What Zintro does

Zintro, Inc. is a Boston-based, privately held expert network and market research participant recruitment company founded in 2010. It operates a global platform that connects corporations, management consulting firms, market research agencies, private equity and venture investors, and marketing agencies with over 1,000,000 in-network experts and professionals across thousands of specialties. For niche requirements outside its existing panel, the company offers custom participant recruitment through a team of dedicated recruitment analysts who track down subject matter experts on any topic.

The company's service portfolio includes expert interviews, focus groups, surveys, asynchronous projects, and mystery shopping, delivered via an enterprise field sales motion with project-based, usage-based pricing ("pay at the end of your project"). The platform employs AI-enabled tools for internal screening, matching, and operational functions, and supports differentiated features such as Zintro Mobile (SMS-based surveys) and ThinkEasy, a self-service DIY research sub-brand launched in April 2025. Zintro holds SOC 2 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CCPA compliance certifications, and maintains named enterprise clients including KPMG, Bain & Company, SAP, Chanel, and AnswerLab.

Revenue is generated through custom project quotes with pricing analysts, targeting primary segments of Market Research Firms, Consulting Firms, Investors/PE, and large Corporations. The company operates with 51-100 employees from its Boston headquarters and has raised at least $3.18 million in disclosed funding (June 2015). It serves a global expert network market estimated at US$3.8 billion in 2024, projected to reach US$12.52 billion by 2033.

Name

Zintro

Legal name

Zintro, Inc.

Website

https://zintro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Zintro is a Boston-based expert network platform founded in 2010, connecting enterprises, consulting firms, and market research agencies with over 1 million vetted experts for qualitative and quantitative research, interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Market Research Participant Recruitment Services: Zintro connects clients seeking market research participants with experts and research respondents. The model is project-based where clients pay for specific recruitment services. Pricing is flexible and consumption-based with 'pay at the end of your project' and 'only pay for what you use' model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zintro is a market research expert network and participant recruitment platform. It combines access to an in-network panel of 1,000,000+ experts with custom out-of-network recruitment by a team of recruitment analysts to deliver qualitative and quantitative research services — including expert interviews, focus groups, surveys, asynchronous projects, and mystery shopping. The company also offers Zintro Mobile (SMS surveys) and the ThinkEasy DIY research sub-brand, serving global enterprises, consulting firms, investors, and research agencies.

Product overview

Zintro operates as a market research expert network platform offering both managed services and self-service solutions. The core platform provides access to 1,000,000+ in-network experts supplemented by custom participant recruitment for niche requirements. Service modules include Interviews, Focus Groups, Surveys, Asynchronous Projects, and Mystery Shopping. The product portfolio includes Zintro Mobile (SMS-based surveys) and ThinkEasy (a DIY research sub-brand launched April 2025). The company serves clients across industries including Technology, Healthcare, Finance, Consulting, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ThinkEasy: ThinkEasy, powered by Zintro, launched with a groundbreaking suite of DIY research solutions designed to make B2B insights easier, faster, and more accessible than ever before.

Products and services

• Expert Network Services Core offering that connects enterprises, consulting firms, investors, and research agencies with 1,000,000+ experts and professionals across thousands of specialties for qualitative and quantitative market research, including expert interviews and focus groups.
• Custom Participant Recruitment Out-of-network recruitment service where Zintro's team of recruitment analysts tracks down niche experts and SMEs on any topic that is not available in the existing in-network panel.
• Expert Interviews One-on-one expert interview service connecting researchers with industry specialists, ex-company employees, and other qualified respondents for primary research engagements.
• Focus Groups Facilitated group discussion service for gathering qualitative insights from multiple participants simultaneously on a defined research topic.
• Surveys Quantitative survey research service for collecting structured data from targeted respondent pools.
• Asynchronous Projects Flexible research approach allowing participants to respond to research questions at their own convenience without real-time interaction.
• Mystery Shopping Research service in which trained shoppers evaluate customer experience, service quality, and compliance at retail or service locations.
• Zintro Mobile (SMS Surveys) SMS-only survey platform allowing professionals to participate in market research through text messages without app downloads or lengthy survey links, with instant payouts for responses; currently accepting only US-based professionals.
• ThinkEasy DIY research solution sub-brand powered by Zintro, launched April 2025, offering a suite of self-service research tools designed to make B2B insights faster, easier, and more accessible.

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group): GLG is the largest global expert network and directly competes with Zintro across client segments (consulting, PE, corporates) and service types (expert interviews, surveys, advisory calls). It represents Zintro's primary competitive benchmark in the same product category.
• AlphaSights: AlphaSights runs a comparable on-demand expert network model serving consulting, investment, and corporate clients globally. It overlaps directly with Zintro's core interviews and custom recruitment offerings and is a key substitute buyer channel.
• Guidepoint: Guidepoint operates an expert network offering expert consultations and surveys to consulting, hedge fund, private equity, and corporate clients — essentially the same product suite as Zintro, making it one of the most direct comparables.
• Coleman Research (now part of Erebus): Coleman Research / Erebus provides expert-transcript and primary research services to investment and consulting firms, closely aligned with Zintro's interviews and qualitative research offerings.
• Atheneum Partners: Atheneum Partners is a global expert network serving consulting, corporate, and investment clients with curated expert interviews and market intelligence — directly parallel to Zintro's customer segments and product mix.

Emerging players

• NewtonX: NewtonX positions itself as a data-first expert network using AI/ML for expert sourcing and B2B research panels. It overlaps with Zintro's expert interview and survey offerings but differentiates with technology-led sourcing and quality scoring.
• Tegus: Tegus provides expert-call transcripts and primary research to investors and corporates via a platform-driven model. It is an emerging competitor to Zintro's investment-research and expert-interview services, particularly for the buyside segment.
• Prolific: Prolific runs a participant recruitment platform for academic and commercial research with vetted respondents — overlapping with Zintro's Custom Participant Recruitment and Surveys offerings, especially for digital/online audiences.
• Respondent.io: Respondent.io is a participant-recruitment marketplace connecting researchers with professionals for studies and interviews. It is an emerging alternative to Zintro's out-of-network recruitment for niche and B2B audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics (Research Services): Qualtrics provides an end-to-end experience management and survey platform used by enterprises for market research, surveys, and panels — overlapping broadly with Zintro's surveys and expert-interview services but as part of a larger CX/EX software suite.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zintro
• Xx.com/zintro
• Facebookfacebook.com/z1ntr0

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zintro