Creative Business

What Creative Business does

Creative Business Inc (CBI), founded in 2005 by Jeanne Hardy and headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, is a privately held, founder-owned boutique financial advisory and bookkeeping firm purpose-built for creative-economy businesses. The firm serves clients across fine art, design, fashion, architecture, retail, and media — verticals with project-based revenue, seasonal cash flows, and complex sales tax and inventory considerations that generalist advisors often misread. CBI positions itself as a fractional CFO and back-office partner to creative founders rather than as a software vendor.

The firm's offering is organized around three integrated service lines delivered by a team of roughly ten professionals: Advisory and Fractional CFO Services (cash flow forecasting, profitability insights, growth planning, fractional CFO retainers); Core Financial Management (bookkeeping, accounts payable, sales tax compliance); and Operational Infrastructure (HR compliance, technology assessments, payroll, benefits administration, hiring support, and automation implementation). Engagements are bespoke and multi-year, with no tiered pricing published and no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-led and customized per client. Distribution is exclusively direct, driven by referral, content marketing (a monthly newsletter titled 'The sum of i+'), the founder's Forbes and trade-press profile, and discovery-call intake through the company website. The firm maintains a referral-adjacent relationship with workflow software vendor Levvy and participates in industry conferences such as the 'Bridging the Gap' event in Chicago. CBI does not have app store products, public APIs, or third-party integrations, and revenue, headcount, and ownership are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Creative Business

Legal name

CBI Inc.

Website

https://creativebusinessinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Creative Business Inc is a Brooklyn-based, founder-owned financial advisory and bookkeeping firm serving creative-economy clients across fine art, design, fashion, architecture, retail, and media with bespoke fractional CFO, bookkeeping, and operational infrastructure services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory & Fractional CFO Services: Strategic partnership services providing high-level financial guidance, cash flow forecasting, profitability insights, and growth planning for creative businesses.
2. Core Financial Management: Comprehensive bookkeeping services covering accounts payable, sales tax compliance, and day-to-day financial operations management.
3. Operational Infrastructure: HR compliance, technology assessments, back office support, payroll, benefits administration, smart hiring strategies, and automation services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Creative Business Inc (CBI) provides high-touch financial advisory, bookkeeping, and operational infrastructure services to creative businesses. Its offerings span strategic fractional CFO partnerships (cash flow forecasting, profitability analysis, growth planning), core financial management (accounts payable, sales tax compliance), and back-office support (HR compliance, technology assessments, payroll, benefits administration, hiring, and automation).

Product overview

Creative Business Inc (CBI) is a financial advisory services firm, not a software product company. CBI offers a unified suite of advisory and back-office services organized around three interconnected service lines: (1) Advisory & Fractional CFO Services providing strategic partnership and high-level financial guidance; (2) Core Financial Management covering bookkeeping, accounts payable, and tax compliance; and (3) Operational Infrastructure supporting HR, technology, and back-office functions. These services are delivered through a team-based model with named roles (Fractional CFO, Senior Accounting Manager, Practice Manager) and are targeted exclusively at creative industries including fine arts, design, fashion, architecture, retail, and media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory & Fractional CFO Services
• Core Financial Management
• Operational Infrastructure

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients achieve healthy profit margins and usable financial tools for project planning
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LevvyminorOthersLevvy is a workflow management solution mentioned in CBI's content about addressing tech overload and digital frustration in the workplace. Referenced in articles about AI/automation transition and workflow management. CBI appears to be an advocate or referral partner for Levvy rather than a formal strategic alliance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Pilot: Pilot provides bookkeeping, CFO advisory, and back-office financial services to small and mid-sized businesses. It directly competes with CBI's combined bookkeeping + fractional CFO offering, though Pilot targets a broader set of SMB verticals rather than specializing in creative industries.
• Bench: Bench is an online bookkeeping and financial-reporting service pairing dedicated bookkeepers with software for small businesses. Like CBI, it sells outsourced bookkeeping plus add-on advisory, but delivers via a tech-enabled, lower-touch model rather than high-touch boutique consulting.
• Found: Found offers bookkeeping, tax, and business banking built for self-employed workers and small business owners — a segment that overlaps heavily with creative founders and freelancers who would otherwise be CBI prospects. It is a direct competitor at the small-creative-operator tier.
• 1-800Accountant: 1-800Accountant provides virtual accounting, bookkeeping, tax, and advisory services to small businesses and entrepreneurs across the U.S. It is a comparable outsourced accounting and advisory firm, though positioned as a more generalist, scaled provider than CBI's creative-specialized boutique.
• Burkland Associates: Burkland is a fractional CFO, accounting, and HR services firm for venture-backed startups and growth-stage companies. It overlaps with CBI's Advisory & Fractional CFO and Operational Infrastructure service lines, though Burkland targets tech startups rather than creative businesses.
• Belay Solutions: Belay provides outsourced bookkeeping, CFO advisory, and operational support to small businesses and nonprofits. It is a comparable outsourced finance-and-ops boutique offering similar high-touch, multi-year engagements as CBI.

Broad incumbents

• QuickBooks Live: QuickBooks Live is Intuit's bundled bookkeeping service pairing small-business customers with virtual bookkeepers. It competes with CBI's Core Financial Management service line as a scaled, technology-led incumbent covering all SMB verticals.
• Xero: Xero is a cloud accounting platform serving small businesses and their accountants/bookkeepers globally. It overlaps with CBI's bookkeeping stack as the underlying technology layer and competes indirectly through its advisor directory.
• BDO USA: BDO is a global accounting and advisory firm with industry-specific practices including media, entertainment, and creative services. It overlaps with CBI's fractional CFO and advisory work as a much larger incumbent serving similar creative-industry verticals.

Emerging players

• Brex: Brex is a corporate card and spend-management platform increasingly bundling bill pay, bookkeeping, and CFO-style reporting for startups and SMBs. It represents the emerging fintech-plus-advisory category that could encroach on CBI's bookkeeping and operational infrastructure layer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creative-business-inc/jobs
• Facebookfacebook.com/creativebusinessinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Creative Business