Ross MacDonald on launching Blockchain Business Magazine in Canada

0:22when did you start it why did you start it and what are the goals you're trying to achieve for your readers so in late December 2017 we obviously saw a big boom in the market between blockchain technology and digital assets being adopted the biggest problem that we saw was that there was a huge lack of information out there so we decided to start the

0:46magazine and start getting some information out to the public that's awesome yeah the hype of 2017 really got a lot of new people into the industry and everyone's really looking for that source of credible information so it's sounds like a good time to start absolutely yeah that was what we wanted to do and it's fantastic seeing you know companies around the world and in

1:09Canada that are trying to support this as well so we wanted to build a platform and a stage for people to promote themselves and like you said to give some credible information to the public definitely and there's so many different cryptocurrencies and applications of blockchain technology in different Industries what are you guys trying to focus on content-wise

1:29specifically well well we want to share the stories of the companies that are out there with the products that are applicable and that could be used in our modern day there's a lot of different companies where they are merely speculating what the uses can be but we want to promote companies that have actual products that have been tested that have been applied and used

1:50in different Industries so we feel that you know by giving the stage for these companies this is really going to help to grow these industries and to specifically in Canada as well to help have this grow and beused across the world that's great Ross and you mentioned Canada we're both in Canada but where is your team located specifically and what is your guys

2:14target audience is it just Canadians North Americans or is it worldwide so we definitely have a focus in Canada most of our team is based out of Calgary Alberta we do have some team members that work with us out of the United States and in Italy as well but because our magazine is available online in Digital Editions we're seeing sales in Australia Germany

2:38different parts of Europe so really we are promoting companies worldwide but our Focus really is to grow Canada here you know if we can that's amazing and I appreciate the efforts to grow the Canadian market and there's so many people that still don't know about this technology and how revolutionary that it can be and will be that really there is enough people in North America to just

3:01Target even for the first few years and hopefully the bull run as well will the next Bull Run will you know escalate that user acquisition for your guys's magazine yeah I agree it's you know we see more adoption now than ever and it's F fantastic to see the public where they're starting to understand these Concepts part of what we're trying to

3:22solve as well is for the companies that are selling products that are based on blockchain technology part of the problem that they have is they have a long sales cycle because they have to educate their customers before they can sell their products so if we can do that or we can get these Basics out to companies corporations individuals it's going to really just streamline

3:44everything I completely agree and I was just going to say that because this technology is new it's great to focus on companies that are integrating into their business but at the same time I feel like a lot of the content you guys need to provide is probably education based and also just the fundament mentals because it's can get very technical that's right so with our

4:06magazine for example you know when we do have the technical side to different articles but each issue that we put out so far has a simple two-page guide so if someone is new to the industry they can take something that's not overwhelming it's you know bite-sized portions of information and they can just have a nice easy read absorb it and then they don't feel too overwhelmed that's great

4:29now doing a magazine is a lot of work and I know you guys have a big team but you also have to have cash flows and revenue to have a sustainable business what is your guys's goals in driving Revenue sources how are you planning on doing that and is it enough to create a sustainable business moving forward yeah from day one we realized that this was very important to assess

4:53You know some people would say a magazine in itself is outdated but we're finding that the response from the public is fantastic people want to get their hands on this whether it's a digital Edition or a print edition so our Revenue sources mainly come from subscribers and from ad Revenue sales and we also have some of that for the online portion that tie into our website

5:17and then we also tie into other Revenue sources behind the scenes that work with that's great and you mentioned you have a digital magazine but are you guys also putting it in news stands for traditional readers we do so you know we weren't going to do that at first but when we started the company we had such an a huge amount of people asking to see if we would have

5:38a print edition since it's a magazine that we decided to test it out and as of this third issue of our magazine we've put out it's being put through our distributor and into chapters and indigo stores across Canada so you know it should be very easy for people if they want to get their hands on it and get the initial education that they may want that's great and are you

6:00guys planning on expanding the print magazines across multiple countries as well and then the digital magazine of course can be downloaded around the world yeah we're just exploring that right now some of the expansion that we're talking about we've had requests to publish the magazine in other languages and in other countries we've got Distributors that want to partner

6:20with us so we're exploring all of those options right now part of what we'll weigh out those decisions will be to see just how quickly you know the public will adopt these Technologies and want this information based on that demand that will affect you know how fast we grow and get the print editions and the digital editions into other languages

6:42that's great and targeting your demographic you really need to nail down the type of content that's super important for the reader do you see your readers as more you know High netw worth individuals or people that are used to the traditional stock market and finances already or is this people that are not really familiar with traditional markets and they're just looking to get

7:02into this and of course the hype cycle really brought in a lot of new people who haven't invested at all before they're really just interested in this new technology because it's popped up so do you see that difference in your guys' audience we do there's there's definitely those who we cater to so we can get the initial information to them from beginners who don't know anything

7:24about blockchain technology but then we're also giving more specific articles for more seasoned investors there is an interesting blend of traditional investors and those who say have not invested in traditional assets at all who only invest in cryptocurrencies so we're trying to cater to everybody at the same time and we're finding a nice balance of that

7:47right now that's great it's all about balance and I'm sure you guys are doing well the Market's been up a little bit recently here as your guys' latest magazine issue came out and so how are you specifically planning on expanding the business are you just looking for more readers or are you also looking for more people to reach out to be featured in the magazine more investors

8:08strategic Partners maybe it could explain a little bit more about that yeah we definitely are covering a few of those different angles we're definitely looking for companies who would like to be promoted would like to share their stories with us and we're looking for new subscribers all the time and some of the Partnerships that we have online for digital distribution and through

8:29social media the these are really key for us we have some exciting new Partnerships recently which you can see in our magazine that helps us to just reach hundreds of thousands of people online which was we're just ecstatic about that's amazing now you guys have put out a few additions in the in the past couple months here is there any specific topics in the blockchain

8:50industry that you guys are specifically looking to push out that you haven't yet the things I can think off the top of my head would be decentralized exchanges security tokens Bitcoin mining interesting topics that people might be looking to look for more information about yeah we've covered some of those and we'll be covering some more of those

9:12coming up in the next issues which we will tease on some of our social media in issue three we do have a Bitcoin mining guide and again it's two pages it breaks down things very simply when you mentioned Bitcoin mining to people a lot of people actually think you know it's physical mining of underground they don't understand it so it just goes to show how important this

9:36information is and as we go forward designing our next issue we are flexible as well if there are new topics that come up at the last minute that are important we fit them in you know whatever is best for our subscribers that's great Ross and you guys did just put out a recent issue maybe you could give the release date on that and also when the viewers could expect each issue

9:57to be coming out in the future MH so currently we publish the magazine quarterly based on demand we will probably increase that near the end of the year to BU monthly issues and we'll see how that goes with the latest issue that we've put out it's available online right now on our website and the print editions will be available next week in select stores across Canada and

10:20all of that information will be available on our website amazing thank you Ross and your website is blockchain busm magazine.com that's correct wonderful and if people are looking to pick it up in store you I know you mentioned Indigo and chapter so that's a great resource and I'm looking forward to picking up an addition as well and I'm looking forward to see how your guys' company

10:41flourishes do you have any final words for our viewers just if when everyone wants to get involved in the industry don't be overwhelmed and have a nice objective opinion about what you're reading and it'll be we'll help you through it with our magazine it's amazing thank you Ross McDonald's CEO of BL chain business magazine it's been a pleasure speaking to you I'm

11:03looking forward to taking a look in the magazine and until the next Edition we'll speak again so thank you for your time thank you so much appreciate you having me