- Entrepreneur, investor, and Create & Cultivate founder Jaclyn Johnson has signed with The Gersh Agency for representation.
- Johnson continues to be managed jointly by Entertainment 360 and Ponte Firm.
- The agency signing follows Johnson’s buyback of Create & Cultivate and its September 19–20, 2026 Los Angeles festival featuring Cardi B, Emma Grede, and Alix Earle.
- Gersh will package Johnson’s business ventures, podcast IP, and investment platforms into unscripted television formats and multimedia franchise deals.
Entrepreneur, author, and venture investor Jaclyn Johnson has officially signed with The Gersh Agency for representation across all areas.
Under the deal, Gersh will expand her presence in unscripted television, digital programming, book packaging, speaking engagements, and global brand partnerships. Johnson continues to be managed by Entertainment 360 and Ponte Firm.
Johnson is best known as the founder of Create & Cultivate, the influential media and conference platform launched in 2011 to support female entrepreneurs.
After expanding the business into an eight-figure brand, she sold a majority stake to private equity firm Corridor Capital for $22 million in 2021. In late 2023, Johnson partnered with CEO Marina Middleton to buy back the company for a six-figure sum and steer its live revival.
Create & Cultivate launched a sold-out Los Angeles comeback festival in July 2025 featuring a performance by Doechii, and just concluded its September 19–20, 2026 flagship gathering featuring keynote conversations with Emma Grede and Alix Earle, capped by a headline set from Cardi B.
Beyond live events, Johnson co-founded Cherub, an angel-investing platform connecting founders directly with angel investors, and operates early-stage fund NewMoney Ventures. She is also the author of the bestselling business guide WorkParty and host of its popular companion podcast.
The signing highlights Gersh’s targeted push to secure high-profile founder-creators with proven commercial equity and dedicated community followings. The move mirrors recent roster expansions at the agency, following the signings of mental health advocate Victoria Garrick Browne and lifestyle creator Bailey Taylor.
Backed by Gersh’s packaging division, Johnson aims to turn her venture experience and digital community into broadcast television series and multi-platform media assets.
Takeaways
Jaclyn Johnson’s deal with Gersh marks a notable evolution in how agencies recruit and leverage entrepreneurial talent.
Traditional agencies used to treat business founders primarily as keynote speakers or occasional corporate sponsors. Today, founders who buy back their brands, host arena-scale festivals with mainstream music headliners, and run venture networks are viewed as complete media studios in their own right.
By bringing Johnson into its unscripted and packaging divisions, Gersh gains direct access to an established ecosystem of female founders, angel investors, and high-spending consumer brand partners.
For Johnson, working with Gersh offers the institutional backing required to translate a live community platform into national television series, docuseries, and streaming IP.
Will Johnson and Gersh adapt her angel-investing venture, Cherub, into a female-led business pitch competition to rival traditional network shows? How does buying back an established brand like Create & Cultivate alter an entrepreneur’s leverage when negotiating multi-platform representation deals?
