Clocktower Advisors
Clocktower Advisors is a private consulting firm founded in 2015 by Todd Nilson providing online community and digital workplace strategy, governance, and risk advisory to enterprises, nonprofits, associations, and brands globally, with revenue from professional services, eBooks, and merchandise.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTwo Rivers, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Clocktower Advisors does
Clocktower Advisors is a private consulting firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, operating as an LLC under a single named principal, Todd Nilson (President). The firm provides advisory services across two core service lines: Online Communities Advisory (community strategy, platform selection, community audits, executive alignment, platform risk assessment, and migration strategy) and Digital Workplace Advisory (collaboration platform rationalization, governance clarification, and reduction of fragmentation in employee experience). Service delivery is structured around diagnostic deliverables such as the Community Health Check, Executive Alignment and Stakeholder Briefings, Community Audit and Roadmap, and Platform Risk Assessment and Migration Strategy. The firm has codified several proprietary frameworks, including the Three Layers of Trust (platform trust, convener trust, peer trust), the Time to Courage (TTC) metric for psychological safety, and the Stakeholder Resonance Score; none of these are patented or trademarked in the disclosed data. There is no software product, no public API, and no native AI capability. The technology stack is Squarespace-based (website, e-commerce storefront) with standard marketing automation.
The business model is professional services-led. Primary revenue is generated from project-based consulting engagements with enterprises, nonprofits, associations, and brands delivered via direct sales and a 30+ partner referral network spanning community platforms (Vanilla, Hivebrite, Discourse, Bettermode, LumApps, Hivebrite, Mozzaik365, etc.) and consulting/implementation firms (Grazitti Interactive, VonGeyer Consulting, Talentpoel, Inclusive Communication Services). Secondary revenue streams include digital products sold through the Community Pro Store — eBooks and guides priced from $2.99 to $9.99 — and branded merchandise (e.g., t-shirts from $25.25). The go-to-market motion is consultative and content-driven, relying on a blog, weekly email newsletter, LinkedIn presence, YouTube 'Talk About Your Community' series, third-party podcast appearances, webinar programming, and conference sponsorships (e.g., All Things in Moderation 2025, Wayzgoose). Named customers include Vimeo, The Kern Family Foundation, Genpact, and Truth Initiative (Exprogram), with no disclosed revenue contribution per customer.
Clocktower Advisors firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clocktower Advisors
- Legal name
- Clocktower Advisors, LLC
- Website
- https://clocktoweradvisors.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Clocktower Advisors is a private consulting firm founded in 2015 by Todd Nilson providing online community and digital workplace strategy, governance, and risk advisory to enterprises, nonprofits, associations, and brands globally, with revenue from professional services, eBooks, and merchandise.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Clocktower Advisors is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Two Rivers
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Clocktower Advisors business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Advisory and Consulting Services: Strategic consulting engagements providing community strategy, governance frameworks, platform selection, executive alignment, community audits, and implementation support to organizations.
- Digital Products (eBooks): Sale of digital guides and checklists for community building, including the Community Audit Checklist, Community Charter Guide, and The Ultimate Guide to Building an Engaged Online Community.
- Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise such as the 'What's Your Community Jam' t-shirt, sold through their online store.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Community Audit Checklist eBook |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Create Your Online Community Charter Guide |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | The Ultimate Guide to Building an Engaged Online Community |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | What's Your Community Jam T-Shirt |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Clocktower Advisors product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clocktower Advisors is a strategy and consulting firm that provides advisory services for online communities and digital workplaces. The firm helps organizations build, assess, and improve their community investments through engagements covering community strategy and platform selection, community audits and roadmaps, platform risk assessment and migration, executive alignment and stakeholder briefings, and digital workplace rationalization. The firm also sells digital resources (eBooks/checklists) and branded merchandise through its Community Pro Store.
Product overview
Clocktower Advisors is a consulting firm offering advisory services for online communities and digital workplaces, not a software product company. Its portfolio consists of professional services including strategy consulting, governance advisory, community audits, and executive alignment services. The core offerings are Online Communities Advisory Services and Digital Workplace Advisory Services, supported by deliverable-specific modules such as Community Health Check, Executive Alignment & Stakeholder Briefings, Community Audit & Roadmap, and Platform Risk Assessment & Migration Strategy. Additionally, the company operates a Community Pro Store selling digital resources including the Community Audit Checklist, Online Community Charter Guide, and The Ultimate Guide to Building an Engaged Online Community eBooks, as well as branded merchandise.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Communities Advisory Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 41% faster revenue growth reported by organizations using online communities to foster customer connections
Companies that use Clocktower Advisors
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Clocktower Advisors technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Clocktower Advisors partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- VonGeyer ConsultingminorVonGeyer Consulting provides implementation and consulting services for digital transformation projects.
- Inclusive Communication ServicesminorInclusive Communication Services focuses on accessibility and inclusive communication solutions.
- TalentpoelminorTalentpoel provides talent management and engagement consulting services.
- LumAppscoreLumApps is a digital workplace platform for top enterprise organizations. The partnership provides strategic consulting for digital workplaces, combining LumApps' platform with Clocktower Advisors' expertise in creating safe digital spaces and thriving online communities.
- HivebritecoreHivebrite is a community engagement platform with over 1,000 customers worldwide including JA Worldwide, WWF, and University of Notre Dame. The partnership offers advisory services and community strategy to grow large associations and scale communities for long-term success. Hivebrite's platform provides user-friendly tools for membership management, events, communication, and content creation.
- Grazitti InteractivecoreGrazitti Interactive is a digital innovation leader with extensive experience in implementing, customizing, and managing solutions including CRM, marketing automation, eCommerce, online communities, and analytics. The partnership delivers world-class online community experiences on a variety of platforms, combining Clocktower Advisors' strategic know-how with Grazitti's global implementation team.
- VanillacoreVanilla is a leading provider of enterprise online community solutions since 2009, offering customer communities, Q&A, knowledge base, and ideation. The partnership delivers strategy and implementations for clients worldwide, enabling referrals and collaboration between two recognized leaders in the online community space. Vanilla powered over 3 billion brand and consumer discussions in 2018 alone.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Clocktower Advisors competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Discourse: Discourse is a leading open-source community platform focused on tech and enterprise customers, and a documented Clocktower partner. While primarily a software vendor, Discourse provides strategy resources and a partner network that overlaps with Clocktower's platform-agnostic advisory.
- Hivebrite: Hivebrite is an all-in-one community engagement platform serving associations, alumni networks, and nonprofits (customers include JA Worldwide, WWF, Notre Dame). Clocktower has a 'Core' partnership with Hivebrite; Hivebrite also offers customer success and onboarding services that partially overlap with Clocktower's advisory.
- LumApps: LumApps is a digital workplace and employee experience platform targeting enterprise customers, and a 'Core' partner of Clocktower Advisors. Its focus on digital workplace transformation overlaps directly with Clocktower's Digital Workplace Advisory practice.
- Bevy: Bevy is a community-led growth platform serving enterprise customers (and parent of CMX). It offers community strategy and event-management software plus professional services, positioning it as an emerging player that overlaps with Clocktower's enterprise community advisory.
Direct peers
- Feverbee: Feverbee is a community consultancy and education firm founded by Richard Millington, offering strategy, training, and expert-led community programs. It is one of the most recognized direct competitors to Clocktower in online community advisory services.
- CMX (now part of Bevy): CMX is the leading professional community for community professionals, originally an independent media/events/training company now part of Bevy. It offers training, certifications, and advisory resources overlapping directly with Clocktower's community strategy and governance practice.
- Grazitti Interactive: Grazitti Interactive is a digital innovation consultancy with extensive practice in CRM, marketing automation, and online community implementations. As a 'Core' partner of Clocktower with overlapping online community services for enterprise clients, it is both partner and partial competitor.
- The Community Roundtable: The Community Roundtable is a long-established peer community of practice and advisory firm that helps organizations build and measure community strategies. It directly competes with Clocktower Advisors in the online community strategy and governance advisory space, serving enterprise and association clients.
Broad incumbents
- Khoros: Khoros is a large community and customer engagement platform serving enterprise brands, and the publisher of the 'Top Online Community Experts to Follow in 2025' list that recognized Clocktower's founder. As an incumbent platform with professional services, it is a broader competitor in the same market.
- Higher Logic Vanilla: Higher Logic (which acquired Vanilla in 2021, a long-time Clocktower partner) is an established community engagement platform serving associations and enterprise customers. As a platform vendor with strategy services, it offers overlapping capabilities to Clocktower from a vendor-side perspective.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clocktower Advisors social profiles
Digital presenceClocktower Advisors financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clocktower Advisors leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Clocktower Advisors funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clocktower Advisors 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 Clocktower Advisors
What does Clocktower Advisors do?
Clocktower Advisors is a strategy and consulting firm that provides advisory services for online communities and digital workplaces. The firm helps organizations build, assess, and improve their community investments through engagements covering community strategy and platform selection, community audits and roadmaps, platform risk assessment and migration, executive alignment and stakeholder briefings, and digital workplace rationalization. The firm also sells digital resources (eBooks/checklists) and branded merchandise through its Community Pro Store.
Is Clocktower Advisors a public or private company?
Clocktower Advisors is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clocktower Advisors founded?
Clocktower Advisors was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Clocktower Advisors based?
Clocktower Advisors is headquartered in Two Rivers, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clocktower Advisors make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advisory and Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are digital Products (eBooks) and merchandise.
Who are Clocktower Advisors's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Discourse, Hivebrite, LumApps and Bevy. Direct peers are Feverbee, CMX (now part of Bevy), Grazitti Interactive and The Community Roundtable. Broad incumbents are Khoros and Higher Logic Vanilla.
Does Clocktower Advisors have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clocktower Advisors.