The Lilypad
The Lilypad is an independent single-location music venue and event space in Cambridge, MA that hosts daily live music across multiple genres, yoga with live music classes, piano lessons, open mics, and private rentals for the Greater Boston community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Lilypad does
The Lilypad is an independently operated, single-location music venue and event space located at 1353 Cambridge Street in the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The venue operates as a multi-purpose live arts space, hosting nightly programming that spans jazz (its primary genre focus), folk, indie rock, electronic, avant-garde, and hip-hop, alongside weekly Hatha Yoga with Live Music classes, piano lessons, art events, and recurring community programming including The Lilypad Variety Show (Wednesday open mic), the Hooley Hour (Friday Irish session), and free lunchtime concerts Tuesday through Friday. The venue's core product is its physical space and curated event calendar, with no proprietary software platform or technology stack beyond standard third-party ticketing (Eventbrite, Brown Paper Tickets), Google Calendar integration, and a website with email newsletter distribution.
The Lilypad generates revenue primarily through per-event ticket sales ($5-$35, with most events priced $10-$20 and a significant portion free admission with donations encouraged), yoga class fees ($20-$25 at the door, $15 for students and seniors), beverage sales (coffee, tea, sodas, wine, beer) during events, and private event rentals. Ticketing is sold both online through third-party platforms and at the door via cash or Venmo. The venue operates with a lean 19-person team in an owner-operator model, with no institutional investors, no parent company, and no disclosed funding. Its customer base is distributed across four horizontal segments — live music enthusiasts (primary), yoga and wellness practitioners, emerging and local artists seeking performance opportunities, and Cambridge community members seeking affordable cultural programming.
Marketing is conducted almost entirely through owned digital channels (website, email newsletter, artist Instagram accounts) and organic discovery (Google Calendar, event listing platforms), with no paid advertising strategy disclosed. The venue's competitive positioning rests on its intimate scale, diverse genre programming, the integration of wellness (yoga with live music) as a differentiated offering, free community events, and a curated roster of established and emerging local artists anchored by partnerships with Berklee College of Music. No expansion into additional locations, no M&A activity, and no material capital structure changes are evident from the source data.
The Lilypad firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Lilypad
- Legal name
- The Lilypad
- Website
- https://lilypadinman.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Lilypad is an independent single-location music venue and event space in Cambridge, MA that hosts daily live music across multiple genres, yoga with live music classes, piano lessons, open mics, and private rentals for the Greater Boston community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Lilypad industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Music Venue & Event Space
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Outdoor Amphitheater & Open-Air Venue Operations (MPAGALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)
Keywords
Where The Lilypad is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Lilypad business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Event Ticket Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from admission fees for concerts and performances. Ticket prices range from free events to $35 for premium performances, with most events priced between $10-$20. The venue accepts advance tickets online and door sales.
- Yoga Classes: Weekly Hatha Yoga classes with live music accompaniment. Classes are priced at $20-25 at the door, with $15 discounted rate for students and seniors. Reservations are handled through Eventbrite.
- Donations: Free lunchtime concerts encourage donations to musicians. The venue also accepts donations through a dedicated donate page.
- Beverage Sales: The venue offers drinks for purchase including coffee, tea, sodas, wine and beer during events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | General admission for concerts and performances |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hatha Yoga with Live Music classes |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free events |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Lilypad product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Lilypad is a single-location physical music venue and event space at 1353 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, hosting live music performances across multiple genres (jazz, folk, indie, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop), free lunchtime concerts supported by donations, weekly Hatha Yoga classes with live music accompaniment, piano lessons, an open mic variety show, and private event rentals. Ticketed events generally range from $5 to $35, with most concerts priced between $10 and $20, and the venue offers student and senior discounts alongside sliding-scale pricing on selected events.
Product overview
The Lilypad is a single-location music venue and event space offering live music performances across genres (jazz, folk, indie, electronic, avant-garde), wellness classes (yoga, piano lessons), art events, open mic nights, and private event rentals. The venue operates as a unified offering rather than a platform with modular products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Music Concerts Ticketed live music performances held at the venue across jazz, folk, indie, electronic, avant-garde, modern, hip-hop, and singer-songwriter genres, with general admission typically priced $5-$35 (most events $10-$20) and available both online via Eventbrite/Brown Paper Tickets and at the door.
- Free Lunchtime Concerts Free-admission live music performances offered Tuesday through Friday at 12pm, where attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch and donate to the performing musicians.
- Hatha Yoga with Live Music Weekly 90-minute Hatha Yoga Level 1 class at 12pm on Saturdays accompanied by live music, priced $20-$25 at the door with a $15 discounted rate for students and seniors.
- Piano Lessons Piano instruction offered at the venue by Gill Aharon, supplementing the venue's music programming with educational offerings for individual students.
- The Lilypad Variety Show (Open Mic) Weekly Wednesday night open mic variety show running 10pm-1am with a $5 admission, hosted by Jesse Gallagher and open to musicians, comedians, poets, and other performers.
- Private Event Rentals Private venue rentals for events such as birthday parties, community gatherings, and other private bookings at the 1353 Cambridge Street location.
- Beverage Sales On-site beverage sales during events, including coffee, tea, sodas, wine, and beer.
Companies that use The Lilypad
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Lilypad technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Lilypad partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Lilypad competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Regattabar: A premier Cambridge jazz club inside the Charles Hotel. Comparable in intimate live-jazz programming and Cambridge location, though with higher ticket price points and a more upscale positioning.
- Wally's Cafe Jazz Club: A historic Boston live jazz and blues venue operating since 1947. Comparable in intimate jazz-focused programming, community identity, and Greater Boston audience overlap.
- The Middle East: A multi-room Cambridge music venue hosting concerts, restaurant service, and nightlife. Comparable in diverse genre programming (indie, jazz, electronic) and Cambridge location, with broader capacity range.
- Cafe 939: A Berklee College of Music-affiliated intimate performance venue hosting student and professional acts. Directly comparable in genre mix (jazz, indie, folk), intimate capacity, and Cambridge location.
- Club Passim: A longstanding Cambridge folk and acoustic music venue with nightly concerts and a music school. Closely comparable in scale, intimate-format programming, community orientation, and Cambridge location.
- The Burren: A Somerville, MA Irish pub and live music venue with regular traditional music sessions and ticketed concerts. Comparable in intimate-venue format, community-driven programming, and regional Cambridge/Boston audience.
- The Beehive: A Boston live music venue combining dinner service with jazz and world music performances. Comparable in intimate music-plus-hospitality programming and Greater Boston audience overlap.
- The Sinclair: An intimate live music venue and gastropub in Cambridge, MA offering concerts across multiple genres. Direct competitor for both artists and audiences in the same Cambridge market with similar ticket price points and capacity.
- Lizard Lounge: A small Cambridge, MA live music venue hosting emerging and established acts across genres. Directly comparable in capacity, ticketed-concert format, and local Cambridge audience overlap.
Regional players
- Berklee Performance Center: A larger Berklee-affiliated concert venue in Boston hosting ticketed performances. Comparable through Berklee talent pipeline and Boston-area audience, but operates at significantly larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Lilypad social profiles
Digital presenceThe Lilypad financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Lilypad leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Lilypad funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Lilypad 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 The Lilypad
What does The Lilypad do?
The Lilypad is a single-location physical music venue and event space at 1353 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, hosting live music performances across multiple genres (jazz, folk, indie, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop), free lunchtime concerts supported by donations, weekly Hatha Yoga classes with live music accompaniment, piano lessons, an open mic variety show, and private event rentals. Ticketed events generally range from $5 to $35, with most concerts priced between $10 and $20, and the venue offers student and senior discounts alongside sliding-scale pricing on selected events.
Is The Lilypad a public or private company?
The Lilypad is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Lilypad founded?
The Lilypad was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Lilypad based?
The Lilypad is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Lilypad make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Event Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are yoga Classes, donations and beverage Sales.
Who are The Lilypad's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Regattabar, Wally's Cafe Jazz Club, The Middle East, Cafe 939, Club Passim, The Burren, The Beehive, The Sinclair and Lizard Lounge. Berklee Performance Center is listed as a regional player.
Does The Lilypad have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Lilypad.
What industry is The Lilypad in?
The Lilypad's product category is Live Music Venue & Event Space. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGALAG, Outdoor Amphitheater & Open-Air Venue Operations, with a secondary code of THAJAFAA, Concerts & Music Festivals. Its NAICS code is 711310 and its SIC code is 7990.