Visceral

What Visceral does

Visceral is a privately held creative agency founded in May 2006 that builds brands and websites exclusively for mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits, philanthropies, research institutions, and policy think tanks. Operating from San Diego, California as an LLC with an intentionally small team of approximately nine people, the company is co-led by Creative Director and co-founder Matthew Billingsley and CEO and co-founder Jay Buys, with Allen Hopper serving as Chief Creative Officer. The agency's customer base includes marquee organizations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the Kresge Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, McKnight Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Network, Bipartisan Policy Center, Energy Innovation, and Schmidt Science Fellows. Visceral became a Certified B Corporation in April 2016 and has operated as a values-aligned firm since, walking away from more lucrative commercial engagements to focus exclusively on purpose-driven work.

The company's core technology stack is built on WordPress CMS, with custom theme development, PHP, JavaScript, and SSL security protocols, supplemented by integrations with UserWay (accessibility), Patchstack and Solid Security Pro (security/WAF), GiveWP (donations), and Salesforce (CRM). Its primary productized offering is Grant Directory Pro, a WordPress plugin launched in 2023 that enables foundations to publish searchable, visualized grant directories on their websites, sold on a $3,600/year subscription plus $8,000-$15,000 configuration fees. Service offerings span brand identity development (logos, design systems, verbal identities), full-cycle website design and development, UI/UX design, WordPress development, and accessibility implementation, with project fees typically ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 and 6-9 month timelines. The firm layers on monthly support and success plan agreements for ongoing maintenance, security patches, and strategy consultations.

Visceral's go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, using direct client consultations, free 30-minute discovery calls, RFP responses, and conference presence (ComNet, Engage for Good, AMA, RenderATL, Figma Config, B Corp Champion Retreat, Business for Good Summit) to reach foundations and nonprofits. The firm distributes no third-party channels and operates exclusively in the United States. Revenue is generated through one-time project fees (the dominant stream), recurring Grant Directory Pro subscriptions, and ongoing support retainers. The company is bootstrapped with no venture or private equity investment, implements a profit-sharing model that distributes 55% of annual profits to the team based on tenure and seniority, and reinvests the remaining 45% into operations, signaling a stable, mature, values-led boutique rather than a venture-scale agency.

Name

Visceral

Legal name

Visceral, LLC

Website

https://thisisvisceral.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Visceral is a San Diego-based creative agency that designs brands and websites exclusively for mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits, philanthropies, and research institutions, and sells the Grant Directory Pro WordPress plugin to foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Website Design & Development: Large-scale custom website projects typically ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, including content strategy, UI/UX design, development, and CMS implementation
2. Brand Identity Services: Brand identity development including logos, design systems, verbal identities, and brand positioning for mission-driven organizations
3. Grant Directory Pro Licensing: Annual licensing model for the Grant Directory Pro WordPress plugin with configuration/customization fees and ongoing support
4. Ongoing Support & Success Plans: Monthly support agreements covering site maintenance, security patches, strategy consultations, and feature additions for existing clients

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Visceral is a multi-disciplinary creative agency that creates brand identities and websites for mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits, philanthropies, foundations, and research institutions. Their services span brand strategy, UI/UX design, custom WordPress development, and accessibility implementation, with website projects typically ranging from $100,000 to $300,000. They also develop and license Grant Directory Pro, a proprietary WordPress plugin that enables foundations to publish searchable, visualized grantmaking directories on their websites.

Product overview

Visceral is a multi-disciplinary creative agency that provides brand and website services for mission-driven organizations. The core product is Grant Directory Pro, a WordPress plugin that enables foundations to publish searchable grant directories with visualization capabilities. Service offerings include brand identity development, website design and development (with WordPress specialization), UI/UX design, and accessibility services. The portfolio centers on purpose-driven organizations including nonprofits, philanthropies, and research institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Website Design & Development Services Full-service website design and development including content strategy, information architecture, UI/UX design, WordPress development, accessibility implementation, SEO optimization, and security hardening, delivered primarily to nonprofits, foundations, and research institutions on projects typically valued at $100,000 to $300,000.
• Brand Identities Brand identity services including logos, design systems, verbal identities, and brand positioning to help mission-driven organizations find their voice and build cohesive brands.
• UI/UX Design User interface and user experience design services for web applications, data visualization, and design systems tailored to mission-driven clients and their audiences.
• WordPress Development Custom WordPress theme development with CRM integrations, documentation, training, and responsive SEO-friendly implementation on the WordPress CMS.
• Accessibility Services Website accessibility implementation ensuring compliance with accessibility guidelines and best practices, leveraging tools such as UserWay for enhanced accessibility features on client websites.
• Grant Directory Pro A proprietary WordPress plugin that helps foundations create searchable directories of grants on their websites, featuring customizable search and filtering, data visualizations, charts, graphs, and interactive maps, plus CRM and data sync integrations. Available via annual license ($3,600/year), configuration/customization fees ($8,000-$15,000), and a free 30-minute consultation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Projects typically completed within 6-9 month timelines
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Business For Good San DiegocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal advocacy organization of values-driven businesses working to strengthen San Diego through equitable, inclusive, and sustainable policies. Visceral actively participates in advocacy efforts and community events.
• WordPresscoreTechnology or IntegrationCore platform partnership. WordPress is the world's most popular CMS (over 60% market share), which Visceral has used exclusively for over a decade to build custom themes and power client websites.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kanopi Studios: Kanopi is a WordPress design and development agency that builds custom websites for nonprofits and mission-driven clients, directly comparable in technology stack (WordPress), service mix, and target customer.
• Mission Minded: Mission Minded is a strategy, branding, and design firm built specifically for nonprofits, foundations, and advocacy groups, making it a direct peer in purpose-driven brand identity and website services.
• Whole Whale: Whole Whale is a digital agency that builds websites, runs marketing, and develops data tools exclusively for nonprofits, closely mirroring Visceral's combination of mission-driven web design and a productized offering (Grant Directory Pro).
• New Breed Marketing: New Breed is a B2B revenue and digital marketing agency that serves mission-driven and complex organizations, overlapping with Visceral's brand, web, and demand-generation services for institutional clients.
• Cornershop Creative: Cornershop Creative is a small, values-driven design agency that builds brands and websites for nonprofits and social enterprises, comparable to Visceral in size, mission focus, and service mix.
• Blue State: Blue State is a digital agency that works with nonprofits, advocacy groups, and foundations on brand, fundraising, and digital strategy, operating in the same mission-driven vertical as Visceral at a larger scale.
• Big Duck: Big Duck is a branding and marketing communications agency that specializes exclusively in nonprofit and cause-based organizations, directly comparable to Visceral's mission-driven focus on brand and website work for nonprofits and foundations.
• Bluespire Marketing: Bluespire is a marketing agency that serves nonprofits, associations, and mission-driven organizations across fundraising, branding, and digital channels — overlapping directly with Visceral's nonprofit and foundation customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• WP Engine: WP Engine is a leading managed WordPress hosting platform that also offers agency and ecosystem tools; as a broad incumbent in the WordPress ecosystem, it influences pricing and capability baselines for WordPress-only agencies like Visceral.

Emerging players

• Elementor: Elementor is a WordPress site builder platform that has enabled in-house teams at nonprofits to build their own sites, representing an emerging competitive threat to agencies like Visceral that rely on custom WordPress development for mission-driven clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visceral-llc
• Instagraminstagram.com/thisisvisceral
• Xx.com/thisisvisceral
• Facebookfacebook.com/thisisvisceral

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Visceral