PRESS RELEASE

Seattle, WA – Dope Media, LLC (Dope) announced that its Board of Directors has selected George Jage as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 15, 2017. Former CEO and Founder David Tran will assume the role of Chief Brand Officer and continue to serve on Dope’s Board.

“This is an exciting inflection point for our brand. Dope has experienced tremendous growth since we founded the company six years ago. We proudly serve eight regional markets and distribute in over 2,000 retail doors,” said David Tran.  “Adding George’s experience and seasoned leadership to the business will accelerate Dope’s growth trajectory and will allow me to focus on licensing and branding opportunities.  We are thrilled for this next chapter in Dope’s story.”

Jage is a media executive with 25 years of experience.  Most recently, George served as President of Marijuana Business Daily, the leading cannabis business news organization, where he helped lead the early stage publisher to become the dominant business media platform in the industry.  In May 2017, Jage was featured on the cover of Trade Show Executive Magazine, highlighting his success as a growth specialist.

“I am impressed with the tremendous achievements the business and the brand has made in the industry and the passion and fire David and the founders bring to the table,” Jage said.  “Dope Magazine has positioned itself to be the modern and responsible version of legacy cannabis lifestyle media companies. Dope has built a great team of people behind the brand and a solid foundation to expand into new segments of this explosive market.”

Dope Media 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, who collectively have made investments in over 40 cannabis-related companies ranging from compliance to cultivation.  “The board and founders unanimously decided that it was the right time to bring in leadership to focus on the future and an aggressive growth trajectory,” stated Christopher E. Galvin, Co-Founder and President of Hypur Ventures.

Emily Paxhia, Managing Director of Poseidon Asset Management, commented, “I have seen the tremendous impact George had on growing the Marijuana Business Daily brand, which had a game-changing impact on the industry as a whole.  His strategic approach and proven track record will best position the company to capitalize on the ever-expanding opportunities in the cannabis market.”

About Dope Media

Dope Media is headquartered in Seattle, WA and publishes regional editions of its magazine for western and eastern Washington, Oregon, northern and southern California, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.  The print edition is circulated monthly to 70,000 readers and distributed directly through retail locations across the country.  Dope Media produces the Dope Cup, Dope Industry Awards and Budtender Appreciation Days.   David Tran and Trek Hollnagel, founding members, Emily Paxhia of Poseidon, and Christopher E. Galvin, Chris Male and Tahira Rehmatullah of Hypur Ventures serve as its Board of Managers.

David Tran can be reached at [email protected] and George Jage at [email protected].

About Hypur Ventures

Hypur Ventures is an early stage investor in the cannabis industry with holdings in Hypur, Cannasure, Blue Line Protection Group, Simplifya, Calyx, Headset, Willie’s Reserve, and Dope Magazine.  Hypur Ventures was co-founded by Steve Van Dyke, Christopher E. Galvin, and Scott Sozio and, in 2016, merged with Anslinger Capital, adding Christopher Male and Brett Gellein as Managing Directors.  In 2017, Tahira Rehmatullah, formerly of Marley Natural, joined the team as Managing Director.

Christopher Galvin can be reached at [email protected] and Tahira Rehmatullah at [email protected].

About Poseidon Asset Management

Poseidon Asset Management is a General Partnership founded in 2013 by the brother and sister team of Emily and Morgan Paxhia.  Poseidon has investments in over 30 cannabis businesses ranging from agricultural technology, compliance solutions, software, genetics and lab testing, industrial hemp, data analytics, real estate, and cultivation operations.  Emily and Morgan are both frequent speakers at industry events.

Emily Paxhia can be reached at [email protected] and Morgan Paxhia at [email protected]