Blinq lands $25M to further its mission to make business cards passé
Blinq, a startup out of Melbourne, bet that trend would take off when it started off as a hobby project in 2017, offering a digital business card app with a QR-code widget. Today, the company is making off with a bag of gold: It now has more than 2.5 million users — both individual customers and across 500,000 companies in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.
Off the back of that progress, the startup has now raised a $25 million Series A funding round led by Touring Capital. Returning backers Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital also participated in the round, as did new investor HubSpot Ventures.
'[The Blinq's QR] was a simple, personal way to share who you are, and it worked well between iPhone users. But it wasn't until late 2019 when most Android devices caught up on QR scanning, and adoption started to grow,' Jerrod Webb, CEO and founder of Blinq, told TechCrunch. 'Then came 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 needs and connect with contacts using them. The app can also automatically capture details and sync them with CRM systems such as HubSpot or Salesforce by using QR codes, email signatures, NFCs, short links, or video call backgrounds.
Blinq is used by individuals, small businesses, and global enterprises, and 80% of its customer base 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, supporting its product development and go-to-market efforts.
'Every time someone uses Blinq, they're introducing it to someone new. And further, we see more frequent usage by active users the longer they're on the platform,' Webb said. 'That built-in virality drives organic growth and keeps our customer acquisition costs low. On the business side, companies pay per seat. As more employees adopt the product, teams grow organically, creating expansion revenue over time.'
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Blinq competes with several companies providing similar digital business card services, including Mobilo, Popl, Wave, and Wix. Of course, the app also has to contend with social networking platforms like LinkedIn, landing pages, and services like Linketree.
But Webb feels Blink is more suited to building relationships, and provides users more ways to follow up and engage with new contacts.
Webb sees digital business cards as more than just an endpoint. 'They're our wedge. Because when you are the trusted tool at the moment a relationship begins, you earn the right to shape what follows. We're focused on giving people everything they need to turn first impressions into real momentum — from dynamic, context-rich profiles to smart ways to stay top of mind. That means expanding into new markets, deepening our presence with businesses and enterprises, and continuing to evolve how people connect in a world that's changing fast.'
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