Company Overview
A comprehensive guide to Black Diamond's history, mission, and strategic roadmap
Executive Summary
Black Diamond is a GitLab partner specializing in enterprise DevOps consulting, implementation, and product development. Founded in 2021, the company helps organizations successfully adopt and maximize their investment in GitLab's DevOps platform while addressing critical gaps in the GitLab ecosystem through innovative product solutions.
Company History
Origins (2021)
Black Diamond was founded when GitLab reached out for assistance with a client engagement. Chris, the founder, decided to establish a proper corporation and become an official GitLab partner rather than work as an individual contractor. The first engagement took 12 months and, while challenging, was ultimately successful.
The Hiatus Period (2022-2023)
After the initial engagement, Chris returned to work at GitLab directly, putting Black Diamond on hiatus. When Chris later left GitLab to work at a healthcare company, he initially planned to use that opportunity to fund his software product ideas. However, when the healthcare company's investment didn't materialize, Chris reactivated Black Diamond in December 2023.
Growth Phase (2024)
Black Diamond resumed operations with Chris doing engineering work and two project managers. The company maintained low margins to be competitive and win contracts. In fall 2024, GitLab brought project management in-house, leading to staff changes. In February 2024, Chris was laid off from the healthcare company and decided to go full-time with Black Diamond.
What Black Diamond Does
Core Services
Black Diamond provides comprehensive DevOps training/implementation, efficiency consulting, GitLab implementation and support services:
- GitLab Implementation: Complete platform deployment and configuration
- System Administration: Ongoing maintenance and optimization
- Training and Education: Developer onboarding and best practices
- Custom Development: Building solutions to extend GitLab capabilities
- Migration Services: Moving from competing platforms to GitLab
How We Assist GitLab & It's Customers
GitLab as a product is top-tier and enterprise ready. However, GitLab solved complicated & complex problems, which means it is a complex product. Black Diamond assists GitLab & It's customers in the following ways.
- Platform Stability: GitLab requires supporting infrastructure (logging, monitoring, storage, containers). We help make this easy.
- Implementation Complexity: Rolling out GitLab to 1,000+ developers requires coordination, standardization, and extensive planning. We have services, education, tools, and patterns to supercharge adoption.
- Migration Difficulties: Moving from competitors like Jenkins, Bitbucket requires manual recreation of pipelines and workflows. We help GitLab's Customers by doing the hard migration work for them. They go to sleep elsewhere and wake up in GitLab.
Target Market and Customer Problems
Primary Customers
- Enterprise Organizations: 1,000-100,000 developers
- Government Agencies: Regulated environments requiring on-premise solutions
- Small-Medium Business: Organizations needing GitLab support but lacking resources
Core Problems We Address
1. Communication Challenges
- Training 1,000+ developers consistently
- Ensuring uniform knowledge and practices across teams
- Facilitating collaboration between distributed teams
2. Organizational Structure Issues
- Teams with different managers and priorities needing to collaborate
- Breaking down silos between development, security, operations, and compliance teams
- Enabling cross-functional DevOps practices
3. Business Agility Requirements
- Organizations need to respond quickly to market changes
- Traditional development processes are too slow
- Need for faster deployment and iteration cycles
Product Roadmap and Strategy
Business Model and Revenue Streams
Current Revenue Sources
- GitLab Consulting: Direct professional services through GitLab partnership
- Engineering Contractors: Hourly billing for specialized GitLab implementations
- GitLab License Sales: Reselling GitLab licenses through GitLab partnership
- Cloud Partnership: Reselling cloud services through Google, AWS, Microsoft partnerships
Future Revenue Model Additions.
- SaaS Subscriptions: Monthly/annual licenses for product portfolio
- Training Revenue: E-learning platform subscriptions and certifications
- Platform Licensing: Enterprise deployments of Pixel Platform
- Migration Services: One-time projects using Change platform
Pricing Strategy
- Enterprise Focus: Building for enterprise requirements ensures small-medium business compatibility
- Bundled Offerings: Discounted pricing when customers buy GitLab licenses through Black Diamond
- Open-Source Support: Contributing to and maintaining open-source tools that benefit the broader GitLab community while building trust and relationships
Competitive Advantages
Technical Excellence
- Deep understanding of GitLab's limitations and customer pain points
- Hands-on experience with complex enterprise implementations
- Solid relationship with GitLab's staff and teams
Product Integration
- All products integrate directly with GitLab
- Can be deployed in customer environments (government/enterprise requirement)
- Comprehensive ecosystem rather than point solutions
Market Positioning
- Focused exclusively on GitLab ecosystem
- Riding GitLab's growth trajectory (PayPal/eBay strategy)
- Addressing gaps GitLab won't fill quickly or affordably
Partnership Strategy
GitLab Relationship
- Official GitLab partner with strong engineering relationships
- Remain the first choice for complex technical implementations
- Building stronger sales relationships for license reselling
Why Clients Work With Black Diamond
For Customers
- Expertise: Unmatched GitLab technical knowledge and implementation experience
- Complete Solutions: Address all GitLab ecosystem gaps with integrated products
- Cost Effectiveness: More affordable than GitLab's own services
- Speed: Faster implementation and migration than alternatives
- Support: Comprehensive ongoing support and training
For Employees
- Equity Opportunity: Stock options available after Arrcade transition
- Technical Growth: Work on cutting-edge DevOps challenges
- Market Impact: Help solve real problems for enterprise customers
- Innovation: Build products that address genuine market gaps
Future Vision (2-Year Outlook)
Market Position
- Synonymous with GitLab success
- Customers come to us rather than requiring outbound sales
- Premium pricing based on proven value delivery
Product Maturity
- Complete product portfolio addressing all GitLab ecosystem gaps
- Established customer base with recurring revenue
- Proven ROI for enterprise implementations
Company Growth
- C-Corporation structure enabling investment and growth
- Established stock option program for employees
- Potential for acquisition or IPO based on success metrics
Key Success Metrics
Short-term (6-12 months)
- Launch all planned products on schedule
- Establish recurring revenue streams
- Build customer success stories and case studies
Medium-term (1-2 years)
- Complete Arrcade transition with funding round
- Achieve profitability and sustainable growth
- Establish market leadership in GitLab ecosystem
Long-term (2+ years)
- Industry recognition as essential GitLab partner
- Multiple exit opportunities (acquisition, IPO)
- Sustainable competitive advantages in market
Critical Success Factors
- Speed of Execution: Must launch products quickly
- Customer Success: Early implementations must demonstrate clear value
- GitLab Relationship: Maintain and strengthen partnership for referrals and collaboration
- Team Building: Attract and retain top talent in competitive market
- Financial Management: Navigate cash flow challenges during growth phase
Every company needs a goal, or north star. 50 Million in Gross Revenue by 2032 means we have provided significant value to our clients. It means that we've built an organization that delights our clients. It means our organization is stable, well operated, and a demonstration of how a modern company should be ran.
This document represents Black Diamond's strategic vision and roadmap as of 2025. Regular updates will be provided as the company executes on these plans and market conditions evolve.