Brandlive

Brandlive

Company type	Private
Industry	Software as a service
Founded	2010 (2010)
Founder	Ben McKinley, Fritz Brumder
Headquarters	Portland, Oregon , United States
Key people	Sam Kolbert-Hyle (CEO)
Products	Brandlive Platform, Greenroom
Number of employees	150 (2021), 600 (2024)

Brandlive is a Software as a service (SaaS) provider headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States.

Products

The Brandlive Platform delivers customizable sites designed for video hosting, incorporating interactive features such as chat, audience reactions, polls, product catalogs, and Q&A sessions.

Greenroom is a cloud-hosted video production solution that supports streaming to any RTMP-compatible platform. It offers functionalities including video capture, seamless switching between live and prerecorded segments, and the addition of graphic overlays.

History

2010 — 2019

Established in 2010 by Ben McKinley and Fritz Brumder under Cascade Web Development, Brandlive initially concentrated on embedding live video within e-commerce experiences. The idea was inspired by Brumder’s use of Skype for remote shopping.

By 2012, Brandlive had spun off as an independent company. In May 2013, it raised $1.6 million during its Series A funding round from backers such as Oregon Angel Fund and Portland Seed Fund.

The company was recognized as a finalist for the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards in 2013. A $3.2 million financing round led by Archivist Capital followed in 2016.

Brandlive reported revenue figures of $1.9 million in 2017 and $3.1 million in 2018, placing it among the fastest-growing firms in Portland. In July 2018, Jeff Allen took over as CEO from Fritz Brumder.

2020 — 2021

Early in 2020, Archivist Capital became the majority shareholder; Sam Kolbert-Hyle assumed the CEO role and redirected the company’s focus toward solutions for corporate all-hands meetings and townhalls.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brandlive introduced Greenroom in May 2020. The platform supported more than 230 events for the Biden presidential campaign, generating upwards of $30 million in contributions—including an $11 million fundraiser featuring Barack Obama that attracted over 470,000 viewers—and facilitated celebrity reunion fundraisers.

Brandlive’s Showrooms platform was featured by Vogue Business in February 2021 for its digital wholesale capabilities (discontinued by 2023). That year, Fast Company ranked Brandlive as the #1 Most Innovative Company in Live Events and placed it at #44 on their “50 Most Innovative Companies” list.

By May 2021, Brandlive’s workforce numbered around 150 employees.

2022 — Present

In April 2024, Brandlive expanded significantly by acquiring Notified's virtual event and webinar division, increasing its size fourfold and adding approximately 100 new team members.