Clearfire
Clearfire is a bootstrapped design, development, and strategy firm that builds membership platforms and user-account websites for nonprofits and professional associations, using Laravel, Craft CMS, Statamic, and Contentful, supported by a distributed US/Europe/LatAm team.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersSpringfield, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Clearfire does
Clearfire is a privately held digital design, development, and strategy firm founded around 2007, headquartered in Illinois and operating a distributed team across the United States, Portugal, and Argentina. The firm specializes in building digital platforms for membership organizations, professional communities, and user-account-driven websites — a deliberately narrow vertical in which it claims roughly two decades of accumulated pattern recognition.
Its technology stack is anchored in Laravel with CMS expertise across Craft (where it holds Verified Partner status), Statamic, and Contentful, and it integrates client workflows through Zapier and Make. The firm has embedded AI tooling across its delivery workflow in three modalities — text generation, code generation, and structured-data analysis — to accelerate design and engineering output rather than to ship AI as a standalone product.
Commercially, Clearfire sells through a three-tier engagement model: Advisory (lightweight strategic retainers), Project (fixed-scope builds), and Partnership (ongoing managed engagement). It serves a mix of enterprise and nonprofit clients (e.g., Cooper's Hawk, Arnold Ventures, NYCLU, Reading Universe, IIDA), is bootstrapped with no disclosed outside funding, and operates with a small team of roughly 1–10 senior practitioners, marketing direct access to senior staff rather than a junior-layered agency structure.
Clearfire firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clearfire
- Legal name
- Clearfire, Inc.
- Website
- https://clearfirestudios.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Clearfire is a bootstrapped design, development, and strategy firm that builds membership platforms and user-account websites for nonprofits and professional associations, using Laravel, Craft CMS, Statamic, and Contentful, supported by a distributed US/Europe/LatAm team.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clearfire industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Platform Development Services
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Specialized Design Services (5414)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)
Keywords
Where Clearfire is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Springfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Clearfire business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Advisory Services: Targeted engagement sprints lasting 2-6 weeks, focused on answering specific questions or unblocking decisions such as audits, evaluations, roadmaps, or reviews.
- Defined Project Engagements: Scoped initiatives such as redesigns, rebuilds, or key integrations delivered from strategy through launch with the same team end-to-end. Typically 3-9 months in duration.
- Ongoing Partnership: Continuous relationships spanning 12+ months that include strategy, design, build, integration, and care - focused on client roadmap rather than a ticket queue. Includes proactive maintenance, performance optimization, and strategic guidance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Advisory - Targeted Engagement for decision points |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project - Defined Build for major launches |
| Subscription | Annual | Partnership - Ongoing Partnership for platform owners |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Clearfire product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clearfire provides professional services to membership organizations, professional communities, and user-account platforms, covering digital strategy and consulting, UX design, custom platform development on Craft CMS and Laravel, systems integration across AMS/CRM and operational tools, and post-launch ongoing care. Engagements are structured as short advisory sprints (2-6 weeks), defined project builds (3-9 months), or long-term partnerships (12+ months) where the team operates as an embedded extension of the client's organization.
Product overview
Clearfire offers a portfolio of interconnected digital platform services organized around strategy, design, development, and ongoing optimization. Their core offering combines Digital Strategy & Consulting, Design & User Experience, Platform Development (including Craft CMS and Laravel custom apps), Systems Integration, and Ongoing Care & Optimization into a unified engagement model. The company specializes in membership organizations, professional communities, and user-account platforms where they serve as an embedded strategic and execution partner. Craft CMS Development is offered as a specialized competency within the broader platform development service. Engagements are structured as Advisory (2-6 week focused sprints), Project (3-9 month defined builds), or Partnership (12+ month ongoing relationships).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Strategy & Consulting Strategic advisory service including technology audits, platform roadmaps, member journey mapping, and engagement strategy to help membership organizations and professional communities clarify what to build before investing in design or development. Structured as 2-6 week Advisory sprints.
- Design & User Experience UX strategy and interface design service covering user experience planning, responsive design, content architecture, and design systems for websites, member dashboards, portals, and mobile experiences. Used by membership organizations and user-account platforms.
- Platform Development Custom web platform development service encompassing Craft CMS-driven websites, member portals, custom Laravel web applications, commerce systems, search and discovery features, dashboards, and API extensions for membership organizations, professional communities, and user-account platforms.
- Systems Integration Systems integration and automation service connecting AMS/CRM systems, event platforms, payment processors, content platforms, and operational tools through APIs, custom development, and automation platforms like Zapier and Make.
- Ongoing Care & Optimization Post-launch maintenance and continuous improvement service including security updates, performance optimization, bug fixes, uptime monitoring, feature enhancements, and AI-assisted operational improvements. Delivered under multi-year Partnership engagements.
- Craft CMS Development Specialized Craft CMS implementation service for building flexible, content-driven websites and member experiences, including marketing sites, membership portals, custom applications, and ongoing Craft CMS support and upgrades. Clearfire holds Craft Partner Verified status.
Quantifiable outcome
- Platforms that evolve continuously alongside the people who use them, compounding value year after year instead of drifting toward the next big rebuild
Companies that use Clearfire
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Clearfire technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability9 records
Feature2 records
Clearfire partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Craft CMScoreClearfire is a Craft Partner Verified developer, using Craft CMS as one of their preferred platforms for building modern digital experiences since its launch in 2013. They build CMS-driven websites, membership platforms, content hubs, and custom user-account platforms on Craft CMS.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Clearfire competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Velir: Digital experience agency with deep CMS and custom platform development capabilities. Comparable in custom web application work, integrations, and ongoing optimization services.
- Forum One: Digital agency building websites, platforms, and digital programs for associations, foundations, and mission-driven organizations. Direct overlap with Clearfire in membership/community platform work and Craft/Drupal-led delivery.
- Elevated Third: Digital experience agency for associations and mission-driven orgs, focused on Drupal and CMS-led platform builds with integration and ongoing support. Comparable in vertical focus and platform-development service mix.
- The Berndt Group: Digital agency specializing in associations and member-based organizations, with deep CMS platform work and ongoing care offerings. Highly comparable vertical focus and engagement model to Clearfire.
- Happy Cog: Design and development agency with a long-standing focus on content-driven CMS platforms and craft-led execution. Comparable in senior-team, CMS-centric delivery for editorial and community clients.
- Bluecadet: Digital experience agency building interactive platforms for cultural, educational, and mission-driven institutions. Comparable in design + custom development + systems integration for membership-style audiences.
- BlueModus: Digital agency specializing in CMS implementations (Kentico, Sitecore, Optimizely) for associations and enterprise. Comparable in CMS-led delivery and association vertical focus.
- Blue Cypress: Association-focused consulting, technology, and services firm. Directly comparable in vertical specialization on membership organizations, with a broader portfolio that includes strategy and operations alongside platform work.
- New Target: Digital agency serving associations and member-based organizations with web platforms, integrations, and ongoing support. Closely comparable vertical and CMS-led delivery approach.
Broad incumbents
- Big Duck: Branding and communications agency for nonprofits and associations. Broader scope than Clearfire but overlapping client base (nonprofits, associations) and serves as an alternative for the same membership-organization RFPs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clearfire social profiles
Digital presenceClearfire financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clearfire leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Clearfire funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clearfire 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 Clearfire
What does Clearfire do?
Clearfire provides professional services to membership organizations, professional communities, and user-account platforms, covering digital strategy and consulting, UX design, custom platform development on Craft CMS and Laravel, systems integration across AMS/CRM and operational tools, and post-launch ongoing care. Engagements are structured as short advisory sprints (2-6 weeks), defined project builds (3-9 months), or long-term partnerships (12+ months) where the team operates as an embedded extension of the client's organization.
Is Clearfire a public or private company?
Clearfire is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clearfire founded?
Clearfire was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Clearfire based?
Clearfire is headquartered in Springfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clearfire make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advisory Services are the primary driver. The others are defined Project Engagements and ongoing Partnership.
Who are Clearfire's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Velir, Forum One, Elevated Third, The Berndt Group, Happy Cog, Bluecadet, BlueModus, Blue Cypress and New Target. Big Duck is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Clearfire have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clearfire.
What industry is Clearfire in?
Clearfire's product category is Digital Platform Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAA, Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7370.