Venly
Venly is a Cambridge-based for-profit social enterprise running an Open edX-powered Member-Oriented Management System that connects small businesses and chambers of commerce through its Peake Fellowship, delivering AI-enabled benchmarking and training across social media, ecommerce, operations, and cybersecurity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Venly does
Venly is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based for-profit social enterprise that operates a Member-Oriented Management System designed to connect small and local businesses to community ecosystems defined by industry, geography, or topic. The company serves three primary segments — small and local businesses, chambers of commerce and business associations, and higher education institutions — with its core delivery mechanism being the Mary S. Peake Fellowship, a 12-month applied learning program that places recent graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses with local businesses to provide hands-on support across social media-based outreach and engagement, ecommerce, cloud-based operations, and cybersecurity. Venly also sells direct training services to local businesses at $6 per day plus a $180 one-time setup fee, with Fellows receiving a $30,000 baseline annual stipend plus benefits. The company's stated customer outcomes include an 86% revenue lift for a fourth-year client, a 303% increase in social media engagement, and a Pinterest audience built from zero to 31,100 monthly viewers within six months.
Venly's core technology is an AI & Big Data-supported platform built around MIT and Harvard's Open edX open-source learning management system. Venly develops and maintains LearnerSpaces, an Open edX-based LMS that delivers Applied Learning & Teaching experiences and field certifications, and offers proprietary benchmarking tools (Social Score, Revenue Grower) that measure local business performance against best practices across 1,000+ business categories. The platform architecture is open-source-based and positions Venly as a neutral infrastructure layer for community ecosystems rather than a vertical SaaS product.
The business model combines subscription training revenue ($6/day SMB services), fellowship stipends financed through the company and partner ecosystem, and a $13.3 million exempt securities offering (first sold September 2022) that converted debt to equity. Go-to-market is community-led: local chambers of commerce serve as Peake Fellowship Network Centers, sponsoring free training and receiving Fellow support at no out-of-pocket cost, while higher education institutions participate through the i-HELP program. The team includes founding partners from Avon (Andrea Jung), IBM Research (Paul Horn), Comcast (Mark Coblitz), Intuit (Allison Mnookin), and senior U.S. military leadership, with the average team tenure exceeding 12 years through continuity from predecessor Benchmarking Partners.
Venly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Venly
- Legal name
- Venly, Inc.
- Website
- https://venly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Venly is a Cambridge-based for-profit social enterprise running an Open edX-powered Member-Oriented Management System that connects small businesses and chambers of commerce through its Peake Fellowship, delivering AI-enabled benchmarking and training across social media, ecommerce, operations, and cybersecurity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Venly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Venly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Training Services for Local Businesses: Venly charges local businesses $6 per day plus a one-time $180 set-up fee for Peake Training Services. Services include social media training, in-person best practice sessions, metrics dashboards, and ongoing support.
- Peake Fellowship Program: Venly operates the Mary S. Peake Fellowship, a 12-month applied learning and teaching program. Fellows (recent graduates, returning veterans, military spouses) receive a baseline stipend of $30,000 with opportunities for additional service-based compensation. The program serves local businesses through chambers and direct engagement.
- Securities Offering: Venly, Inc. conducted an exempt securities offering with over $13 million total, involving converting debt to equity with a minimum investment of $5,000, first sold in September 2022.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Daily Training Service - $6/day + $180 setup |
| Other | Annual | Peake Fellowship Stipend - $30,000 baseline |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Venly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Venly develops and maintains a Member-Oriented Management System platform built around MIT and Harvard's open source Open edX framework, which includes its LearnerSpaces Learning Management System. The company operates the Mary S. Peake Fellowship program, a 12-month applied learning experience that trains recent graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to deliver hands-on support to local businesses across four tracks: social media Outreach and Engagement, Ecommerce, Cloud-based Operations, and Cybersecurity. Venly also provides a subscription-based Peake Fellowship Training Service at $6 per day plus a $180 setup fee for ongoing business support, and a Social Score benchmarking tool for measuring social media performance against 1,000+ business categories.
Product overview
Venly offers a platform-based ecosystem management system centered around its Member-Oriented Management System, which expands Open edX through its LearnerSpaces LMS to provide AI & Big Data-supported capabilities for community ecosystems. The core platform enables small and local businesses to connect, collaborate, and grow. Venly's main service offering is the Peake Fellowship program, a 12-month applied learning and training experience that places Fellows with local businesses to provide support across four business tracks: social media-based Outreach & Engagement, Community Commerce innovation, Cloud-based Operations, and Cybersecurity. Additional services include the Peake Fellowship Training Services, which provides ongoing social media training at $6/day, and the Social Score benchmarking tool that measures businesses against industry best practices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mary S. Peake Fellowship: A prestigious 12-month applied learning and teaching experience for recent graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to help local businesses grow through social media, ecommerce, operations, and cybersecurity.
- LearnerSpaces
Products and services
- Member-Oriented Management System (Venly Platform) A core ecosystem management platform that enables community ecosystems to connect and collaborate for innovation, growth, and resilience. The platform provides AI and Big Data-supported capabilities that enable small and local businesses to apply their unique expertise across four tracks: social media-based Outreach and Engagement, Ecommerce, Cloud-based Operations, and Cybersecurity.
- LearnerSpaces An Open edX-based Learning Management System (LMS) that delivers Applied Learning and Teaching experiences and Field Certifications. Venly ensures successful performance of all curriculum-related development across the LearnerSpaces platform including courses, observations, exercises, and service learning.
- Mary S. Peake Fellowship A 12-month applied learning and teaching experience that trains recent college graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to work with local business owners. Fellows help businesses across four tracks: social media-based Outreach and Engagement, Ecommerce, Cloud-based Operations, and Cybersecurity.
Quantifiable outcome
- Client revenue increased by 86% after working with Peake Fellows on website and social media
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Venly
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Venly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Venly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Open edX (MIT & Harvard)coreVenly's platform is built around MIT & Harvard's Open edX. Venly created and maintains LearnerSpaces, an Open edX-based Learning Management System that delivers Applied Learning & Teaching experiences and Field Certifications.
- Blackstone Valley Chamber of CommerceflagshipBlackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce is a Peake Fellowship Network Center receiving support of a Fellow. The chamber serves as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and has been a long-term partner in promoting local business growth.
- Local Chambers of Commerce (Network)coreLocal Chambers of Commerce selected as Peake Fellowship Network Centers receive: Community Connection Campaign, Local Fellow support, Best Practices Education for 1,000+ business categories, and National Recognition. Chambers benefit at no out-of-pocket cost.
- Central Mass South Chamber of CommercecoreCentral Mass South Chamber of Commerce partnered with Peake Fellowship, receiving Emily MacWilliams '15 as a Fellow. The chamber elected Emily to serve on their Board of Directors as the youngest board member in their history.
- Peake FellowshipcoreVenly serves as the Mary S. Peake Fellowship Development Team, leading the pilot program to support Fellows and Community Ecosystem Navigators. The fellowship is a 12-month applied learning experience for recent graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses.
- Higher Education Institutions (i-HELP Program)coreVenly's Higher ed Enterprise Leadership Program (i-HELP) partners with colleges including Savannah State University, Bowdoin College, and Fayetteville State University to place Community Navigators and Fellows supporting local business ecosystems.
- Benchmarking Partnerscore
- Grameen AmericaminorAndrea Jung, Venly Founding Chair, serves as President and CEO of Grameen America, the non-profit micro-finance bank started by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. This creates a connection to micro-finance and women-owned small business support.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Venly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thryv: Public SMB software platform offering marketing, CRM, and online-presence tools tailored to local businesses — directly overlaps Venly's small/local business customer base and core value proposition around digital presence and ecommerce enablement.
- Constant Contact: Established email and social-media marketing platform for SMBs and nonprofits. Compares directly on Venly's 'Outreach & Engagement' track and on its chamber/association distribution model.
- Alignable: Small-business networking platform connecting local business owners to peers and resources across North America. Highly comparable to Venly's community-ecosystem / chamber-based model for SMBs.
- SCORE: Free SBA-affiliated mentoring and education network for small businesses, pairing volunteer mentors with entrepreneurs. Closest non-profit analog to Venly's mentor/Fellow model and chamber-anchored distribution.
Broad incumbents
- Hootsuite: Incumbent social-media management platform used by businesses of all sizes. Overlaps with Venly's social-media training, content calendar, and metrics dashboard services, but as a broader-portfolio incumbent.
- HubSpot: Large CRM, marketing, and ecommerce platform with a strong SMB offering. Comparable on ecommerce and inbound marketing capabilities, but as a broad incumbent rather than a community-anchored niche player.
Emerging players
- Yext: Digital-presence platform that helps multi-location businesses manage listings, reviews, and local SEO. Comparable on the 'cybersecure use of AI & Big Data' and online-presence tracks Venly pitches to local businesses.
- Main Street Hub (Thryv): Concierge digital-marketing service for local SMBs, originally built around human-delivered social-media and reputation management. Closest functional analog to Venly's human-powered, hands-on social-media service model.
Others
- edX: Open edX (MIT/Harvard) is the platform on which Venly's LearnerSpaces LMS is built. As an open-source community and operator, edX is an infrastructure peer rather than a competitor, but provides the technology backbone for Venly's applied-learning certifications.
- Ashoka: Global network supporting social entrepreneurs and changemakers. Comparable as a peer in the for-profit social-enterprise / community-impact space that Venly explicitly occupies, including shared language around ecosystem leadership and impact measurement.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Venly social profiles
Digital presenceVenly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Venly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Venly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Venly M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Venly
What does Venly do?
Venly develops and maintains a Member-Oriented Management System platform built around MIT and Harvard's open source Open edX framework, which includes its LearnerSpaces Learning Management System. The company operates the Mary S. Peake Fellowship program, a 12-month applied learning experience that trains recent graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to deliver hands-on support to local businesses across four tracks: social media Outreach and Engagement, Ecommerce, Cloud-based Operations, and Cybersecurity. Venly also provides a subscription-based Peake Fellowship Training Service at $6 per day plus a $180 setup fee for ongoing business support, and a Social Score benchmarking tool for measuring social media performance against 1,000+ business categories.
Is Venly a public or private company?
Venly is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Venly founded?
Venly was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Venly based?
Venly is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Venly make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Training Services for Local Businesses are the primary driver. The others are peake Fellowship Program and securities Offering.
Who are Venly's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thryv, Constant Contact, Alignable and SCORE. Broad incumbents are Hootsuite and HubSpot. Emerging players are Yext and Main Street Hub (Thryv). Others are edX and Ashoka.
Does Venly have an API?
No public API is recorded for Venly.