Notebleu

What Notebleu does

Notebleu is a privately held design and technology agency headquartered in Seattle, Washington, founded in 2009 by Will Dieterle. The firm delivers web design, full stack development, and content strategy services to a client base weighted toward nonprofit organizations (Artist Trust, Splash International, Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen Film, 10th Mountain Huts Association, Seattle Philharmonic, ACES, Anderson Ranch Arts Center) and select technology and enterprise companies (Highspot, RMI Expeditions, Achieve Institute, Optimist). The practice centers on PHP-based platforms — Laravel, WordPress, CraftCMS, and ExpressionEngine — with notable depth in third-party integrations spanning Salesforce, Marketo, Zendesk, Amazon CloudSearch, Tableau, GiveForms, Blackbaud CRM, and Clover payment processing. The firm has codified its methodology around a "Five Fundamental Development Principles" framework (performance, stability, accessibility, security, SEO) and a component-based design system, and reports over 100 implemented projects across its 15-year history. The business operates as a two-person core team (Will Dieterle on project management/development, Courtney Barnebey on design) supplemented by Robert Half contractors for surge capacity.

The revenue model is professional services hourly billing ($180/hour for commercial clients, $149/hour for nonprofits) billed bi-weekly, supplemented by monthly retainers for hosting, maintenance, and ongoing support. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per project. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on the website portfolio (16+ case studies), the "ABCs of Web Design" educational content, direct contact form inquiries, and referrals. The firm reports a US national footprint with concentrations in the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, and Colorado, and a 15+ year operating history with no external funding, no M&A activity, no parent company, and no leadership changes since Courtney Barnebey joined in 2015. Legal entity is Notebleu Design, Inc., incorporated in Washington State.

Name

Notebleu

Legal name

Notebleu Design, Inc.

Website

https://notebleu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Notebleu is a Seattle-based design and technology agency founded in 2009 that provides web design, full stack PHP development, and content strategy services to nonprofit organizations and select technology and enterprise clients across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Hourly Billing: Billable hours for design, development, and consulting tasks. Standard rate of $180/hour with reduced nonprofit rate of $149/hour. Billed bi-weekly for work completed.
2. Website Hosting and Maintenance Retainer: Ongoing retainer for web application maintenance, hosting, software patches/updates, monitoring verification, and performance/accessibility/integration checks.
3. New Feature Development: Custom feature development estimated individually per project with approval process. All new feature work goes through estimation and client approval.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Notebleu is a Seattle-based design and technology company that delivers custom web design, full stack development, and content strategy services for nonprofits, technology companies, arts organizations, and outdoor/adventure operators. Their work spans website redesigns, WordPress and CraftCMS platform builds, API integrations with enterprise systems (Salesforce, Marketo, Zendesk, Blackbaud), and bespoke enterprise management tools. They also provide ongoing hosting, support, and maintenance under retainer arrangements.

Product overview

Notebleu is a design and technology company offering a comprehensive suite of services organized around three core offerings: Design Services, Full Stack Development Services, and Web Design. Design Services encompasses user experience design, visual design, information architecture, content strategy, wireframing, illustration, photography, and graphic design. Full Stack Development Services provides development using PHP-based platforms (Laravel, WordPress, CraftCMS, ExpressionEngine) with focus on performance, stability, security, accessibility, and SEO. Web Design delivers strategic design combining research and creative solutions. The portfolio includes specialized modules for API integrations, enterprise management tools, accessibility services, quality assurance, hosting, and ongoing support and maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design Services
• Full Stack Development Services
• Web Design
• WordPress Development
• CraftCMS Development
• Content Strategy
• API Integrations
• Enterprise Management Tools
• Website Hosting and Maintenance Retainer
• Website Redesign

Quantifiable outcome

• Pages delivered in approximately 1/100th of standard build time through static page caching
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationAPI integration partner for Highspot project. Notebleu built integrations with Salesforce API to enable robust data synchronization between the community platform and Salesforce CRM systems.
• MarketocoreTechnology or IntegrationAPI integration partner for Highspot project. Integration with Marketo API provides enhanced marketing automation capabilities for the sales enablement platform.
• ZendeskcoreTechnology or IntegrationAPI integration partner for Highspot project. Integration with Zendesk API provides enhanced customer support functionality within the community platform.
• Amazon CloudSearchsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSearch integration partner for Highspot project. Amazon CloudSearch integration provides powerful search capabilities designed to optimize user interactions.
• TableausupportingTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for Splash International. Tableau integration helps boost donor confidence and optimize fundraising efforts through data visualization.
• GiveFormssupportingTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for Splash International. GiveForms integration supports donation processing and fundraising optimization.
• BlackbaudcoreTechnology or IntegrationNon-profit CRM integration for Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Blackbaud integration enables seamless data flow between website and organization's donor/fundraising management system.
• CloversupportingTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing integration for Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Clover integration provides seamless payment experience for customers and administrators.
• WPEnginecoreTechnology or IntegrationRecommended hosting provider for WordPress-powered websites. WPEngine offers WordPress-specific security and performance utilities including managed hosting, CDN, staging environments, and automated backups.
• SendGridsupportingTechnology or IntegrationEmail service routing for web applications. SendGrid allows monitoring of email health and prevents abuse or hijacking of server-side email systems.
• BrowserStacksupportingTechnology or IntegrationBrowser and device testing platform. BrowserStack enables screenshots across multiple browsers, operating systems, and devices for quality assurance testing.
• FigmacoreTechnology or IntegrationDesign and prototyping tool used throughout the design process. Figma enables wireframing, clickable prototypes, visual design, and feedback collection from stakeholders.
• SEMRushsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSEO auditing tool used to ensure website content and structure meet search engine optimization guidelines.
• BitBucketcoreTechnology or IntegrationCode review platform by Atlassian. Used for peer code review of all custom code, integrated with project management and communication software.
• PHPUnitcoreTechnology or IntegrationUnit testing framework used to write and run unit tests for each class and function. Tests run before each commit to verify code functionality.
• Y-DesignssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner for Optimist, Vetri Gallery, and Traver Gallery projects. Notebleu provides ongoing development and feature implementation support for websites originally designed by Y-Designs.
• Robert Half StaffingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStaffing partner used to supplement project capacity with highly competent, local individuals when staffing needs exceed internal capacity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Happy Cog: A design-forward web agency with deep CMS and content strategy capabilities. Comparable to Notebleu on the design-and-content-strategy lead-in to PHP/CMS implementation, especially for mission-driven and content-heavy clients.
• Foster Made: A small design and development studio serving mission-driven and culturally-attentive brands. Similar in size, tone, and nonprofit/cultural client orientation to Notebleu, with overlapping services in web design, branding, and CMS-driven builds.
• WebDevStudios: A long-running WordPress design and development agency. Overlaps with Notebleu in WordPress-centric delivery, custom theme/plugin work, and SMB-to-enterprise client mix.
• Crowd Favorite: A digital agency specializing in WordPress and large-scale enterprise content platforms for media, associations, and mission-driven organizations. Directly comparable in WordPress depth, custom build approach, and recurring-support orientation.
• Human Made: A WordPress-focused digital agency with strong enterprise content and integration capabilities. Directly comparable in core stack (WordPress/PHP), API integration emphasis, and ability to serve as ongoing technical partner to large content-driven clients.
• 10up: A web design and development agency widely recognized for its deep WordPress expertise and enterprise content platform work. 10up competes for the same class of WordPress-centric, full-stack engagements that Notebleu delivers, including API integrations and high-profile content sites.
• Alley Interactive: A digital agency specializing in WordPress and modern JavaScript for publishers, associations, and mission-driven organizations. Closely comparable to Notebleu on platform choice (WordPress), client archetype (nonprofits/associations), and integration-heavy delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• The Nerdery: A much larger digital experience and software development agency with overlap in design + full-stack PHP/.NET delivery. Functions as a broader incumbent that handles similar project types but at greater scale and a wider service portfolio than Notebleu.
• Blue State: A digital agency focused on mission-driven and nonprofit clients with capabilities spanning web, CRM, and campaign work. Comparable in nonprofit/mission client base and CRM integration emphasis (Salesforce adjacent), but operates at significantly larger scale.

Others

• Y-Designs: Listed by Notebleu as an existing design partner. Comparable design-led agency partner providing design assets that Notebleu then develops; included to reflect an actual ecosystem partner named in the data rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/notebleu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Notebleu