Blackbelt Commerce
Blackbelt Commerce is a NYC-based, founder-led Shopify Plus agency that builds, migrates, and grows e-commerce stores for DTC brands doing $1M-$5M annually, with a senior team averaging 10+ years on the Shopify platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNew City, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Blackbelt Commerce does
Blackbelt Commerce is a New York-based, father-daughter-owned Shopify Plus agency founded in 2015 that builds, migrates, and grows Shopify and Shopify Plus stores for direct-to-consumer brands doing $1M-$5M in annual revenue. The firm is led by Founder and Chief Technologist Cesar Beltran — a former Time Warner Cable VP of IT with NYU graduate degrees — and Cofounder and CEO Victoria Beltran, with COO Linda Soares overseeing day-to-day operations. Across 10+ years, the agency has launched 1,500+ stores for 1,000+ merchants spanning luxury fashion (Judith Leiber), professional sports (LA Lakers Store), health products (Progurt, Silver Lining Herbs), education (Metro School Uniforms, Erica Wilson), and SMB services, with 178+ verified Shopify Partner reviews and a 5.0 Google rating.
The firm's core technology stack centers on Shopify and Shopify Plus specialization, including advanced Liquid template development, custom theme engineering, and headless commerce architecture using Hydrogen/Oxygen. Proprietary frameworks include an SEO-safe migration system with 1:1 redirect mapping that preserves organic rankings during platform transitions from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Salesforce, plus a documented conversion audit methodology benchmarking 30-day post-launch CRO. Service offerings span web design and development, theme customization, platform migration, AI-powered SEO, conversion rate optimization, branding, content creation, and digital marketing, supported by a 106+ article Shopify Insider blog and 14+ named team members across development, design, SEO, QA, project management, and client services.
The business model combines one-time fixed-price builds across three tiers — Growth ($10K-$25K), Scale ($25K-$45K), and Enterprise ($45K-$75K+) — with recurring monthly retainers ranging from $1,500 to $25,000+/month depending on scope and seniority. Distribution is founder-led with no account manager handoffs: prospects book directly with Victoria Beltran, receive a free strategy call and fixed-scope proposal within five business days, and access a free Loom-based store audit as a lower-friction entry point. 90% of new business comes from client referrals, 98% of clients renew, and the firm remains entirely bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding.
Blackbelt Commerce firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blackbelt Commerce
- Legal name
- Blackbelt Commerce
- Website
- https://blackbeltcommerce.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Blackbelt Commerce is a NYC-based, founder-led Shopify Plus agency that builds, migrates, and grows e-commerce stores for DTC brands doing $1M-$5M annually, with a senior team averaging 10+ years on the Shopify platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Blackbelt Commerce is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Blackbelt Commerce business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Fixed-Price Project Builds: One-time fixed-scope builds for new store development, redesigns, and migrations. Three tiers: Growth ($10K–$25K), Scale ($25K–$45K), Enterprise ($45K–$75K+). Fixed-price contracts with itemized deliverables — no hourly billing surprises.
- Ongoing Support Retainers: Monthly retainer clients receive dedicated senior Shopify developer, project manager, and full team access. Handles theme updates, app conflicts, speed regressions, security patches, and BFCM peak readiness. 98% client renewal rate.
- One-Time SEO Audits: One-time deep store review and conversion audit for brands evaluating their current setup.
- Shopify Plus Monthly Retainers: Post-launch optimization and ongoing development retainers. Shopify migration/build retainers range from $1,500–$3,500/month for boutique agencies to $7,500–$25,000+/month for premium enterprise agencies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Growth tier for DTC brands migrating to Shopify Plus or launching new stores |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Scale tier for high-growth brands scaling past $1M ARR |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Enterprise tier for complex tech stacks and international markets |
| Subscription | Monthly | Shopify SEO monthly programs |
| Subscription | Monthly | Agency retainers (industry benchmarks) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels11 records
Blackbelt Commerce product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blackbelt Commerce is a founder-led Shopify Plus agency that builds, migrates, and grows Shopify and Shopify Plus stores for DTC brands. Its core offerings span new store builds and replatforming migrations, custom theme and headless commerce development, AI-powered SEO and conversion rate optimization, plus recurring monthly retainers for ongoing maintenance, digital marketing, and B2B and international scaling.
Product overview
Blackbelt Commerce is a founder-led Shopify Plus agency offering a unified suite of ecommerce services centered on the Shopify platform. The core offering spans Shopify and Shopify Plus store design, development, and migration (web design, theme customization, platform migrations), supplemented by growth services (AI SEO, digital marketing, CRO), operational support (ongoing maintenance, B2B commerce, international scaling), and creative services (branding, content creation). The portfolio includes specialized offerings like headless commerce (Hydrogen/Oxygen), checkout customization via Shopify Plus Checkout Extensibility, and enterprise integrations with ERP/CRM/PIM systems. The agency operates on a fixed-price contract model with three tiers: Growth ($10K–$25K), Scale ($25K–$45K), and Enterprise ($45K–$75K+).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Shopify Web Design & Development Certified Shopify Plus Experts delivering high-performance Shopify and Shopify Plus stores in 4–8 weeks, guaranteed. Conversion-focused from first wireframe, engineered for speed, mobile, and AOV. Senior team averages 10+ years on platform. For founders launching or replatforming who are done with pretty sites that don't pay the bills.
- Theme Customization & Custom Solutions Customization of Dawn, Impulse, Prestige, or any Plus-grade theme. Focuses on PDP, cart, and mobile checkout optimization. Tuned storefront for customer, AOV target, and Core Web Vitals score.
- Shopify Migration Migration services from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Salesforce. Full SEO preservation plan, 1:1 redirect mapping, design parity or upgrade, zero downtime launch. Preserves SEO equity, customer accounts, subscription data, and historical orders.
- AI Powered SEO Schema-first content architecture, entity optimization, and semantic clustering to get stores cited by AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews). Technical hygiene and authority signals layer.
- Ongoing Support & Maintenance Senior Shopify developer, project manager, and full team access for retainer clients. Handles theme updates, app conflicts, speed regressions, security patches, and BFCM peak readiness. 98% client renewal rate.
- Branding & Visual Identity Positioning, voice, identity system, photography direction, and packaging cues. Design language built for screen first, carried through to unboxing moment.
- Content Creation & Event Photography Ecommerce-grade content and event photography for product shoots, launch events, founder-led video, and UGC direction. Assets designed to be sequenced and merchandised across site, ads, and email.
- Digital Marketing & Social Media Management Meta, Google, and TikTok campaigns with full-funnel creative, audience architecture, and server-side tracking. Weekly reporting tied to revenue, not impressions.
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Data-driven CRO turning existing traffic into revenue through landing-page testing, funnel analysis, and checkout optimization. Average 38% lift in add-to-cart rates.
- B2B Commerce Solutions Custom wholesale portals, tiered pricing, net terms, multi-buyer account management, quote request flows, and wholesale catalog controls built natively on Shopify Plus.
- International Scaling Multi-currency, multi-storefront, and headless architecture for brands ready to go global. Supports multi-region, multi-language deployments.
- Headless Commerce Hydrogen/Oxygen implementations and custom PWA builds for maximum front-end performance and multichannel flexibility.
- Checkout Customization Custom payment flows, subscriptions, post-purchase upsells, and enterprise checkout exclusive to Shopify Plus. Advanced checkout via Checkout Extensibility.
- ERP, PIM & Integrations Seamless connections to fulfillment, CRM, ERP, and analytics stack — one source of truth for entire operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- 614.8% organic traffic growth in 3 months for Erica Wilson
- +12 more outcomes
Companies that use Blackbelt Commerce
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Blackbelt Commerce technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
Blackbelt Commerce partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators16 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Blackbelt Commerce competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Eastside Co: UK-based Shopify Plus agency specializing in design, development, and growth services for DTC brands. Comparable platform specialization and customer segment.
- Absolute Web: E-commerce digital agency with Shopify Plus expertise, offering design, development, and digital marketing services to DTC and B2B brands. Closely comparable in service stack.
- BlueSwitch: Certified Shopify Plus agency providing design, development, and migration services. Similar boutique positioning and DTC brand focus.
- 1Digital Agency: Shopify Plus agency offering e-commerce design, development, and digital marketing services to mid-market and enterprise DTC brands. Comparable in service breadth and target segment.
- OuterBox: US-based Shopify Plus agency offering design, development, migration, and SEO services to DTC brands. Directly comparable in service offerings and target customer profile.
- Pixel Union: Shopify theme developer and design agency with a strong brand presence. Overlaps in Shopify theme customization and store build services for DTC merchants.
- TheGenieLab: Shopify Plus agency offering development, design, and growth services for DTC brands. Comparable in service mix and target customer profile.
- We Make Websites: London-based Shopify Plus Partner agency offering design, build, and growth services. Similar focus on retention and recurring revenue work with DTC brands.
Emerging players
- Helium: Shopify Plus agency focused on development and CRO for DTC brands. Smaller boutique scope with similar platform specialization.
Broad incumbents
- SmartSites: Larger full-service digital agency offering Shopify development alongside broader web design and marketing services. Overlaps in DTC e-commerce but broader service portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Blackbelt Commerce social profiles
Digital presenceBlackbelt Commerce financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blackbelt Commerce leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Blackbelt Commerce funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blackbelt Commerce M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blackbelt Commerce
What does Blackbelt Commerce do?
Blackbelt Commerce is a founder-led Shopify Plus agency that builds, migrates, and grows Shopify and Shopify Plus stores for DTC brands. Its core offerings span new store builds and replatforming migrations, custom theme and headless commerce development, AI-powered SEO and conversion rate optimization, plus recurring monthly retainers for ongoing maintenance, digital marketing, and B2B and international scaling.
Is Blackbelt Commerce a public or private company?
Blackbelt Commerce is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Blackbelt Commerce founded?
Blackbelt Commerce was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Blackbelt Commerce based?
Blackbelt Commerce is headquartered in New City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Blackbelt Commerce make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Fixed-Price Project Builds are the primary driver. The others are ongoing Support Retainers, one-Time SEO Audits and shopify Plus Monthly Retainers.
Who are Blackbelt Commerce's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Eastside Co, Absolute Web, BlueSwitch, 1Digital Agency, OuterBox, Pixel Union, TheGenieLab and We Make Websites. Helium is listed as an emerging player. SmartSites is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Blackbelt Commerce have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blackbelt Commerce.