Leafly

Leafly
Private
Industry Medical marijuana resources
Founded Irvine, California, United States, (June 13, 2010 (2010-06-13))
Founders
  • Cy Scott
  • Scott Vickers
  • Brian Wansolich
Headquarters Seattle, Washington
Key people
  • Drew Reynolds (CEO)
  • Paul Campbell (VP Marketing)
  • Charles Oster (VP Sales)
  • James Lee (VP Engineering)
Website www.leafly.com

Leafly is the largest cannabis website in the world, with over 8 million monthly visitors and 40 million pageviews across its website and mobile applications.[1][2] 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.[3][4][5][6][7] Leafly operates like a hybrid of Yelp and Consumer Reports in that it uses crowdsourcing to generate reviews for consumers.[8][9][10][11] 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.[12][13][14] Leafly is available for mobile use on iOS, and Android.[15][16][17]

Leafly's First-ever Cannabis Advertisement in the New York Times

Background

Leafly was founded in June 2010 by Scott Vickers, Brian Wansolich, and Cy Scott.[18] 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.[8][18][19] Privateer Holdings acquired the company in 2012, at which time Brendan Kennedy became the company's CEO.[20][21][22][23] By July 2011 the website had received about 180,000 unique visitors and was growing at 30 percent per month.[19] In April 2012 Leafly reported about 2.3 million monthly visits and approximately 50,000 mobile app downloads per month.[8][15] 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 [1] On August 2nd, 2014, Leafly became the first cannabis company to place an advertisement in the New York Times [24]

Business model

Leafly generates revenue by selling online display advertising and priority listing packages to companies in the cannabis industry.[8][25] Display advertising campaigns are sold on a Cost Per Impression model, and priority listing packages cost between $295 and $8,000 per month.[8][18]

Use

Leafly has three primary functions:

Strain explorer

Patients use Leafly to search for cannabis strains according to medical use, such as anxiety or nausea, and desired effects, like euphoria or creativity.[8][26] 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.[4][19]

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. Dispensaries can be listed on Leafly free of charge.[4][11][23]

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.[11][15][22]

Mobile access

Leafly has mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.[4][6][17][18][19]

Statistics

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Leafly: the web's ultimate cannabis resource". Engadget. AOL.
  2. ↑ http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/leafly.com
  3. ↑ Patricia Murphy (November 29, 2012). "Seattle Web Entrepreneur's Efforts To Re-Brand Marijuana". KUOW.org. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Crook, Jordan (April 20, 2012). "Got Pot? Leafly Can Help". TechCrunch.
  5. ↑ Truong, Alice (April 20, 2012). "Leafly Gives Users a Digital Marijuana Database". NBC Bay Area.
  6. 1 2 Downs, David (February 23, 2012). "Medical marijuana apps on the rise". Sacramento News & Review.
  7. ↑ Duboff, Josh (August 26, 2010). "Finally: A Social-Media Hub for Stoners". New York (magazine).
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Taylor Soper (October 31, 2012). "Leafly: Like Yelp and Consumer Reports... for medical marijuana". GeekWire. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  9. ↑ Samuel Wagreich (February 25, 2013). "Meet The Man Funding The Cannabis Industry". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ Austin Jenkins (February 22, 2013). "Washington Marijuana Legalization Draws Yale MBAs With Big Ideas". mw news network. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Deborah L. Jacobs (December 9, 2012). "Postcard from Seattle: New Clouds Hand Over The City As Pot Becomes Legal". Forbes. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  12. ↑ Eric Mortenson (January 25, 2013). "Investors and entrepreneurs have high expectations - sorry - for cannabis related businesses". Oregon Live. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Privateer Holdings Team". Privateer Holdings. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ Taylor Soper (November 7, 2012). "What legalization means for a medical marijuana startup". GeekWire. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 "The Audacity of Dope". The Economist. February 16, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  16. ↑ Justin Berton (December 11, 2012). "Heady stuff for Washington State tokers". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Kirsten Johnson (December 14, 2012). "Obama's hands-off stance may move marijuana businesses forward". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Alice Truong (April 20, 2012). "Leafly, a user-driven marijuana database you can browse at work". DVICE. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Downs, David (July 6, 2011). "Leafly.com Classes Up The Joint". East Bay Express.
  20. ↑ Colleen Flynn (December 4, 2012). "Yale SOM grads blaze trail into cannabis industry". Yale Daily News. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  21. ↑ Carole Bass (December 7, 2012). "Joint venture: these Yale MBAs want to put pot in every pot". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  22. 1 2 "Groups waiting to cash in on pot sales in Washington". Fox 12 KPTV. February 14, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Kim Murphy (December 9, 2012). "Plenty of smoke clouds the future of legalized pot in Washington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  24. ↑ Tom Huddleston, Jr. (2 August 2014). "Marijuana advertiser finds a friend in The New York Times". Fortune.
  25. ↑ Mitchell Hartman (December 27, 2012). "The business of selling pot... legally". American Public Media - Marketplace Business. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  26. ↑ Jonathan Martin (December 1, 2012). "Investors see profit potential in new pot law". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 26, 2013.

External links

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