What Support Black Owned does

Support Black Owned (SBO) is a web-based directory platform that lists Black-owned businesses and connects them with consumers actively seeking to support Black-owned enterprises. Operated under the legal entity Lee Alliance and headquartered in Miami, the directory spans more than 30 industry categories — including Automotive, Beauty, Restaurants, Medical Services, Legal and Financial, Real Estate, Fashion, Technology, and Construction — searchable by category and by location across at least 18 countries in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The platform supports self-serve business registration, category and geography-based discovery, business profile pages featuring video/images/offers/reviews, an events listing module, and a Shop Black Goods marketplace section. User authentication is enabled through five social login providers (Amazon, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter), and the platform is delivered as a responsive website without a dedicated mobile app, public API, or disclosed SDK.

The product surface has expanded beyond the core directory into an integrated ecosystem: SBO Advertising (sponsored blog posts, solo email blasts to a 17,000+ subscriber newsletter, newsletter ad placements, and SEO backlink placements in existing articles), SBO Videos, an SBO Business Center resource hub (SWOT worksheet, B2B/B2C marketing guides), and the SBO Supporters Program — a cash-or-service donation channel that exchanges contributions for email blasts and backlinks. Distribution is multi-channel: SEO-optimized category and location pages, content marketing via blog articles on topics such as regional Black-owned business roundups, organic social presence on Facebook/Instagram/TikTok, and the newsletter used as both an organic and paid placement channel.

SBO's revenue mechanics are diversified across three streams: (1) annual business directory subscriptions priced at $150/year (sale) or $300/year (regular) granting featured listings, exclusive email blasts, hot sale offers, event listings, and SEO backlinks; (2) one-time advertising purchases — Sponsored Blog Posts ($150/$300), Solo Email Blasts ($150/$300 to 17,000+ subscribers), Newsletter Ad Placements ($75/$150), and feature placements in existing articles ($250/$350); and (3) the SBO Supporters donation program providing recognition and promotional benefits in exchange for cash or in-kind contributions. The customer base is composed entirely of SMBs and individual advertisers/sponsors, with no enterprise contracts disclosed and no disclosed paying-listing count.

Name

Support Black Owned

Legal name

Lee Alliance

Website

https://supportblackowned.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Support Black Owned is a Miami-based web directory platform that helps consumers discover and support Black-owned businesses across 30+ categories and 18 countries, monetized via annual business listings, advertising placements, and a supporter donation program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Business Directory Listings: Annual subscription-based directory listings allowing Black-owned businesses to create profiles, list contact information, photos, videos, events, and special offers. Priced at $150/year (sale) or $300/year (regular).
2. Advertising & Marketing Services: Various paid advertising options including sponsored blog posts ($150), solo email blasts to 17,000+ subscribers ($150), newsletter ad placements ($75), website feature in existing articles ($250), and featured business placement. These are one-time or campaign-based services.
3. SBO Supporter Program: Donation/sponsorship program for individuals and companies to support the platform through cash or service donations, receiving recognition and benefits like email blasts and website backlinks.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Support Black Owned (SBO) operates an online directory platform that lists Black-owned businesses across 30+ categories and global locations, enabling consumers to discover and support Black-owned enterprises. Black-owned businesses can register for paid annual directory listings, and the platform monetizes via subscription listings, paid advertising (sponsored blog posts, email blasts, featured placements), and a supporter donation program.

Product overview

Support Black Owned is a directory platform for black-owned businesses featuring a core Black-Owned Business Directory supplemented by advertising services (SBO Advertising), video content (SBO Videos), a product marketplace (Shop Black Goods), a supporter sponsorship program, business resources (SBO Business Center), and event listings. The platform operates as a web-based directory with multiple engagement features for both consumers and business owners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Black-Owned Business Directory
• SBO Advertising Services
• Business Directory Listing Subscription
• Shop Black Goods Marketplace
• SBO Supporters Program
• Events Listings

Quantifiable outcome

• 17,000+ newsletter subscribers available for targeted advertising reach

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lee AlliancecoreOthersLee Alliance Inc appears as both a featured listing (advertising agency) on the platform and as the parent company that owns and operates Support Black Owned. The copyright notice on the website states '© 2026 Lee Alliance. All rights reserved.' indicating Lee Alliance is the operating entity behind the SBO platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Yelp: Yelp is a leading general consumer-facing business directory and review platform with category and location-based search. SBO operates the same directory business model but specializes in Black-owned business listings, making it the closest directly comparable directory peer.
• Official Black Wall Street: Official Black Wall Street is a directory and marketplace dedicated to Black-owned businesses with similar GTM and mission. It is the most directly comparable focused competitor to Support Black Owned in the Black-owned business directory niche.
• MyBlackProfile: MyBlackProfile is a directory connecting consumers with Black-owned businesses. It is a directly comparable focused niche player competing for the same SMB and consumer audience as Support Black Owned.

Broad incumbents

• Google Business Profile: Google's free business listing product is the default directory used by SMBs for local discovery. It competes indirectly with SBO by serving all businesses including Black-owned ones, and represents the broad-incumbent directory threat SBO must differentiate against.
• Black Enterprise: Black Enterprise is a long-running media and resource brand serving Black business owners and professionals. While primarily a media company, it touches the Black business ecosystem in ways that overlap with SBO's content and resource offerings.
• Alignable: Alignable is a small business network and directory with category and location search for SMB discovery. While not ethnicity-focused, it serves a similar SMB self-serve directory use case and competes for the same business listing value proposition.
• Yellow Pages: Yellow Pages is a legacy business directory operating both online and historically in print. While broader in scope, it competes directly for SMB directory listings and consumer category/location discovery behavior that SBO also targets.

Emerging players

• WeBuyBlack: WeBuyBlack is an online marketplace for Black-owned businesses featuring directory listings and e-commerce. It overlaps heavily with SBO's directory-plus-shop functionality and serves a similar SMB merchant base.
• Shoppe Black: Shoppe Black is an online marketplace and directory supporting Black-owned brands with curated shopping discovery. It overlaps with SBO's Shop Black Goods e-commerce module and shared directory/category functionality.
• Black Owned Everything: Black Owned Everything is a curated directory platform promoting Black-owned brands across categories. It overlaps with SBO's directory listing offering and competes for the same mission-driven consumer and merchant base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SupportBlackOwn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Support Black Owned