Website www.leafly.com Headquarters Seattle Type Privately held company | CEO Drew Reynolds (May 2015–) Founded Irvine | |
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Industry Medical marijuana resources Key people Drew Reynolds (CEO)
Paul Campbell (VP Marketing)
Charles Oster (VP Sales)
James Lee (VP Engineering) Founders Cy Scott, Scott Vickers, Brian Wansolich Profiles | ||
Leafly discussion
Leafly is the largest cannabis website in the world, with over 10 million monthly visitors and 40 million pageviews across its website and mobile applications. Leafly allows users to rate and review different strains of cannabis and cannabis dispensaries. The site helps patients determine which cannabis strain is appropriate for their particular symptoms and then directs them to a dispensary nearby. Leafly operates like a hybrid of Yelp and Consumer Reports in that it uses crowdsourcing to generate reviews for consumers. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and is wholly owned by Privateer Holdings, a private equity firm focused on the emerging legal cannabis industry. Leafly is available for mobile use on iOS, and Android.
Contents
Background
Leafly was founded in June 2010 by Scott Vickers, Brian Wansolich, and Cy Scott. The three Orange County engineers recognized the need for a legitimate strain resource and began to build Leafly as a side project to their jobs as web developers. Privateer Holdings acquired the company in 2012, at which time Brendan Kennedy became the company's CEO. By July 2011 the website had received about 180,000 unique visitors and was growing at 30 percent per month. In April 2012 Leafly reported about 2.3 million monthly visits and approximately 50,000 mobile app downloads per month. In June, 2015, the company announced that it now receives over 6 million monthly visitors and 31 million pageviews across its website and mobile applications On August 2nd, 2014, Leafly became the first cannabis company to place an advertisement in the New York Times
Business model
Leafly generates revenue by selling online display advertising and priority listing packages to companies in the cannabis industry. Display advertising campaigns are sold on a Cost Per Impression model.
Use
Leafly has three primary functions:
Strain explorer
Patients and consumers use Leafly to search for cannabis strains according to medical use, such as anxiety or nausea, and desired effects, like euphoria or creativity. Relevant strains are then presented in a format similar to the periodic table. The table is color coded to identify whether the strain is sativa, indica, or a hybrid of both.
Dispensary locator
Patients can use their zip codes or city and state names to search for dispensaries, which are then displayed on a map of the area. The dispensary profiles include menus, reviews, photos, and store locations.
Reviews
Leafly users can write reviews of strains they have tried or dispensaries they have visited. For dispensaries, reviews consist of a brief comment section and a star rating system that is based on medication, service, and atmosphere. Strain reviews include desirable effects, attributes, and summary information.
Mobile access
Leafly has mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.