What Lightboard does

Lightboard, Inc. is a Seattle-based, Delaware-incorporated B2B marketing design service operating as a managed, on-demand design team for sales and marketing departments. Founded in 2015, the company combines a curated network of U.S.-based designers (described as an applicant pool with a sub-3% acceptance rate) with dedicated account managers and a proprietary web-based collaboration platform (app.lightboard.io) that handles project intake, real-time status visibility, brand-guidelines management, asset storage, and team review/approval.

The service catalog spans 13 product modules: presentations, documents/case studies/PDFs, display ads, social media ads, websites/landing pages, illustration, custom projects, email templates, infographics, branding, motion graphics, and conference collateral. Deliverables are output to be compatible with major marketing technology stacks (MailChimp, HubSpot, Marketo, WordPress, SquareSpace, Instapage, Google Display Network, DoubleClick, AdRoll, with Litmus-rendered email testing). The platform is the differentiating underlay — it is positioned as a self-serve onboarding surface for any team member, with account managers layering consultative project scoping on top.

The business model is dual-track. A subscription membership product offers 25 hours per month at $3,125 (an effective $125/hour) or 75 hours per quarter at $7,500 (~$100/hour), with unused hours rolling over, larger/annual plans on request, and ACH/wire/credit-card/check accepted (work does not begin until payment is received). A per-project hourly pricing track accommodates customers with infrequent needs, with flat-rate estimates produced by the account manager before work begins. Go-to-market mixes self-serve PLG registration at app.lightboard.io with sales-led account-manager outreach for enterprise (enterprise logos include Autodesk, Nasdaq, Toyota, Tile, 1st Dibs, Glowforge, GORUCK, Techsmith, and Bloomreach). The company is privately held, has 1–10 internal employees (designers are not counted here, operating as a contracted network), and reports having completed over 11,000 projects for more than 600 teams since founding.

Name

Lightboard

Legal name

Lightboard, Inc.

Website

https://lightboard.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lightboard is an on-demand, subscription-based B2B marketing design service that pairs vetted U.S.-based designers and dedicated account managers with proprietary collaboration software, serving sales and marketing teams at hundreds of companies across multiple industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Plans (Subscription): Monthly or quarterly membership plans providing a set number of design hours. Paid in advance with unused hours rolling over on renewal. $3,125/month for 25 hours ($125/hr effective rate) or $7,500/quarter for 75 hours ($100/hr effective rate). Designed to function as a fractional or full design team replacement for marketing departments.
2. Per-Project / Hourly Pricing: Hourly pricing available for customers with infrequent design needs. Customers describe project needs and receive a flat-rate estimate from their account manager before work begins.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lightboard provides on-demand B2B marketing design services through a managed network of vetted U.S.-based designers, illustrators, animators, and developers, coordinated by dedicated account managers and delivered via a proprietary web-based collaboration platform (app.lightboard.io). Services span presentation design, document/case study layout, display ads, social media ads, websites, illustration, email templates, infographics, branding, motion graphics, and conference collateral, sold either as recurring membership subscriptions (with rollover design hours) or per-project hourly pricing.

Product overview

Lightboard is an on-demand B2B marketing design service structured as a managed design team accessible via web-based collaboration software. The core offering combines experienced designers with dedicated account managers to deliver design on-demand. The service includes Presentation Design for PowerPoint/Keynote, Document (PDF) Design for case studies and eBooks, Display Ad Design, Social Media Ads, Website/Landing Page Design, Illustration Design, Custom Design Projects, Email Template Design, Infographic Design, Branding Design, Motion Graphics Design, and Conference Design. Customers can access these services through Membership Plans (monthly or quarterly subscriptions with dedicated hours) or hourly project-based pricing. The platform includes collaboration software for project management, asset storage, and team review workflows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• On-Demand B2B Marketing Design Service Managed B2B marketing design service delivered through a team of vetted U.S.-based designers, illustrators, animators, and developers coordinated by dedicated account managers and accessible via web-based collaboration software (app.lightboard.io). Customers submit project requests online, receive flat-rate estimates, and get completed projects within business days; designed to replace or augment in-house design teams and agency engagements for B2B sales and marketing departments.
• Membership Plans (Design Subscription) Subscription-based design service with monthly (25 design hours at $3,125, effective $125/hr) and quarterly (75 design hours at $7,500, effective $100/hr) membership tiers, plus custom larger and annual plans. Includes a dedicated account manager, senior designers, unlimited revisions, unused hours rolling over on renewal, and access to the full project-type catalog. Designed to function as a fractional or full design team replacement for marketing departments.
• Per-Project / Hourly Design Service Hourly, project-based design engagement for customers with infrequent design needs. Customers describe the project, an account manager reviews the request and sends a flat-rate estimate, a designer is assigned, and the project is managed through to delivery via the collaboration platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Design starts within 1 business day of project submission
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Penji: On-demand graphic and UI design subscription service for brands and agencies, mirroring Lightboard's unlimited-request, flat-fee model with a vetted designer pool.
• Design Pickle: Subscription-based unlimited graphic design service for businesses, offering a very similar membership model with dedicated designers and account managers — the closest direct competitor to Lightboard.
• Kimp: Unlimited graphic design subscription service providing graphic, video, and motion design through a flat-fee membership, directly competing with Lightboard on pricing model and B2B positioning.
• ManyPixels: Subscription graphic design service for agencies, startups, and SMBs offering unlimited design requests with a flat monthly fee — same membership structure and customer profile as Lightboard.
• Superside: Enterprise-focused subscription design service delivering graphic, motion, and UI design through a managed team model, directly overlapping Lightboard's B2B marketing design offering at the higher end of the market.

Broad incumbents

• Upwork: Largest open freelance marketplace for design talent, providing an unmanaged alternative for buyers willing to handle their own designer vetting and project management.
• Fiverr: Mass-market freelance services marketplace with deep penetration in graphic design — a budget alternative for customers who would otherwise consider a Lightboard membership.
• Canva: Self-serve DIY design platform with brand kits, templates, and Magic Studio AI features that allow marketing teams to produce designs internally — a substitute rather than complement to Lightboard's managed service.
• 99designs: Global design marketplace connecting businesses with freelance designers via contests and direct hire — an established alternative to Lightboard's managed subscription model for customers preferring marketplace pricing.
• Toptal: Vetted freelance talent network for designers and other creatives — competing with Lightboard for customers who prefer individual freelancer engagements over a managed subscription.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lightboarding
• Facebookfacebook.com/lightboarding

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 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 Lightboard