Colossal
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Colossal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Colossal
- Legal name
- Colossal
- Website
- https://thisiscolossal.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Colossal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Art Publication
- NAICS
- Other Publishers (51319), Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric) (MPACAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch) (BPAMALAH)
Keywords
Where Colossal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Colossal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Membership subscriptions: Colossal offers paid memberships at $7 per month or $75 per year, providing exclusive benefits such as ad-free browsing, members-only newsletter, discounts in the shop, and support for independent arts publishing.
- Advertising: The platform accepts advertising through NectarAds platform, featuring sponsored content and display advertisements alongside editorial content.
- Merchandise sales: Colossal operates an online shop (colossal.shop) selling merchandise, with members receiving 15% discount.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly membership with full access to member benefits |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual membership with full access to member benefits at discounted rate |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Colossal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Colossal operates an online art publication and digital magazine that publishes daily editorial content covering contemporary art, craft, photography, design, animation, and visual culture. It monetizes through paid memberships ($7/month or $75/year), an online merchandise shop, and advertising via the NectarAds platform, while also serving as a resource hub aggregating $500,000+ in monthly grants, residencies, and open calls for artists.
Product overview
Colossal is a single-platform online art publication that publishes articles, artist interviews, and coverage of contemporary art, craft, photography, and visual culture. The offering consists of the core Colossal website/magazine, a paid Membership program, and the Colossal Shop e-commerce platform. The platform has operated since 2010 and reaches over 200,000 newsletter subscribers, featuring content across categories including Art, Craft, Design, Photography, Animation, Books, Climate, Film, History, Illustration, Music, Nature, Science, and Social Issues.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Colossal Shop: E-commerce store for Colossal merchandise and art-related products
Products and services
- Colossal (Website/Magazine) An online art publication and digital magazine featuring daily editorial articles, artist profiles, interviews, and coverage of contemporary art, craft, photography, design, animation, climate, film, history, illustration, music, nature, science, and social issues, plus a monthly Opportunities column aggregating grants, residencies, and open calls for artists.
- Colossal Membership A paid subscription membership program at $7/month or $75/year offering exclusive benefits including a members-only newsletter, ad-free browsing, the ability to save favorite articles, a 15% discount in the Colossal Shop, and the satisfaction of supporting independent arts publishing.
- Colossal Shop An e-commerce storefront at colossal.shop selling Colossal-branded merchandise and art-related products, with members receiving a 15% discount on purchases.
Quantifiable outcome
- Colossal helps find $500,000+ for artists monthly through grants, residencies, and open calls
Companies that use Colossal
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Colossal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Colossal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DeviantArtminorDeviantArt featured as a sponsor on Colossal, with a sponsored article titled 'DeviantArt Is an All-in-One Platform for the Creative Economy' highlighting DeviantArt's platform for artists featuring 108+ million members and over $23 million in creator sales in 2025.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Colossal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Booooooom: Booooooom is an art and creative platform that curates emerging artists and visual culture, sharing Colossal's model of editorial discovery, artist features, and community-driven content distribution.
- Hi-Fructose Magazine: Hi-Fructose is a new contemporary art magazine featuring emerging and established artists across illustration, sculpture, and photography, mirroring Colossal's curation style and audience.
- Juxtapoz Magazine: Juxtapoz is a contemporary art magazine with a strong focus on lowbrow, street, and emerging art, competing with Colossal for art enthusiasts and offering both editorial and shop experiences online.
- My Modern Met: My Modern Met is a digital art and visual culture publication with a similar editorial model covering art, design, photography, and crafts. It directly competes with Colossal for the same art-loving audience and runs its own membership and shop.
- Designboom: Designboom is a long-running digital publication covering contemporary art, design, and architecture with a global audience, sharing Colossal's editorial-led, newsletter-driven publishing approach.
- It's Nice That: It's Nice That is a leading online publication covering creativity, design, art, and visual culture, with a strong newsletter and creative community focus closely aligned with Colossal's editorial and community-led GTM motion.
- Hyperallergic: Hyperallergic is an independent art blog and publication covering contemporary art and visual culture with critical editorial commentary, closely overlapping Colossal's content categories and audience.
- Arrested Motion: Arrested Motion is an online contemporary art publication covering street art, graffiti, and fine art, with a similar editorial-led discovery model and newsletter-driven audience engagement to Colossal.
Broad incumbents
- Artsy: Artsy is the largest online art marketplace and editorial platform, combining art world coverage with commerce. It competes broadly with Colossal for art-interested audiences and advertiser attention, but at significantly greater scale and with marketplace functionality.
Emerging players
- Colossal Shop (peer reference: Society6): Society6 is a print-on-demand and merchandise marketplace for independent artists. It is comparable to Colossal Shop as an art-related e-commerce channel that monetizes a creative audience through merchandise, though at much larger scale and with broader artist base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Colossal social profiles
Digital presenceColossal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Colossal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Colossal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Colossal 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 Colossal
What does Colossal do?
Colossal operates an online art publication and digital magazine that publishes daily editorial content covering contemporary art, craft, photography, design, animation, and visual culture. It monetizes through paid memberships ($7/month or $75/year), an online merchandise shop, and advertising via the NectarAds platform, while also serving as a resource hub aggregating $500,000+ in monthly grants, residencies, and open calls for artists.
Is Colossal a public or private company?
Colossal is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Colossal founded?
Colossal was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Colossal based?
Colossal is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Colossal make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising and merchandise sales.
Who are Colossal's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Booooooom, Hi-Fructose Magazine, Juxtapoz Magazine, My Modern Met, Designboom, It's Nice That, Hyperallergic and Arrested Motion. Artsy is listed as a broad incumbent. Colossal Shop (peer reference: Society6) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Colossal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Colossal.
What industry is Colossal in?
Colossal's product category is Online Art Publication. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAIAD, Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric), with a secondary code of BPAMALAH, Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch). Its NAICS code is 51319 and its SIC code is 2741.