Expert Networks help people who seek expertise connect with the people who possess it. They do this at a global scale, across all countries and specializations. There are more than 160 expert networks globally, offering 6 main types of expert network services. These all revolve around the core activity: identifying relevant experts on demand. This core activity is similar to headhunting, but delivers 1-hour phone calls rather than full-time jobs.
Inex One is the marketplace for expert networks. You access the 30+ best expert networks - pay-per-use - on Inex One.
The expert network industry emerged with Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) in 1998 and boomed in the early 2000’s with the emergence of additional players (including Alphasights, Third Bridge, and Guidepoint). It then took a double beating: first from the drop in M&A activity of the 2008 financial crisis, and then from a series of insider-trading scandals. 2010 to 2020 was a decade of booming growth, as expert networks surfed the wave of unparalleled private equity dealmaking. This success was interrupted only briefly by the covid-19 outbreak, rebounded with low interest rates to a $3 Bn industry in 2025.
As the market grew, it also grew more fragmented. Alongside the large global firms, many newer firms have positioned themselves in specific regions or industries. That is particularly good news for buyers: more choice, and more specialized service.
)
The industry also transformed from a niche tool for Wall Street hedge funds to almost going mainstream. In 2026, expert networks are used by around 11,200 investment firms, consulting firms, and corporate strategy teams. Inex One completes this "democratization" of expert networks, by giving full self-serve access to expert networks, pay-per-use.
The six types of expert network services
These are the six major types of expert network services. They all serve the same "job to be done": helping clients get deep expert insights. Each service type solves that job in slightly different ways:
Core expert network services (calls, recruiting, meetings)
Expert network B2B Surveys
Expert network consulting services
Expert network aggregators
Expert network transcript libraries
Expert witness services
Some networks focus almost entirely on one of these, but most expand into multiple service lines, as they're adjacent enough. Let’s look at each model in a bit more detail:
1. Expert Networks: "The core business"
Most expert networks operate what we call “The core business”. These expert networks rely heavily on the smarts and flexibility of their employees, who go to great lengths to find suitable experts for their customers. This requires hours of manual work, googling, and trawling career databases such as LinkedIn, Xing and Viadeo. The experts recruited are managed in internal databases and might be engaged in future projects.
Most expert networks automate discrete, repetitive parts of the associates’ work (e.g. copying experts from LinkedIn, searching the database, sending personalized messages). However, the core business has remained the same for 25+ years: having competent people recruit experts for ad hoc engagements.
Many expert networks focus on a particular region or industry, where they have a stronger footprint than others. These firms specialize in one or multiple geographies or industries, developing an edge over the larger firms that seek to cover everything at ones. Consequently, clients end up using multiple expert networks - coordinated over email.
)
2. Expert network B2B Surveys
Investors use expert networks to get deep insights. Surveys are another means to the same end. An adjacent service, clients often use surveys alongside expert interviews.
Here's the rationale: Expert networks accumulate plenty of experts, as they go about their core business. For every expert recruited for a call, they might speak to 10-20 others. Most of these experts get detailed profiles in the expert network’s database. Over time, that database becomes an attractive, high-quality survey panel. Therefore, offering B2B surveys makes sense for expert networks as they achieve scale.
)
Expert networks are among the highest-quality survey panels, as respondents are interviewed and vetted. It wouldn’t be feasible to get the same detail on respondents in a regular B2C panel, as the CPI is too low. However, expert networks get detailed respondents while going about their high-CPI core business. Once the database is in place (and kept fresh), it makes sense to monetize it also for surveys.
)
Consequently, you see most larger expert networks offer B2B surveys (Third Bridge was long a surprising exception, but eventually got the tech needed to offer it too). And conersely - some B2B survey firms such as Ivy Insights have branched out into expert networking.
For the curious, here's our explainer on how the survey industry works, and the different survey sampling methods. Researching those articles, we realized that clients often struggle finding the right survey vendor (“Who should I use, what should it cost, how long should it take?”). So we launched the Inex One survey platform, where you can engage all the best survey firms and compare quotes side-by-side - in one dashboard.
3. Expert network consulting services
Since the early days of expert networks, clients have found certain experts particularly interesting, and arranged longer project work with them. Sometimes the expert network would include a translator or note-taker. Such “breakout engagements” were always a minor part (<10%) of expert networks’ revenues. But some expert networks made it a business of its own, setting up internal consulting arms.
GLG is the clearest example, with a consulting arm offering commercial due diligence, market assessments, and corporate strategy projects. They hired a team of ex-McKinsey consultants plus a network of freelance consultants. GLG’s consulting expansion was significant enough to ruffle feathers with parts of the consulting market. You won't buy expert interviews from a firm that also pitches the same client for their next CDD project. That, however, didn't stop AlphaSights from offering consulting services too.
)
4. Expert network aggregators
As buyers increasingly worked with multiple expert networks in parallel, they struggled with admin overheads. More relationships to manage meant duplicated workflows, and more time spent mapping expert lists, reviewing expert profiles, coordinating schedules, and matching spend. Aggregation emerged to simplify that workflow.
)
The concept is simple: to streamline workflows and help expert networks invest their time in the most productive way. This reduces costs and increases quality of service. While Inex One started out as an expert network aggregator, it has since evolved into a marketplace. This reflects a dual focus on both clients and vendors, as opposed to a one-sided aggregator. As of 2026, Inex One supports 8,000+ clients engaging 30+ expert networks and survey firms worldwide, and got an FT award for rapid revenue growth.
Other firms have explored similar models as well. Consverge started in 2020 as an expert network aggregator. The model differed from Inex One as Consverge’s employees coordinate all the projects. Clients communicated with Consverge, who in turn spoke with the expert networks. The company – founded by an ex-Third Bridge employee – closed down in July 2024.
A few regular expert networks have also explored the aggregation model. Coleman, Prosapient, Lynk, Right Angle ("ENC") and Mosaic Research all built expert network aggregator software in recent years. Neither product gained much traction, though. Each firm struggled with an inherent conflict of interests: being both marketplace and a vendor undermined other vendors’ trust in them. At the start of 2023, both Coleman, Prosapient and Mosaic had all canceled their aggregators, to focus on their core expert network businesses, while Lynk was overall struggling with operational issues. ENC laid off most employees in early 2026, while mostly serving India- and Russia-based clients.
)
To see why 8,000+ clients use Inex One, try it out here - self-serve.
)
5. Expert network transcript libraries
Expert network transcript libraries are online databases of past expert interviews. Expert network transcript libraries are mostly used by public market and growth equity investors. It works because many investors look at the same asset, and it can be traded “any time”. This makes every transcript relevant to a large enough audience to bear the costs for producing and hosting it. Conversely, content libraries are less relevant to private market investors, corporates and strategy consultants. Their research tends to be confidential and specific to their use case. Once a PE fund has acquired a company, they’ll hold on to it for 5-6 years. During that time, other funds can’t invest and therefore wouldn’t read call transcripts about the company. And when it’s time to sell, those 5-6-year-old transcripts are as good as old milk.
Expert network transcript libraries come in two main types:
Managed content libraries. The library owner identifies “hot topics” that its clients are likely interested in. They employ analysts who in turn interview experts and publish the transcripts to the library. The main managed content libraries are Third Bridge Forum, AlphaSense/Tegus, Guidepoint Insights and the GLG Library. Smaller/ niche players include Alphasights' AlphaView, In Practise and CB Insights' Yardstiq.
User-generated content libraries (UGC). The library owner organizes expert interviews for its clients, and transcribes all calls for its library. The client pays a bit less per call, in exchange for having it published to the library. Tegus led the way in UGC. Stream was also explicitly positioned around user-generated interviews. With both Tegus and Stream being acquired by AlphaSense, it is today the leading player in user-generated expert call transcripts .
)
The two models increasingly blend, as both Third Bridge, Guidepoint and In Practise have launched user-generated content, while AlphaSense complements its user content with their own hosted content. Check out our extensive explainer on Expert Network Transcript Libraries here.
6. Expert witness services
Parallel to the regular expert network industry, there is a smaller yet thriving market for legal experts (“Expert Witnesses”). The service is to bring legal and medical experts to give expert testimony in court cases in the US, often related to healthcare malpractice issues or mass tort. Leading firms include IMS Legal Strategies, The Expert Institute, and the expert witness divisions of GLG and Guidepoint.
What buyers should look for when choosing an expert network
Not all expert networks are equally well suited to every project. Geography, sector focus, speed, workflow, and pricing model can all affect which provider is the best fit. That’s why the buyers are better off asking “Who is the best fit for this project?” than “Who is the largest player?” Here are the things to keep in mind when choosing an expert network vendor.
How frequently will we use expert networks - ad hoc or intensely?
- If you have sporadic needs, try the self-serve expert networks on Inex One. No prepayments, no subscriptions, and you can easily scale your usage, pay-as-you-go.
- If you'll do large volumes, take in quotes from multiple vendors. Make sure you understand the pricing model properly, as expert network pricing is notoriously opaque. You may also benefit from accumulating your own transcript library, as you can then reuse the expert calls across your firm.Is my research proprietary, or will I want shared expert call transcripts?
- If you invest broadly across public markets, you're well-served by an expert call transcript library. You can read up on broad themes without having to speak to any experts yourself. The cost per transcript is also way lower than if you had done all calls yourself. Just make sure you're OK with others reading transcripts of the calls that you do, as most transcript libraries retain ownership of your data and republish your calls to their library after some "embargo" time.
- If you do unique research (e.g. you invest in private markets, or you're in a corporate), you'll likely want to keep it to yourself. Then you'd rather want 1-1 expert calls only (rather than a public transcript library), and keep them to yourself.Do I have a geographic or sector focus? While every expert network will tell you they serve all industries, globally, the truth is that they have different specialties. They all started somewhere, and develop strengths in different sectors or geographies. You can explore their different focus areas in the Expert Network Directory. Or - skip the guessing and let us help you. Across thousands of projects, Inex One keeps an updated view of expert networks' strengths. When you launch a project, we auto-match you to the expert networks best placed to serve you - fast and economically.
Do I have specific compliance requirements? Depending on your investment strategy and internal policies, you may need different systems. For example, public market investors are more exposed to MNPI and insider-trading regulations than a corporate strategist doing market analysis. My advice here is to take quotes from multiple firms. Is the firm commited to compliance and high professional standards? Can you access their compliance contracts, policies and practices, and do they seem reasonable? Do they help you comply with leading privacy laws (e.g. the GDPR and CCPA) when handling your data and that of the experts?
That is a lot to keep in mind, especially when teams are pressed for time on due diligence projects. This is one of the reasons why aggregation and marketplace models have become more relevant. As buyers work with more providers, the challenge is no longer finding a good expert network. It is managing a highly fragmented vendor landscape more efficiently.
)
That is why clients use Inex One: Expert networks, simplified.
Get the best expert insights fast, while avoiding the prepayments and admin hassle. Get started here, or book a demo.
How will the Expert Network industry develop?
The market for expert networks is the market for insights-on-demand. It stretches far beyond the “core business” into alternative business models. We believe the industry will continue to grow, driven by simple supply and demand:
Demand is growing. Global value chains are ever more complex, and companies specialize into niche segments. If you’re looking to invest in a company that exports niche components around the globe, you probably want to research the local market conditions (competitive dynamics, regulatory trends etc.) in at least some of the largest regional markets (e.g. China, Japan, Germany, UK, and the US). Speaking with local experts is an efficient way to do this.
Supply is growing. More people make themselves available on online career directories, and people are increasingly open to “gigs”. This makes it easier for expert networks to identify and recruit global experts.
There is merit to all expert network operating models, and there is likely room for multiple players to thrive.
Expert networks complement other research services
We will round off with a last image, showing what the Inex One team sees as a central trend in investment research. With increasing industry complexity, more sources of expertise are required to maintain a given level of industry insight.
Take Sweden as an example:
In the 1950’s our main exports were iron ore, paper, and pulp, to Northern Europe. Industry analysis and investment research was mostly done in boardrooms of, well, middle-aged men.
Since the 1980’s, rapid industrialization and growing global trade in subsequent years have been some of the factors behind the success of global management consulting firms. Management consulting is a complement to having full-time industrial advisors/employees, and the industry sees strong, sustained growth.
In the last decade, the expert network industry has grown rapidly. The industry is in turn a complement to what came before it, as it is used by both consultants and regular corporations.
)
Inex One helps you gather all your expert networks in a single platform. We believe it’s a logical continuation to the trend, and the future of the expert network industry.
