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It ’s 2025 , but patronage cards are still in vogue — just visit any conference or manufacture expo and you ’ll terminate up with a pile that’slikely to be discarded preferably rather than after . But as smartphones have become our repositories of information and contacts , the great unwashed are understandably penetrating to essay out digital alternatives to business cards .
Blinq , a startup out of Melbourne , play that trend would take offwhen it started off as a hobby project in 2017 , offering a digital business card app with a QR - codification widget . Today , the society is make believe off with a bag of gold : It now has more than 2.5 million user — both individual customers and across 500,000 troupe in the U.S. , Canada , the U.K. , and Australia .
Off the back of that progress , the inauguration has now raised a $ 25 million Series A financial support round led by Touring Capital . Returning backer Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital also participate in the round , as did new investor HubSpot Ventures .
“ [ The Blinq ’s QR ] was a simple , personal direction to deal who you are , and it worked well between iPhone exploiter . But it was n’t until tardy 2019 when most Android devices caught up on QR scanning , and adoption started to grow , ” Jarrod Webb , chief operating officer and founder of Blinq , told TechCrunch . “ Then add up COVID — QR codes went mainstream , in - person meetings became more intentional , and Blinq ’s focus on making those moments seamless and memorable started to take off . ”
The startup has taken the B2C2B route ever since . The app lets users create several customized digital business cards for different need and connect with contacts using them . The app can also automatically get inside information and synchronize them with CRM systems such as HubSpot or Salesforce by using QR codes , email signatures , NFCs , forgetful links , or picture call backgrounds .
Blinq is used by individuals , little businesses , and global enterprises , and 80 % of its customer theme is located in the U.S. , Webb said . Its team has scaled from five employees based in Melbourne to 67 across Sydney , Melbourne , New York , and San Francisco , indorse its production ontogeny and go - to - market efforts .
“ Every time someone uses Blinq , they ’re inclose it to someone unexampled . And further , we see more frequent exercise by active users the longer they ’re on the platform , ” Webb read . “ That construct - in virality drives organic growing and keeps our customer acquisition cost low-toned . On the business concern side , companies make up per buttocks . As more employees take on the intersection , teams uprise organically , creating enlargement gross over time . ”
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Blinq contend with several companies providing like digital business identity card services , includingMobilo , Popl , Wave , andWix . Of course , the app also has to contend with societal networking program like LinkedIn , landing pages , and services like Linktree .
But Webb feels Blinq is more suited to build relationships and provides users more ways to follow up and rent with new contacts .
Webb sees digital business organization cards as more than just an end detail . “ They ’re our wedge . Because when you are the commit tool at the import a relationship begins , you gain the rightfield to shape what follow . We ’re focused on giving people everything they need to grow first impressions into genuine impulse — from dynamic , context - full-bodied profile to smart means to appease top of mind . That mean expand into new markets , deepening our front with businesses and enterprises , and retain to evolve how people connect in a humanity that ’s changing fast . ”
