What Partners in Crime does

Partners in Crime is a Mill Valley, California-based creative marketing agency operating under a "creative syndicate" or "creative consortium" model — the firm maintains a lean permanent team (disclosed at 1-10 employees) and assembles senior freelance creative, strategy, and project management talent on a project-by-project basis. Founded in 2015 by Stephen Goldblatt (previously CCO at MullenLowe and Evolution Bureau, creative director at Goodby Silverstein, and creative at Butler Shine Stern & Partners where he won a Cannes Gold Lion for the SF Jazz Fest campaign), the firm positions itself as a lean alternative to traditional holding-company advertising agencies. Its four core service lines are Creative Strategy, Content Creation, Brand Identity, and Project Management, delivered across websites, social, TV, branded entertainment, package design, naming/identity, and experiential work. The client roster spans Fortune 500 enterprises (Airbnb, Ford, Twitter, Indeed, National Geographic, Intel Security, Bank of the West, Rabobank), growth-stage tech (Braintree, Study.com, Github, TripActions, HIPPO), consumer brands (Blue Bottle, RightRice, My/Mo Mochi, Space Tea), sports (Bay FC), political and government (Biden 2020, Census), and nonprofit advocacy (Fentalife!).

The business model is professional services on a project-based, quote-based engagement. Revenue derives from project fees, with 70% of new business sourced through client referrals and the remainder through the firm's portfolio website and direct inbound. Sales is founder-led: Stephen Goldblatt personally handles new-business inquiries via direct email and phone, with no intermediaries, resellers, or business-development team. The firm advertises "world-class creative quality" at pricing below traditional agencies, predicated on the elimination of permanent-staff overhead — "no inflated scopes, no bloated teams." Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held, founder-owned, has no institutional investors or PE backing, and has no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, mergers, or leadership changes on record. It has been operating for approximately ten years and continues to publish active case studies spanning 2024-2025.

Operationally, Partners in Crime competes on the senior-talent-and-throughput combination rather than on proprietary technology. Its underlying technology stack is described as not applicable; the firm's deliverable is human creative labor and project orchestration. It does not employ AI-native tooling as a productized capability per disclosed sources. Its defensibility rests on founder reputation, senior-talent curation, ten-year brand equity, and a referral-driven client base rather than on platform, data, or technology assets. Geographic footprint is limited to California, USA, with no global footprint claim.

Name

Partners in Crime

Legal name

Partners in Crime

Website

https://partnersincrime.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Partners in Crime is a Mill Valley, California-based creative marketing syndicate founded in 2015 by Stephen Goldblatt, curating senior creative talent on a project basis to deliver brand strategy, content, identity, and campaign work for enterprise and growth-stage clients across technology, financial services, consumer, and government end-markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Marketing Services

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Content creation services
• Campaign development
• Brand identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

Mill Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Project-based creative services spanning strategy, project management, content creation, and campaign execution. Works on a per-project basis with curated talent assembled for each engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Partners in Crime is a full-service creative syndicate that curates award-winning senior creative talent on a project-by-project basis to deliver strategy, content creation, brand identity, and project management services. The company operates as a scalable consortium of experienced creatives, strategists, and project managers assembled per engagement, eliminating the overhead of traditional agencies to deliver world-class creative to brands.

Product overview

Partners in Crime is a full-service creative agency operating as a scalable creative consortium rather than a single unified software platform. The company curates award-winning talent—creatives, strategists, and project managers—to deliver services on-demand across the full marketing spectrum. Its four core service offerings (Creative Strategy, Content Creation, Brand Identity, and Project Management) function as an integrated suite: strategy informs creative direction, project management orchestrates execution, and content production generates deliverables across all channels and formats. Services are scalable and project-based, with no long-term retained model, enabling clients to access world-class creative at lower costs than traditional agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creative Strategy Services Strategic marketing consulting including brand positioning, audience targeting, and campaign planning delivered by experienced senior strategists. Targeted at brands seeking senior-level strategic thinking without the overhead of a traditional agency planning department.
• Content Creation Full-spectrum content production spanning websites, social media, TV commercials, branded entertainment, and experiential marketing campaigns. Targeted at brands and organizations needing end-to-end creative production across channels and formats.
• Brand Identity Services Naming, visual identity, and package design services for brands seeking distinctive market positioning. Targeted at startups and established brands undertaking rebrands, product launches, or new market entries.
• Project Management Experienced project management ensuring campaigns move forward efficiently without bloated teams or inflated scopes. Targeted at clients who need a single accountable lead to orchestrate strategy, creative, and production across an engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% of business is generated through client referrals, demonstrating high client satisfaction and trust

Named customers23 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Gut: Independent creative agency built around senior creative talent and a lean partnership structure; directly comparable in operating philosophy and target client profile to Partners in Crime.
• Mother New York: Independent, creatively-led agency of comparable scale that competes for the same brand-side CMO budgets as Partners in Crime, with a similarly lean model and reputation-driven positioning.
• Anomaly: Independent creative and brand strategy shop known for operating without traditional agency silos, directly comparable to PiC's non-holding-company, integrated creative consortium model.
• Arts&Science: Boutique, founder-led independent agency delivering strategy, creative, and brand work for premium clients; the closest analog in size and operating model to Partners in Crime.
• Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners: Independent creative agency where founder Stephen Goldblatt previously worked and won the Cannes Gold Lion; directly comparable in heritage, independent structure, and Bay Area roots.
• 72andSunny: Independent creative agency with a similar brand-building, culture-forward reputation and comparable enterprise client mix; competes with PiC for the same category-defining campaign briefs.

Broad incumbents

• BBDO Worldwide: Global full-service creative network competing for the same enterprise marketing budgets as PiC; represents the scaled, traditional incumbent alternative to PiC's lean consortium model.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Largest independent creative network and a frequent competitor on the same brand-side RFPs; overlaps with PiC on creative-led, brand-building work but operates at significantly greater scale.
• R/GA: Global creative and technology agency that overlaps with PiC on digital, brand, and campaign work, with deeper capabilities in product, design, and technology integration.
• Droga5: Award-winning creative agency within a global network (Accenture Song) that competes with PiC for premium creative accounts while offering broader integrated services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Partners1749
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/partners-in-crime-llc

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 Partners in Crime