Breaking Out the Jar: $25M Investment Cultivates Game Changing Growth

I am excited to announce Design Pickle has raised $25M in growth capital from Colorado River Partners. Typing that sentence is surreal. I have seen similar headlines written by companies I use, CEOs I am friends with, and businesses I admire from afar, but I’d never expect to write something comparable myself. As a bootstrapped organization, taking on capital was not a small decision. Fortunately, we found an investment team that shared not only our vision and values but deeply understood the massive problem we are trying to solve — simplifying creative services and technology for businesses worldwide.

For many of you, this may be your first time hearing about Design Pickle. I want to take you on a quick journey describing where we came from and sharing what’s ahead with this investment for our clients, creatives, and teams.

Our Pickled Beginnings

Like many entrepreneurial stories, Design Pickle was started to solve a personal problem. I was a consultant with clients asking for more designs than I could reasonably produce. Marketplaces were a mess, employees were too expensive, and freelancers proved too unreliable. You could say I was in a pickle.

My solution was simple: Stitch together a combination of creative contractors, a ticketing tool, and lots of Zapier so clients could request designs and get them back in a streamlined manner. Miraculously, it worked. Clients were happy, and designs were flowing.

High off of reading the 7-Day Startup, I saw a new business opportunity. Recurring revenue was all the rage, so I wrapped everything inside a SaaS model, and on January 22, 2015, Design Pickle launched as the first-ever flat-rate subscription graphic design service.

Profitability came the first month. And the next, and the next. Three months in, I spent everything I had in our meager business checking account to sponsor the Infusionsoft ICON conference. Booths were sold out, so I crafted my own sponsorship. I would hand out pickles at lunch. With a pickle cart purchased last minute from Big Boy Ice Cream Inc., I suited up and got to work.

Seven years later, Design Pickle has become the secret weapon for thousands of clients to create the creative content they need, in a simplified, affordable, and reliable way. We’ve completed over 1.25M requests spanning graphic design, motion graphics, custom illustrations, and presentation design, still with the same, flat-rate billing model.

Why This Investment Now?

Creativity is not a simple business. It’s so complex that, for the last several decades, the only innovations have been around the tools creatives use and the way people find creative help.

Our mission is to streamline and digitize the entire creative process, allowing creatives and clients to produce incredible work together. We’ve built a world-class platform to do exactly this, but there’s still so much ahead. We want to improve this experience on both sides of the creative coin. It’s not a small task, and it’s never been done before, but we’re ready for the challenge!

Realizing the scope of our vision, we set out to find a partner that cared about this problem and saw the enormous opportunity ahead. After many, many conversations, dinners, WeWork meetings, and Zooms, we knew Colorado River Partners could help us accelerate this outcome and allow us to build our solutions at a truly global scale.

What’s Ahead

First, we believe a client shouldn’t be in the weeds of the creative process or creative tools. Our platform simplifies everything from creating a request to finding the right creative and delivering the exact feedback required to get a project to the finish line.

Second, we believe creatives shouldn’t be in the weeds having to find work, dealing with challenging clients, and feeling isolated behind a computer screen. Our company provides incredible opportunities for creatives to be a part of something larger than a faceless marketplace. We give them the resources to build their career and join a community of passionate peers. It is our goal to ensure they are endlessly supported by the experience we provide.

As we look ahead, here are a few plans I am excited to share:

To our clients – We will make an outsized investment in our product and engineering teams to build the tools you are asking for, expand the creative services offered, launch solutions to better ideate and create, and further streamline the creative experience.

To our creatives – There is no Design Pickle without the creatives that support our clients. We will invest heavily to improve the way your work is managed, strengthen the foundation and breadth of your opportunities, and expand personalized support inside the jar.

To our teams – Our growth will enable us to add 45+ positions to our roster, promote leaders internally, continue to grow our culture, and most importantly, support whatever you set out to accomplish both personally and professionally.

Onward

Looking back over the last seven years, we’ve faced many challenges, had huge success, experienced setbacks, and pioneered an entirely new business model. Tomorrow, it’s back to work, but I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone who has supported us through the years.

A big thank you to my executive team who guided us through this process, our first board member Chris Ronzio for his endless wisdom across thirty-seven unique channels of communication, our newest board members Brian Sharples and William Kuntz for the immense value they’ve given us from the start, and Colorado River Partners for investing in the vision and future we now share.

If you’re curious about how to add flat-rate creative services to your business or team, let’s chat. If our vision and mission strike a chord, check out the opportunities we have to join the team or become a creative. We’d love to connect.

Your dream creative role is waiting here.

Be a part of our mission to be the most helpful creative company in the world. Together, we can change lives through creativity.

PickleGuy
I’m a graphic designer passionate about web design and social media design. I love to keep learning new design topics and tricks. I taught myself new tools like WordPress, Duda, After Effects, and Adobe XD. Currently, I have more than a year working in the company-, it is a great team!
I consider myself a helpful person and I am focused on finding solutions to every obstacle in life, even is not mine! I spend my free time with my husband and we enjoy chilling at home, visiting the family, or feeding kittens.
Before this, I spent almost a year stressed because my job was not secure, I had to travel about 2 hours every day to go to work and I would come back very tired to share dinner with my husband. I had a lot of debts and bills that kept growing every day.
Now, I have free time to visit my family, go shopping in the afternoons, and watch TV series with my husband! I take time to go to the gym at least three times per week, I work from home, all my debts are paid now and I’m saving money! That is definitely something that I couldn’t do before!
Hi! I’m Timmy, I live in the Philippines with my husband, kids, and 5 dogs! We love to check out nice cafes, walk around our neighborhood, and occasionally play Roblox as a family.
I’m a Product Marketer. I started my life in DP back in 2016 as a ‘junior graphic designer’. It was still a small company back then, with less than 50 Pickles, mostly from the Philippines.
Working in DP enhanced my design skills as I get to work in multiple disciplines, not to mention the number of requests per day that I need to complete! But I loved the challenge because I was able to do it alongside a group of talented designers! I was able to pay it forward by becoming one of the Instructional Designers for new hires. But how did I end up here in Product Marketing, you may ask? Opportunities open very swiftly and you can either just let them pass or grab them immediately! I chose the latter. There’s always a first time for everything if you just keep yourself open to learning – no matter how painful it is!
As a product marketer, my goal is to deliver our product updates in a timely manner. I’m also excited to keep on working on our quarterly product updates! Design Pickle did not only widen my network of fellow designers but also paved the way for me to aspire to experience things I couldn’t even imagine before for so many crippling reasons!
On a personal note, I’m really passionate about being a Mom! This drives me to be better at everything I do, whether it’s personally or on a professional level.
I’m from the Philippines, living with my family and 7 dogs. Both my parents and I were relieved and happy that I get to work remotely! When I started in DP, I really enjoyed being a designer -I even made it to Rookie of the year in 2018-.I continued my journey and eventually, I became a Team Coordinator.
I’ve witnessed myself grow, and luckily, now I lead a group of talented designers. I’ve worked hard and really enjoyed this role so much – -I was recognized twice as WOW Team Coordinator of the Year in 2019 and 2020-  I know  I don’t just like my job. I truly love it – Of course, it gets challenging at times! I just have to remind myself of my purpose-.
Design Pickle helped me get out of my comfort zone. As an introvert, I’ve always preferred working alone and accomplishing everything on my own, but Design Pickle inspired me to bring out skills I never knew existed. I never imagined that I would be able to speak in front of an audience, or even lead a team of talented designers and now I can make an impact on others and I can help them make their jobs much easier. It’s really heartwarming to witness myself and others grow, excel, and be recognized because of my role as a Team Coordinator.
I’m from Bogotá and when I’m not working, I’m usually spending time with my loved ones. I’m a huge geek, I love The Simpsons and I’m also a Batman fan.
I used to be a full-time workaholic, and I’m not proud of that at all! I had to learn the hard way that there’s more in life than your job. Before Design Pickle, in my previous job, things suddenly became a nightmare: I barely slept, I didn’t spend any of my free time with my loved ones or even taking time for myself, and it really ended up affected my health and my personal relationships.
I worked as a product designer with a company that produces and imports licensed products for kids, and despite how it affected me, I really enjoyed that job. Then, the pandemic hit and I didn’t have a job anymore. it was hard. I’m not going to lie, it was terrible. But then, I found DP and it was a blessing as it helped me learn the importance of good time management, and it was a blessing. God took good care of me.
Professionally speaking, working with DP felt 50 times more fulfilling than my previous job I think Design Pickle is an excellent place for people who chose a creative career as their life path, cause during the time I’ve been here it really has felt like following my dream career was the right choice after all.
I’m passionate about life. You only have one, so you gotta make it count. I try to help the people around me enjoy things as much as possible. Life is too short to worry about silly stuff, and God knows people around me help me too, by experiencing many different emotions and enjoying each day in a special way.
I’m from Puebla, Mexico, and have lived here most of my life, I’m a Team Coordinator and I‘m very passionate when it comes to managing my team, helping with what they need, and seeing them thrive and grow. It is indeed very fulfilling! Outside my job, I love going on walks, exercising, hanging out with friends, enjoying my family, and always doing new stuff, I also enjoy traveling whenever I can.
Design Pickle has been a huge support for me in very difficult parts of my life and has helped me grow a lot. It gave me the chance to lead in my own style and has made me learn and grow inside and outside the company. I look forward to continuing on this path.
Hi, I’m Beni, from the beautiful “Perla del Mar de Oriente” (Pearl of the Orient), Philippines! I’m currently a Recruitment Coordinator. I graduated Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and took certificate courses in Web Design, Graphics and Print Media Arts, and Dressmaking.
I’m interested in almost anything related to creativity and I usually share this interest in my work and even my service to the community or the parish. Creativity is not only about art but also about having the ability to see things differently and how to thrive to make things better.
Outside of work, I’m an active member of Singles for Christ and Parish ministries. If I’m feeling a bit artistic, I create artwork for my Redbubble account. I’ve also published 2 coffee table books just for myself -for now-, just to test things out. In my downtime, I like playing games, may it be board, online, or arcade games. And I have my pet bettas and brine shrimps to keep me company.
Here at Design Pickle, I’m able to learn about different cultures in the comfort of my own home. It’s awesome to be able to practice different languages as well and to get to know the people I’m working with. Perhaps in the future, I’ll be able to see them in person. I can also save energy and time to do other things, like supporting our community or parish or taking online courses rather than spending it commuting. Plus, I’m also able to travel and work at the same time!
I consider myself passionate about honing and sharing my creativity where and whenever it is needed. I love traveling and experiencing what the world has to offer or teach me. I’m able to meet people along the way, know their stories and learn from them. With that, I also learn more about myself.
Industrial Designer from Mexico, Boney describes himself as a social introvert gaymer, he loves to travel and explore the world as well as learn new things and teach them to his loved ones.
I’m in charge of my own team with 9 designers from all over the globe who are amazing and really talented. Together we lead our potential to go above and beyond our customer’s expectations.
Before Design Pickle, having a remote job wasn’t on my radar because  I didn’t know that was even possible. In my previous jobs, my free time was limited since they always needed me to do overtime and even continue working on my tasks on the weekend. Those jobs were very toxic environments, and I was surrounded by gossip and discrimination.
Design Pickle respects my time, my identity, and my decisions. It has taught me how to lead my professional life following its core values, in order to create a friendly and enjoyable environment for my team, and me, where we have grown in both our professional and personal lives. DP has shown me that I’m capable of improving myself and it has enabled me to reach new professional heights I didn’t know I was capable of.
Now, I’m planning to start traveling around the world to learn from different cultures and create new connections with new people, with my environment, and with myself. I love being able to be open to new experiences and share them with my loved ones.