What Chalkboard Ventures does

Chalkboard Ventures is an Atlanta-based, 100% employee-owned holding company that operates a portfolio of marketing agencies serving enterprise clients. Its two named sub-brands are 22squared, a media agency with roots dating to 1922 and nearly $400M in buying power that ranks in the top 5% of North American digital buyers, and Trade School, a creative agency founded in 2020. The portfolio serves large advertisers across home improvement (The Home Depot), grocery (Publix), software (Grammarly), automotive (Southeast Toyota), quick-service restaurant (Baskin Robbins), and building products (Old Castle APG), with no disclosed SMB or mid-market segment focus.

The company monetizes through the standard agency services stack: media planning and buying commissions/fees, creative production retainers, and increasingly specialized retail media management, data, and analytics services. Distribution is anchored by a fully staffed C-suite across media, creative, data and technology, and HR functions, plus a dedicated Retail Media practice led by an Executive Director. Underlying technology assets are not publicly described as a proprietary platform; the company's technical posture is articulated through "data-driven strategy" and "advanced analytics" rather than named products.

In 2023 the parent rebranded from Guided by Good to Chalkboard Ventures, formalizing the multi-agency structure. The employee-ownership model is presented as a structural differentiator versus private-equity-held competitors, though the absence of disclosed revenue, growth metrics, or proprietary technology limits external visibility into financial trajectory and product moat beyond the 22squared media-buying scale advantage.

Name

Chalkboard Ventures

Legal name

Chalkboard Ventures, Inc.

Website

https://chalkboardventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Chalkboard Ventures is an Atlanta-based, 100% employee-owned holding company operating 22squared (media agency) and Trade School (creative agency), serving enterprise advertisers such as The Home Depot, Publix, and Southeast Toyota with media buying, creative, and retail media services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising and Marketing Services

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Marketing agency services
• Media buying
• Creative advertising
• Digital marketing
• Brand strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services Revenue: The company generates revenue by providing marketing agency services to enterprise clients through its portfolio of agencies. Services span creative, media, digital transformation, technology, and production, billed through professional services arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Chalkboard Ventures is an independently held, 100% employee-owned portfolio of marketing agencies offering creative, media, digital transformation, technology, and production services to enterprise brands. The portfolio comprises two wholly owned sub-brands—22squared, a full-service media agency with nearly $400 million in buying power, and Trade School, a modern creative agency—delivering integrated marketing solutions under a unified umbrella.

Product overview

Chalkboard Ventures is a portfolio of marketing agencies that offers a unified suite of capabilities spanning creative, media, digital transformation, technology, and production services. The portfolio comprises two main sub-brands: 22squared, a full-service media agency specializing in data-driven strategy and advanced analytics with significant buying power, and Trade School, a modern creative agency focused on audience-first strategy and tech-enabled production. Together, these entities provide flexible, integrated marketing solutions under a single portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 22squared: Full-service media agency with nearly $400 million in buying power, ranked among the top 5% of digital buyers in North America. Uses data-driven strategy, advanced analytics, and integrated planning and buying.
• Trade School

Products and services

• 22squared Full-service media agency with nearly $400 million in buying power and ranked among the top 5% of digital buyers in North America. Uses data-driven strategy, advanced analytics, and integrated planning and buying to deliver marketing media services for enterprise client partners.
• Trade School Modern creative agency delivering ideas with emotional weight and strategic depth that inspires lasting change. Combines audience-first strategy, bold creative, and tech-enabled production to bridge brand building with personalization, driving relevance and growth at scale for enterprise clients.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Song: Accenture's creative, marketing, and commerce services division offering integrated marketing transformation consulting and agency services to enterprise clients. Represents consulting-led competition to traditional agency holding models like Chalkboard Ventures.
• Interpublic Group (IPG): Major global advertising holding company operating networks like McCann, MullenLowe, and Mediabrands. Competes with Chalkboard Ventures in integrated marketing services for enterprise clients with significantly larger scale and geographic reach.
• Publicis Groupe: Global marketing and communications holding company operating networks including Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Publicis Media. Provides integrated creative, media, and digital transformation services to enterprise clients, directly overlapping with Chalkboard Ventures' portfolio offering.
• Deloitte Digital: Big Four professional services firm's creative agency and digital transformation practice. Offers integrated marketing, creative, and technology services to enterprise clients, competing with Chalkboard Ventures particularly in digital transformation mandates.
• Omnicom Group: One of the four major global advertising holding companies operating networks like BBDO, DDB, and TBWA across creative, media, digital, and production. Competes with Chalkboard Ventures for enterprise client mandates but at vastly greater scale with global geographic coverage.
• Dentsu: Japanese-headquartered global marketing services group operating Dentsu Creative and Dentsu Media across integrated creative, media, and customer experience management. Competes globally with Chalkboard Ventures for enterprise marketing mandates.

Direct peers

• MDC Partners (now part of Stagwell): Former publicly traded agency holding company that operated a portfolio of independent creative, media, and digital agencies. MDC's model of operating partner agencies with some retained autonomy parallels Chalkboard Ventures' portfolio approach with 22squared and Trade School.
• R/GA: Independent creative and innovation agency owned by IPG, focused on digital product design, brand design, and connected commerce. Comparable to Trade School's creative and tech-enabled production positioning within Chalkboard Ventures' portfolio.
• Stagwell: Publicly traded marketing services holding company that builds and operates a portfolio of digital-forward agencies. Stagwell is highly comparable to Chalkboard Ventures in operating a portfolio of specialized agencies serving enterprise clients, but operates at significantly larger scale globally with public market access for capital.

Emerging players

• S4 Capital / MediaMonks: Digital-first marketing services company built through acquisition, operating MediaMonks and MightyHive. Focuses on data-driven, technology-enabled marketing services for enterprise clients, representing a newer generation competitor to traditional agency holding models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/guidedbygood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Chalkboard Ventures