Michael Zaytsev

Michael Zaytsev, known as Mike Z, is an acclaimed author, educator, and Cannabis industry influencer. He is the author of "The Cannabis Business Book," a best-selling and groundbreaking work. With a career spanning various sectors, Michael has become known as a pioneer and champion of Cannabis education. In 2014, he founded High NY, which has grown into one of the world's largest Cannabis community education and business networking groups. High NY has been instrumental in educating thousands of individuals about Cannabis and raising substantial funds for nonprofits dedicated to rectifying the injustices of Cannabis prohibition. High NY events have earned recognition as some of "The Best Cannabis Events in New York City" by High Times and other reputable sources. In 2021, Mike Z made history as the first Cannabis Professor at Brooklyn's historic Medgar Evers College. His "Intro to the World of Cannabis" course marked the inception of degree-bearing cannabis education within the City University of New York (CUNY), the nation's largest urban public university. Taking on a pivotal role in 2022, Michael became the Academic Director at LIM College in midtown Manhattan. At LIM, he has been responsible for conceptualizing, launching, and overseeing the college's Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in the Business of Cannabis—the first accredited programs of their kind approved by the State of New York. Notably, the fully online Master's degree is among the first globally. Beyond academia, Michael has served as an executive advisor and business coach since 2015, supporting high-performing individuals at organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bain & Company, Google, Microsoft, and across the Cannabis industry. He has earned accolades as a top-rated mentor at Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, and has served as a Cannabis Industry Mentor for the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps entrepreneurship training program. Michael Zaytsev hosts "The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast," where he engages in insightful conversations and offers coaching to leaders in the Cannabis industry. His writing has appeared in esteemed publications including Entrepreneur, Forbes, GritDaily, International Business Times, and more. Mike Z began his career as an investment analyst at J.P. Morgan's Private Bank before transitioning to Google, where he sold SaaS technologies and brand marketing services to both SMBs and Fortune 500 companies. Although he holds a Bachelor's in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, his passion for community service and Cannabis was ignited during his time at Stuyvesant High School. In 2023, Michael Zaytsev was honored as one of the "2023 Cannabis Industry Power Players" by Politics NY, cementing his status as a prominent figure in the cannabis industry. Mike Z's mission is to end Cannaphobia through education and to build community through Cannabis. @HiMikeZ on IG and X