316: Building Trust Across Print and Digital with Ojus Jain of Esses Magazine (Formula 1)
- Diana Varma
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Welcome back Magazine Makers!
We’re having conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world, who are sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in these 4 episodes.
This episode features Ojus Jain, Founder of Esses, a new publication celebrating global culture and motorsports.
Esses—meaning the S-shaped turns on the racetrack— launched in October 2024, and just recently released their sixth quarterly print magazine with rookie Formula 1 driver Arvid Lindblad as the cover star. Since launching, Esses has quickly cemented itself as one of the only premium media brands at the intersection of global culture, lifestyle, and motorsports with a readership in over 81 countries, thousands of subscribers, and global partners such as Visa, Cash App, TAG Heuer, Puma, and more. Before starting Esses, Ojus was one of the early founding team members at global news startup Semafor.
In this conversation, you’ll hear how Esses fits into the media landscape for current and future F1 fans. In an expansive and fractured media landscape, you’ll hear how Ojus and his team decide the right balance of content, tools, and platforms that help support the brand, including why print is central to their strategy of building trust, including how they extend that trust into digital publishing.
You’ll hear why building a strong team is critical, even in an age where tools allow us to do more of the process ourselves, and why job titles matter less than you might think in a start up. Ojus shares his insider take on what’s possible in independent publishing, how he’s thinking about AI, and how the Esses team is creating a financially-sustainable media brand through partnerships, events, and subscriptions.
This episode was recorded as part of a guest lecture series in DG 8111 Digital Publishing in Spring 2026 at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Let’s listen in…
About Our Guest:
Ojus Jain is the Founder of Esses, a new publication celebrating global culture and motorsports. Esses, meaning the S-shaped turns on the racetrack, launched in October 2024, and just recently released their sixth quarterly print magazine with rookie Formula 1 driver Arvid Lindblad as the cover star. Since launching, Esses has quickly cemented itself as one of the only premium media brands at the intersection of global culture, lifestyle, and motorsports with a readership in over 81 countries, thousands of subscribers, and global partners such as Visa, Cash App, TAG Heuer, Puma, and more. Before starting Esses, Ojus was one of the early founding team members at global news startup Semafor.
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Music:
Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.
Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle
