One of the big winners at this week’s GeekWire Awards was Leafly, the marijuana dispensary and strain review app that was voted App of the Year by GeekWire readers.
So what’s the story behind this app? Our guests this week on the GeekWire radio show are two of the key people involved in the venture: Cy Scott, a co-founder of Leafly; and Christian Groh, a co-founder of Privateer Holdings, a private equity firm whose holdings include Leafly and a variety of other marijuana-related companies.
Scott tells us about the creation of the Leafly app, explains how it works, and talks about the changes taking place in the market as a result of legalization in Colorado and Washington, and potentially other states in the future.
We hear from Groh about Privateer’s investment philosophy, the strategic bet that its founders decided to place on marijuana-related startups, and how they approach the conflicts between federal and state laws.
And we delve into the names of different marijuana strains, and learn how more conventional branding is coming to the industry.
That conversation begins in the second segment of the show, at 9:15 in the audio player below, following our “Week in Geek” news roundup. Topics this week include Seattle’s new bike-sharing program, Amazon’s expansion of Sunday delivery, and Jeff Bezos’ surprise appearance at a Seattle-area school.
Listen to the show in the audio player below or via this MP3 file.
App of the Week: PBS Kids Super Vision for parents.
Name that Tech Tune: Which video game is this? Clues: It’s based on a movie that was referenced during this week’s GeekWire Awards. If you think you know the answer, send it to contest@geekwire.com. From the correct answers, we’ll pick one person at random to win a Poppy 3D device for your iPhone, winner of our Gadget of the Year award.
