Application Design (SaaS)
Custom SaaS application design and development — from product UX through full production builds, deployed and operated.
- Product discovery & architecture
- UI/UX and full-stack engineering
- Deployment, monitoring, and iteration
Chicago · SaaS · Web · Hosting · Branding · Marketing · Content
Six complementary services.
One creative machine.
Mad Monkey Creative is a Chicago-area creative agency founded by Bill Janness and Rick Kelly. We work with clients on SaaS applications, websites, hosting, branding, marketing, and content — and we own a portfolio of our own products that show that work in action.
6
Services
10
Products
2
Founders
Chicago
Home Base
Services
Six things we do well, for clients who want them done right.
Website Design
Brand-aligned, conversion-focused websites built to look right and perform right on every device.
- Marketing sites & landing pages
- Brand sites & portfolio sites
- SEO & performance baseline included
Hosting
Managed website and application hosting — we keep your site fast, monitored, backed up, and online.
- Managed VPS & container hosting
- Backups, monitoring, and TLS
- Performance tuning & uptime SLAs
Creative Branding
Identity systems, logos, and the visual + verbal language that holds a business together as it grows.
- Logos, marks, and identity systems
- Brand voice and messaging frameworks
- Design systems & brand guidelines
Marketing
Positioning, GTM, campaigns, lead generation, paid media, and email — built around what actually moves your business forward.
- Brand & product positioning
- Campaign and launch strategy
- Paid acquisition and email programs
Content Creation
Long-form writing, video, photography, and copy — crafted for the channel where it lives.
- Blog, long-form, and editorial writing
- Video production & editorial photography
- Channel-native social copy
Our Products
Brands and platforms we own and operate — living proof of every service above.
E-commerce SaaS
GiftBench
The online store and back office built for gift basket, floral and specialty food shops — multi-gift checkout, delivery scheduling, phone orders, CRM and an AI shopping assistant, run for you as a managed service.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · E-commerce Design · AI Integration · Hosting
Local Deals Platform
Carryout Deal Radar
A local cheap-eats intelligence service. A free daily email and web page of the freshest carryout deals near you — ranked honestly by what actually feeds your family, never by who pays.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · AI Data Pipeline · Marketing
SaaS Platform
Time To Plate
Event planning meets meal management. Recipes, real-time cook scheduling, guest management, and allergy tracking — one platform for hosts who take food seriously.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · Marketing
Apparel
Mad Monkey Creations
Bold graphic designs for people who wear what they’re into. Drop-style releases, community-driven concepts, and original art — available on Etsy and TeePublic.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Website Design · Marketing · Content Creation
Music Culture
Gear Headz
Made for players, not just fans. A dedicated collection inside Mad Monkey Creations built around musicians, gear obsessives, and the culture that comes with it.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Marketing · Content Creation
Kids Apparel
Mad Monkey Kidz
Playful, gift-ready tees for kids and toddlers — born from the same bold design DNA as Mad Monkey Creations, just sized for the little ones.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Website Design · Marketing · Content Creation
Record Label
Indigo Jazz
A boutique label for original music that doesn’t fit neatly in a box. Co-founded by Rick Kelly and Bill Janness — home to jazz, fusion, and blues. Rick Kelly’s Blue Mangata EP is out now.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Website Design · Content Creation · Marketing
Artist Brand
Rick Kelly Guitar
The main web home for guitarist Rick Kelly — guitar lessons, theory deep-dives, music releases, and the full catalog from Indigo Jazz.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Website Design · Content Creation
Music & Education
Rick Kelly Studio
Real guitar theory. Real DAW workflow. Rick Kelly’s YouTube channel and digital products help working musicians move from bedroom jams to studio-ready releases.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Content Creation · Website Design
Fan Engagement
Where Has Benny Been?
A gamified scavenger hunt that turns casual fans into loyal community members. Benny hides in plain sight — find him, earn rewards, and stay plugged into the Mad Monkey world.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Marketing · Creative Branding · Content Creation
More Coming Soon
More products in the works
Mad Monkey Creative is always building. New apps and brands are on the way — check back, or bring us one of your own.
Client Work
Selected projects we’ve shipped for clients.
E-commerce & Brand
Northstar Fruit & Gift Baskets
Full brand identity, marketing site, and content for a Chicago-area gift basket company — and the launch store for our own GiftBench platform.
Services Used
Creative Branding · Website Design · E-commerce Design · Hosting · Marketing · Content Creation
Trustivum · Core Platform
Trustivum:Compliance
Governance, risk and compliance for 20–200 person companies: weekly prompts, an AI coach, an evidence vault and an auditor portal. SOC 2 and HIPAA readiness as the output. Built and run for Trustivum, LLC, an independent company.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · Marketing
Trustivum · Asset Management
Trustivum:ComplianceLedger
The asset inventory an auditor can trust — every device, system, app and data store with an owner, a protection posture and a data-flow map. Standalone, and feeds the compliance program when connected.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · Marketing
Trustivum · Service Desk
Trustivum:ComplianceDesk
A compliance-native service desk: security tasks run as tracked workflows with approvers and deadlines, and every closed ticket is tamper-evident audit evidence. Standalone, and feeds the compliance program when connected.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · Marketing
Trustivum · Penetration Testing
Trustivum:ComplianceVector
Penetration testing and scheduled security validation, outside and inside the network: a flat-price one-time test, scheduled external scans and appliance-based internal testing, with retests tracked to closure.
Services Used
Application Design (SaaS) · Website Design · Hosting · Marketing
Your Project Here
Let’s build something
SaaS, websites, branding, marketing, content, or hosting — tell us what you have in mind.
About Mad Monkey Creative
The agency behind the work.
Who We Are
Built for people who build things.
Mad Monkey Creative LLC exists because Bill Janness and Rick Kelly kept building — software, brands, music, apparel — and needed a structure that could hold both the client work and the products that come out of it.
On the agency side we do application design (SaaS), website design, hosting, creative branding, marketing, and content creation — for clients that range from a gift basket company to an independent compliance and security software company. On the product side we own and operate a portfolio that spans e-commerce and event-planning software, local deals, apparel, music, and education.
Based in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
Start a Project
Let’s talk.
SaaS, website, branding, marketing, content, or hosting — tell us what you have in mind. We read everything.