Gather
Gather is a New York-based professional services firm that assembles teams of 157 independent practitioners to deliver strategy, creative, and implementation services to Fortune 500 enterprises. It embeds custom flex teams into client organizations across media, technology, advertising, and sports verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Gather does
Gather, operating under the legal entity Discover Digital Group, Inc., is a private professional services firm headquartered in New York City that operates as a managed collective of 157 independent practitioners delivering consulting, creative, and implementation services to Fortune 500 enterprises. Founded in 2010 by Justin Tobin, a former Fortune 100 change agent, Gather differentiates itself from traditional agencies by embedding custom-assembled 'flex teams' into client organizations, with practitioners opting into engagements and team composition adjusted as priorities shift. The firm organizes its offering into two service categories: 'The Thinking' (strategy, product strategy, AI & automation, research and insights, agile project management, customer experience, and organizational design) and 'The Doing' (marketing and brand strategy, creative direction, video and podcast production, content and editorial systems, UI/UX design, website and software development, and analytics).
Gather's business model is professional services consulting on a project-based engagement model with no publicly disclosed pricing. The firm sells through direct enterprise relationships, leveraging referrals, prior case studies, and content marketing through its Dispatch newsletter, podcast, and published research. Notable named clients include IBM (across Virtual Client Experience, thinkLeaders, Mixture of Experts podcast, ESPN Fantasy Football, and Scuderia Ferrari HP engagements), Forbes (website redesign and Forbes Connect), The Economist (Economist Education brand extension generating $10MM+ in net new revenue), Convene (WorkPlace strategy), Kyndryl, Starcom, Carat, Fuel Cell Energy, and ESPN. The firm's competitive positioning emphasizes talent curation (15+ years average practitioner experience across 31 practice areas), human-centered AI advisory, and nimble team assembly without agency bureaucracy. AI capabilities are delivered primarily through third-party platforms such as IBM watsonx, ChatGPT, DALL-E, MidJourney, and Stable Diffusion rather than proprietary models.
The firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. Leadership includes Founder & President Justin Tobin, Partner and Head of Innovation David Gaspar, Managing Directors across Design and Business Transformation, and functional heads covering Agile Transformation, Emerging Media, Content, People & Culture, Finance, and Community. Marketing relies on a content-forward approach via the Dispatch blog/podcast, LinkedIn and social channels, and earned media through team member publications.
Gather firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gather
- Legal name
- Discover Digital Group, Inc.
- Website
- https://gather.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Gather is a New York-based professional services firm that assembles teams of 157 independent practitioners to deliver strategy, creative, and implementation services to Fortune 500 enterprises. It embeds custom flex teams into client organizations across media, technology, advertising, and sports verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gather industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Workplace & Collaboration Consulting (BPAHAEAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Meeting & Event Program Technology (Registration, Apps, Badging) (THACAFAB)
Keywords
Where Gather is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Gather business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Professional Services Consulting: Gather provides professional services including strategy development, product strategy, AI & automation, research & insights, agile project management, customer experience, organizational design, marketing & brand strategy, creative direction, video/podcast production, content creation, UI/UX design, website & software development, and analytics. Services are delivered through custom project teams assembled to match client needs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Gather product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gather is a collective of independent practitioners that assembles custom flex teams to deliver strategy, creative, and implementation services to enterprise clients. The company operates across two primary service lines — "The Thinking" (business strategy, product strategy, AI & automation, research, agile project management, customer experience, and organizational design) and "The Doing" (marketing & brand strategy, creative direction, video and podcast production, content, UI/UX design, website and software development, and analytics). Practitioners opt into projects, allowing Gather to rapidly adjust team composition as client priorities evolve.
Product overview
Gather is a collective of independent practitioners offering flexible consulting and creative services rather than a unified software product. The company provides two primary service categories: 'The Thinking' (strategy, AI & automation, research, agile project management, customer experience, organizational design) and 'The Doing' (marketing, creative direction, video/podcast production, content, UI/UX design, web/software development, analytics). Key named offerings include the Virtual Client Experience (VCE) platform combining broadcast quality with video conferencing, IBM watsonx-powered digital transformation services, the Mixture of Experts podcast series, and the thinkLeaders content platform. Additional services span brand strategy (Forbes redesign, Economist Education), sports sponsorship activations (ESPN Fantasy Football, Masters, US Open), and podcast production (On Marketing, The Progress Report, The Human Element). The Knowledge Network connects 157 independent practitioners across 31 practice areas for project-based engagements.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Thinking (Strategic Consulting)
- The Doing (Creative Execution)
- Virtual Client Experience (VCE)
- Mixture of Experts Podcast
- The Progress Report Podcast
- On Marketing Podcast
Quantifiable outcome
- Gather helped IBM achieve NPS scores in the 80s and higher for virtual events, considered world class
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Gather
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Gather technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Gather partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ESPNcoreGather collaborated with IBM Sports and Entertainment Partnership group on the ESPN Fantasy Football partnership, developing content strategy, social campaigns, and measurement programs. The partnership used Watson AI to analyze ESPN articles and provide insights to fantasy football players, producing millions of interactions over multiple years.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Gather competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- R/GA: Global digital agency offering strategy, design, technology, and content services to enterprise brands. Most comparable to Gather given overlapping service categories (digital transformation, brand, content production) and similar Fortune 500 client base.
- Huge: Digital experience agency providing strategy, design, marketing, and technology services to enterprise clients. Comparable to Gather on full-stack capabilities and enterprise-focused transformation engagements.
- IDEO: Design and innovation consultancy providing strategy, design research, and creative services. Comparable to Gather on design-led transformation and the use of senior independent practitioners; smaller scale than Gather.
- Frog (frog design): Global design and innovation firm offering strategy, design, and technology services to enterprise clients; part of Capgemini Invent. Comparable to Gather on design-driven transformation and innovation strategy work.
- Hero Digital: Independent digital experience agency providing strategy, design, technology, and content services to enterprise brands. Closely comparable mid-sized peer with similar service breadth and Fortune 500 focus.
Broad incumbents
- Accenture Song: Accenture's digital creative and technology services arm competing for the same enterprise digital transformation and brand experience mandates as Gather, but with vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
- Deloitte Digital: Creative agency and consultancy within Deloitte targeting enterprise digital transformation, brand, and customer experience work. Comparable at the category level but competes with significantly more resources.
- McKinsey & Company: Top-tier management consulting firm serving Fortune 500 enterprises on strategy, transformation, and organizational design — directly competing for the strategic work that Gather performs.
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG): Global management consulting firm competing for enterprise strategy and transformation mandates; relevant peer for Gather's 'The Thinking' service line targeting Fortune 500 digital transformation.
- Publicis Sapient: Digital business transformation firm within Publicis Groupe, offering strategy, consulting, experience, engineering, and AI services to enterprise clients — closely comparable on the digital transformation positioning Gather pursues.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Gather social profiles
Digital presenceGather financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gather leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Gather funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gather 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 Gather
What does Gather do?
Gather is a collective of independent practitioners that assembles custom flex teams to deliver strategy, creative, and implementation services to enterprise clients. The company operates across two primary service lines — "The Thinking" (business strategy, product strategy, AI & automation, research, agile project management, customer experience, and organizational design) and "The Doing" (marketing & brand strategy, creative direction, video and podcast production, content, UI/UX design, website and software development, and analytics). Practitioners opt into projects, allowing Gather to rapidly adjust team composition as client priorities evolve.
Is Gather a public or private company?
Gather is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Gather founded?
Gather was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Gather based?
Gather is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Gather make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Services Consulting.
Who are Gather's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are R/GA, Huge, IDEO, Frog (frog design) and Hero Digital. Broad incumbents are Accenture Song, Deloitte Digital, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Publicis Sapient.
Does Gather have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gather.
What industry is Gather in?
Gather's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAEAH, Digital Workplace & Collaboration Consulting, with a secondary code of THACAFAB, Meeting & Event Program Technology (Registration, Apps, Badging). Its NAICS code is 561920 and its SIC code is 8742.