Which ‘Expert Network’ Company Should You Choose?
What is an expert network platform?
An expert network platform is a marketplace where you can hire vetted subject-matter experts for 1:1 consultations on a variety of topics. The calls are usually ad-hoc in nature and are expensive. Individuals and businesses rely on expert networks when they need very specific answers to oftentimes very nuanced questions.
To summarize:
- Expert networks help connect companies with subject matter experts hired out for 1:1 consultations, usually over the telephone.
- Expert networks are popular because companies may need specialized knowledge that’s unavailable on their internal team, and often times very hard to find for them.
- Expert networks are really popular with investors that are looking to gain 3rd party insight into specific industries, stocks, or markets that they’re thinking of investing in.
In this article, we’re going to showcase 25 of the most popular expert networks.
25 Most Popular Expert Networks
GrowthMentor
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2018 with over 24,000 calls booked on the platform
- Focused on the growth marketing niche
- +400 hand-picked and vetted mentors
- Platform agnostic, can book virtual mentorship sessions on Google Meet, Skype or Zoom
- Easy filtering based on criteria like expertise, tools, language, and industry
- Friendly rates by design
Inex One
Key Facts:
- Inex One was founded in 2018 by a team from McKinsey & Company
- Inex One saves time and cost for expert network users, by aggregating 30 expert networks and survey providers in one platform.
- Over 400+ organizations use Inex One, accessing more than 3.5 million experts.
- Inex One has raised a total of $5m from ex-senior partners at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman and Kearney.
Benoit Jacob - Investor at DN Capital“Being able to work with multiple networks in one platform is great – we save a ton of time. Inex One is now our only expert network provider. We don’t need anything else.”
Official Website
GLG
Key Facts:
- Founded in 1998 by Yale Law School graduates Mark Gerson and Thomas Lehram
- Their primary customers are investors and startup advisors
- GLG is named a global leader in the 2019 expert network map with revenues of around $600m
- They have 1,800 employees, offices in 22 cities in 12 countries, and 800,000 freelance consultants
- Average rates: $1,200 per hour (Pay-as-you-go model)
- Communication channels: phone calls, in-person or virtual meetings
- GLG covers a wide variety of industries
Mohan L, Global Localisation managerWorld-class support for the experts, coordination, and communication, time project feedbacks, prompt payments, global spread, new client tie-ups , exciting topics for discussion.
Official Website
AlphaSights
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2008 by Ax Cartellieri and Andrew Heath who met each other while studying at Stanford Business School
- Named a Global leader in the 2019 expert network market map
- Named one of the fastest-growing and most disruptive companies headquartered in Europe by the Financial Times in April 2017
- They’re headquartered in London with offices in New York, Hamburg, Dubai, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo with +600 employees
- Average rates: $1,000 per hour
- Communication channels: phone calls, in-person or virtual meetings, conference meetings
- AlphaSights deals with a lot of industries
Monica Shukla-Belmontes, Associate Dean at University of Massachusetts GlobalI had a great experience I had a great experience, the entire process start to finish was very streamlined, and I’m glad to be able to offer my insights from my area of subject matter expertise.
Official Website
Catalant
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2013 (as HourlyNerd then rebranded)
- In September 2013 received $750,000 in seed money led by Mark Cuban followed by a Series A round of $4M in March 2014. Since then it’s raised another +41M in funding and continues to raise at an incredible rate
- They serve more than 30% of the Fortune 100 and 20% of the Fortune 1000 and have more than 50,000 experts and 1,000 boutique firms in their expert marketplace
- Communication channels: virtual meetings with Zoom
- Catalant covers many industries
Guidepoint
Key Facts:
- Founded by Albert Sebag in 2009
- Has recruited over 600,000 “experts,” known as “Guidepoint Advisors,” who come from 150 different industries
- Named a Global leader in the 2019 expert network market map with revenues of over $100m
- Based in New York City
- Average rates: $1,000 per hour
- Communication channels: phone calls
- Guidepoint focuses on several industry sectors, such as healthcare, energy & industrials, technology, media & telecom, financial & business services, consumer goods & services
Kalachin Sergey, Chief Operating Officer at Sedesla IncFlawless execution of both consulting requests and consecutive payments. Fast, reliable, operational and trustworthy. Guidepoint is employing high ethical standards and for sure take a lot of care about its customers from both sides.
Official Website
Ustrive
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2010 by Michael J. Carter
- Connects high school students with mentors to help guide them through the college application process
- Communication channels: text messages, phone calls, video chats
- Ustrive has a particular focus on education
NewtonX
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2016, a relatively new player to the space which last year claimed it cracked “seven-digit” revenue
- Raised $12 million round led by Two Sigma Ventures in June 2019
- Their focus is on leveraging AI to take expert matching to the next level
- Communication channels: virtual chats, phone calls
Vikas B, Associate DirectorNewtonx helps in market networking with reliability. Well-organized research, good insights, and reports are easy to grasp.
Official Website
DeepBench
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2017 by Devin Basinger, Yishi Zuo, Derek Hans, and Nikhil Punwaney at MIT
- DeepBench seeks to free the “world’s knowledge by matching expert advisors with those who need their insights.”
- Raised two rounds (undisclosed amount)
- Communication channels: phone or video calls
- DeepBench covers a wide variety of industries
Ed E, PrincipalA channel to great expertise. Great personalized service and top-class sourcing of relevant subject matter experts.
Talk to Experts in Growth
Atheneum
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2010 by former management consultants in Germany
- 10,000+ users
- 450,000+ experts
- 10 global offices
- 350+ team members
- Communication channels: phone calls, in-person meetings, workshops, and expert webinars
- Atheneum covers many industries
Nazeer Jamal, Managing Director & Lead Environmental ScientistI was impressed with their professionalism and efficiency in connecting me with companies that require my services. Looking forward to working with them again.
Official Website
Coleman
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2003 by Kevin Coleman
- Served more than 11,000 individuals
- Has offices in NYC, Raleigh, Boston, SF, London, and Hong Kong
- Identified as a regional champion in the US by Inex.one
- Average rates: $900-1,000 per hour (Subscription model)
- Communication channels: virtual meetings with Zoom
- Coleman focuses on software
Niraj Gupta, Project Engineering ManagementPositivity in relevant information and authenticity.
Official Website
Clarity.fm
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2012 by Dan Martell
- Got around $2,700,000 funding over two rounds
- 30,000+ members
- Acquired by Fundable in February 2015 for an undisclosed amount
- Premium pricing model with an average price per minute rate of above $2
- Target audience is entrepreneurs, startups, business owners
- Communication channels: phone calls
- Clarity.fm deals with marketing
Mohit S, Digital Marketing ManagerA very nice tool which can be of use for every other start up who is facing some or the other issue in the operations side of things for their endeavor. This is a tool which not only provides you with operations expertise but also will help you settle your technical shortcomings as well.
Official Website
Third Bridge
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2007
- 1,000 employees across 3 continents
- Identified as a global leader in the 2019 expert network map
- Average rates: $1,100 per hour
Capvision
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2006 with offices in New York, Shanghai, Munich, Hong Kong, Osaka, and Beijing
- Identified as a regional champion in the 2019 expert network map
- 300,000 experts in their network
- Average rates: $1,100 per hour
- Communication channels: phone calls and in-person
- Capvision covers a broad variety of industry sectors, such as consumer & retail, healthcare, technology, media & telecom, consulting services, automobiles, finance, mechanics, energy & environment, engineering, transportation
Official Website
VQ
Key Facts:
- Founded in March 2012 in Japan and services the AIPAC region
- 100,000 active advisors on their network
- 89 employees
- Identified as a regional champion in the 2019 expert network map
- Average rates: $950 per hour
- Communication channels: virtual and phone calls
- Industries that VQ deals with: consumer goods & services, healthcare, financial services, energy, industrials & agriculture, technology, media & telecom, professional & business services
Official Website
Dialectica
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2015
- Headquartered in Athens, Greece, and London, UK
- Growing quickly with a low-cost offering
- Founders have a background at AlphaSights
- Focused primarily on serving European clients from its Athens offices
- Communication channels: phone and virtual calls
- Dialectica deals with more than 200 industries
Victor Schoenmakers, Port professional - corporate strategyI really enjoyed working with Dialecica. To the point and highly professional. I have the feeling that even a better use of the available expertise is possible. Definition and articulation of the demand offers an even greater added value.
Talk to Experts in Growth
Measure Match
Key Facts:
- Founded in May 2016 by James Sandoval who was offered a tranche of funding to start building a transactional professional services marketplace
- MeasureMatch has raised a total of £530.3K in funding over 2 rounds
- 5,000+ service providers
- 60+ countries
- 6,000+ Buyers, Sellers & Partners
- 3,000+ Technology & Data Skills
Alex P, Marketing analytics consultantMeasureMatch helped me connect with quality clients interested in my professional services
Official Website
Stream by AlphaSense
Key Facts:
- Stream by AlphaSense was founded in 2010 by Eric Robinson
- Mosaic sold the Stream business to business information service AlphaSense in October 20210
- Stream’s platform is an AI-powered database of thousands of unique expert call transcripts between industry thought leaders and buy-side analysts
- Over 10,000+ call transcripts available
- Headquarters in New York, NY
Dan K, Director of ResearchGreat for channel checks and finding answers to specific questions about companies and industries
Official Website
Zintro
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2007 by Stuart Lewtan
- Zintro is an expert network that helps companies affordably source and engage highly specialized experts for market research interviews, expert interviews, surveys, diligence, consulting, and project work
- Based in Boston, MA
- 300+ Institutional Clients
- 150,000+ Curated Experts Spanning All Industry Sectors and Geographies
Yangxuan P, Project ManagerAmazing turnaround and highly responsive team that gets our requests, beats Alphasights and GLG
Official Website
tegus
Key Facts:
- Founded in 2017 by Tom and Mike Elnick
- Tegus is the leading market intelligence platform for key decision-makers
- Tegus raises Series A funding in 2017 from the Investment Group of Santa Barbara and Series B funding in 2021
- A year-over-year growth rate of 175%
- Over 30,000+ users rely on Tegus for critical insights
- Headquarters in Chicago (US) and Waterford (Ireland)
- About 2,000 investor firms joined the Tegus network
- Communication channels: phone calls
Alex Wolf, Managing DirectorI get time-savings without compromising on quality.
Official Website
Expertwired
Key Facts:
- Launched in mid 2021 by Reinier Huisman who has over 15 years of experience in strategy consulting, online marketplaces, corporate M&A, and entrepreneurship
- Some top-tier companies that already use Expertwired are TrustMark, Pwc, AZORA, and Deloitte
- Expertwired has instant access to over 400 million professional profiles to reach out to via integrated data partners
- Located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Average rate $480 per expert interview
- Communication channels: video calls
- Expertwired covers a large variety of industries
Regan S, Strategy DirectorExpertWired Delivered High-Quality Recruits, Fast
Official Website
CleverX
Key Facts:
- CleverX was founded in 2019 as a DIY marketplace expert network by a former manager at Gartner, Sharekh Shaikh
- CleverX revenue in 2020 was $2.1M, while in 2022 its worth is estimated more than $3.5M
- It is trusted by leading companies such as Microsoft, Fiver, Twitter, and Kantar
- Headquarters are in San Francisco, California
- 11-50 employees working
- Communication channels: video calls
Official Website
ProSapient
Key Facts:
- Founded by Jordan Shlosberg, and Margo Polishchuk in 2017, proSapient is a primary research platform helping investors and consultants gather the data they need to make those big decisions
- They combine industry knowledge with advanced search AI to source the best people for your projects as fast as possible
- In 2020, they secured $10M in Series A finding from Smedvig Capital
- In 2021 it served over 100 clients across Europe and the USA, with revenue up over 100% year on year
- Communication channels: virtual calls
Bakhtiyar İbrahim,Vice President at Apex Fund Services S.A. LuxembourgMy interaction with proSapient is effective and I am pleased to collaborate with a team of outstanding professionals
Official Website
Emissary.io
Key Facts:
- Emissary.io was founded by David Hammer in 2013 and provides first hand insights into your target accounts through our executive-level community of over 10,000 former Fortune 500 leaders
- 2021 Best Sales Enablement Software for Enterprises
- 2020 Fastest Growing Private Cos, 68th place in Software, 437th place Overall
- Headquarters based in New York
Official Website
Magellan Research Group
Key Facts:
- Magellan Research Group is an expert network based in New York. It was founded in 2014 by a former AlphaSights manager, Casey Smith
- Magellan Research Group is a primary research platform that provides quick access to knowledge across the globe for corporate decision-makers and investment professionals
- Has a $7.6M Revenue
- Has raised a total of $145K in funding over 1 round
- Communication channels: virtual calls, in-person meetings
- Magellan Research Group covers many industries
Expert Network FAQs
An expert network provides connections with professionals and specific knowledge.
It’s a marketplace that gathers groups of professionals with domain expertise. Companies that need specialized knowledge on a particular topic would hire those specialists for 1:1 consultations or for high-level expertise.
Generally, those experts charge a substantial hourly fee in exchange for their services.
There are more than 139 expert network companies across the world as per 2019.
It’s definitely not cheap. Expect to pay anywhere from $200-1,000 per hour. There are exceptions like on GrowthMentor where you can speak to them for free with a small monthly membership fee.
Primarily commission-based with the rake usually around 20-30% of the call price. Some expert networks require a minimum monthly commitment of hours upfront.
The market size of the Expert Networks industry has recently been measured by IbisWorld analytics to be at $882.2M in 2020 with an expected growth rate of %0.5 although with the current COVID-19 situation I don’t expect that number to stay positive.
Yes, they are usually based in business centers, i.e., the UK (London), the US (New York City, Boston, San Francisco), or Greece (Athens).
But their experts are located worldwide, i.e., Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, India, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Chile.
The communication channels may vary among the expert network platforms. It can include phone calls, virtual meetings through Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype, conference meetings, and even text messages.
Some expert network companies focus on specific industries, i.e., marketing, education, software, finance, and artificial intelligence. Some others cover a broader spectrum.
Talk to Experts in Growth
