Business Insight & Events Powering The Cannabis Industry Since 2011
Overview
MJBiz is the most trusted media brand serving the business side of the cannabis and hemp industries in the United States, Canada and globally.
Our attendees and readers are businesspeople, such as company founders, executives, technical specialists and private equity leaders. (We are not a lifestyle brand but, rather, a professional brand.)
Every business day, the MJBiz editorial team of journalists bring you the latest stories and data for the industry.
Enjoy our exclusive information on your choice of platform – website, magazine, newsletters and social media.
In addition, early each year our editorial team publishes the MJBiz Factbook, which offers benchmark data and background information on the cannabis industry.
Each fall, the entire cannabis industry – ranging from the newest entrepreneurs to nationwide brands to MSOs – gathers at MJBizCon where a huge portion of the industry’s business deals and partnerships are formed on our Expo floor and at our networking events.
If you are not reading cannabis industry news provided by MJBizDaily and not attending MJBizCon, are you really serious about entering the space?
Company History
Founded in 2011 by two women with business media backgrounds, MJBiz’s goal was to bring the newly emerging legal cannabis industry the practical information and professional networking it needed to bloom into the $100 billion industry it is today.
At first, the going was tough because cannabis was seen as too alternative to be a serious business option.
Our only competitor folded, but our first MJBizCon drew only 400-plus attendees.
Then, in 2012 Colorado and Washington state voted to legalize recreational sales, and the industry rapidly developed.
By 2016, we had made the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States.
By 2019, nearly 35,000 paying attendees networked with 1,200-plus exhibitors at MJBizCon.
In 2021, we were one of the most anticipated trade shows of the immediate post-pandemic era, and our readership topped 6 million as entrepreneurs and business executives across the U.S. and Canada considered getting into the booming cannabis industry.
And we continue to grow – just like the cannabis industry we support.
Leadership
Senior VP, marketing & content strategy
Emilie Lewis
Emilie is senior vice president of marketing and content strategy. She has more than 20 years of experience spanning brands such as Nike, Adidas and Brookfield as well as iconic events including Coterie, Project and ComplexCon. A seasoned entrepreneur, she founded Room4 Agency and Please & Thank You. Emilie also serves on the board of Ally2Action, is a member of the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles, the Alliance of Moms as well as the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.
Vice President of Sales
Sarah Wilson
As vice president of sales at Emerald, Sarah leads sales and event experience for MJBizCon, a globally renowned trade show that draws tens of thousands of cannabis professionals to Las Vegas each fall. Drawing experience from more than 15 years in the events industry, Sarah has been recognized as one of Trade Show Executive’s “Women to Watch in 2022” and was among the “20 Under 30 Event Professionals” chosen by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events in 2016.
Editorial Director
Kate Lavin
Kate previously served as editor of MJBizMagazine, which provides tips and actionable advice to marijuana business executives. She brings to the MJBizDaily team more than 20 years of editorial experience, including a decade managing a wine industry trade magazine in California. Kate graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in print journalism, and her career has seen her working in newsrooms of daily newspapers across the United States.