Hearken
Hearken is a Chicago-based social impact consultancy, founded in 2015 and acquired by Indiegraf in March 2026, that provides audience engagement SaaS (EMS), community management software (Switchboard/CMS), consulting, and workshops to newsrooms, universities, government agencies, and nonprofits globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Hearken does
Hearken is a Chicago-based social impact consultancy founded in 2015 by Jennifer Brandel that provides audience and community engagement technology and services to newsrooms, higher education institutions, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. The company's core technology consists of two SaaS platforms: the Engagement Management System (EMS), which enables organizations to solicit, vote on, and respond to audience questions to inform editorial and operational decisions, and the Community Management System (CMS), branded as Switchboard, which allows community members to ask for and offer resources in a trusted environment. Both products are complemented by consulting engagements and a catalog of engagement workshops covering strategy, metrics, workflows, and revenue translation. The platform is augmented by machine learning-enabled natural language processing, developed under a Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge grant, which classifies engagement data to surface hidden information needs.
Hearken's business model combines subscription-based platform licensing (quote-based, annually billed, dependent on organizational scope) with professional services revenue from consulting engagements and workshops. The company has historically avoided venture capital, funding operations through angel and strategic investors (approximately $750K raised across 2015 rounds), customer revenue, and philanthropic grants routed through fiscal sponsors such as the American Press Institute. Adjacent initiatives including Election SOS, The Citizens Agenda, Democracy SOS, and the Democracy Toolkit (many partnered with Trusting News, Solutions Journalism Network, and the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University) function as community-building and brand-marketing activities that feed the core sales funnel. The company operates with a globally distributed small team across Chicago, Denver, Portland, Copenhagen, and Odense, and was acquired by Indiegraf in March 2026 with its tools being integrated into Indiegraf's operating system for independent local media.
Hearken firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hearken
- Legal name
- Hearken Inc.
- Website
- https://wearehearken.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hearken is a Chicago-based social impact consultancy, founded in 2015 and acquired by Indiegraf in March 2026, that provides audience engagement SaaS (EMS), community management software (Switchboard/CMS), consulting, and workshops to newsrooms, universities, government agencies, and nonprofits globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hearken industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Audience Engagement Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Audio & Live Community Platforms (BPAMABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ), Live Audio Q&A, Coaching & Mentorship Platforms (MPACAEAI)
Keywords
Where Hearken is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Hearken business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Technology Platform Licensing: Hearken generates revenue through licensing their Engagement Management System (EMS) and Community Management System (Switchboard) platforms to newsrooms, universities, government agencies, and businesses. Pricing is quote-based and dependent on scope of work and organizational experience with engagement.
- Consulting Services: Hearken provides consulting engagements that help organizations build engagement capabilities through their flexible methodology. Consulting engagements are customized to client needs and form a significant part of their revenue.
- Training Workshops: Hearken offers engagement workshops ranging from 90 minutes to 2 hours, available virtually or in-person. Workshops cover topics including Defining Engagement, Benefits of Engagement, Engagement Metrics, and Translating Engagement Into Revenue.
- Philanthropic Support: Hearken attracts philanthropic funding for special initiatives like Democracy SOS, Election SOS, and the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge. They operate some initiatives through fiscal sponsors like American Press Institute and Contina Impact.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise pricing based on organizational scope and needs |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Hearken product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hearken fundamentally sells two SaaS platforms—an Engagement Management System (EMS) that lets newsrooms and organizations solicit questions and votes from the public to shape editorial coverage, and a Community Management System branded as Switchboard that enables individuals to ask for and offer help within a trusted community environment. These platforms are bundled with consulting engagements and engagement workshops sold to newsrooms, universities, government agencies, and nonprofits.
Product overview
Hearken is a social impact consultancy offering a unified suite of technology, training, and consulting services centered on audience and community engagement. The core product portfolio consists of two technology platforms: the Engagement Management System (EMS) for newsrooms to collect and respond to audience questions, and the Community Management System (CMS), branded as Switchboard, for broader community resource sharing and mutual aid. These platforms are complemented by engagement workshops (covering strategy, metrics, workflows, and revenue), consulting services (spanning media/journalism, higher education, and civic engagement), and specialized initiatives including Election SOS, The Citizens Agenda, and the Hearkening newsletter. Hearken was founded in 2015 and acquired by Indiegraf in March 2026.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Engagement Management System (EMS): Platform enabling audiences to submit questions and vote on stories shaping coverage for newsrooms and organizations
- Switchboard
- The Citizens Agenda
- Democracy SOS
- Election SOS
- Champions of Curiosity Awards
- Democracy Toolkit
- Advancing Democracy Fellowship
Products and services
- Engagement Management System (EMS) A SaaS platform that enables newsrooms and other organizations to solicit questions and input from the public so they can create more relevant, representative, and original content. Audiences submit questions and vote on stories that shape editorial coverage.
- Community Management System (CMS) / Switchboard A community management platform that allows individuals to ask for what they need and offer what they have in a safe and trusted environment, enabling mutual aid and resource sharing within communities.
- Consulting Services Flexible consulting engagements that meet organizations where they are to build engagement capabilities, spanning media and journalism (public-powered newsrooms), higher education (student and alumni engagement), and public government and civic engagement.
- Engagement Workshops Interactive training sessions of 90 minutes to 2 hours covering engagement strategy, metrics, workflows, audience expansion, and translating engagement into revenue; available virtually or in-person.
Quantifiable outcome
- KXLY-TV achieved first-ever year-long sponsorship through engagement journalism
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Hearken
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hearken technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Hearken partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IndiegrafcoreIndiegraf acquired Hearken in March 2026, integrating Hearken's tools into Indiegraf's operating system for independent local media. Hearken's Director Bridget Thoreson joined as Indiegraf's Director of Local Media Partnerships. The deal combines two organizations focused on strengthening independent local journalism through audience engagement and revenue diversification.
- Zebra UnitecoreHearken is a founding member of Zebra Unite, a global movement for purpose-driven companies that believe mission and money can align. Co-founded by Hearken co-founders Mara Zepeda and Jennifer Brandel. The movement represents 'zebra' companies that are both for-profit and for-purpose.
- American Press InstituteminorAmerican Press Institute serves as fiscal sponsor for Election SOS initiative. Election SOS is managed by Hearken and fiscally sponsored through American Press Institute.
- Trusting NewscoreTrusting News is a key partner in Democracy SOS and Citizens Agenda initiatives. Co-created The Citizens Agenda guide with Trusting News and The Membership Puzzle Project. Election SOS was created with support from Trusting News with lead funding from Democracy Fund.
- Solutions Journalism NetworkcoreSolutions Journalism Network is a partner in the Advancing Democracy fellowship program, which supports reporters and editors in strengthening democracy through innovative news coverage.
- Good ConflictcoreGood Conflict is a partner in the Advancing Democracy fellowship program, contributing training in engaged elections and conflict resolution approaches.
- Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard UniversitycorePartnership to create the Democracy Toolkit, a reference guide for understanding threats to democracy and connecting journalists to pro-democracy resources. The annual Democracy Summit includes historians, authors, journalists, and democracy experts.
- Center for Cooperative MediacoreCenter for Cooperative Media is a partner in Democracy SOS, a collaborative hub for journalists advancing democracy through their coverage.
- Jay RosenminorNYU Professor and influential journalism professor co-created The Citizens Agenda approach with Hearken - a model for election coverage that puts people at the center.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hearken competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Indiegraf: Operating system for independent local news publishers; now Hearken's parent company following the March 2026 acquisition. Directly comparable in mission, customer base (independent local media), and SaaS-plus-services model.
- Viafoura: Audience engagement and content monetization platform for digital publishers offering registration, commenting, and community tools. Closest direct functional competitor to Hearken's EMS in the newsroom segment.
- Newspack (by Automattic): WordPress-based publishing platform built with the Google News Initiative specifically for small and mid-size newsrooms. Competes for the same small-to-mid-market newsroom technology budget as Hearken.
- Subtext: SMS-first audience engagement platform for newsrooms and broadcasters, enabling direct conversations with audiences. Highly comparable in the newsroom engagement use case and target buyer.
- Press Patron: Reader-revenue and audience support platform for independent journalism, often bundled with engagement and community features. Comparable in mission and small-newsroom target market.
Broad incumbents
- Piano: Broad commercialization and engagement platform for publishers offering paywalls, registration, and audience analytics. Larger incumbent serving similar customers with a wider portfolio of overlapping capabilities.
- Chartbeat: Real-time content analytics and audience engagement insights for digital publishers. Larger incumbent that increasingly overlaps with Hearken's measurement and audience-understanding value proposition.
- Parse.ly: Content analytics and audience engagement platform for digital publishers, owned by Automattic. Adjacent in serving the same newsroom buyer with overlapping engagement analytics capabilities.
Emerging players
- Substack: Newsletter-publishing platform that has built audience engagement directly into the publishing workflow, increasingly competing for the same independent writer and small-publication audience.
- Ghost: Open-source publishing platform powering independent newsletters and publications, often used by mission-driven media organizations similar to Hearken's customer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Hearken social profiles
Digital presenceHearken financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hearken leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Hearken funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hearken M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hearken
What does Hearken do?
Hearken fundamentally sells two SaaS platforms—an Engagement Management System (EMS) that lets newsrooms and organizations solicit questions and votes from the public to shape editorial coverage, and a Community Management System branded as Switchboard that enables individuals to ask for and offer help within a trusted community environment. These platforms are bundled with consulting engagements and engagement workshops sold to newsrooms, universities, government agencies, and nonprofits.
Is Hearken a public or private company?
Hearken is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Hearken founded?
Hearken was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hearken based?
Hearken is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hearken make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Technology Platform Licensing is the primary driver. The others are consulting Services, training Workshops and philanthropic Support.
Who are Hearken's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Indiegraf, Viafoura, Newspack (by Automattic), Subtext and Press Patron. Broad incumbents are Piano, Chartbeat and Parse.ly. Emerging players are Substack and Ghost.
Does Hearken have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hearken.
What industry is Hearken in?
Hearken's product category is Audience Engagement Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMABAH, Social Audio & Live Community Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAJADAJ, Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.