Fayetteville firm BLKBOX has new equity partner

Fayetteville-based creative and branding agency Blkbox has a new equity owner.

The business is now owned by CEO Shayne Hart and President Judson Lee. It was formerly owned by Hart and Black Sails Capital Partners, an early stage growth capital firm in Fayetteville.

Financial terms and ownership interest of Lee’s equity acquisition were not disclosed. Black Sails is led by partners Seth Kaffka, Ryan Efurd and Steve Renfro.

Lee joined the company last year as vice president of brand strategy. He was formerly a partner at The Independent, a local menswear boutique with stores in Fayetteville and Bentonville. Since graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2002, he’s spent his career in varied business pursuits, from audio and music production to specialty retail startups to brand strategy and marketing.

“Having Jud join this work now as a partner only further extends our creative strengths thanks to his experience, eye and real passion for the work,” said Hart, who has been a partner at Blkbox since 2015.

Blkbox, which has 12 employees, was founded in 2012 by former Rockfish Interactive creative director Joey Nelson, who left Blkbox two years ago. Included among its clients are Whole Foods Market, Universal Pictures, Mattel, Wine Enthusiast and Walmart, as well as local companies like Onyx Coffee Labs, Lost Forty Brewing Co., Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food and Experience Fayetteville.