Jay Frank joins Sunny Ray to discuss Changemakers on the Cusp, his effort to build social impact into business models after leaving the technology distribution firm he founded in 1997. In 2020 he shifted toward a social impact as a service framework and, as an amateur chef who cooked wild cannabis infused dishes for fun, spotted an opening created by cannabis normalization and the popularity of cooking shows. That instinct became Baked, a cannabis variety cooking competition filmed in New York City, inspired by the mystery basket format of Chopped. Validation came when a cannabis media leader at Fat Nugs magazine asked to be involved after seeing his pitch deck. Frank explains how Baked stays plant untouching while still creating natural brand placement, and outlines a long term vision combining ESG, DEI, THC and NYC to eventually land production and revenue share deals with major streamers. He is courting partners including High Times and New York City Cannabis, planning short form social content, live cooking events, and a feel good storyline centered on a Ugandan orphanage director born on 4/20.
Jay Frank blends cannabis, comedy, and social impact through Baked, a stoner cooking show fueling his Changemakers business model.
Take me into the deep end. What's Changemakers about? What are you building, and what problem are you solving?
Looking at the imbalances and lack of hope in the world today, I see a massive opportunity to be the change we collectively seek through business modeling. My framework is all hands on deck, all systems check in, and all mediums, using a tiger by the tail vision as a Trojan horse within business as usual to drive innovation and business exploration.
Take me back to the moment Baked stopped being a fun idea and became a business you were willing to build. What made it feel real?
In 2020 I left the tech distribution firm I started in 1997 to build a social impact as a service model. As an amateur chef partaking in cannabis, I noticed the normalization of weed and the popularity of cooking shows, so I pitched a fun cannabis competition show. Validation hit when a cannabis leader at Fat Nugs magazine emailed asking to be on it.
Food media has a proven playbook, from Food Network to YouTube cooking channels. Which parts transfer to your category and which parts break?
The idea started from Chopped's mystery basket format, where chefs create without knowing what they're cooking, and we just insert getting them baked into that space. It expanded into a variety show with cannabis advocacy. As a climate activist I realized cannabis, being the most sustainable and versatile plant on the planet, is the common denominator across all three of my projects.
Cannabis brands are largely locked out of mainstream advertising. Does that make a media brand in this space more valuable, or just harder to grow?
It's all there for the taking in terms of collaborative cannabis marketing. Every episode we get the chefs baked, which naturally creates product placement for the brand and method involved. But the media itself is not plant touching, so we can go anywhere with it. It's just fun and funny content, nothing more.
Where does revenue realistically come from for a cannabis media company? Sponsors, licensing, events, subscriptions? What's the mix you're betting on?
I'm still figuring that one out. We're forming a business entity around ESG plus DEI plus THC plus NYC for joyful balance. The long term goal is streamers like Netflix or HBO offering production development and revenue share. Short term, we build bandwidth and community through short form social content, then monetize with sponsorships, events, and branding.
Your 90-day focus is consistent social content to build the brand. What does consistent mean in numbers, which platforms, what cadence, what formats?
That remains to be seen. We have access to New York City settings and can plug people in for consistent short form cannabis advocacy content fairly easily. What I really need is support on the back end. I'm in touch with industry leaders, including having lunch with the director of partnerships at High Times and talking with New York City Cannabis.
How will you know the content is working? What's the one number you watch every week?
It's working with consistent growth. We just started a Baked LinkedIn profile, which was absent before, and we're steadily finding people interested in the evolution. The real next step is moving people from curiosity into partnership consideration so they join forces and co-create rather than just watch.
Soft launch events are the site's first ask. What role do live events play in launching a media brand in this category?
One person I'm talking to wants to do a live baked cooking event where we bring on chefs and sell tickets. Separately, I've been building a relationship with someone I met on LinkedIn who runs a Ugandan orphanage and was born on 4/20. We're now planning to bring him to New York to get baked for his birthday as a kindness driven storyline.
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