Show Notes:

Matthew Myro Rothman, cannabis medicine expert and CannaLnx Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Marketing since its founding in 2018, joins host, Heidi Schalk, to break down the world of medical cannabis, how it fits into traditional healthcare, and what the future holds for reimbursement and integration.

Matthew shares his journey from growing up in Cleveland to studying philosophy in San Francisco, where he was introduced to the medical cannabis industry in 2003. He spent 15 years as a cultivator and consultant before transitioning to the digital side, joining the team behind CannaLnx and its parent company EM2P2.

Topics covered include the difference between medical cannabis, adult use/recreational cannabis, and hemp under federal law; why cannabis remains a Schedule I substance despite tens of thousands of research studies; and how President Trump's 2024 executive order is pushing to reclassify medical cannabis to Schedule III. Matthew explains how CannaLnx is working with the American Council of Cannabis Medicine (ACCM) and third party administrators (TPAs) to create alternative wellness stipends that allow patients to be reimbursed for cannabis medicine purchases through traditional health insurance bundles, making it the first platform of its kind to do so.

The conversation also covers CannaLnx's business model (transaction fees from dispensary partners, always free for patients and physicians), the challenge of bootstrapping in a stigmatized industry, and the upcoming merger of CannaLnx with FitTech to launch CannaHealth, a biomonitoring platform that tracks real-time bioactivity data during cannabis use.

Bio:

Matthew Myro Rothman is a man of varied interest and expertise; counting musician, actor, writer, personal trainer, high-performance coach, and podcaster among his talents and skills. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the values of hard work and education would become a mainstay in his life. After graduating with honors from Cleveland State University in 2003, Matthew moved to San Francisco to pursue a graduate degree in philosophy, cosmology and consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. His introduction to the medical cannabis industry would come the following year while earning his Master’s degree. Matthew was hired by a fellow grad student as a plant care specialist for a medical cannabis nursery that provided clones to local dispensaries. The next 15 years were spent as an entrepreneur and consultant in cannabis cultivation—building or consulting on dozens of small-medium grows and owning a nursery that provided tens of thousands of clones to Harborside Oakland which, at the time, was the largest medical dispensary in the country.

In 2018, Matthew joined the EM2P2/CannaLnx team and currently serves that organization as its Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Marketing. He is also the host of the Edge of Cannabis Medicine podcast where he interviews experts and innovators on the cutting edge of all things pertaining to medical cannabis.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-myro/

Website: www.cannalnx.com

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

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Show Notes:

What if the single greatest skill standing between you and the career or business breakthrough you have been chasing is not strategy, not funding, not connections, but simply the ability to walk into a room and communicate with confidence, clarity, and conviction? In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Benjamin Thiele-Long, a UK trained barrister turned global communications consultant and newly published author, whose career reads like a masterclass in reinvention. From arguing cases in courtrooms to advising C-suite executives at companies like Target and Petco, Benjamin has spent over two decades studying what makes communication irresistible. And now he has put everything he knows into one remarkably practical book.

Benjamin shares the courtroom philosophy that changed the way he thinks about persuasion, why most people stumble not because they lack ideas but because they lack structure, and what a Royal Shakespeare Company director taught him about feedback that every business leader needs to hear. He also gets refreshingly honest about the challenge of selling a book in 2026, why TikTok is now part of his marketing strategy whether he likes it or not, and how he almost forgot to count writing and publishing a book as an achievement when reflecting on his year.

Bio:

As both a qualified barrister and a communications consultant, BENJAMIN has over 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor to the leaders of some of the world’s largest organizations. With a career spanning time as a courtroom advocate, PR agency leader, and Chief Communications Officer, he is a respected industry expert known for his uniquely practical yet relatable approach that can instill the confidence to turn anyone into a compelling and persuasive public speaker.

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Benjamin began his career as a barrister, completing pupillage and tenancy at 2 King’s Bench Walk and Furnival Chambers before joining the international law firm Pinsent Masons.

He later moved into PR and communications, with agency roles including Pagefield and Cognito in London and the United States. He was initially based in New York before moving to San Diego to lead Cognito’s West Coast offering, working with founders and executives in the technology, professional services and finance sectors.

He was appointed Managing Director of Financial Communications for international PR and communications consultancy Ketchum, serving as a strategic advisor and presentation trainer to C-suites and boards of multinational businesses in the retail, technology, FMCG, hospitality, and financial services sectors. He most recently served as Petco’s Chief ESG and Communications Officer based in California.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminthielelong/

Website: https://www.benjaminthielelong.com/

Grab the book: How To Be Utterly Brilliant at Public Speaking, Presenting and Talking to the Media

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

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Show Notes
What happens when a recovering attorney with a front-row seat to the orthodontic industry decides the system needs a smarter solution? You get Clear Blue Smiles, a company quietly revolutionizing how Americans access affordable, high-quality clear aligner treatment. In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kevin Dillard, co-founder of Clear Blue Smiles, to unpack the intersection of law, dentistry, technology, and entrepreneurship in a way that will leave you rethinking everything you thought you knew about orthodontics.

Kevin shares his unconventional path from government affairs attorney at the American Association of Orthodontists to building a company that bridges the gap between traditional orthodontics and the disruptive (and often dangerous) direct-to-consumer aligner market. He breaks down why companies like SmileDirectClub ultimately failed, what general dentists are missing when it comes to occlusal health, and how AI is slashing treatment planning time by up to 80%.

In this episode you will learn:

The three pillars of oral health and why the third one is dangerously overlooked by most general dentists

Why SmileDirectClub collapsed despite being valued at billions and what Clear Blue Smiles is doing differently

How AI is transforming 3D scanning and treatment planning in orthodontics and what used to take 25 minutes now takes under five

The legal landscape shaking up the DTC orthodontic industry and what nine states have now declared illegal

Why general dentists can and should be treating mild to moderate clear aligner cases and how Clear Blue Smiles makes that easy and profitable

How Clear Blue Smiles acquires clients including the accidental TikTok moment that generated hundreds of leads overnight

Kevin's vision for the next 12 months including a direct-to-consumer platform that connects pre-qualified patients with dentists in their network

The myth he wants every patient and clinician to stop believing about clear aligner cost and quality

Bio:

CEO, Clear Blue Smiles, Inc., former General Counsel of American Association of Orthodontists

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-dillard-985a5b8/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/clear-blue-smiles/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clearbluesmiles/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clearbluesmiles

Website: https://clearbluesmiles.com/

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint: https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint