Open Efforts began in 2013 primarily as a paralegal service in response to the needs of a small high-net-worth client base of US Federal Prison inmates. Since then, the company has expanded its staff and technology base to offer many additional client services. With a new full-time software development unit, Open Efforts has increased its business process automation while dramatically lowering its per-client cost. In an industry where the average inmate service company tends to be quite unreliable, Open Efforts provides customer service on par with that of large corporations serving unincarcerated clients.

As the US criminal justice system continues to incarcerate a massive swath of the US population, Open Efforts has grown in kind. As the US has the largest per-capita prison population on Earth, Open Efforts expects a continuous flow of new clients. To meet the demands of this growing customer base Open Efforts has directed resources towards the development of new products and services to allow clients access to legal, educational, and entertainment media. Utilizing the US Postal Service and the Federal Bureau of Prison's (BOP) CorrLinks Messaging System, Open Efforts connects its clients with the outside world while remaining in full compliance with BOP security policies and US Federal Law.