Blinq, a fast-growing startup based in Melbourne, has raised AUD$5m from Blackbird and Square Peg Capital to revolutionise how experts share details and manage relationships.
“Blinq is a fast-growing platforms. Just as Twitter and Airbnb took off at events like South by Southwest, it’s exciting to see Blinq do the same. The last time Square Peg and Blackbird co-invested in a seed-stage startup, the result was Canva,” said Rick Baker, Partner at Blackbird.
“With social networks leading to fragmentation of identity, Blinq is creating a way to help people control and share identities. We see such an opportunity with what Blinq is building.”
What exactly is Blinq’s market offering?
Blinq lets you share a snapshot of your professional identity, make great first impressions. Blinq replaces business cards and static contact apps with a live profile that can be shared with anyone via QR code, NFC card, short link, email signature or even video call background.
With Blinq, you can quickly create multiple profiles to control which information you share, and with whom. Any information you share can be kept up to date so there is no need to inform your contacts when you change numbers, emails or other information.
Early Uber Eats software engineer Jarrod Webb developed Blinq in 2017, observing frustration with paper business cards and the lack of a truly transformative digital option for exchanging contact details. What started as a hobby grew into a substantial opportunity as QR code adoption unlocked a reliable way for professionals to quickly share their identity with anyone.
In January 2021, Webb left Uber Eats to catch this tailwind and accelerate growth in users and businesses in the post-COVID era. “The paper business card has been outdated for decades, but we have never had something that could truly replace it,” Webb said
“With QR codes becoming more commonplace during the pandemic, it’s now easier than ever to quickly share your information, manage it from anywhere and keep it up to date.”
What makes Blinq a unique platform?
Blinq integrates with CRM platforms and directories like Salesforce, HubSpot and Azure AD to provide companies with a single source of truth on contact information, and rich context to help keep their pipeline information up to date and ready for follow-ups.
“The first interaction is the bedrock of a business relationship and with it brings future opportunities. People are using Blinq to enhance that moment of connection,” Webb said.
James Tynan, Principal at Square Peg, said: “The contacts app is the same as it was before the advent of the iPhone. It’s time for a connected identity layer that never goes out of date, and we’re excited to work with Jarrod who has the ability to make that future happen.”
With the new funding from Blackbird and Square Peg, Blinq is expanding the product team to create new features that help people connect and build successful professional relationships.
