StaffAugust 27, 2019
Dan Nelson is best known for having launched the world’s first legal and medical marijuana dispensary price comparison website in January 2014. Wikileaf, dubbed by some media as “The Priceline of Pot”, has since grown into one of the industry’s largest consumer resources in North America. In 2016, Wikileafbecame a part of Nesta Holding Co., a private equity firm that creates wide ranging partnerships and brands within the cannabis industry.
Today, Dan is CEO of Wikileaf, and has built it into a one-stop, user-friendly platform to compare dispensary and delivery prices as well as research strains in your area. Dan oversees the company, helping it grow to 1.6 million monthly user sessions and over 3,500 legal recreational and medical dispensaries on the platform. Wikileaf is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has mainly focused on the US markets, however, with growing medical legalization around the world, and adult recreational now legal in Canada, Wikileaf has set its sights on serving other jurisdictions.
Prior to launching Wikileaf, Dan ran a banking blog that focused on FDIC and NCUA insured savings deposits offered by local banks and credit unions. Which he credits for the inspiration behind Wikileaf.
Title: CEO
Company: Wikileaf Technologies Inc
Years at current company: 5
Education profile: Dan graduated from Washington State University in Seattle in 2006.
GMR Executive Spotlight Q&A:
Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis: My first company/web property was a go-to destination for FDIC insured savings products, developed at the height of the financial collapse in 2008. There was a clear opportunity to create a destination that would make it easy for consumers to compare savings rates and focus on FDIC and NCUA insured saving deposits. I developed a partnership with an industry leader, Bankrate, to funnel deposit account leads through their portal. After that success I realized the next big opportunity was in cannabis, especially seeing it flourish firsthand in Seattle. I decided to tailor and apply my previous banking model to this emerging industry, allowing consumers to track down the best products at the best prices from dispensaries in their neighborhood.
Company Mission: Since its inception in 2014, Wikileaf’s mission has been to empower the cannabis consumer. We achieve this through transparency – transparency in pricing and transparency in research and information, whether that’s for strains, brands, jobs, or industry news.
Company’s most successful achievement: Surpassing one million monthly visitors in 2019 alone. Before that accomplishment, we were the first ever cannabis company to advertise on a major airline back in 2017.
Has the company raised any capital (yes or no): If so, how much?: In our most recent round we raised $6.8M CAD. Since our founding we’ve raised over $10M CAD in total funding.
Any plans on raising capital in the future? Yes
Most important company 5 year goal: Ultimately we want to be the go-to destination for cannabis consumers looking to find and compare cannabis products, strains, brands and dispensaries in their neighborhood. We look forward to continuously proving ourselves as a trusted resource in the space, and want to make our service available to consumers wherever they are.
