What Communications by Design does

Communications by Design is a privately-held education consulting firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, founded in 1991 to help K-12 school districts integrate technology, elevate instruction, and deliver professional development to teachers. The firm operates with 1–10 employees and serves school districts primarily in the Midwest US, with named customers including Plainwell Community Schools, Ludington Area Schools, Lake Shore Public Schools, Zeeland Public Schools, Manchester Community Schools, and Clayton County Public Schools. Its service portfolio spans four core categories: (1) Professional Learning — in-person and online training, courses, and events covering student engagement, project-based learning, A.I. in the Classroom, and instructional coaching; (2) District Planning — technology planning, design engineering, implementation services, and consulting/project management for administrators; (3) Virtual Coaching — on-demand instructional coaching for individual teachers; and (4) Free Resources — articles, podcasts, tech tools, and an Instructional Strategies Library used as top-of-funnel marketing assets.

The firm generates revenue primarily through professional services engagements sold via direct district sales and RFP/procurement processes, supplemented by subscription-style virtual coaching and online course offerings to individual teachers. Its go-to-market is sales-led, leveraging content marketing (blog, podcast, lead magnets, free resource library), organic social media, and a vendor portal integrated with Building Connected to manage district project bidding. The company curates and recommends a broad stack of third-party edtech tools (Google for Education, Padlet, Quizizz, Schoology, Flipgrid, Seesaw, Formative, Screencastify, Loom, EdPuzzle, Adobe Spark) but does not build or own the underlying technology platforms. There are no APIs, SDKs, proprietary models, patents, or certifications disclosed, and the firm has not raised external funding, indicating a bootstrapped, founder-operated operating model sustained over three decades by long-tenured district relationships and educator-led domain credibility.

Name

Communications by Design

Legal name

Communications By Design

Website

https://cbdconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Communications by Design is a Grand Rapids, Michigan education consulting firm founded in 1991 that provides K-12 school districts with technology planning, professional development, virtual coaching, and instructional strategy services delivered by educator-led consultants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Consulting and Professional Development

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Strategy, Instructional Design & Content Development (BPACANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Telecommunications & Network Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAH)

Keywords

• Education consulting services
• K-12 professional development
• Instructional coaching services
• School technology planning
• Teacher training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Development Services: Revenue generated from providing in-person and online training, workshops, courses, and professional learning events for K-12 educators. Services include student engagement training, Project-based Learning, A.I. in the Classroom, and other instructional development programs.
2. Technology Planning and Consulting: Consulting services helping school districts establish technology plans, design engineering solutions, and oversee technology implementation projects.
3. Virtual Coaching Subscriptions: On-demand instructional coaching services providing personalized support to teachers, likely structured as ongoing service subscriptions or per-teacher licensing.
4. Coaching Academy: Structured professional development program for developing instructional coaching skills, likely sold as course or program licensing to districts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Communications by Design is an education consulting firm that delivers professional development, instructional coaching, and technology planning services to K-12 school districts and individual teachers. Its offerings include in-person and online training courses, on-demand virtual coaching, and district-level consulting covering technology plan design, bid management, design engineering, and implementation oversight. The company also maintains a vendor portal (via Building Connected) that connects technology vendors with district bid opportunities.

Product overview

Communications by Design is an education consulting firm offering a comprehensive suite of professional development and technology planning services for K-12 school districts. Founded in 1991, the company provides both direct service offerings (Virtual Coaching, Professional Learning, Technology Planning, Design Engineering, Implementation Services, and Consulting) and structured programs (Coaching Academy, Project-Based Learning Academy, New Teacher Mentorship, Advancing Leadership). The company also maintains a Vendor Portal for school procurement and offers free resources including articles, podcasts, and an Instructional Strategies Library. Services are delivered in-person and online, covering topics such as student engagement, project-based learning, AI in the classroom, and instructional coaching.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• All projects finished on time and under budget
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Building ConnectedcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Building Connected's vendor portal platform to provide bid management and project opportunity access for vendors working with school districts. The portal allows vendors to view projects, register for updates, and submit bids on public projects. CBD uses this platform for managing district planning and implementation project opportunities.

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education): ISTE is a leading professional organization for edtech, offering standards, certification, and PD for K-12 technology integration. It overlaps with CBD's technology planning and instructional coaching services but operates as a broader standards/certification body.
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH): HMH is a major K-12 publisher with substantial professional development and consulting services layered onto its core curriculum products. It competes with CBD for district PD dollars, though anchored on a much broader curriculum platform.
• Corwin: Corwin is a major education publisher offering professional development books, services, and consulting for K-12 educators. It sits in the same PD category as CBD but operates at a much larger publisher scale with a broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Kagan Cooperative Learning: Kagan specializes in cooperative learning professional development, training, and resources for K-12 educators. It competes for the same teacher PD budgets and shares the workshop-driven delivery model used by CBD.
• BetterLesson: BetterLesson provides instructional coaching and professional learning services to K-12 teachers and districts. Its coaching-led model is structurally similar to CBD's Virtual Coaching and Coaching Academy offerings.
• Insight Education Group: Insight Education Group provides instructional coaching, leadership development, and PD services to K-12 districts. It is closely comparable to CBD's Coaching Academy, Advancing Leadership, and instructional strategy offerings.
• New Teacher Center: New Teacher Center is a national nonprofit focused on teacher induction, mentoring, and instructional coaching for K-12 districts. CBD's New Teacher Mentorship and Coaching Academy products target the same buyer needs.
• EdTechTeam: EdTechTeam delivers Google-based professional development, coaching, and certification programs to K-12 districts and teachers. It overlaps directly with CBD's technology integration and instructional coaching offerings.
• Teaching Channel: Teaching Channel produces video-based professional development and coaching resources for K-12 educators. Its media-rich content model overlaps with CBD's free resources, podcast, and video walkthrough strategy.
• Solution Tree: Solution Tree is a leading K-12 professional development and consulting firm offering conferences, coaching, and books for educators. It directly mirrors CBD's PD-led approach to school improvement and shares target buyers (district administrators, instructional leaders).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cbdconsulting
• Facebookfacebook.com/CBDConsulting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communicationsbydesign

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 Communications by Design