Open Late Collective
Open Late Collective is a ~6-person, operator-led CX marketing agency in Chicago offering CX consulting, retention and lifecycle marketing, and brand strategy services primarily to DTC consumer brands via 12-16 week projects and fractional leadership retainers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Open Late Collective does
Open Late Collective is a boutique customer experience (CX) marketing agency that provides consulting, retention marketing, and brand strategy services primarily to direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. The firm offers three core service lines: customer experience consulting (delivered as either fixed-scope 12-16 week engagements or ongoing fractional CX leadership retainers), retention and lifecycle marketing (covering email/SMS programs, personalization, and win-back campaigns), and brand strategy consulting (positioning, messaging, and storytelling). The company is positioned as operator-led rather than strategist-led, differentiating on the founder's first-hand experience scaling consumer brands.
The company was founded by Jess Cervellon, who previously built the CX and retention infrastructure at Feastables (MrBeast's consumer brand), and operates as a small team of approximately 6 employees out of Chicago, IL. Open Late Collective has no proprietary technology platform; it is a services business that leverages industry-standard CX and eCommerce tooling and supplements client work with custom-built performance dashboards. The firm is registered as Open Late Collective LLC, is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, and produces content assets including the "After Hours" podcast and a blog ("Gimme More") to support inbound demand generation.
The business generates revenue from two streams: project-based CX consulting engagements and fractional CX leadership retainers, with pricing disclosed only post-discovery and billed either on a project or monthly subscription basis. Client acquisition is consultative and inbound-driven, supported by community-led content marketing and podcast appearances. Named clients include Equip Foods, Taste Salud, Manukora, Lineage Provisions, goPure, and Beautiful Bastard, spanning CPG, food, health, beauty, and apparel categories with a mix of startup and mid-market customer profiles.
Open Late Collective firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Late Collective
- Legal name
- Open Late Collective LLC
- Website
- https://openlatecollective.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Open Late Collective is a ~6-person, operator-led CX marketing agency in Chicago offering CX consulting, retention and lifecycle marketing, and brand strategy services primarily to DTC consumer brands via 12-16 week projects and fractional leadership retainers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Late Collective industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marketing Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Customer Experience (CX) & Voice-of-Customer Analytics (BPAHALAK), Customer Experience (CX) & Journey Strategy (MPAAAFAI), Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)
Keywords
Where Open Late Collective is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Open Late Collective business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Project-Based CX Consulting: Fixed-scope consulting engagements for specific CX challenges such as auditing existing CX, mapping customer journeys, or crafting communication strategies. Typically 12-16 weeks depending on scope with clear deliverables.
- Fractional CX Leadership: Ongoing retainer-style engagement providing high-level CX expertise without full-time hire commitment. Embeds into client's team for continuous strategy development, guidance, and implementation support. Adapts as client needs evolve.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-Based CX Consulting - Fixed-scope engagement for targeted CX challenges |
| Subscription | Monthly | Fractional CX Leadership - Ongoing part-time CX executive engagement |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Open Late Collective product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Late Collective is a CX marketing agency that blends customer experience consulting, retention and lifecycle marketing, and brand strategy to help direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands build scalable, customer-centric growth. Services are delivered via fixed-scope project engagements (typically 12-16 weeks) and fractional CX leadership retainers, covering CX audits, journey mapping, email/SMS programs, personalization, win-back campaigns, positioning, storytelling, and subscription/loyalty program optimization.
Product overview
Open Late Collective is a CX marketing agency offering three core service offerings: Customer Experience Consulting (available as project-based engagements or fractional CX leadership), Retention & Lifecycle Marketing (email/SMS campaigns, personalization, win-back strategies), and Brand Strategy Consulting (audience insights, positioning, storytelling). The company also produces educational content including the 'After Hours' podcast, free resources like the CX Blueprint guide, and maintains a blog with case studies. The portfolio is structured as a service-based agency rather than a software platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Customer Experience Consulting
Quantifiable outcome
- 37% increase in automation and 35%+ reduction in help tickets achieved for Taste Salud through CX mentorship
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Late Collective
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Open Late Collective technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Open Late Collective partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Open Late Collective competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Northbeam: Marketing attribution and analytics platform for DTC and eCommerce brands. Comparable because both serve data-driven DTC operators seeking actionable insights, with Northbeam providing measurement that complements Open Late's data-driven CX strategy work.
- Smile.io: Loyalty and rewards platform for DTC and Shopify brands. Comparable because both target retention and customer lifetime value for DTC merchants, with Smile enabling loyalty programs that Open Late Collective consults on and implements for clients.
- Yotpo: Reviews, SMS marketing, and loyalty platform serving DTC and eCommerce brands. Overlaps with Open Late's retention marketing and CX work, particularly around subscription, loyalty, and post-purchase experience optimization.
- Recharge: Subscription billing and retention platform for DTC subscription brands. Comparable subscription-economy client overlap and lifecycle/retention focus area, intersecting where Open Late designs CX and retention programs for subscription clients.
Others
- BrandTotal (now replaced by Pixis): AI marketing platform serving consumer brands with creative and audience intelligence. Adjacent ecosystem player that supports the broader DTC CX/marketing stack that Open Late Collective integrates for clients.
Direct peers
- Gorgias: Helpdesk and CX automation platform purpose-built for eCommerce/DTC brands. Comparable because both serve DTC operators needing CX infrastructure, retention, and support optimization, though Gorgias is software-led vs. Open Late's services-led model.
- Klaviyo: Retention and lifecycle marketing platform for eCommerce brands, offering email/SMS, segmentation, and personalization. Comparable target market (DTC operators) and overlapping capability around retention/lifecycle, though delivered as SaaS rather than agency services.
- Beardwood & Co. Boutique brand strategy and creative agency serving consumer and DTC brands. Comparable because both deliver brand strategy and customer-experience-adjacent services to DTC clients, with similar operator-driven, project-based boutique positioning.
- Crimson Fox Marketing: DTC growth and retention marketing agency specializing in email/SMS, lifecycle, and CRO for consumer brands. Direct services peer to Open Late Collective's retention and lifecycle marketing offering, targeting similar mid-market DTC clients.
Broad incumbents
- Tinuiti: Large independent performance marketing agency with significant DTC and eCommerce practice. Comparable as a marketing services competitor in the DTC space, though much broader in scope (paid media, SEO, analytics) and operating at significantly greater scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Open Late Collective social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Late Collective financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Late Collective leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Open Late Collective funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open Late Collective 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 Open Late Collective
What does Open Late Collective do?
Open Late Collective is a CX marketing agency that blends customer experience consulting, retention and lifecycle marketing, and brand strategy to help direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands build scalable, customer-centric growth. Services are delivered via fixed-scope project engagements (typically 12-16 weeks) and fractional CX leadership retainers, covering CX audits, journey mapping, email/SMS programs, personalization, win-back campaigns, positioning, storytelling, and subscription/loyalty program optimization.
Is Open Late Collective a public or private company?
Open Late Collective is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Open Late Collective founded?
Open Late Collective was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Open Late Collective based?
Open Late Collective is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Open Late Collective make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Project-Based CX Consulting is the primary driver. The others are fractional CX Leadership.
Who are Open Late Collective's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Northbeam, Smile.io, Yotpo and Recharge. BrandTotal (now replaced by Pixis) is listed as an others. Direct peers are Gorgias, Klaviyo, Beardwood & Co. and Crimson Fox Marketing. Tinuiti is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Open Late Collective have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Late Collective.
What industry is Open Late Collective in?
Open Late Collective's product category is Marketing Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAEAC, Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience, with a secondary code of BPAHALAK, Customer Experience (CX) & Voice-of-Customer Analytics. Its NAICS code is 541613 and its SIC code is 8742.