JHL

Name

JHL

Website

https://jhlcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

JHL is a female-owned Austin, Texas consulting firm providing integrated public affairs, strategic communications, and event planning services to nonprofits, corporations, and political organizations across Texas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Affairs and Event Planning Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Conferences & Sales Kickoffs (MPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Public affairs consulting
• Event planning services
• Strategic communications
• Fundraising gala production
• Nonprofit advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

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. Strategic Communications Consulting: Public affairs and strategic communications consulting services for associations, corporations, and political organizations
2. Event Planning and Production: Full-service event planning, production, and management for fundraising galas, corporate events, and community events; ranges from intimate private parties to multi-million dollar fundraising events
3. ESM Summit Membership: Annual membership organization for events, sponsorship, and marketing professionals offering ongoing learning, networking, and thought leadership opportunities

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

JHL is a Texas-based consulting firm that delivers integrated public affairs, strategic communications, and event planning and production services. It serves nonprofit organizations, corporations, and political clients with services spanning legislative lobbying, grassroots advocacy, crisis communications, digital media strategy, brand building, and end-to-end event production for fundraisers, galas, and corporate functions. It also runs the ESM Summit annual professional development conference and ESM Trust membership program for events, sponsorship, and marketing professionals.

Product overview

JHL is a female-owned consulting firm offering integrated public affairs, event planning, and strategic communications services. The company operates as a unified service offering rather than a modular software platform, with core services including legislative lobbying and advocacy, full-service event production (live, virtual, and hybrid), digital media strategy, and crisis communications. The company also produces branded content through its 'Make the Connection' podcast and manages the ESM Summit professional development event and membership program. JHL's services are primarily focused on nonprofit organizations, corporate clients, and political advocacy groups in Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Make the Connection: Conversational podcast series hosted by CEO Jennifer Stevens covering public affairs, strategic communications, events, and business topics.
• Art of the Gala
• ESM Summit

Products and services

• Public Affairs Consulting Strategic lobbying, grassroots advocacy, legislative strategy, and political engagement services for nonprofit, corporate, and political clients seeking to influence public policy and government decisions in Texas.
• Event Planning and Production Full-service event planning, design, and production for fundraising galas, corporate events, community events, concerts, and private parties, including virtual and hybrid event capabilities.
• Strategic Communications Digital media strategy, brand building, crisis communications, and marketing services designed to enhance client visibility, reputation, and stakeholder engagement.
• ESM Summit and ESM Trust Membership Annual professional development summit and year-round membership organization for events, sponsorship, and marketing professionals, offering ongoing learning, networking, and thought leadership content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $300M raised for clients and foundations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ESM NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020JHL transformed Art of the Gala into ESM Summit and created ESM Trust as a membership organization for events, sponsorship, and marketing professionals. This is a core strategic initiative providing ongoing learning, networking, and thought leadership content through annual programming and membership.
• RS3minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020Partnership for Tailgates & Tunes live music series at Brushy Creek Amphitheater, bringing socially distanced live music events to Austin during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Feed the Fight ATXminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Community initiative modeled after DC effort where JHL raised money to buy meals from local restaurants and donate them to hospital and emergency workers. Provided nearly 1,000 meals to front-line heroes during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Central Texas Food BankminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2020Beneficiary partner for Tailgates & Tunes event series, with nearly 46,000 Central Texans across 21 counties relying on their services weekly.
• NotleyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Podcast collaboration with Notley team members on donor cultivation and stewardship episode, featuring VP of Strategic Partnerships and Director of Development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Subject Matter: Subject Matter is a public affairs, strategic communications, and creative agency serving corporations, associations, and advocacy groups — a direct competitor to JHL's corporate public affairs and stakeholder engagement segments.
• Vianovo: Vianovo is an Austin-based strategic communications and public affairs consultancy serving corporate and nonprofit clients — a direct, geography-overlapping competitor in JHL's home market with a similar bipartisan positioning.
• Mercury: Mercury is a strategic public affairs, strategic communications, and consulting firm combining government relations, corporate reputation, and brand work — closely mirroring JHL's hybrid public-affairs-plus-communications model for corporate and nonprofit clients.
• Marathon Strategies: Marathon Strategies provides strategic communications, public affairs, crisis, and digital media services to corporations, nonprofits, and political organizations — directly overlapping JHL's service mix across communications and advocacy.
• BerlinRosen: BerlinRosen is a public affairs and strategic communications firm blending media relations, advocacy, and crisis communications — directly comparable to JHL's integrated comms, public affairs, and political-cycle work.
• SKDKnickerbocker: SKDK is a public affairs and political consulting firm with advertising, advocacy, and crisis practices — comparable to JHL's corporate and political communications work and its integrated event-and-public-affairs offering.
• For Momentum: For Momentum is a cause-focused agency combining advocacy, event production, and fundraising strategy for nonprofits and associations — directly comparable to JHL's nonprofit fundraising and event planning work.

Others

• Cvent: Cvent is an enterprise event-management technology platform that increasingly digitizes the event-planning workflows JHL delivers as services — adjacent rather than direct competition, but a structural margin threat over time.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Edelman is the world's largest PR firm with deep public affairs, crisis, and brand-building practices; it serves the same corporate, nonprofit, and association buyers as JHL but at global scale and as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Weber Shandwick: Weber Shandwick is a global public affairs and communications agency with healthcare, corporate, and social impact practices — overlapping JHL's segments but operating at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jhl_company
• Facebookfacebook.com/jhlcompany

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 JHL