collive

What collive does

COLlive is an independently run, private online news and community portal founded in 2008 by publisher Mica Soffer and operated out of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It serves the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish community with daily news, simchas, mazel tov announcements, obituaries, classifieds, an events calendar, video programming, a daily email newsletter, and ancillary community utilities such as Nichum Aveilim (mourning support) and Hashavas Aveida (lost and found). The platform functions as a unified vertical community hub rather than a set of disconnected products, with content sourced primarily from user submissions.

Underlying the operation is a web-based content management system paired with a classifieds engine and a business-directory sub-brand (Gegent). Distribution occurs through collive.com, a daily email newsletter (COLlive Daily News Roundup), and a WhatsApp community channel; reach spans USA, UK, Israel, Australia, Russia, and Ukraine. The technical surface is intentionally lean: no mobile apps, no public API or SDK, and no AI/ML components are disclosed.

The business model is advertiser-supported. Content and most user-facing tools are free; the only identified revenue stream is display and newsletter advertising sold to businesses targeting the Chabad community, with an explicit "Advertise With Us" funnel on the site. Classifieds are organized across real estate, jobs, vehicles, ride share, tutors, babysitters, and business listings, and the Gegent directory adds a local SMB marketplace layer. Headcount is small (11–50), and there are no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, M&A activity, or institutional ownership.

Name

collive

Legal name

COLlive

Website

https://collive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COLlive is a privately run online news and community portal serving the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish community with news, simchas, classifieds, video content, an events calendar, and supporting community services, monetized primarily through display and newsletter advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community News & Digital Media

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAHAI

Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Religious & Spiritual Publishing

SECONDARYBPAMAJAI

Content Aggregation, Curation & RSS Platforms

Business & Public Services/Web, Mobile & Digital Platforms/Media Streaming, Publishing & Content Platforms

Keywords

• Community news website
• Online classifieds marketplace
• Events calendar platform
• Email newsletter publishing
• Local business directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The platform generates revenue through display advertising sold to businesses targeting the Chabad Jewish community. The site features an 'Advertise With Us' section indicating advertising is a revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

COLlive is an online news portal and community platform serving the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish community. It aggregates and publishes community news, Torah content, simchas, obituaries, op-eds, and video programming, and provides supporting community services including classifieds, an events calendar, a business directory, mazel tov announcements, nichum aveilim (mourning) listings, and a hashavas aveida (lost and found) service. The core service is free to readers, with revenue generated through advertising.

Product overview

COLlive is an independently run Orthodox Jewish news service for the Chabad Lubavitch community. The platform operates as a unified news and community portal combining multiple services including a news website (COLlive.com), a classifieds marketplace, video content programming, an events calendar, business directory (Gegent), and community support services such as mazel tov submissions, lost and found, and funeral support. The offering functions as an integrated community platform rather than separate modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COLlive.com News Service Independently run Orthodox Jewish news service providing Chabad community news, Torah content, videos, simchas, op-eds, and events coverage for the Chabad Lubavitch community.
• COLlive Classifieds Community classifieds platform featuring listings for real estate (for sale and rent), jobs available, seeking jobs, shlichus jobs, business for sale, business opportunities, cars, ride share, tutors, babysitters, miscellaneous items, short-term rentals, and other community listings.
• Gegent Business Directory Business and community directory created by COLlive to promote community businesses and help consumers find information and reviews on shopping, products, vendors, and services in Crown Heights.
• COLlive Video Programming Video programming including Chassidus Applied, COLlive Originals, Historic Treasures with Rabbi Schapiro, Live broadcasts, Shabbos Night Live, and Stump the Rabbi, produced for the Chabad community.
• Events Calendar Community events calendar allowing users to add and view events within the Chabad community.
• Nichum Aveilim (Funeral and Mourning Support) Funeral and mourning support service providing information about shiva locations and prayer times for the Chabad community.
• Hashavas Aveida (Lost and Found) Lost and found service for the Chabad community to report lost items and help locate missing belongings.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Matzav.com: Orthodox Jewish news and opinion portal with breaking news, op-eds, and community coverage. Comparable to COLlive in audience, ad-supported model, and editorial mix.
• Yeshiva World News (YWN): Major Orthodox Jewish news and classifieds aggregator; competes head-to-head with COLlive for the same community readership and advertising spend, with comparable content categories (news, classifieds, op-eds).
• Vos Iz Neias (VIN News): One of the largest Orthodox Jewish news portals in the U.S., directly comparable to COLlive as a community-driven news, classifieds, and opinion site targeting a similar observant Jewish audience with an ad-supported model.
• Chabad.org: The official Chabad-Lubavitch online platform, providing Torah content, news, and educational material. While more educational/religious than news-focused, it overlaps with COLlive's audience and content categories within the same Chabad community.
• CrownHeights.info: Hyperlocal news and community site focused on Crown Heights, Brooklyn — the same geographic anchor as COLlive. Directly overlaps on local news, events, and community announcements for the Chabad community.

Broad incumbents

• The Jewish Press: Long-established broader Jewish newspaper and digital outlet covering news, op-eds, and community content. Operates in the same Jewish media space but with a much wider scope beyond Chabad.
• Hamodia: Orthodox Jewish daily newspaper with significant digital presence covering news, community, and religious content. Comparable audience (observant Jewish community) but much broader editorial scope and larger scale than COLlive.
• YiddishForward / The Jewish Daily Forward: Long-standing Jewish news outlet with both English and Yiddish editions. Operates in the same broad Jewish media category but with a general Jewish audience rather than the specific Chabad Lubavitch niche COLlive serves.

Emerging players

• Jewish Insider: Digital Jewish news and professional networking publication. Adjacent rather than directly competing — focuses on news and professional/business content for a Jewish audience, with a more national, political, and business lens than COLlive's community focus.

Regional players

• Boro Park 24: Local news and classifieds site serving the Orthodox Jewish community in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Comparable in product mix (news, classifieds, community info) but geographically anchored to a different neighborhood than COLlive.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/collivenews
• Facebookfacebook.com/COLlive
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/collive-news

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 collive