Five Blocks was founded in 2003 by Sam Michelson, originally as an online marketing firm before pivoting to digital reputation management in 2007.

Five Blocks was founded by Sam Michelson in 2003, and he still serves as CEO. He holds two U.S. patents in search-related technology and is one of the longer-tenured operators in digital reputation management.

Five Blocks is headquartered in New York City at 450 Lexington Avenue, with our engineering team based in Jerusalem.

Five Blocks has approximately 70 people across search strategy, Wikipedia, AI analysis, engineering, research, and client advisory.

No. Five Blocks is a privately held S-Corp, founded and owned by Sam Michelson. There is no outside ownership and no obligation to disclose client work or financial performance to anyone outside the firm.

High-performing, data-driven, and client-focused. We hire for technical depth, communication skill, and the ability to sit across the table from senior executives without flinching.

We build the technology ourselves. IMPACT tracks Google search at scale, AIQ tracks AI answer engines, WikiAlerts tracks Wikipedia, and GeoSearch shows what users in any location actually see.

20+ years working with Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, hedge funds, PR firms, law firms, and high-profile individuals across five continents.

Diagnostics first. We map the current state with data, identify the sources actually shaping perception, then intervene at those sources. The methodology is Track / Analyze / Impact.

Sam Michelson is CEO and founder. The senior team includes leaders across business development, marketing, operations, account management, and engineering.