Leif Olsen
With over 14 years of owner-operator-advisor experience working with plant-touching and ancillary businesses, Leif Olsen has become a seasoned and globally sought-after cannabis application & licensing specialist, operations expert, and a seasoned entrepreneur, focusing on retail, distribution, F&B, services, manufacturing, and real estate sectors.
Leif began his career in the cannabis industry in 2008. He co-founded, operated, and successfully exited Kind Love, one of Colorado’s first and most successful medical and adult-use cannabis companies. Since owning and operating the vertically integrated operation, Leif has logged over 20,000 hours of hands-on operational experience and advised on more than 5 million sq. ft. of cultivation, manufacturing, and retail operations.
In 2015, identifying an emerging demand for operational experience, innovative solutions, and genetic advancements, Leif co-founded Catalyst BC, a cannabis advisement firm that guides partners through the gauntlet of conceptualizing, funding, designing, building, and operating a profitable cannabis or hemp business. During the first year of operations, Leif helped a client obtain one of Maryland’s first fifteen cultivation and dispensary licenses. Since then, the team has helped secure more than 46 licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, and retail dispensaries in 8 states, including some of the most competitive and rigorous application processes to date.
Together with Catalyst BC, Leif and partners have developed multiple ancillary companies, such as Allele/303 Seeds, a genetics service and solutions company with an extensive portfolio of proven and proprietary cultivars, and Greenhaus Industries, the first commercial vertical cannabis cultivation company. Greenhaus Industries was acquired by Pipp Horticulture in 2018, creating the industry-leading vertical farming solution with over 2,500 grow rooms worldwide. In addition to his ancillary endeavors, Leif was Supply Chain Manager for FLRish Inc. and Harborside Health, one of the most prominent medical and adult-use cannabis dispensaries in the United States.
As Business Development for Pipp Horticulture and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst BC, Leif combines industry experience, Lean methodologies, and heart-based leadership to serve prospective operators, startups, and publicly traded LPs and MSOs in existing and emerging markets through a unique Kaizen-like approach that drives continuous consumer-focused improvement while maintaining regulatory compliance. Leif’s passion for cannabis-based treatments and products that improve others’ lives provides the fuel to continue to lead individuals, teams, and companies through the ever-evolving gauntlet of the cannabis industry.
