Two by Four
Two by Four is a Chicago-based parent entity (founded 1998) whose portfolio includes Hootsuite, an AI-powered social media management platform serving over 25 million users globally across enterprise, mid-market, SMB, and government client segments.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersChicago, IL, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Two by Four does
Two by Four is a Chicago-based parent entity founded in 1998 with 51-100 employees and a web presence at hootbio.com/twobyfour. Its portfolio includes Hootsuite, an AI-powered social media management platform founded in 2008 in Vancouver, Canada. Hootsuite operates the Social OS, which combines social intelligence, publishing, customer care, and employee advocacy into an integrated platform serving over 25 million users globally, including enterprise clients such as Adobe, Adidas, Clorox, Nestle, and the World Health Organization.
The platform's technical architecture centers on modular products including Perch (content creation), Nest (social inbox and customer care), Lumen (social listening powered by Talkwalker), Wisdom (social-first AI), and Parliament (employee advocacy). The system integrates with over 100 third-party applications through an App Directory and incorporates AI capabilities through partnerships with Microsoft Azure, OpenAI, and Google. Compliance certifications include FedRAMP authorization for US government workloads and WCAG accessibility standards. Inorganic growth has been pursued through acquisitions including Talkwalker (social listening), Sparkcentral (social customer care), and Heyday Technologies (social commerce AI).
Revenue is generated through a SaaS subscription model with Standard, Professional, Advanced, and Enterprise pricing tiers, distributed via direct enterprise sales and self-serve online channels. The company has expanded geographically with offices in Mexico and Australia, and added a new customer segment through FedRAMP authorization enabling US federal workloads.
Two by Four firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Two by Four
- Legal name
- Hootsuite Inc.
- Website
- https://hootbio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Two by Four is a Chicago-based parent entity (founded 1998) whose portfolio includes Hootsuite, an AI-powered social media management platform serving over 25 million users globally across enterprise, mid-market, SMB, and government client segments.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Two by Four is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago, IL
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices12 records
Markets served
Two by Four business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Licenses: SaaS subscription model with tiered plans (Standard, Professional, Advanced, Enterprise) providing access to social media management platform. Revenue generated through recurring monthly or annual subscription fees based on plan tier.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Plan |
| Subscription | Annual | Professional Plan |
| Subscription | Annual | Advanced Plan |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise Plan |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Two by Four product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Two by Four operates as a social media management platform offering an AI-powered operating system (Hootsuite Social OS) that unifies content publishing, social listening and analytics, social customer care messaging, and employee advocacy. The platform combines modules for content creation, social inbox, insights, AI-driven recommendations, and employee content amplification, integrated with more than 100 third-party social and marketing tools. It serves enterprises, mid-market businesses, agencies, and small businesses managing brand presence across multiple social networks.
Product overview
Hootsuite offers a unified platform architecture called Hootsuite Social OS, which combines multiple modules including Perch (content creation and publishing), Nest (social inbox and customer care), Lumen (insights and listening), Wisdom (social-first AI), and Parliament (employee advocacy). The platform also encompasses acquired brands Talkwalker (social listening and consumer intelligence), Sparkcentral (social customer care solutions), and Heyday (social commerce with conversational AI). Together these products enable users to manage social media marketing, engage with audiences, monitor brands, analyze results, and automate customer care workflows across multiple social networks.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Perch: Content creation, planning and publishing tool within the Hootsuite Social OS suite.
- Nest
- Lumen
- Wisdom
- Parliament
- Hootsuite Social OS
Products and services
- Hootsuite Social OS Unified AI-powered social media management platform combining content publishing, social listening, customer care, and employee advocacy for businesses managing multiple social accounts.
- Perch Content creation, planning and publishing tool for crafting, scheduling, and managing social media posts.
- Nest Social inbox and customer care solution for managing private and public customer conversations across social networks.
- Lumen Insights and listening platform for social media analytics, monitoring conversations, tracking trends, and uncovering audience insights across social channels and the web.
- Wisdom Social-first AI assistant for content generation, trend tracking, competitor analysis, sentiment analysis, and natural language queries grounded in social data.
- Parliament Employee advocacy platform enabling employees to share pre-approved, on-brand content across their social networks to amplify brand reach.
- Talkwalker Social listening and consumer intelligence service gathering real-time data across social channels and the web to provide comprehensive insights, trend discovery, audience identification, and crisis-readiness.
- Sparkcentral Social customer care solution that unifies customer conversations in an interactive dashboard for quick problem resolution and automates prioritization and triage across messaging channels and social networks.
- Heyday Social commerce platform using conversational AI to connect messaging apps with e-commerce platforms, enabling brands to engage customers and sell directly in-chat.
Quantifiable outcome
- 46% follower growth for Barceló Hotel Group
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Two by Four
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments12 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Two by Four technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration46 records
AI capability12 records
Feature7 records
Two by Four partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Level AccesscoreFoundational partnership with accessibility platform Level Access for digital accessibility audits and compliance. Level Access provided team of auditors who evaluated Hootsuite product and website, helping focus accessibility improvements. Their testing software enables Hootsuite's Accessibility Champions to distribute and address accessibility tasks.
- TalkwalkercoreTalkwalker provides social listening and consumer intelligence services for Hootsuite's Lumen platform. Talkwalker S.à.r.l. is based in Luxembourg and gathers real-time data across social channels and web to provide comprehensive insights.
- SparkcentralcoreSparkcentral provides social customer care solutions, unified customer conversations in interactive dashboard, allowing quick problem resolution and automation across messaging channels. Provided by Sparkcentral Europe NV (Belgium) and Sparkcentral, Inc. (US).
- Heyday TechnologiescoreHeyday provides social commerce solutions through conversational AI platform connecting messaging apps with e-commerce platforms, enabling brands to engage customers and sell directly in-chat. Based in Canada.
- Microsoft AzurecoreCloud infrastructure provider used for AI functionality within Hootsuite services
- OpenAIcoreAI model provider leveraged for AI-powered services including content generation and automation features
- GooglecoreGoogle provides AI functionality and Google API Services for YouTube data, Google My Business, and Google Analytics integration. Used for social listening and AI features.
- 100+ Integration PartnerscoreOver 100 third-party integrations available through Hootsuite App Directory, the largest library of social media management integrations
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Two by Four competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- R/GA: Digital-focused advertising and experience agency; comparable as a competitor offering integrated digital, brand, and experience services to enterprise clients.
- Ogilvy: Global advertising and marketing services network; comparable as a large-scale competitor offering the integrated advertising/brand services Two by Four would also provide to clients.
- DDB Worldwide: Global advertising agency network headquartered in Chicago; comparable as a full-service creative/advertising agency operating at much larger scale in the same Chicago market.
- Leo Burnett: Iconic Chicago-based global advertising agency; comparable as an established creative/advertising services firm rooted in the same Chicago market.
Direct peers
- Wieden+Kennedy: Independent creative advertising agency known for brand-led work; comparable as an independently-owned agency competitor in the creative/advertising services space.
- Droga5: Independent creative advertising agency; comparable as a similarly-sized independent agency competitor offering brand strategy and creative services.
- Fallon: Mid-sized creative advertising agency with a similar boutique-to-mid-market positioning; comparable in scale and service offering to a 51-100 employee Chicago agency.
Others
- Hootsuite: Hootsuite is a social media management platform; referenced in the provided dataset as the platform partner associated with Two by Four's web profile (hootbio.com/twobyfour), suggesting Two by Four uses Hootsuite for social media management in its client work.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks2 records
Key highlights3 records
Customer concentration
Two by Four social profiles
Digital presenceTwo by Four compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
Two by Four financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Two by Four leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Two by Four subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Two by Four funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Two by Four 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 Two by Four
What does Two by Four do?
Two by Four operates as a social media management platform offering an AI-powered operating system (Hootsuite Social OS) that unifies content publishing, social listening and analytics, social customer care messaging, and employee advocacy. The platform combines modules for content creation, social inbox, insights, AI-driven recommendations, and employee content amplification, integrated with more than 100 third-party social and marketing tools. It serves enterprises, mid-market businesses, agencies, and small businesses managing brand presence across multiple social networks.
Is Two by Four a public or private company?
Two by Four is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Two by Four founded?
Two by Four was founded in 2008. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Two by Four based?
Two by Four is headquartered in Chicago, IL, United States, in the North America region.
How does Two by Four make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Licenses.
Who are Two by Four's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are R/GA, Ogilvy, DDB Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Direct peers are Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5 and Fallon. Hootsuite is listed as an others.
Does Two by Four have an API?
Yes. Hootsuite provides an API for developers. The Legal Center mentions 'Hootsuite API Terms of Service' at https://www.hootsuite.com/legal/api-terms-of-service, indicating a public API exists for programmatic access to the platform. Developer documentation is at www.hootsuite.com/legal/api-terms-of-service.