Core Labs

What Core Labs does

Core Labs is a privately held, founder-operated software studio founded in 2017 and based in New York City. The company describes itself as being in 'rapid experimentation mode' and operates a portfolio of three products: Mural (a portfolio-building web platform for product managers, marketers, and digital workers, positioned analogously to Dribbble or GitHub), Core (a peer-and-expert mentorship software deployed at leading US universities for entrepreneurship programs and fellowships, built around deep Google Apps integration for onboarding, communication, and tracking), and Makeshop (a creative-services marketplace distributing one-on-one sessions with designers, copywriters, and strategists across co-working spaces and coffeeshops; currently listed as inactive after piloting in 3 NYC locations).

The product surface is built on a Google Apps integration platform: Mural exposes simple URL sharing with automatic rich embeds, caption/contributor credit functionality, and tag-based curation of sub-portfolios; Core delivers structured communication templates and admin tooling wrapped around Google Apps; Makeshop provided one-click booking of $45+ creative sessions. Integration with Google Apps is the only disclosed deep technology dependency; there are no APIs, SDKs, MCP servers, or AI/ML capabilities referenced in the source material, and the company has no certifications, patents, or regulatory actions on record.

The revenue model is partly defined and partly unproven. Mural and Core pricing is not publicly disclosed despite Mural being marketed as 'available now'; Makeshop operated a per-session transaction model (sessions starting at $45) before being paused. The disclosed go-to-market mix is community-led (university partnerships and word-of-mouth for Core) and direct-to-consumer (web self-serve for Mural; co-working/cafe presence for Makeshop). With 1–10 employees and a single 2017 funding event from 500 Global at an undisclosed amount, Core Labs functions as a small, bootstrapped experimental entity rather than a scaling software business.

Name

Core Labs

Website

https://corelabs.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Core Labs is a small NYC software studio that builds digital-economy products, including Mural (portfolios for PMs and marketers), Core (mentorship software for university entrepreneurship programs), and Makeshop (creative-services marketplace, currently inactive).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Software Platforms

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Core LMS Platforms (Academic & Corporate) (EDAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Essay, Resume & Portfolio Coaching Platforms (EDAFAMAD), Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects) (EDANAKAI)

Keywords

• Portfolio building software
• Creative services marketplace
• Peer mentorship platform
• Professional identity tools
• University entrepreneurship software

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Services Sessions (Makeshop): Revenue from individual session bookings for creative services (design, copywriting, strategy). Sessions start at $45 and are available in-person at NYC co-working spaces and cafes, or via video calls nationally.
2. Portfolio Platform (Mural): Portfolio building platform for digital workers to showcase work. Revenue model not explicitly stated but appears to be available now for users.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Core Labs develops and operates multiple web-based software products for the digital economy: Mural, a portfolio-building platform for product managers, marketers, and other digital workers; Makeshop, a creative-services booking platform pairing patrons with designers, copywriters, and strategists (currently inactive after NYC pilot); and Core, a peer/expert mentorship software with Google Apps integration, deployed at leading universities for entrepreneurship programs and fellowships.

Product overview

Core Labs is building a portfolio of products for the digital economy. Their offerings include Mural (a portfolio-building platform for digital workers similar to Dribbble for designers or GitHub for engineers), Makeshop (a creative services marketplace connecting patrons with designers, copywriters, and strategists - currently inactive), and Core (a peer and expert mentorship platform deployed at universities for entrepreneurship programs). The company is in rapid experimentation mode.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mural: An insanely simple portfolio building platform for product managers, marketers, and digital workers. Features include simple URL sharing with automatic rich embeds, caption and contributor credit functionality, and tag-based curation for different audiences.
• Makeshop
• Core

Products and services

• Mural A simple web-based portfolio-building platform for product managers, marketers, and other digital workers that lets users share work via simple URLs with automatic rich embeds, add captions, credit contributors, update with stats, and curate sub-murals with tags for different contexts and audiences.
• Core A peer and expert mentorship software platform deployed at leading universities to power mentorship for entrepreneurship programs and fellowships. Provides professional micro-networks for timely peer/mentor feedback, structured communication templates, and deep Google Apps integrations for onboarding, administration, usage, and tracking.
• Makeshop A creative-services marketplace ("genius bar for creative services") that distributed access to professional designers, copywriters, and strategists via co-working spaces and coffeeshops, enabling patrons to book one-on-one sessions starting at $45 in just a few clicks, both in-person and via video call nationwide.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Google AppscoreTechnology or IntegrationCore mentorship platform features deep integrations with Google Apps for seamless onboarding, administration, communication, and tracking of mentorship programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dribbble: Core Labs explicitly positions Mural against Dribbble as the portfolio graph for product managers and marketers analogous to Dribbble for designers. Both monetize creator portfolios with profile-as-resume dynamics and are pursuing hiring and freelance adjacencies.
• Behance: Adobe-owned creative work portfolio platform with similar URL-sharing, tagging, and curation mechanics. Directly comparable as a portfolio-of-best-work product for digital creators that Core Labs' Mural is targeting.
• Mentorloop: Mentorship platform sold to universities and enterprises for structured program management, matching, and reporting. Direct competitor to Core Labs' Core product on university mentorship workflows.
• Qooper: Mentoring software for universities and corporations with program administration, matching algorithms, and reporting. Competes head-to-head with Core for university entrepreneurship and fellowship programs.
• MentorCruise: Marketplace for 1:1 expert mentorship with structured programs and feedback loops; overlaps directly with Core's peer and expert mentoring mission for entrepreneurship and fellowship participants.

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn (Profile & Portfolio features): LinkedIn is the incumbent professional identity surface where the same PM/marketer personas already publish portfolio-adjacent content. It is the broadest competitor to Mural's positioning and dwarfs Core Labs on distribution.
• Notion (Personal Sites / Portfolios): Many product managers already publish lightweight portfolios using Notion's free public pages with rich embeds and URL sharing, replicating Mural's core mechanics at zero cost and with a much larger installed base.
• Fiverr: Global creative services marketplace where the same designers, copywriters, and strategists that Makeshop tried to broker are already transacting. Established incumbent for the on-demand creative-service use case Makeshop piloted.

Emerging players

• Contra: Commission-free freelance platform with portfolio-first profiles, serving the same PM/marketer digital-worker segment that Mural targets, and layering hiring and gig work on top of portfolio identity.
• Topcoder: Digital-worker portfolio plus gig-work platform for technical talent, structurally analogous to the combination Mural (portfolio) and a marketplace layer (Makeshop) the company has been experimenting with.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Core Labs