What Pilothouse Digital does

Pilothouse Digital is a privately held, full-funnel DTC performance marketing agency founded in 2019 and headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. The firm serves established direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands generating $10M-$50M+ in annual sales, providing integrated services across paid media (Meta, Google, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon), in-house creative production, email/SMS retention, and conversion rate optimization. Pilothouse also services enterprise brand divisions including Unilever, L'Oréal, General Mills, Kellogg's, and Therabody, and reports $1B+ in attributable client revenue across 500+ brand engagements with a team of ~100-200 specialists.

The company's underlying technology stack combines its proprietary Warpdrive platform for cross-channel campaign oversight and optimization with certified integrations across Meta Business Partner, Premier Google Partner, Amazon Ads Partner, Amazon Buy with Prime, Klaviyo Platinum, Triple Whale, and Rebuy ecosystems. The in-house creative studio produces 5,000+ creative assets monthly across video, image, and text formats. Strategic frameworks such as the Coherent Growth System, Platform Intent Matrix, Five-Message Framework, Triangle Framework, and Three-Part Feedback Loop codify Pilothouse's methodology as packaged intellectual property used in client engagements and content marketing.

Pilothouse operates a hybrid revenue model of monthly retainers combined with performance-based incentives and custom project scopes, sold through a fully direct sales motion with no self-serve product. Distribution is concentrated in North America with a claimed global footprint, and demand generation runs through the All Killer No Filler DTC Podcast, DTC Newsletter, case studies, and a downloadable Growth System Playbook. The company remains founder-led — David Steele (Co-Founder & CEO), Kyle Hitchcox (Founding Partner), Jeffrey Shannon (Co-Founder), and Andrew Stern (COO & Partner) — privately held with no disclosed external institutional investors or parent company, and is actively hiring across performance, creative, and retention functions.

Name

Pilothouse Digital

Legal name

Pilothouse Digital Ltd.

Website

https://pilothouse.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Pilothouse Digital is a full-funnel DTC performance marketing agency founded in 2019 in Victoria, BC, serving established ecommerce brands at $10M-$50M+ annual sales with integrated paid media, in-house creative, retention marketing, and proprietary Warpdrive optimization technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Monthly Retainers: Core pricing model combining monthly retainers with performance-based incentives and custom project scopes to align with different growth stages. Every engagement begins with an exploratory call to define fit, expectations, and structure.
2. Performance-Based Incentives: Performance-based incentives tied to client outcomes, aligned with different growth stages and business goals
3. Custom Project Scopes: Custom project scopes available for specific engagements beyond ongoing retainer arrangements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Pilothouse Digital is a full-funnel DTC performance marketing agency providing integrated paid media management (Meta, Google, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon), in-house creative production, email/SMS retention marketing, and conversion rate optimization services. They operate as a growth partner for established DTC ecommerce brands generating $10M-$50M+ in annual sales, combining strategy, media buying, creative, and data under one roof with a proprietary Warpdrive technology platform powering campaign oversight.

Product overview

Pilothouse Digital is a full-funnel DTC performance marketing agency that operates as a unified platform combining paid media, creative production, and retention services. The core offering consists of Strategy Services (aligning media, creative, and data), Meta/Google/TikTok/YouTube/Amazon Advertising channels (performance media buying), Email & Retention (lifecycle marketing via Klaviyo), Conversion Rate Optimization, and an in-house Studios/Creative Production team. Supporting capabilities include Snapchat Ads, Pinterest Ads, and SMS Marketing as add-on channels. The proprietary Warpdrive technology platform powers campaign oversight and optimization. All services are integrated under one roof, with strategy informing creative, creative informing media buying, and media performance feeding insights back into strategy iteration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Services

Named customers68 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability8 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KlaviyocoreTechnology or IntegrationKlaviyo partner for email and SMS lifecycle marketing. Pilothouse manages email and SMS campaigns, flows, list management, and deliverability as part of their retention services. Platinum tier partner status.
• Amazon Buy with PrimecoreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon Buy with Prime agency partner, enabling Pilothouse to integrate Buy with Prime into brands' full-funnel Amazon strategy alongside Sponsored Products, DSP, and AMC.
• Meta (Facebook & Instagram)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMeta Business Partner with certified expertise in Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram). In-house media buyers with deep specialization in Meta advertising across prospecting, retargeting, and full-funnel campaigns.
• GooglecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPremier Google Partner with certified expertise across Google Ads (Search, Shopping, YouTube, Performance Max). Deep specialization in Google advertising channels.
• Amazon AdscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon Ads Partner with certified expertise in Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, Amazon DSP, and AMC. Operates as an Amazon ads partner focused on systems-based approach.
• TikTokcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDedicated TikTok team with UGC and creator-native creative formats. In-house creative production for TikTok-specific content including short-form video ads.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• NP Digital: Performance marketing agency founded by Neil Patel providing SEO, paid media, and content marketing for mid-market and enterprise brands. Comparable on full-funnel paid media services and platform-partnership credentials, though broader in vertical scope.
• Foundation: DTC growth agency with strong Amazon advertising specialization, serving emerging and mid-market ecommerce brands. Comparable to Pilothouse on DTC focus, Amazon Ads Partner status, and integrated paid-media-plus-creative offering.
• Hawke Media: US-based DTC and ecommerce performance marketing agency offering paid media, email marketing, and creative services to mid-market and growth-stage brands. Closely comparable to Pilothouse in target customer (DTC ecommerce brands at $10M–$100M+), service mix (Meta/Google/Amazon), and agency-of-record positioning.
• Common Thread Collective: DTC growth agency providing paid media, creative, and lifecycle marketing for direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands. Directly comparable on target segment (mid-market DTC), channel mix (Meta, Google, Amazon, Klaviyo), and full-funnel positioning.
• Power Digital Marketing: Performance and brand marketing agency serving mid-market and enterprise consumer brands with paid media, creative, and analytics. Comparable on full-funnel integrated service model and ability to serve enterprise CPG/DTC clients.
• Disruptive Advertising: Digital marketing agency providing paid media, SEO, and lifecycle marketing primarily to ecommerce and SaaS brands. Comparable on Meta/Google buying depth and mid-market ecommerce focus, though with a stronger SaaS overlap.
• Avenue Z: Integrated performance marketing and PR agency specializing in DTC and ecommerce brands across paid media, creative, and influencer marketing. Comparable on DTC focus, omnichannel paid buying (Meta/Google/TikTok/Amazon), and creative-led positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Wpromote: Large independent digital marketing agency serving mid-market and enterprise clients across paid media, SEO, and creative. Comparable on digital media buying capabilities and Premier Google Partner status, but broader in vertical scope beyond DTC.
• Tinuiti: Large independent performance marketing agency (acquired by Deloitte) operating across Amazon, paid social, search, and lifecycle for enterprise consumer brands. Comparable on channel mix and enterprise DTC positioning, but materially larger and broader in vertical scope.

Emerging players

• Triple Whale: DTC-focused analytics and attribution platform that has expanded into agency-style managed services for Shopify brands. Comparable on DTC focus and ecommerce performance orientation, though primarily a SaaS/analytics competitor rather than a full-service agency peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pilothouse_team
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@pilothousedigital
• Facebookfacebook.com/agency.pilothouse
• LinkedInca.linkedin.com/company/pilothouse-digital
• Instagraminstagram.com/pilothousedigital
• TikToktiktok.com/@pilothousedigital

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Pilothouse Digital