What MThink does

mThink is a private B2B media and research company operating the Blue Book, an independent ranking platform for the performance marketing industry. Founded in 2003 and based in San Francisco, the company runs an annual survey of 20,000+ performance marketing practitioners that generates 150,000 data points across 400+ affiliate, CPA, and pay-per-call networks, supplemented by input from a Blue Ribbon Panel of network CEOs. The product portfolio comprises four web-based assets: Blue Book Rankings (the flagship annual ranking system), PartnerIndex (a directory of 350+ networks organized by vertical, region, and commission model), Offers Hub (daily-refreshed live offer feeds), and PerformanceTech (rankings of partner marketing platforms). All products are accessed through mthink.com on a free-to-user basis, with revenue generated through featured-partner subscriptions, directory placement fees, and content sponsorship. The company is founder-led by CEO Chris Trayhorn and operates without disclosed external investment.

Name

MThink

Legal name

mThink

Website

https://mthink.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

MThink is a B2B research and media company operating the Blue Book, an independent survey-driven ranking platform evaluating 400+ performance marketing networks for advertisers, affiliates, and technology buyers. Founded in 2003 and based in San Francisco, the company monetizes via featured-partner subscriptions and content sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performance Marketing Intelligence

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate Marketing & Partner Networks (BPAMALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE), Affiliate & Performance Creator Programs (BPAFAHAG)

Keywords

• Affiliate network rankings
• Performance marketing research
• CPA network directory
• Partner marketing intelligence
• Network evaluation platform

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Partner Program / Featured Listings: Networks pay for featured placement in PartnerIndex directory and rankings, appearing in featured rotation and category highlights. This commercial program provides visibility to senior buyers comparing options.
2. Content Sponsorship: Partner content and sponsored articles appear alongside editorial content on the platform, generating sponsorship revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MThink operates a web-based research and content platform that publishes independent, survey-driven rankings of CPA, CPS/Affiliate, and Pay-Per-Call performance marketing networks, complemented by the PartnerIndex directory of 350+ networks, a live Offers Hub of daily refreshed offers, and a PerformanceTech comparison tool for partner marketing platforms. The platform's flagship output, the Blue Book, aggregates 150,000 data points from 20,000+ surveyed performance marketers and is supplemented by a Blue Ribbon Panel of industry executives. Revenue is generated through subscription-based featured placements in the directory and sponsored partner content on the site.

Product overview

MThink Blue Book is a content and research platform providing independent, survey-driven rankings of performance marketing networks and partner marketing platforms. The portfolio consists of Blue Book Rankings (the flagship ranking system covering CPA, CPS/affiliate, and pay-per-call networks ranked by 20,000+ industry practitioners), PartnerIndex (a directory of 350+ networks organized by verticals and geos), Offers Hub (live offer feeds updated daily), and PerformanceTech (a platform comparison and selection tool for partner marketing technology). Together these products serve brands, affiliates, and technology buyers in the performance marketing ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blue Book Rankings Independent, survey-driven annual rankings of CPA, CPS/Affiliate, and Pay-Per-Call networks, powered by 20,000+ surveyed performance marketers and 150,000+ data points, plus partner marketing platform rankings for advertisers, brands, and affiliates evaluating network and platform options.
• PartnerIndex A searchable directory of 350+ affiliate and performance marketing networks organized by vertical, region, ad format, tracking platform, and commission model, with a paid Partner Program offering featured placement in category highlights and daily rotation.
• Offers Hub Daily-updated feed of live offers pulled from partner network feeds, allowing affiliates and publishers to browse top offers with live payouts across verticals including nutra, sweepstakes, financial, dating, and pay-per-call categories.
• PerformanceTech A tools directory and knowledge base for partner marketing platforms, providing "Best of" rankings and editorial comparisons of marketing software platforms including partner marketing platforms, PRM tools, and influencer marketing platforms.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Blue Ribbon PanelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Ribbon Panel comprises respected industry leaders (CEO of Perform[cb], CEO of ClickDealer, CEO of MaxBounty, CEO of CrakRevenue, CEO of Aragon Advertising, and others) who provide informed insider perspective on the network marketplace and guidance on interpretation of Blue Book ranking methodology. Panel input supplements survey data with intangible reputation assessments.
• Featured Partners (Partner Program)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnerIndex Partner Program allows networks to pay for featured placement in the directory. Featured partners (e.g., ClickDealer, MaxBounty, Creative Clicks, Awin Group) appear at top of categories and in daily featured rotation. Bundled with Blue Book Rankings and OffersHub for network visibility to senior buyers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Clutch: Clutch.co is a B2B services and software reviews/rankings platform that uses verified-review methodology to rank providers by category and geography, with vendor profile leads revenue. Its category-by-category ranking structure and review-driven traffic model closely parallel MThink's Blue Book rankings and PartnerIndex directory.
• Affiliate Summit: Affiliate Summit is the dominant performance marketing industry events and media brand, serving advertisers, networks, and affiliates with conferences and content. MThink's mThink LIVE events and editorial coverage overlap directly with Affiliate Summit's role as an industry community anchor for the same buyer and vendor segments.
• Capterra: Capterra is a Gartner-owned B2B software marketplace that combines user reviews and ranking content with vendor directory listings and lead-generation leads sold to vendors — directly paralleling MThink's combination of Blue Book rankings with the PartnerIndex directory and Partner Program. Both companies convert buyer-evaluator traffic into featured placement revenue from vendors.
• PerformanceIN: PerformanceIN is a performance marketing industry publisher (news, awards, events) serving affiliate marketers, advertisers, and networks — the same core audience as MThink — and operates as both editorial media and an industry awards/research body that networks rely on for visibility and credibility.
• TrustRadius: TrustRadius is a B2B software review platform built on verified buyer feedback and structured research-style review criteria, with monetization through vendor profiles and intent data — comparable to MThink's survey-driven research methodology applied to the affiliate/network ecosystem and supplemented by editorial content.
• G2: G2 is a B2B software review and ranking platform that, like MThink's Blue Book, generates independent rankings from large practitioner surveys supplemented by expert review panels and monetizes via featured listings. G2 extends this model across thousands of SaaS categories, whereas MThink applies an equivalent methodology to affiliate/CPA networks and partner marketing platforms.
• Software Advice: Software Advice is a Gartner-owned B2B software advisory site combining user reviews, vendor rankings, and buyer guides — directly analogous to MThink's PerformanceTech rankings and editorial comparisons in the partner marketing platform category.
• MarTech.org: MarTech.org (Third Door Media) publishes the marketing technology supergraphic, research, and editorial content for marketing operations and martech buyers. Its tools directory and vendor research function as a category-buyer's guide analogous to MThink's PerformanceTech directory for partner marketing platforms.

Broad incumbents

• Statista: Statista is a broad market-research data and statistics platform that aggregates industry data, vendor profiles, and reports. Its combination of curated research and vendor-monetized content/advertising serves as a scaled analog to MThink's mix of industry research and partner program listings.
• Gartner Peer Insights: Gartner Peer Insights is an enterprise-scale verified review and ratings platform integrated with Gartner research. It applies a panel-and-survey methodology comparable to MThink's Blue Ribbon Panel + survey approach but at much larger enterprise software scale and as part of a broader research/consulting portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 MThink