Laura Trujillo & Amanda Terpstra: From College Teammates to Cannabis Trailblazers

In this episode of The Ganjapreneur Podcast, host TG Branfalt speaks with Laura Trujillo and Amanda Terpstra, co-founders of BestBuds, a woman- and Hispanic-owned dispensary based in Woodbury, New Jersey. Lifelong friends turned business partners, Laura and Amanda share their remarkable story of bootstrapping a licensed cannabis retail business from the ground up—navigating community pushback, lawsuits, zoning battles, and a grueling fundraising process along the way. Together, they break down how their complementary skills, entrepreneurial drive, and deep community engagement helped them overcome early resistance in a small-town setting. The conversation touches on fundraising challenges for women and minority founders, the changing product landscape in New Jersey, and why staffing and personality fit are critical to cannabis retail success. It's an inspiring and highly practical look at what it really takes to open—and sustain—a dispensary in today’s regulated environment.

You can listen to Laura Trujillo & Amanda Terpstra: From College Teammates to Cannabis Trailblazers online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Laura Trujillo & Amanda Terpstra: From College Teammates to Cannabis Trailblazers is an episode from The Ganjapreneur.com Podcast by Ganjapreneur.

This episode is 00:53:21 long.

This episode was published on May 7, 2025.

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