ColorStack
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersFreeport, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
ColorStack firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ColorStack
- Legal name
- ColorStack
- Website
- https://colorstack.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where ColorStack is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Freeport
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ColorStack business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Corporate Sponsorships: Tech companies sponsor ColorStack at Gold, Silver, or Bronze levels to access diverse talent pipeline, engage with students at events, receive resume books, and join the Slack workspace.
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the mission. ColorStack is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity.
- Grants: Received grants from organizations like Reboot Representation ($1.2 million grant).
- Founding Sponsorships: Early founding sponsors invested $325K+ to support initial operations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free membership for eligible Black and Latinx CS students |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
ColorStack product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ColorStack operates a free community and career development platform for Black and Latinx undergraduate Computer Science students in the US and Canada. Through its Slack-based virtual community, the proprietary Oyster member portal, mentorship programs, career fairs, and the annual Stacked Up Summit, ColorStack provides academic support, interview preparation, networking with tech recruiters, and financial assistance to help members graduate and secure technical roles.
Product overview
ColorStack is a tech nonprofit offering a community-first platform for Black and Latinx Computer Science students, combining its core virtual Slack Community with the proprietary Oyster member portal. The portfolio includes programs for mentorship (ColorStack Mentorship Program), career development (Stacked Up Summit, Career Fairs, Fam Fridays), academic support (Sprout Fellowship), financial aid (Family Fund, Travel Scholarships), and campus chapters. Oyster serves as the central hub integrating AI-powered resume review, chatbot assistance, an offer database, and peer support tools with the Slack-based community experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Oyster Platform ColorStack's exclusive in-house member portal offering an enhanced community experience beyond the virtual Slack community. Provides AI resume review, AI chatbot, offer database, peer help requests, resource database, and member directory for Black and Latinx CS students.
- Slack Community Primary virtual community platform on Slack, hosting channels for homework help, career advice, opportunities sharing, and peer support. Members generate approximately 38,000 messages per month across topic channels.
- Stacked Up Summit Annual career summit bringing Black and Latinx CS students together with top tech recruiters for tech talks, skill-building sessions, career development workshops, and networking. The 2025 summit hosted over 450 students and 19 partner companies.
- Sprout Fellowship A 10-week program designed to reduce attrition of ColorStack members in computer science programs by helping struggling members develop confidence and foundational skills needed to stay in CS.
- ColorStack Mentorship Program Professional mentorship program connecting volunteer software engineers with members for open-source development guidance and career advancement.
- Fam Fridays
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% of students believe they'll graduate with a full-time tech offer
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use ColorStack
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ColorStack technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
ColorStack partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Morgan StanleyminorSilver-level sponsor for 2025, participating in in-person events.
- FigmaminorSilver-level sponsor for 2025, participating in events and recruiting.
- DropboxminorBronze-level sponsor for 2025, participating in in-person events.
- eBayminorBronze-level sponsor for 2025, participating in events.
- RedditminorBronze-level sponsor for 2025.
- SalesforcecoreBronze-level sponsor with strong Futureforce program outcomes for ColorStack members.
- Fast ForwardminorCo-Founder & Executive Director Shannon Farley acknowledged as partner in shared mission to scale tech for humanity.
- AI4ALLminorPartnership to promote AI4ALL Ignite Accelerator program to ColorStack community members.
- QualcommcoreGold-level sponsor supporting ColorStack's mission and gaining access to diverse technical talent pipeline.
- DuolingocoreGold-level sponsor hosting ColorStack team at Pittsburgh HQ. Provides recruiting and career development support.
- MicrosoftcoreBronze/Silver level sponsor providing power to the annual Stacked Up Summit and recruiting access.
- Wells FargocoreSilver-level sponsor providing financial sector recruiting opportunities for members.
- MetacoreCorporate partner contributing $15,000 and recruiting access to Facebook University and career opportunities.
- LinkedIncoreBronze-level sponsor providing professional networking and recruiting platform access.
- NetflixcoreBronze-level sponsor providing recruiting access and participating in events and career fairs.
- AtlassiancoreSilver-level sponsor with strong engagement in events and recruiting from ColorStack community.
- OktaminorSponsor providing identity management career opportunities and partnership in social impact initiatives.
- Catalyst CreationminorCareer coaching company partnership to provide professional development support for members.
- SquarespacecoreSilver-level sponsor providing website hosting support and recruiting access.
Scale indicators22 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ColorStack competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CODE2040: Nonprofit focused on activating, connecting, and mobilizing the largest community of Black and Latinx technologists—directly competing with ColorStack on the same mission, demographic, and employer-sponsorship revenue model.
- Rewriting the Code: Nonprofit supporting women in computing through community, mentorship, and career pipelines at top tech firms. Overlaps with ColorStack on community-led career development, but targets women rather than Black/Latinx students.
- https://www.colorstack.org/dev/color: Community organization supporting Black software engineers through professional development and conference programming (formerly AfroTech). Comparable to ColorStack as a community-led Black-tech professional network, though focused on working professionals rather than students.
Broad incumbents
- Black Girls CODE: Nonprofit introducing coding and technology to Black girls ages 7-17. Similar DEI-in-tech mission and corporate sponsorship model, but targets a younger demographic (K-12) rather than undergraduate CS students.
- NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers): Largest student-managed organization supporting Black engineering students and professionals. Comparable community and career-development model for Black STEM talent, but broader engineering focus (not CS-specific) and longer-established membership structure.
- SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers): Largest Latino STEM organization supporting Hispanic engineering students through chapters, corporate sponsorships, and conferences. Directly comparable to ColorStack's Latinx CS-student mission but at broader engineering/STEM scope.
Emerging players
- CodePath: Nonprofit providing technical training, industry certification courses, and career support to underrepresented students. Adjacent to ColorStack on career development and corporate partnerships, but emphasizes technical coding courses over community/mentorship.
- Major League Hacking (MLH): Student hackathon league supporting undergraduate developers globally. Partial overlap with ColorStack's campus-chapter and event-driven model, and similar corporate partner base.
- NPower: Nonprofit providing free technology training and job placement to underrepresented young adults and military veterans. Comparable employer-funded training-to-employment model for diverse talent, but focused on non-degree tech training programs.
- Per Scholas: Nonprofit providing free IT and software engineering training to underserved adults with employer-paid tuition model. Comparable career-onramp mission and corporate funder base, but serves adult learners rather than CS undergraduates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ColorStack social profiles
Digital presenceColorStack financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ColorStack leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
ColorStack funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ColorStack 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 ColorStack
What does ColorStack do?
ColorStack operates a free community and career development platform for Black and Latinx undergraduate Computer Science students in the US and Canada. Through its Slack-based virtual community, the proprietary Oyster member portal, mentorship programs, career fairs, and the annual Stacked Up Summit, ColorStack provides academic support, interview preparation, networking with tech recruiters, and financial assistance to help members graduate and secure technical roles.
Is ColorStack a public or private company?
ColorStack is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was ColorStack founded?
ColorStack was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ColorStack based?
ColorStack is headquartered in Freeport, United States, in the North America region.
How does ColorStack make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Corporate Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are individual Donations, grants and founding Sponsorships.
Who are ColorStack's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CODE2040, Rewriting the Code and https://www.colorstack.org/dev/color. Broad incumbents are Black Girls CODE, NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers). Emerging players are CodePath, Major League Hacking (MLH), NPower and Per Scholas.
Does ColorStack have an API?
No public API is recorded for ColorStack.