Column

Column (column.us) operates as a public benefit corporation with a mission to enhance the value and accessibility of public information systems. The company was founded in 2019 by Jake Seaton, who brings a unique background to the venture as a fifth-generation member of a newspaper family and a Harvard-educated computer scientist with experience at Google. This heritage provided Seaton with firsthand insight into the operational challenges faced by the local media industry, particularly the antiquated and labor-intensive processes of publishing legally mandated public notices.

The firm's core offering is a software platform designed to streamline the entire public notice workflow. It serves a diverse client base that includes government agencies, law firms, private citizens, and media organizations. Clients like law firms and government bodies use the platform for a seamless, self-serve experience to submit notices, from legal announcements and foreclosures to obituaries and classifieds. For newspaper partners, which include major enterprises like McClatchy, Wick Communications, and Lee Enterprises, the platform centralizes the intake, management, billing, and affidavit processing of these notices. This modernization replaces inefficient methods like fax, mail, and manual data entry, thereby reducing operational costs and improving accuracy for publishers.

Column's business model generates revenue by charging a small processing fee for each notice placed through the platform, paid by the entity submitting the notice, while the software is typically offered at no cost to publishers. The company has structured its offerings into tiered plans—Starter, Standard, and Pro—to cater to different publisher needs. The premium "Column Pro" plan provides a full-service solution where Column's team manages the entire lifecycle of public notices on behalf of the newspaper, from order intake and design to invoicing and customer support. Since its public launch in September 2020, the company has demonstrated significant traction, reporting an average monthly growth of 20% and processing more notices than any other entity in the United States. The company has successfully raised $33.3 million in funding over two rounds, including a $30 million Series A led by Lux Capital in August 2022, to scale its operations and product development.

Keywords: public notice software, legal notices, govtech, media technology, public information systems, classified advertising, workflow automation, affidavit management, public benefit corporation, SaaS, Jake Seaton, newspaper technology, legal advertising, government transparency, order management, digital affidavits, publishing software, civic tech, compliance software, information accessibility