Blackfin Webware

What Blackfin Webware does

Blackfin Webware LLC is a privately held, bootstrapped web design, development, and digital marketing agency founded in 1994 by Tom Cowin, originally rooted in an ISP operation. The firm is headquartered in the Pacific Northwest with offices in Seattle, Portland, and Bellingham, Washington, serving a regional client base through direct, consultative sales engagements via phone, email, and its website contact form.

The company's core offerings span four service lines: web development (marketing sites on WordPress and Drupal, custom web applications on Laravel/PHP, and native iOS/Android apps), design (logos, wireframes, UI/UX, and visual identity), digital marketing and strategy (SEO, UX optimization, lead generation, and content), and recurring web support, maintenance, and hosting. Its technology stack is mainstream LAMP-era web tooling — WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, Symfony, PHP, Vue.js, jQuery, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3 — and the firm has built bespoke platforms such as a SaaS conference management system for SETAC and a custom mobile ad management system for West Seattle Blog. No AI/ML, proprietary data assets, patents, certifications, or external funding are disclosed.

Blackfin operates on a quote-based, project-led model with a managed-services layer for hosting and maintenance. Its named client base spans nonprofits (Bridgeways, Future of Life Institute), professional associations (SETAC), industrial manufacturing (Hy-Grade Valve), media (West Seattle Blog), healthcare (Olympic Spine), and legal SMBs (Law Office of Rachel L. Felbeck), with no anchor customer and revenue figures undisclosed. The team comprises five members including the founder, and the firm relies on content marketing, organic SEO, and referrals rather than paid acquisition or channel partnerships.

Name

Blackfin Webware

Legal name

Blackfin Webware LLC

Website

https://blackfin.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blackfin Webware LLC is a privately held Pacific Northwest web design, development, SEO, and hosting agency serving nonprofits, SMBs, and select mid-market clients since 1994.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirkland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Web Development Services: Custom web development including marketing websites, web apps, SaaS solutions, and mobile applications. Project-based engagements typically ranging from website refreshes to complex enterprise applications.
2. Design Services: Brand identity, logo design, UI/UX design, wireframes, mockups, and visual design services. Provided as standalone offerings or bundled with development projects.
3. Digital Marketing & Strategy Services: SEO strategy, content marketing, UX optimization, digital strategy, lead generation, and paid acquisition services.
4. Web Support, Maintenance & Hosting: Ongoing support, security monitoring, updates, hosting management, and consulting services. Likely structured as recurring retainer or subscription arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blackfin Webware is a full-service web design and development agency that crafts custom websites, web applications, SaaS platforms, and mobile apps for businesses and nonprofits. The firm bundles strategy, design, development, SEO, and ongoing hosting/maintenance into integrated engagements. It also delivers brand identity, UX/UI design, and digital marketing services to drive measurable business results for clients.

Product overview

Blackfin Webware is a full-service web design and development agency offering a unified suite of services including Web Development, Design, Digital Marketing & Strategy, and Web Support/Maintenance & Hosting. The company operates from Pacific Northwest locations (Seattle, Portland, Bellingham) and has served diverse clients including nonprofits, small businesses, and corporate clients since 1994.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web Development Services Full-service custom web development including marketing websites on WordPress and Drupal, custom web applications built with Laravel and PHP, SaaS solutions, and native iOS/Android mobile applications, delivered to nonprofits, SMBs, and enterprise clients.
• Design Services Human-centered design services including logo design, brand identity, UX wireframes, UI mockups, icons, infographics, and visual assets, offered standalone or bundled with development projects.
• Digital Marketing & Strategy Services SEO strategy, content marketing, UX optimization, conversion improvement, lead generation, brand visibility development, and analytics tracking services that turn websites into growth channels for clients.
• Web Support, Maintenance & Hosting Ongoing managed support, security monitoring, backups, updates, consulting, and high-traffic-ready hosting with dedicated servers and CDN for client websites and applications, structured as recurring retainer engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Phone calls changed from general information inquiries to purchase inquiries after website modernization
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Direct peers

• Lullabot: Mid-sized digital agency specializing in Drupal and complex web application builds, with design, development, and strategy services. Closely comparable to Blackfin's custom CMS and complex web app work, particularly the Drupal stack and SETAC-style SaaS builds.
• Human Made: WordPress and enterprise web development agency with global delivery, serving nonprofits and enterprises with custom platforms. Comparable to Blackfin in targeting nonprofits and delivering bespoke CMS-driven solutions.
• 10up: WordPress-focused digital agency offering web development, design, and strategy services for enterprise and SMB clients. Direct overlap with Blackfin's WordPress core competency and full-service model.
• Bluecadet: Digital experience agency focused on museums, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations, with custom web apps and interactive experiences. Closely comparable to Blackfin's nonprofit-heavy client mix and custom platform delivery.
• FINE: Brand strategy and design agency with digital product capabilities serving mission-driven and enterprise clients. Comparable integrated brand-design-development offering aimed at similar client profiles.
• Viget: Full-service digital agency offering strategy, design, and development across web and mobile. Highly comparable end-to-end service suite and similar mid-market positioning to Blackfin.
• Happy Cog: Design and development agency with strong content strategy and WordPress capabilities. Comparable integrated approach of design + development + strategy serving mission-driven organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Pantheon: WebOps platform for Drupal and WordPress sites, providing hosting, CI/CD, and performance tooling. Comparable to Blackfin's managed hosting layer and serves the same Drupal/WordPress customer base.
• WP Engine: Large managed WordPress hosting and digital experience platform offering hosting, security, and agency-grade tooling. Operates in the same WordPress ecosystem Blackfin builds in, and offers overlapping managed services capabilities.

Regional players

• Instrument: Portland-based creative and digital agency offering design, development, and brand strategy. Comparable full-service agency model and Portland presence in the same Pacific Northwest market Blackfin serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackfin-software-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Blackfin Webware