Daylight Studio

What Daylight Studio does

Daylight Studio is a privately held, founder-owned digital product agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with an additional operational presence in Savannah, Georgia, and a remote-first team of approximately 20-30 employees. Founded in 2002 by CEO Shawn Mann alongside technology partner David McReynolds, the firm delivers custom professional services spanning strategy and planning, design and creative, technology and development, engagement and optimization, and ongoing support retainers for growth-focused enterprise and mid-market clients across verticals including wine and spirits, B2B and B2C technology, healthcare, senior housing, renewable energy, waste and recycling, travel and tourism, and education.

Technically, Daylight builds bespoke websites, e-commerce platforms, custom web and mobile applications, learning management systems, and client portals using a broad multi-platform stack including WordPress, Craft CMS, Laravel, Django, Shopify, WineDirect, Commerce7, Webflow, MySQL, and AWS, with integrations into martech and analytics systems. The firm is a Craft Verified Partner and partners with WP Engine for enterprise hosting; recent positioning emphasizes AI integration across strategy, prototyping, and ongoing client advisory work.

Commercially, Daylight operates a sales-led, professional services model acquiring clients through direct outreach, RFPs, referrals, and partnership networks, delivering quote-based project engagements and recurring retainers (performance, maintenance, and AI advisory). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements range from short-term projects to multi-year retainer relationships, with notable client tenures exceeding a decade (e.g., Marchex, Trinchero Family Estates). There are no disclosed funding rounds, institutional investors, or M&A activity, and the firm is bootstrapped and founder-controlled.

Name

Daylight Studio

Legal name

Daylight Studio, LLC

Website

https://thedaylightstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Daylight Studio is a founder-owned digital product agency in Portland, Oregon, delivering custom web design, development, AI advisory, and retainer support for enterprise and mid-market clients across wine and spirits, B2B tech, healthcare, and other verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Agency Services

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

End-User Computing Outsourcing (EUC / Desktop Services) (BPAEAMAE)

Keywords

• Digital product design
• Web development services
• Custom web applications
• Ecommerce development
• Learning management systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Digital Product Development: Daylight generates revenue through custom digital product development, including web design, development, strategy, and ongoing support retainer engagements. Services include strategy & planning, design & creative, technology & development, engagement & optimization, and support & management retainers.
2. Support Retainers and Management: Ongoing retainer engagements covering performance retainers, maintenance retainers, technical support, digital product management, UX enhancement, A/B testing, feature development, and ongoing AI advisory and support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Daylight Studio is a full-service digital product agency that partners with organizations to design, engineer, and support custom web platforms. Its work spans strategy and planning, experience design, technology and development, and post-launch engagement, producing websites, ecommerce systems, learning management systems, and bespoke web applications for enterprise and mid-market clients.

Product overview

Daylight Studio is a digital product agency that provides custom professional services across strategy, design, technology, engagement, and support. Their offering is service-based rather than a product-based SaaS platform. They deliver bespoke digital experiences including websites, e-commerce platforms, custom web applications, learning management systems (LMS), client portals, and digital marketing campaigns tailored to each client's needs. Key service areas include brand strategy, UI/UX design, full-stack web and mobile development, LMS and CMS development, e-commerce solutions, traffic generation, paid advertising, SEO, and ongoing support retainers. They work with various technology platforms including WordPress, Craft CMS, Shopify, WineDirect, Commerce7, Laravel, Webflow, AWS, Django, and MySQL. Daylight also provides AI consulting services that integrate AI throughout their digital product process, including AI-powered rapid prototyping and ongoing AI advisory and support for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy and Planning Services Discovery, digital strategy, and planning engagements that frame client digital initiatives, including roadmap definition, platform selection, and project scoping for organizations undertaking new web platform work.
• Design Services Experience design, interface design, and brand expression work for custom websites, ecommerce stores, learning management systems, and bespoke web applications.
• Technology and Development Services Custom web application, ecommerce, CMS, and learning management system engineering across platforms such as Craft CMS, WordPress, Laravel, Django, AWS, Webflow, and Shopify.
• Engagement and Optimization Services Post-launch engagement work that optimizes client digital products through ongoing iteration, conversion improvements, and feature evolution.
• Support Retainer and Management Services Recurring retainer engagements providing ongoing maintenance, support, hosting oversight, and content or feature management for clients' existing digital products.
• AI Consulting Services Advisory and implementation services that help clients integrate artificial intelligence capabilities into their existing digital products and workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Argyle Winery: 44% revenue increase, 22% purchase increase, 767.5% mobile revenue increase, 464.1% mobile conversion rate increase, 108.6% visit/tasting room pageview increase
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Craft CMScoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight is a Craft Verified Partner, leveraging Craft's versatile CMS and e-commerce solutions. They integrate Craft with leading technologies to craft exceptional digital experiences aligned with business objectives.
• SPARK at StanfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to transform SPARK's drug development education guide into an interactive eLearning platform. Daylight is collaborating on custom LMS development covering subject knowledge, resources, case studies, and real-life project applications.
• OVOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic agency partnership with OVO, a creative agency, to collaborate on client projects and expand service capabilities.
• WordPresscoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight has launched countless content-rich experiences powered by WordPress, delivering scalable content ecosystems through custom implementations, integrations, and ongoing support.
• WP EnginecoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight leverages WP Engine for enterprise-level security, scalability, performance, and support for even the largest clients, allowing the team to focus on designing and building digital experiences.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight designs, implements, and deploys scalable environments using AWS across all major global geographies, meeting security requirements for demanding applications.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight leverages Shopify's platform to unlock full e-commerce potential, combined with end-to-end growth services to create engaging experiences and optimize the buying journey.
• WineDirectcoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight pairs WineDirect with other best-in-class technologies to create inspiring DTC experiences for wineries, efficiently selling, managing, and connecting with customers.
• Commerce7coreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight uses Commerce7 to create immersive direct-to-consumer experiences for winery clients, streamlining sales, customer management, and engagement.
• LaravelcoreTechnology or IntegrationDaylight's seasoned Laravel developers have used the PHP framework for over a decade to build custom applications solving complex business problems at scale.
• ConveyorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaylight partners with Conveyor, a content strategy firm, on projects including Torres online learning and BCI Group website, combining strategic content expertise with technical implementation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• VMLY&R: Global creative and digital experience agency offering brand strategy, technology, and commerce services. Overlaps with Daylight's strategy-through-support capabilities within a much larger portfolio and global delivery model.
• AKQA: Global digital experience agency within WPP providing strategy, design, and technology services across web, mobile, and emerging platforms. Overlaps significantly with Daylight's full-stack offerings at meaningfully larger scale.
• Isobar: Global digital agency within dentsu offering strategy, design, and technology services for digital experiences, commerce, and platforms. Comparable service set to Daylight at global scale.
• R/GA: Global digital agency within IPG offering brand design, consulting, and technology services to enterprise clients. Comparable in service breadth and enterprise focus; larger scale and broader geographic footprint than Daylight.

Direct peers

• LaneTerralever: Mid-size full-service digital agency offering brand strategy, custom web development, and digital marketing. Directly comparable to Daylight's end-to-end services for mid-market and enterprise clients.
• Idea Grove: B2B-focused digital marketing and PR agency providing strategy, content, and digital services. Comparable to Daylight's B2B tech vertical specialization and senior-led boutique delivery model.
• Huge Inc: Independent full-service digital product agency offering strategy, design, engineering, and AI-enabled experiences to enterprise clients. Directly comparable to Daylight across end-to-end digital product build, retainer engagement model, and marquee enterprise client roster.
• Work & Co: Digital product studio focused on designing and engineering digital products and experiences for global brands. Comparable on custom product development, senior-talent model, and emphasis on quality over scale.
• Rightpoint: Digital experience agency providing strategy, design, and technology services across web, mobile, and AI. Overlaps with Daylight on end-to-end digital builds, enterprise client base, and custom CMS/e-commerce development.

Regional players

• Instrument: Portland, Oregon-based independent digital agency offering brand, design, and digital product services. Comparable on service mix and Pacific Northwest positioning though typically serving larger-scale brand engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/daylightstudio
• Facebookfacebook.com/daylight-118706881497576
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/daylight-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

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 Daylight Studio