Common Craft

What Common Craft does

Common Craft, LLC is a small, privately held educational media company founded in 2003 (operational since 2007) and based in Deer Harbor, Washington. The company produces a library of original animated explainer videos, each approximately three minutes long, that use a signature hand-cut illustration style to make complex topics in technology, internet safety, study skills, and society accessible to general audiences. Core products include the Video Library of original titles (priced $14.99–$39.99 for individuals and $39.99 for organization lifetime licenses), the Explainer Academy online school, bespoke custom video production consulting, the Common Craft Cut-outs pack of 3,800 matching PNG visual assets sold for a one-time $49 download, founder Lee LeFever's book "The Art of Explanation" (translated into seven languages), and the free weekly Substack newsletter "The Science of Explanation."

The business operates with 11–50 employees and is founder-owned by Lee LeFever, with no disclosed institutional funding. Revenue is generated across five streams: one-time individual and organization video licenses, the one-time cut-outs pack purchase, Academy subscriptions, custom video production services for enterprise clients (past engagements include Google, Microsoft, Intel, Dropbox, LEGO, and Ford), and book sales. Distribution is predominantly self-serve through commoncraft.com, with a separate direct-sales channel for enterprise custom work. Primary customer segments are K–12 and higher education institutions and corporate buyers using the videos and assets for instruction, training, and communications.

The company's value proposition rests on three reinforcing assets: brand recognition built since 2007 with cumulative video views exceeding 75 million, a sizable catalog of reusable visual assets, and Lee LeFever's personal authority as an author and instructor on the craft of explanation. There is no indication of venture financing, acquisitions, or significant geographic expansion, and the operating footprint remains a bootstrapped, founder-driven content business rather than a venture-scale venture.

Name

Common Craft

Legal name

Common Craft, LLC

Website

https://commoncraft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Common Craft is a founder-owned educational media company that produces ~3-minute animated explainer videos, a 3,800-asset cut-out library, custom video production, online courses, and a book for educators, corporate training teams, and individual learners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Video Production

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

3D Product/Explainer Animation (MPAHACAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Instructional Video & Multimedia (EDAGALAA)

Keywords

• Explainer video production
• Educational video library
• Animated explainer videos
• Online learning courses
• Video licensing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Video Sales: Individual and organization lifetime licenses for educational explainer videos covering topics like technology, internet safety, study skills, and society. Individual licenses at $14.99-$39.99 per title; organization licenses at $39.99.
2. Cut-outs Pack: Sale of 3,800 high-quality PNG cut-out images with transparent backgrounds for use in creative projects. One-time purchase at $49.
3. Explainer Academy: Online school hosted by Lee LeFever offering courses on transforming ideas into animated explainer videos. Includes a free course and paid advanced courses.
4. Custom Video Production: Custom explainer video creation services for brands, including startups, internal teams, and Fortune 500 companies.
5. Book Sales: Sale of Lee LeFever's book 'The Art of Explanation' which has been translated into seven languages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Common Craft produces and licenses an original library of approximately 3-minute animated explainer videos covering technology, internet literacy, study skills, and society topics. Beyond its video library, it runs the Explainer Academy online school, delivers custom explainer video production services for brands, sells a 3,800-asset Cut-outs PNG visual library, and publishes a book on explanation by founder Lee LeFever.

Product overview

Common Craft is an explanation-focused company offering a portfolio of educational products and services. The core offerings include a Video Library of original 3-minute explainer videos, the Explainer Academy online course platform, and Custom Video Production consulting services. Supporting products include a Cut-outs library of 3,800 PNG assets and a published book 'The Art of Explanation'. The company also publishes a free newsletter 'The Science of Explanation'. Together, these products help individuals and organizations solve explanation problems through video-based learning, formal training, professional production services, and educational content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Explainer Academy: Online school hosted by Lee LeFever teaching how to transform ideas into animated explainer videos
• The Science of Explanation
• Common Craft Cut-outs

Products and services

• Original Videos (Video Library) A library of approximately 3-minute animated explainer videos covering topics like technology, internet literacy, study skills, and society, designed for educators, trainers, and individual learners who need engaging explanations of complex subjects. Titles are available via individual lifetime licenses ($14.99-$39.99) or organization-wide licenses ($39.99).
• Explainer Academy An online school hosted by founder Lee LeFever that teaches individuals how to transform ideas into animated explainer videos through courses and training programs, including a free introductory course and paid advanced courses.
• Custom Video Production (Consulting) Custom explainer video production services for brands, turning an organization's idea, product, or service into a clear, concise video suitable for websites or presentations. The service has been delivered for clients including Google, Microsoft, Intel, Dropbox, LEGO, and Ford.
• Common Craft Cut-outs A library of 3,800 high-quality PNG files with transparent backgrounds, organized into folders by category, that match the visual style of Common Craft videos. Files are sold as a one-time pack ($49) for use in videos, presentations, courses, and other creative projects.
• The Art of Explanation (Book) A book by founder Lee LeFever based on years of experience in explanation skills, written for business people, educators, and influencers who want to improve their explanation skills. The book has been translated into seven languages.

Quantifiable outcome

• Videos viewed over 75 million times worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell: Kurzgesagt produces short, high-quality animated explainer videos on complex topics (science, technology, society). It is the most cited direct peer to Common Craft in terms of format — 3-to-10-minute animated explainers — though Kurzgesagt operates at significantly larger scale as a YouTube-first media business.
• TED-Ed: TED-Ed creates short animated educational videos on topics ranging from science to internet literacy, often with custom illustration. It overlaps with Common Craft's video library in both format (3-minute explainers) and audience (educators and lifelong learners), though TED-Ed is non-commercial.
• Demo Duck: Demo Duck is an explainer video agency producing custom animated and live-action videos for brands and B2B clients. It competes directly with Common Craft's custom-production services line in the enterprise and startup segment.
• Epipheo: Epipheo is a long-running explainer video studio that creates animated explainers for enterprise and consumer brands. It is a close comparable to Common Craft in terms of service offering, target customer (mid-market to Fortune 500), and reliance on hand-illustrated animation.
• Yum Yum Videos: Yum Yum Videos is an animated explainer video production company serving B2B and SaaS clients globally. It competes directly with Common Craft's consulting/custom-production business for the same enterprise buyer persona.

Emerging players

• Powtoon: Powtoon provides a self-service animated video creation platform used heavily for explainer and marketing videos. Like Vyond, it positions as a lower-cost alternative to Common Craft's custom-production services for organizations that prefer in-house creation.
• Animaker: Animaker is a DIY animated video creation platform used for explainers, presentations, and social media content. It targets the same small-business and education buyers as Common Craft's video library, offering a subscription-based alternative to one-off purchases.
• Vyond: Vyond is a SaaS platform that lets businesses create their own animated explainer videos using templates and a character library. It competes with Common Craft's custom-production business by enabling in-house DIY creation, especially for corporate training and internal communications use cases.
• Synthesia: Synthesia is a leading AI video generation platform for corporate explainers and training content, allowing businesses to produce avatar-based explainer videos without animation studios. It is the most prominent generative-AI threat to traditional explainer-video studios like Common Craft.
• CrashCourse: CrashCourse produces high-quality educational video series across science, history, and technology. While not a direct explainer studio, it overlaps with Common Craft's educational video library in audience (students and lifelong learners) and topic coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/timothy-ricks
• Instagraminstagram.com/timricks
• Xx.com/commoncraft
• Facebookfacebook.com/commoncraft
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/common-craft

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 Common Craft