At CSUF Jackson is a Lecturer on Entrepreneurial Marketing, New Venture Creation, New Venture Launch, Commercializing Technology, and Social Media. Known affectionately as “Professor JJ,” Jackson brings practical marketing and sales knowledge to the classroom from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
Jackson’s career began in high technology sales in the semiconductor industry at Signetics Inc., but he soon moved to high technology market research with Dataquest Incorporated. At Dataquest, he served as Vice President and held a variety of roles in sales, marketing, and research. Later, he joined Bowne and Company, the world’s largest financial printer, and served as Senior Vice President responsible for sales, marketing, and operations. Jackson also held various senior management roles at Conner Peripherals, Multimedia Research Group, Communication Industry Researchers, and Forrester Research.
He is a past board member for Global Vision Holdings, Incorporated. Jackson is also on the board of the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), and BrandMixer, Incorporated. He is also an adviser to numerous startups and entrepreneurs.
As an entrepreneur, Jackson founded The BirdDog Group in 2001, a marketing and sales consulting firm that specializes in helping small and medium sized businesses with marketing and sales strategy. In particular, he is an expert in digital marketing and strategy.
Jackson is the author of multiple books on marketing and entrepreneurship. Jackson’s first book is called “First, Best, or Different: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing” was published in February 2007. His second book is called “Déjà New Marketing: Increase Sales with Social Media, Search Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Blogs, and More” which was published in July 2010. Jackson collaborated with Dr. Michael Ames to write “Your Entrepreneurial Journey” which was published in March 2014. His newest book is called “Socially Close: Social Media Marketing for Small Business” which was published in August 2014.
John is a frequent speaker on subjects that really matter at conferences, companies, and organizations. Using plain English and real life examples, he demystifies complex marketing jargon into practical tools for increasing sales. Jackson has delivered keynote speeches at conferences, commencement speeches, panel discussions, and workshops across North America about entrepreneurship, social media, and digital marketing. He has spoken for MSNBC, ABC, Wells Fargo Bank, Forrester Research, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Long Beach, Entrepreneur Forum, Countrywide Bank, Concordia University, Bowne and Company, Marketing Sherpa, Jason Hartman Show Radio Show, Mintel Corporation, Vistage International, Herff Jones, and many more.
Jackson is very active in the Southern California philanthropic community having served on numerous boards including The Los Angeles Sports Council, The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, The Los Angles Triathlon, The YMCA, The United Way, Los Angeles Venture Association, Orange County Venture Network, and Junior Achievement of Southern California.
A lifetime horseman, Jackson lives in Norco, California on a small horse ranch with his wife and children. Jackson is active in animal rescue.