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Leafly

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leafly
TypePublic
OTC Pink: LFLY
IndustryCannabis
FoundedJune 13, 2010 (2010-06-13) in Irvine, California, U.S.
FoundersCy Scott
Scott Vickers
Brian Wansolich
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Key people
Yoko Miyashita (CEO)[1][2]
Websitewww.leafly.com

Leafly is an American website and online marketplace focused on cannabis. It provides information on cannabis strains, products and retailers, along with news, reviews and educational content.[3][4]

Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was acquired by the cannabis-focused private-equity firm Privateer Holdings in 2011[5] and became a publicly traded company in February 2022 through a SPAC merger.[6] It was delisted from the Nasdaq in January 2025 and its shares moved to the over-the-counter market.[7]

History

[edit]

Leafly was founded in June 2010 by Scott Vickers, Brian Wansolich and Cy Scott.[8] The three Orange County web developers built the site as a side project, intending it as a strain-information resource.[8][4][9] Privateer Holdings acquired the company in 2011, after which Brendan Kennedy became chief executive. The founders later left to start the cannabis analytics company Headset.[5][10][11]

By July 2011, the website was reported to have about 180,000 unique visitors and to be growing roughly 30 percent per month,[9] and by April 2012 it reported about 2.3 million monthly visits and around 50,000 mobile app downloads per month.[4][12] In 2016 the company said its website and mobile applications drew more than six million monthly visitors.[3] On August 2, 2014, Leafly ran a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, described in press coverage as the first such cannabis-company advertisement in the newspaper.[13]

Going public and delisting

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In August 2021 Leafly announced plans to go public through a merger with Merida Merger Corp. I, a SPAC sponsored by Merida Capital Holdings.[14] The transaction closed on February 4, 2022, and the company's stock began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LFLY on February 7, 2022.[6]

The company subsequently faced financial pressure as cannabis advertisers reduced spending. It cut about 21 percent of its workforce in October 2022 and a further 21 percent in early 2023.[15] In January 2025 the Nasdaq moved to delist the company for failing to meet minimum continued-listing requirements; trading on the exchange was suspended on January 17, 2025, and the shares transitioned to the OTC Pink market under the symbols LFLY and LFLYW.[7][16]

Leadership

[edit]

Under Privateer Holdings, Brendan Kennedy served as chief executive.[5] On November 6, 2017, the firm appointed Chris Jeffery, a co-founder of the food-delivery service OrderUp, as CEO.[17] He was removed in 2018.[18]

On March 4, 2019, the company named Tim Leslie, a former vice-president at Amazon Prime Video International, as CEO.[19] He was succeeded on August 18, 2020, by Yoko Miyashita, previously the company's general counsel.[2]

Business model

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Leafly generates revenue by selling online display advertising and priority dispensary listing packages to companies in the cannabis industry.[4][20] Display advertising campaigns are sold on a Cost Per Impression model.[21][4] More than 4.5 million orders are placed with businesses on Leafly each year, generating $460 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) annually for Leafly partnered retailers.[22]

Features

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Strain explorer

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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.[4][23] 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. The problem is that almost every piece of strain data is incorrect and unverified.[9][24]

Dispensary locator

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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.[24][25][10]

Reviews

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Leafly users can write reviews of strains and products they have tried or dispensaries they have visited. For dispensaries and products, 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.[25][12][26]

Mobile access

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Leafly has mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.[24][27][28][21][9] In 2021, the company launched a new iOS app that enables iPhone and iPad users to place pickup orders for cannabis in legal state markets.[29]

Statistics

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  • 220 million annual sessions[22]
  • 10+ million monthly active users[22]
  • 5,000+ strains in the Leafly database, sorted alphabetically and categorized by indica, sativa, and hybrid[22]
  • 1.5 million product reviews[22]
  • 9,000+ cannabis articles and resources[22]
  • 4,500+ retailers online with Leafly[22]
  • 8,000+ brands online with Leafly[22]
  • 4.5 million orders placed annually[22]
  • $460 million GMV[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Tim Leslie Out as CEO of Leafly After 18 Months". Archived from the original on September 18, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "General Counsel Miyashita supplants Leslie as CEO at marijuana firm Leafly". Marijuana Business Daily. August 18, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Leafly: the web's ultimate cannabis resource". Engadget. June 10, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  4. 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.
  5. 1 2 3 Carole Bass (December 7, 2012). "Joint venture: these Yale MBAs want to put pot in every pot". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Schlosser, Kurt (February 4, 2022). "Cannabis marketplace Leafly closes SPAC merger deal and will go public on Monday". GeekWire. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Leafly Delisted From Nasdaq". Cannabis Business Times. January 17, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Dorbian, Iris. "Just In Time For Canada Day, Leafly Expands Order And Delivery System To Country". Forbes. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Downs, David (July 6, 2011). "Leafly.com Classes Up The Joint". East Bay Express.
  10. 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.
  11. ↑ "Leafly founders depart, raise cash for new marijuana business intelligence startup". GeekWire. August 10, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  12. 1 2 "The Audacity of Dope". The Economist. February 16, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ Tom Huddleston Jr. (August 2, 2014). "Marijuana advertiser finds a friend in The New York Times". Fortune.
  14. ↑ "Cannabis giant Leafly is going public through a SPAC merger". TechCrunch. August 10, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Leafly lays off 21% of workforce amid potential delisting from Nasdaq". GeekWire. 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Leafly announces delisting from Nasdaq". DMNews. January 20, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Leafly Hires New CEO Chris Jeffery". Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  18. ↑ Schaneman, Bart (September 26, 2018). "Cannabis company Leafly removes CEO over company management 'concerns'". Marijuana Business Daily. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Former Amazon Exec Tim Leslie Takes Over Leafly's C-Suite". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  20. ↑ "The business of selling pot...legally". Marketplace. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  21. 1 2 Dorbian, Iris. "Just In Time For Canada Day, Leafly Expands Order And Delivery System To Country". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "About". Leafly. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  23. ↑ "Investors see profit potential in new pot law". The Seattle Times. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  24. 1 2 3 Crook, Jordan (April 20, 2012). "Got Pot? Leafly Can Help". TechCrunch.
  25. 1 2 Deborah L. Jacobs (December 9, 2012). "Postcard from Seattle: New Clouds Hand Over The City As Pot Becomes Legal". Forbes. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Groups waiting to cash in on pot sales in Washington". Fox 12 KPTV. February 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  27. ↑ Downs, David (February 23, 2012). "Medical marijuana apps on the rise". Sacramento News & Review.
  28. ↑ Kirsten Johnson (December 14, 2012). "Obama's hands-off stance may move marijuana businesses forward". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Leafly Launches iPhone App to Purchase From Cannabis Dispensaries Online". Benzinga. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
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