Greg James (American entrepreneur)

Greg James (born April 9, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, video producer, and publisher. He founded Topics Entertainment, a consumer software and multimedia company that reported $60 million in annual sales by 2005. In 2012, he launched [...] Venture, a business magazine covering the legal [...] industry.

James has been profiled in Inc., Forbes, the Puget Sound Business Journal, and the Mercer Island Reporter, which have documented his work in video production, software publishing, and [...]-industry media.

Early life and education

James was born in Coventry, England. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and later to Seattle in 1972. He graduated from Bellevue High School and attended the University of Washington.

Career

Video production

James began producing independent videos in the late 1980s. One of his early releases, Board Crazy, featured music from Nirvana during the band’s Sub Pop era.

In 1993, he produced a country line dancing VHS series that sold an estimated 2.5 million copies and became one of the top-selling non-movie videotapes of the period.

Topics Entertainment

James founded Topics Entertainment in 1990. The company began with video distribution and expanded into CD-ROM software production. By 2005, Inc. reported that Topics generated approximately $60 million annually and employed about 80 people, making it one of the largest private consumer software publishers in the United States.

Its titles included language-learning programs and educational software for companies such as Rand McNally and Scholastic. Topics appeared on the Inc. 500 list in 2004 and 2005.

As digital media expanded in the mid-2000s, physical software sales declined, and James shifted his focus toward environmental work and new media ventures.

[...] Venture

Following Washington’s legalization of recreational [...] in 2012, James founded [...] Venture as a business-focused publication. Forbes described the magazine as offering practical industry coverage, including regulations, taxation, retail operations, and cultivation practices.

By 2014, the publication had expanded from an eight-page newsletter to a full magazine with broad advertising support. A magazine industry group recognized it as one of the notable launches of 2015.

The company also developed industry trade shows, including Interchange and the RAD Expo.

Personal life

James lives on Mercer Island, Washington. He has supported environmental conservation initiatives, including the preservation of land in north-central Washington.

Recognition

• Gold and platinum sales awards from the Video Software Dealers Association for video sales in the 1990s.
• U.S. export award for CD-ROM distribution in Mexico.
• Recognition for [...] Venture as a notable magazine launch in 2015.