Plainspoken: A Different Kind of Technology Consultancy

Davis was the first person I hired at Rational 360. He’s helped build Plainspoken Digital alongside Chris. We’re excited to feature his #RespondentSpotlight.

Davis Jackson was one of the first hires I made at Rational 360, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Through years and multiple changes in our work, we’ve remained connected professionally and personally, collaborating to think through and design projects, campaigns, and platforms to help each other and our partners. He’s one of two co-founders of Plainspoken Digital, who we cover in this month’s #RespondentSpotlight.

About Plainspoken

Plainspoken Digital was founded in 2020 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with the aim of being a unique technology consultancy. Its founders, Chris and Davis, had the vision to create a values-driven company that would prioritize public and nonprofit sector clients as well as small businesses.

Today, Plainspoken is based in Washington, DC, and is proud to be a remote-first company with team members across the US, Canada, and Europe. It retains its young and lively culture with a focus on empathy, responsiveness, and diligence inside and outside the company. Team members regularly enjoy time together outside of work and live their values of making the world a better place in partnership with nonprofit and social good small businesses that achieve this.

Plainspoken draws experiences from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C., to offer world-class technology development and consulting services to clients. The company's multidisciplinary approach helps organizations develop innovative data solutions that promote positive social outcomes. Plainspoken's goal is to help main street businesses and public sector organizations flourish in today's rapidly changing economy.

Plainspoken's objective is to provide clients with excellent work by living and delivering on its cultural values. During our interview, Chris said, “We love working with clients who have interesting and challenging problems to solve, value collaboration, and recognize the value that technology and data bring in today’s rapidly changing operating environment. We like to build strong relationships with clients and become partners for the long term as our clients grow.”

The company aims to create a culture of trust, learning, and teamwork that enables team members to achieve amazing things and delight clients. Its client list fluctuates but typically includes around a dozen bespoke clients at a time, across private and nonprofit sectors, with each solution and project team tailored to the client’s needs.

The Founders: Davis & Chris

Davis Jackson and Chris Battista have been partners since the beginning and continue to lead Plainspoken in their respective roles. Chris is the CEO and leads clients on data science and software engineering projects. At the same time, Davis co-founded and currently oversees operations of the digital communications strategy practice and is now moving on to be the CEO of the company's technology spinout, Ray Analytics.

Their inspiration for starting Plainspoken came from a desire to “level the playing field” by democratizing access to technology and data to all sectors. That mission has driven them to build their dream team and embark on an entrepreneurial journey to create something that could impact the world.

One of their first clients was a small education business which they helped by leveraging technology and media to grow their impact by working with students in an underserved area. Chris told us, “Although we’ve worked on many technically advanced and exciting projects since then, working with nonprofit and social good small businesses is always rewarding. We are partners to our clients and share the value of making the world a better place with our work.”

Working with clients to achieve success and with team members to learn and grow is the most rewarding part of consulting for Davis and Chris. Their biggest challenge is finding the right combination of technology, operations, and strategy to fit each unique client situation. This year, Plainspoken is embarking on a grander challenge by launching a data platform to bring robust solutions to all clients, regardless of size or technical resources.

The Future of Plainspoken

With its focus on empathy, responsiveness, and diligence, Plainspoken is well-positioned to help public and nonprofit sector clients flourish in today's rapidly changing economy. The company's commitment to a people-first and values-driven approach set it apart from other technology consultancies and positions it for continued success.

Plainspoken Digital is always looking for interesting and impactful projects focused on serving nonprofit and advocacy clients. Finding the right RFPs can be challenging, especially for smaller organizations and agencies. That's why they work with Prosal to find RFPs that align with their mission and expertise to connect with potential clients and partners.

Plainspoken Digital recently used Prosal to find a public sector research project and were thrilled with the results, saying, “The platform helped us to identify the RFP that fit our skills and interests and to connect with a client who valued our expertise and experience. The process was simple and efficient, and we appreciated the support and guidance provided by the Prosal team.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Plainspoken Digital and working with them, send them a message or look through their services.