Poley Creative
Poley Creative is a Portland-based production and animation studio founded in 2019 that creates interview-driven documentaries, animated explainers, and multi-episode educational video series for developer-relations and platform-technology teams at enterprise clients such as Cloudflare, Twilio, Circle, and Carnegie Learning.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Poley Creative does
Poley Creative is a Portland, Oregon-based production and animation studio founded in 2019 by Michael Poley (former Treehouse Video Creative Director) and Elizabeth Kozup (former Disney and Treehouse project manager). The studio produces interview-driven documentaries, animated explainers, and multi-episode educational video programs for developer-relations and platform-technology teams at enterprise clients including Cloudflare, Twilio, Circle, Carnegie Learning, Arc, Pluralsight, and freeCodeCamp. Its service catalog is organized into three lines — Interviews & Branded Docs, Explainer Videos & Animation, and Educational Courses & Series — with a stated methodology of building bespoke visual systems per client that harden into reusable component libraries, reducing per-episode cost as series scale.
The studio operates with a 6-person team (two co-founders, a producer, two senior editors/motion designers, and an admin) and executes multi-location production across the U.S. and internationally, as evidenced by a Cloudflare documentary series shot across 9 cities in 4 countries and a Carnegie Learning curriculum produced across 3 studio locations. Its production pipeline integrates generative AI tools (ElevenLabs, Kling, Sora, LumaLabs, Sync Labs, NanoBanana 2) with traditional compositing and motion graphics for animation and voice workflows. Poley Creative has no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and no self-serve or marketplace product; all work is delivered as bespoke professional services engagements booked through Calendly and direct email. Notable outcomes include 4M+ views on a freeCodeCamp API course, 360K first-month views on a Cloudflare AI Avenue series, 600+ videos produced for Carnegie Learning's MATHstream (a 2024 EdTech Award winner), and 19 explainer videos delivered for Circle's Stablecoin 101 series.
Poley Creative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Poley Creative
- Legal name
- Poley Creative
- Website
- https://poleycreative.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Poley Creative is a Portland-based production and animation studio founded in 2019 that creates interview-driven documentaries, animated explainers, and multi-episode educational video series for developer-relations and platform-technology teams at enterprise clients such as Cloudflare, Twilio, Circle, and Carnegie Learning.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Poley Creative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Video Production Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro industry
- Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production)Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Influencer & Creator Marketing AgenciesInstructional Design & Storyboarding PlatformsEducation/Education Technology (EdTech) & Digital Learning/Content Authoring, Instructional Design & eLearning Development Tools
Keywords
Where Poley Creative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Poley Creative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Video Production Services: Custom strategy, original scripts, and video production services for enterprise clients. Revenue generated through project-based engagements with multi-quarter partnerships for documentary series, explainer videos, and educational courses.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Poley Creative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Poley Creative is a Portland-based production and animation studio that produces video content for developer relations (DevRel) teams at technology companies. The studio delivers three service lines — interview-driven branded documentaries, animated technical explainer videos, and multi-episode educational course series — covering scripting, on-location production, motion design, and curriculum design for enterprise clients.
Product overview
Poley Creative is a production and animation studio for DevRel teams, offering three core service offerings: Interviews & Branded Docs (documentary-style interview content), Explainer Videos & Animation (animated technical content), and Educational Courses & Series (multi-episode learning programs). The studio operates as a service-based agency rather than a software product platform, producing content for developer-first companies including Cloudflare, Circle, Carnegie Learning, Arc, Twilio, freeCodeCamp, and Pluralsight. Their work includes documentary series like Cloudflare: AI Avenue, animated explainer series like Circle: Stablecoin 101, and educational curricula like Carnegie Learning: MATHstream and Twilio: Liftoff.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Poley Creative
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Poley Creative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
Poley Creative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered featured.
- ElevenLabsfeaturedFeatured partner in Cloudflare AI Avenue documentary series. Provided on-location studio in London for AI voice and speech synthesis content featuring experts from ElevenLabs.
- RoboflowfeaturedFeatured partner in Cloudflare AI Avenue Episode 2 on computer vision. Showcased real-world computer vision applications.
- AnthropicfeaturedFeatured partner with AI safety researcher Amanda Askell appearing in AI Avenue Episode 3 on thinking/reasoning.
- IBM QuantumfeaturedFeatured partner in AI Avenue Episode 6 exploring quantum computing and qubits.
- Engineered ArtsfeaturedFeatured partner showcasing humanoid robot Ameca in AI Avenue series, exploring voice and physical AI capabilities.
- Be My EyesfeaturedFeatured partner demonstrating computer vision accessibility applications in AI Avenue Episode 2.
- DailyfeaturedFeatured partner showcasing conversational AI agents and real-time communication APIs in AI Avenue Episode 5.
- WriterfeaturedFeatured partner in AI Avenue Episode 4 on AI learning and writing tools.
- HeyGenfeaturedFeatured partner showcasing AI video generation and avatars in AI Avenue.
- NY RoboticsfeaturedFeatured partner demonstrating physical AI and robotics applications in AI Avenue Episode 5.
- CrossmintfeaturedFeatured founder in Arc Day 1 Founders documentary series. Showcased blockchain developer tools and FinTech applications.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Poley Creative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Demo Duck: Demo Duck is a video production agency specializing in explainer and animated videos for SaaS and tech companies, with services and client profile closely matching Poley's explainer and educational content work.
- Kasra Design: Kasra Design is a motion design studio creating SaaS-focused animated explainer and product videos, with a comparable focus on technical product narratives for software companies.
- Wyzowl: Wyzowl specializes in animated explainer videos and is one of the more prolific agencies in the explainer video category, frequently serving tech and SaaS clients similar to Poley's DevRel segment.
- Lemonlight: Lemonlight is a video production company offering custom video content services across explainers, branded content, and educational videos for businesses — directly comparable in service offering and customer base to Poley.
- Groove Jones: Groove Jones is a creative technology studio producing branded content, explainers, and immersive experiences for tech enterprises, with comparable client caliber and storytelling-driven video production.
- Explainify: Explainify produces animated and live-action explainer videos for B2B tech companies, focusing on complex product storytelling — overlapping directly with Poley's explainer and educational course service line.
- Radley Studios: Radley Studios produces documentary-style branded video content and founder stories for technology companies, overlapping directly with Poley's interview and branded-docs service line.
- Sandwich Video: Sandwich Video is a production studio producing branded and explainer video content for major tech and SaaS companies, serving a similar enterprise DevRel-adjacent buyer base with comparable creative positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Ueno: Ueno is a larger full-service creative agency working with major tech companies on branding, design, and motion content — broader portfolio but serving the same enterprise tech client base as Poley.
- Instrument: Instrument is an independent creative agency with deep motion design and content production capabilities serving enterprise tech clients, overlapping with Poley in production services but at materially larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Poley Creative social profiles
Digital presencePoley Creative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Poley Creative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Poley Creative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Poley Creative 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 Poley Creative
What does Poley Creative do?
Poley Creative is a Portland-based production and animation studio that produces video content for developer relations (DevRel) teams at technology companies. The studio delivers three service lines — interview-driven branded documentaries, animated technical explainer videos, and multi-episode educational course series — covering scripting, on-location production, motion design, and curriculum design for enterprise clients.
Is Poley Creative a public or private company?
Poley Creative is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Poley Creative founded?
Poley Creative was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Poley Creative based?
Poley Creative is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Poley Creative make money?
One revenue line is on record: video Production Services.
Who are Poley Creative's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Demo Duck, Kasra Design, Wyzowl, Lemonlight, Groove Jones, Explainify, Radley Studios and Sandwich Video. Broad incumbents are Ueno and Instrument.
Does Poley Creative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Poley Creative.
What industry is Poley Creative in?
Poley Creative's product category is Video Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAHAD, Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production), with a secondary code of EDAFAHAB, Instructional Design & Storyboarding Platforms. Its NAICS code is 512110 and its SIC code is 7812.