CultureMap

What CultureMap does

CultureMap is a privately held regional digital lifestyle media company founded in 2009 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, with editorial operations across five major Texas metropolitan areas: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Each market operates as a distinct subdomain under culturemap.com, producing daily local content spanning restaurants and bars, entertainment, real estate, travel, arts, society, fashion, beauty, innovation, sports, and city life. The platform reaches more than 3 million users per month through its websites, email newsletters, and social media channels, and is operated by an organization of approximately 51-100 employees under the legal entity CultureMap LLC, a Texas-domiciled LLC.

The underlying technology is a standard web content management system with city-specific subdomain architecture; no proprietary technology, APIs, mobile applications, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The company distributes editorial content across 13+ vertical categories per market and offers a recurring email newsletter product ('CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME'), branded sponsored-content series, events listings with community submission functionality, and a charity guide section with sub-categories covering nonprofit and community verticals.

CultureMap's revenue model is advertising-based, with two primary streams: (1) digital banner and display advertising sold directly to local SMBs and national advertisers targeting Texas markets, and (2) sponsored content and branded editorial series where businesses pay for promotional articles clearly labeled as promoted or sponsored. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; billing is on a monthly cadence. The company serves as a direct-to-consumer publisher with no documented enterprise SaaS or subscription offering; content is free to consumers, and monetization flows entirely from advertiser relationships. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Robert Bennett, with co-founders Dak Rasheta and Peter Dirlis, and a sales/partnerships director, Lindsay Harvel. Total disclosed equity funding since founding is approximately $1.44M across four rounds between 2013 and 2015, with no subsequent disclosed capital raises.

Name

CultureMap

Legal name

CultureMap LLC

Website

https://culturemap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CultureMap is a privately held Texas-based digital lifestyle media brand publishing city-specific local news, dining, entertainment, and real estate coverage across five Texas metros (Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio), reaching 3M+ monthly users and monetizing through display advertising and sponsored editorial content sold to local SMBs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Lifestyle Media

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)

Keywords

• Digital lifestyle media
• Local news publishing
• City-specific editorial
• Sponsored content series
• Regional advertising network

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: Banner and display advertising on the website and city-specific pages, sold directly to local businesses and national advertisers targeting Texas markets.
2. Sponsored Content and Series: Branded content series and promotional articles (labeled as 'promoted' or within sponsored sections) where businesses pay for editorial-style coverage. Examples include sponsored series from restaurants, real estate companies, and local businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CultureMap operates a network of city-specific digital lifestyle news websites covering five Texas metros (Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio), publishing daily editorial content on restaurants, bars, entertainment, real estate, city life, travel, arts, society, fashion, beauty, innovation, and sports. The platform is free to consumers, with revenue generated from display advertising and paid sponsored content/branded editorial series sold to local businesses and national advertisers.

Product overview

CultureMap operates as a regional lifestyle news media platform with city-specific websites for five major Texas markets (Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio). The company produces local lifestyle content including restaurant and bar coverage, entertainment news, real estate reporting, city life features, and events listings. Email newsletter subscriptions are offered as a complementary channel for delivering content to readers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CultureMap Regional News Websites A network of city-specific lifestyle news websites covering Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas, with daily editorial on restaurants, bars, entertainment, real estate, city life, travel, arts, society, fashion, beauty, innovation, and sports for urban and suburban readers.
• CultureMap Email Newsletter Free daily opt-in email newsletter delivering curated local lifestyle intel for individual city markets, used to retain CultureMap readers and support advertiser reach.
• Sponsored Content and Branded Series Paid branded editorial content series published within CultureMap's city editions (labeled 'promoted' or under sponsored sections) for local businesses such as restaurants, real estate firms, and visitor bureaus seeking editorial-style coverage.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Axios: Axios operates a national network of city-specific local newsletters and digital editions covering news, business, and lifestyle, with a direct overlap in city-level local digital media targeting advertisers and consumers.
• Thrillist: Thrillist is a digital lifestyle media brand covering dining, travel, and entertainment for urban consumers, with a comparable audience profile and ad-supported content business model.
• 6am City: 6am City produces daily email-first local newsletters across multiple U.S. metros, monetizing through local advertising and sponsored content — a near-direct business model parallel to CultureMap's newsletter and city-edition approach.
• Patch.com: Patch is one of the largest hyperlocal digital news networks in the U.S., monetizing through local advertising and sponsored content on city- and neighborhood-level editions, directly comparable to CultureMap's model.
• The Infatuation: The Infatuation operates a city-focused restaurant and lifestyle content platform with strong direct-to-consumer brand presence, sharing CultureMap's dining-first editorial focus and city-by-city approach.
• Eater: Eater operates city-specific dining and restaurant coverage sites across major U.S. markets, sharing CultureMap's mix of restaurant reviews, openings, and city-lifestyle coverage as well as display advertising monetization.

Broad incumbents

• Zagat: Zagat is an established city-based restaurant and lifestyle guide brand (now part of The Infatuation/Google), covering dining and culture across major U.S. cities with comparable content verticals to CultureMap's restaurants/bars coverage.

Regional players

• D Magazine: D Magazine is a long-standing Dallas-focused regional lifestyle and city magazine with a digital edition, directly overlapping CultureMap's Dallas coverage and competing for the same Dallas SMB advertisers.
• Paper City Magazine: Paper City is a regional lifestyle magazine covering Houston and Dallas with fashion, dining, and society content, competing with CultureMap for affluent Texas readers and luxury/lifestyle advertisers in those metros.

Emerging players

• Localeur: Localeur is a city-by-city local guide platform for travelers and residents, focused on local business discovery, making it comparable as a smaller, narrower-scope player in the city lifestyle content category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/culturemap
• Facebookfacebook.com/culturemap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culturemap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CultureMap