Staff
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.
