George Jage Archives - Green Market Report

StaffJuly 5, 2021

George Jage, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at MJ Unpacked

George Jage is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Jage Media and Jage Media’s national, cannabis CPG Trade Show MJ Unpacked. Jage Media also operates MJ Brand Insights, providing sharp, substantive, and reliable industry intel for cannabis brands and retailers. George Jage is widely revered as a B2B growth specialist and business builder with a proven track-record of identifying new markets and opportunities to scale national businesses. George excels in navigating complex landscapes and accelerating financial performance and asset growth for his clients and peers. Prior to founding Jage Media and its properties, George was Co-founder & Exec VP of the Off-Price Show (1993 – 2001), Co-founder & CEO of World Tea Media (2002 – 2012), and Group Director of the Beverage Group at F&W Media (2013 – 2014). During their substantive growth years, George served as President of Marijuana Business Daily (2014 – 2017), and Chief Executive Officer of Dope Media (2017 – 2019) leading the six year old startup to its acquisition by High Times. George is recognized by Trade Show Executive as an Elite Leader, and is the recipient of the Jerry Valen Award of Distinction for Hospitality & Convention Executive of the Year by University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He’s been awarded the Nevada Entrepreneur Award by Business Magazine, named Top 20 Under 40 by Gourmet News, and the Next Generation of Leaders by Tradeshow Week Magazine. George holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. He enjoys quality time with his family, camping, hiking, golf, and is continually awarded #1 DAD by his kids. For more information, please visit: https://www.jagemedia.com & https://mjunpacked.com

Full name: George Jage

Title: Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Company: Jage Media Inc. dba MJ Unpacked

Years at current company: 2

Education profile: Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh

Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis: As CEO of Dope Media, I led the acquisition of the assets to High Times Holding Corp. As a lead executive for MJBizDaily, I led the strategic growth of MJBizCon from a 20 tabletop event at a racetrack to an over 1000 booth event at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 2014-2017. The event was recognized as the fastest-growing event in the U.S. by Tradeshow Executive Magazine in both 2015 & 2016. Additionally, I created and built World Tea Media — comprising World Tea Expo, World Tea News, World Tea Championships, and World Tea Academy — that fostered and supported the growth of the U.S. tea industry from ~$2B to ~$7B (and held the first-ever tea auction). And, I launched the Off-Price Show, growing it from 20 exhibitors in hotel rooms into the second-largest apparel show in the U.S. at the time.

Company Mission: Jage Media’s mission is to foster a community of brands and retailers and provide them the space and resources to thrive.

Company’s most successful achievements: We completed our Seed Round in February 2020, only the second company in Canopy Boulder’s history to complete the round prior to the conclusion of the cohort. In May 2020, we were the first company to launch a virtual tradeshow for the cannabis industry. Jage Media held three events last year for the Colorado, California, and Midwest markets. In October 2020, Jage Media launched MJ Brand Insights, dedicated to providing a sharp, substantive, and reliable source of industry intel for cannabis brands and retailers. In October 2021, MJ Unpacked will premier as a first-of-its kind trade event exclusively for cannabis CPG brands, retailers, and investors. In a newly imagined format, executives are free to learn from fellow professionals, explore expansion opportunities and prepare to be competitive in a national market.

Has the company raised any capital (yes or no): if so, how much?: Raised $725k in equity and convertible debt in February 2020.

Any plans on raising capital in the future? We are currently raising $500k through a SAFE with over 60% completed.

Most important company 5 year goal: To manifest and steward the leading brand-to-retail trade events in the cannabis industry.

AxisWireMay 14, 2019

NEW YORK, May 14, 2019 /AxisWire/ via CannabisNewsWire — MjMicro Conference (www.mjmicro.com), the next-level investor forum for publicly traded cannabis companies, debuts in New York City on June 25 at the Westin Grand Central Hotel. This one- day conference provides an exceptional opportunity for cannabis-related public entities to connect with private capital investors and also features presentations from noted industry experts.

The MjMicro Conference is an invitational networking forum exclusively created to enable best- in-class and emerging public companies in the cannabis industry to meet with high-net-worth investors, venture funds and family offices, helping drive private investment capital into public entities, promote trading liquidity, and increase media and analyst coverage.

“Our goal is to provide both the most exciting and diverse range of public company investment opportunities, ranging from micro to mid-cap companies that have proof of concept, revenue streams, audited financials and public market liquidity,” noted George Jage, president of MjLink.com and producer of MjMicro. “This event creates direct C-suite access for investors to provide insight into their vision, strategy and performance.”

Confirmed presenting companies include 1933 Industries, CannAmerica Brands, Cannex Capital Holdings, Cardiol Therapeutics, Dixie Brands, Emerald Health Therapeutics, FSD Pharma, Helix TCS Inc., High Tide Inc., House of Jane, Province Brands of Canada, MJ Freeway, Tauriga Sciences, United Cannabis Corp., and Vireo Health.

“FSD Pharma, a spotlight presenter, is endemic of the exciting opportunities in the market. They are a Canadian licensed producer developing cutting-edge technology and conducting research related to the treatment of chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other medical conditions that are typically treated with pharmacological applications,” noted Todd Markey, director of investor relations at MjMicro.

“There are over 400 cannabis-related public companies in the market today, and we project that anywhere between 100 and 200 others will get listed in the next 24 months,” stated Jage. “There has been a race for cannabis companies to access the public capital markets, but the industry lacks the access to institutional capital that you would expect in such a fast-growth industry. This event provides the solution on both sides of the table.”

MjMicro is scheduled to be held four times a year with events in New York, Beverly Hills, West Palm Beach and Seattle. MjMicro is produced by MjLink.com Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Social Life Networks (OTC: WDLF).

To learn more about MjMicro Conference or to request an invitation to attend, sponsor or present, please visit https://www.mjmicro.com.

About MjLink.com Inc.

Social Life Network (OTC: WDLF), a cloud-based social media and social network technology company based in Denver, Colorado, announced on Sept. 25, 2018, that the Company had spun its cannabis technology division out of the parent company and incorporated MjLink.com Inc., a Delaware Corporation, as its wholly owned subsidiary. MjLink operates as a multinational cannabis technology and media organization with two separate social networks: WeedLife.com, a consumer-to-consumer network; and MjLink.com, a business-to-business social network. On April 4, 2019, the president of MjLink, George Jage, announced the launch of a new division of the Company that is focused on providing the industry with best-in-class financial, B2B and B2C cannabis-centric events that complement the Company’s global social networks.

For more information about Social Life Network and to download the MjLink Investor Deck, visit https://social-life-network.com

Disclaimer

This news release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to achieving corporate objectives, developing additional project interests, the company’s analysis of opportunities in the acquisition and development of various project interests and certain other matters. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company’s or MjLink’s future financial results, revenues or stock price. There are no assurances that the Company will successfully take MjLink.com, Inc public. These statements are made under the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. The relationship between Social Life Network and the other companies mentioned currently does not extend beyond inviting them to send representatives to speak at the MjMicro Conference.

Contact:

Investor Relations: IR@Social-Life-Network.com 855-933-3277

Debra BorchardtOctober 24, 2017

In August, Dope Magazine named former MJ Biz Daily President George Jage as its new Chief Executive Officer. DOPE Media is a cultural cannabis magazine that was founded in 2011 by David Tran, Trek Hollnagel, Evan Carter, James Zachodni and Nathan Chrysler. The company is backed by Hypur Ventures and Poseidon Asset Management and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The magazine has a circulation of 70,000 and can be found in many retail establishments.

Green Market Report had a chance to catch up with George and talk to him about his new job.

GMR: What made you decide to go to Dope Magazine?

George Jage: I had been familiar with the brand for several years since I entered the cannabis space and admired the rapid impact the founders had on the industry. They were one of the early stage media assets to jump in the industry and they fulfilled a real need for a modern consumer lifestyle brand over the legacy, black-market focused publications that existed. While much of my past experience has been running b2b media companies I had always wanted to build consumer media assets as the potential audience and impact is vastly larger. After leaving MJBiz, I got a lot of calls from media companies in the cannabis market but the one company I saw with the biggest potential was Dope. After meeting with the founders, investors, and executive team, I knew it was the right fit for me.

GMR: What is the vision for the publication for the future?

Jage: My goal is to continue the founders’ vision for the brand of normalizing the use of cannabis for recreational or medical purposes. Dope actually stands for Defend Our Plant Everywhere. My vision is to build the largest and most successful consumer cannabis media brand in the country through events, digital, print, and social media platforms.

GMR: Was it a difficult decision to leave MJBiz daily?

Jage: Unfortunately, it was an executive divorce as a result of contract issues with the owners that is now being settled in court. I had been very fortunate to have previously owned, built and sold two niche business media companies previously which led the owners of MJBiz to recruit me originally. I am very proud of the work I was able to do to scale the business from an early-stage publishing company with small conferences and at-home employees to the most respected news source with the largest business tradeshows in the industry. It was very bittersweet as I was truly grateful to work with some exceptional people like Chris Walsh and Mary Pemberton to grow the business, but there were far too many disparities and conflicts with the owners to continue.

GMR: How does leaving MJBiz and going to Dope effect media in the industry?

Jage: These are truly two completely different businesses with unique clients and audiences, but it is still a small industry. Both the business media and consumer media spaces are very crowded and while Dope is one of only two fully integrated consumer media companies with digital, print and event platforms, there is a ton of competition within each of those product silos.

GMR: There are several culture/lifestyle cannabis publications, how will Dope differentiate?

Jage: This ties into what motivated me to join the team at Dope. While there are a lot of publications, Dope is unique in that it provides a national publication with regional/state editions to allow the licensed cannabis businesses to market through our entire offering within the boundaries of their license. And again, while there are many publications, websites, and events, we are one of only a few consumer media companies that can deliver messaging across multiple platforms.

GMR: What kinds of operational changes have you made?

Jage: Dope has had break-neck growth like many of the businesses in the industry, with over 90% YoY revenue increases on average. I see this all the time in the cannabis industry where the weight and pressure of that growth can cause companies to become reactive instead of proactively building the business for the future. It can be difficult for a company to have the bandwidth to stop and evaluate its internal processes and technology to ever get ahead of this. Fortunately, these are very easily identifiable fixes and Dope has done the hard work of building the brand, the business, and relationships for success. It all comes down to focus, discipline, and execution as the core attributes for the business moving forward.

GMR: Do you foresee any change in editorial content under your leadership?

Jage: Content is king. The editorial team has done a great job delivering high-value content to our audience so I don’t seek to fix that which is not broken. What I love about the content is that we are focusing on art, culture, food, music, and other lifestyle topics with cannabis as part of that conversation but not the focus. It aligns with our goals to normalize cannabis as part of an everyday lifestyle for a broad demographic. Of course, there will be changes, but not taking away from our existing content, more to add new content to increase our brand reach.

GMR: What are your plans for growth?

Jage: I often get labeled as an events person because, in all my business media experience, the content is to create the audience that is actualized and monetized at events. The same holds true for consumer media, but as a lower percentage of overall revenues. That said, we have a great portfolio of existing events that I am analyzing to see how we can scale. But a majority of our growth will come from print and digital expanding into new markets and increasing our overall digital performance.