veterans break into the cannabis business—helping others navigate regulatory and financial barriers by supporting their capital needs and providing operational guidance.
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More about Wendy at Curio Wellness