The So Company

What The So Company does

The So Company is a privately held, U.S.-based professional services consulting firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, with additional offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The firm delivers content strategy, plain language writing and editing, UX design research, front-end development, quality assurance, SEO, agile project management, technology stack audits and migration support, and call center experience services. It does not sell a unified software product; each engagement is delivered as professional services work primarily for U.S. federal government agencies, with documented case studies spanning the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA.gov, Vets.gov), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (HealthCare.gov), the U.S. Air Force (AFIMSC/BESPIN "What's Up?" mobile app built in Kotlin), and the National Security Innovation Network, alongside at least one nonprofit engagement (The Warhorse).

The company's revenue model is professional services billing through federal contracting mechanisms, frequently as a subcontractor to prime contractors such as Ad Hoc on VA.gov and HealthCare.gov, supplemented by direct government contracting and limited private/nonprofit work. Go-to-market relies on enterprise field sales, RFP responses, teaming arrangements with primes (Ad Hoc, Touchlab), and charter-membership visibility within the Digital Services Coalition rather than traditional marketing. The firm holds Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), SBA 8(a), and New York State SDVOB certifications, which unlock set-aside contracting vehicles and act as a structural procurement advantage.

Operating scale is small: the firm is in the 11–50 employee band with no external institutional funding disclosed. Underlying technology is service-oriented rather than platform-oriented, drawing on user-centered design principles, plain language methodologies, agile frameworks, and front-end development tooling (including Kotlin for cross-platform mobile). Quantified client outcomes are documented across case studies, including a 52% traffic lift and 21.8% user satisfaction increase on VA.gov, 8.7 million HealthCare.gov enrollments supported in 2018, a 98.9% increase in recurring donations and 34% increase in total transactions for The Warhorse, and a Center for Plain Language "A" grade (2019) for VA writing quality.

Name

The So Company

Legal name

The So Company

Website

https://thesocompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The So Company is a U.S. federal-focused services consulting firm that provides content strategy, plain language writing, UX research, front-end and mobile development, and QA services to agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, CMS, and the U.S. Air Force, primarily as a subcontractor to prime contractors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Consulting Services: Provides content, usability, and software development services to government agencies on contract basis, typically as a subcontractor to prime contractors or direct government contracts

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The So Company is a services consulting firm that delivers content strategy, plain language writing, UX design research, quality assurance, and front-end software development to U.S. federal government agencies and select private sector and nonprofit clients. Engagements are delivered as professional services contracts, often as a subcontractor to prime contractors such as Ad Hoc, with marquee work on VA.gov, HealthCare.gov, Vets.gov, U.S. Air Force digital properties, and NSIN.us. The firm is SDVOSB- and SBA 8(a)-certified, enabling it to compete for small-business federal contracting vehicles.

Product overview

The So Company is a services consulting firm that does not offer a unified software product or platform. Rather, it provides a portfolio of professional service offerings including content strategy and management, plain language writing and editing, UX design research, quality assurance, front-end development, SEO, technology stack auditing, and agile project management. Each engagement is delivered as a consulting service to government agencies (VA.gov, Vets.gov, HealthCare.gov, NSIN.us) and private sector clients (The Warhorse nonprofit).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Content Strategy and Management Services End-to-end content strategy, content governance, planning, weekly content deployments, and management for government digital properties such as VA.gov.
• Plain Language Writing and Editing Services User-centered plain language UX writing, content style guide creation, and plain language training materials development for federal agencies.
• Quality Assurance Services QA testing, content audits, and quality assurance support for digital government properties including websites and applications such as HealthCare.gov.
• Front-End Development Services Front-end development for government digital properties including responsive web applications and mobile-first products, such as the cross-platform "What's up?" app built with Kotlin for the U.S. Air Force Academy community.
• UX Design Research Services Human-centered design research, stakeholder user research sessions, and design research to inform product development for federal and defense clients.
• Technology Stack Audit and Migration Services Technology stack auditing, pain point identification, and migration to improved platforms and service providers (e.g., Salesforce migration) for nonprofit and private sector clients.
• SEO Services SEO keyword research, on-page optimization across web pages, and URL optimization for government digital properties such as VA.gov.
• Documentation Services Content documentation, content governance, stakeholder review management, and technical documentation for government agencies such as the National Security Innovation Network.
• Agile Project Management Services Agile project management for mobile application development and digital transformation initiatives following U.S. Digital Service design standards.
• Call Center Support Services Call center customer service experience support and error message style guide development to help representatives better assist site users on government properties.

Quantifiable outcome

• 52% increase in online traffic to health care application on VA.gov soon after launch
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Digital Services CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe So Company is a charter member of the Digital Services Coalition, connecting with other companies focused on digital transformation in government to build better products together.
• Ad HoccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAd Hoc serves as prime contractor on VA.gov and HealthCare.gov projects, with The So Company providing content strategy, development, and QA services as subcontractor.
• Digital Service at VAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Digital Service at VA on VA.gov modernization and Vets.gov projects to provide Veterans with single point of access for all things VA.
• Veterans Experience OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with Veterans Experience Office and U.S. Digital Service at VA to conduct human-centered design research and develop Vets.gov portal.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ad Hoc: Federal digital services firm that serves as prime contractor on VA.gov and HealthCare.gov — the same marquee programs where The So Company delivers as a subcontractor. Directly comparable in mission, customer base (CMS, VA), and civic-tech orientation, with a similar headcount scale.
• Oddball: Digital services firm focused on federal health and civic agencies (e.g., HHS, CMS, VA). Closely comparable in size, mission (modernizing government digital experiences), and contract profile as a small-business federal IT services firm.
• Fearless: Small-to-mid federal digital services firm delivering agile product development, UX, and content strategy to agencies including VA and other federal customers. Directly comparable in capability mix, agency focus, and B-corp mission orientation.
• Aptive Resources: Federal consulting and digital services provider supporting VA, HHS, and other civilian agencies with CX, content, and program management. Comparable in customer overlap (VA in particular) and small-business federal-services positioning.
• Nava: Public-benefit civic technology firm that has built HealthCare.gov and other federal digital services, emphasizing user-centered design and plain language. Highly comparable mission and practice areas to The So Company's content + UX focus.
• CivicActions: Civic-tech consulting firm delivering digital services to U.S. federal, state, and local governments using open-source and user-centered practices. Directly comparable in civic-tech positioning, content/UX emphasis, and federal customer base.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: Large established federal consulting and digital services provider with deep VA, HHS, and DoD relationships. Broader portfolio and much larger scale than The So Company, but competes for overlapping digital-modernization and CX task orders.
• Deloitte (Deloitte Digital / Federal): Global professional services firm with a major federal practice that competes on large digital-transformation and CX engagements across VA, CMS, and DoD. Overlaps with The So Company's federal CX offerings but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Large incumbent federal consulting firm with extensive VA, DoD, and civilian agency digital-services practices. Competes with The So Company in adjacent federal digital-modernization pursuits but from a much larger and more diversified base.
• Slalom: National consulting firm with a federal and public-sector practice delivering strategy, design, and technology services. Overlaps with The So Company's content, UX, and digital-transformation offerings, though Slalom operates at much larger scale across multiple industries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-so-company
• Xx.com/TheSoCompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The So Company