It’s been only two months since it was announced that Crowd Favorite would be acquired by VeloMedia; and that deal is nearing completion. Those two brands will be one, under the Crowd Favorite name.
Crowd Favorite has just announced another acquisition: Pixel Jar.
Pixel Jar is a boutique web development shop run by Brandon Dove and Jeffrey Zinn. They are from Southern California and are co-organizers of WordCamp Orange County. They do strictly development services, as well as sell the AdSanity plugin.
Brandon, Jeffrey and the AdSanity plugin will be brought under the Crowd Favorite brand, which will be lead by CEO Karim Marucchi and CTO Alex King.
As Chris Lema notes on his blog (Chris is a board member of VeloMedia / Crowd Favorite), the deal “makes formal an existing relationship; VeloMedia and Pixel Jar have collaborated on previous projects, including working with one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers.”
Karim Marucchi is making it clear, first with the acquisition of Crowd Favorite and now with Pixel Jar, that his aim is for his company to be a big player in the WordPress space. Between these two acquisitions, 10Up’s acquisition of Brainstorm Media, and the rampant hiring up of freelancers into a number of consultancies, it appears the WordPress space is in a period of consolidation.
Such change is probably normal in a market. And it makes sense given that WordPress is so well equipped now for large work that capable agencies need to be prepped to handle such work. There is only so much that an ecosystem of mostly self-employed professionals can do.
As I predicted in my previous article that there would be more of these acquisitions, there are; and there will continue to be. The WordPress employment landscape is evolving. Not only are these WordPress agencies growing, but traditional local and regional consultants and ad agencies all over the country are seeking talented individuals who know how to build websites with WordPress.
It’s a good time to do what we do.
Great article Brian. These are signs of our industry maturing and growing up as WordPress’ share of the web increases. I am sure is there will be more acquisitions and mergers as we stay on this continuum.
“A rising tide lifts all ships.”