Leafly

Leafly
TypePublic
OTCID Basic: LFLY
IndustryCannabis
FoundedJune 13, 2010 (2010-06-13) in Irvine, California, U.S.
FoundersCy Scott
Scott Vickers
Brian Wansolich
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Key peopleYoko Miyashita (CEO)
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.

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

History

Leafly was founded in June 2010 by Scott Vickers, Brian Wansolich and Cy Scott. The three Orange County web developers built the site as a side project, intending it as a strain-information resource. 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.

By July 2011, the website was reported to have about 180,000 unique visitors and to be growing roughly 30 percent per month, and by April 2012 it reported about 2.3 million monthly visits and around 50,000 mobile app downloads per month. In 2016 the company said its website and mobile applications drew more than six million monthly visitors. 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.

Going public and delisting

In August 2021 Leafly announced plans to go public through a merger with Merida Merger Corp. I, a SPAC sponsored by Merida Capital Holdings. 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.

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. 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.

Leadership

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

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

Business model

Leafly generates revenue by selling online display advertising and priority dispensary listing packages to companies in the cannabis industry. Display advertising campaigns are sold on a Cost Per Impression model. 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.

Features

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. The problem is that almost every piece of strain data is incorrect and unverified.

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 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.

Mobile access

Leafly has mobile applications for iOS and Android devices. 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.

Statistics

References

  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.