Amsterdam-based tech startup Expertwired announced that it is shutting shop after two years of operations. The company’s CEO and founder, Reinier Huisman, broke the news in a blog post.
Huisman wrote that the decision was “not easy, but it was made with the utmost care and consideration for everyone who has been a part of our story.”
Expertwired connected users with senior industry experts for market research consultations through 1-hour audio or video consultations. It offered a reliable, time- and cost-efficient way to get market research than traditional methods, like desktop research or buying analyst reports.
There is still no information on why the company has decided to close its doors. It has a 4.9/5 rating on Google reviews and five-star reviews on G2, with mostly satisfied clients and experts.
Farewell notes
As the journey of Expertwired comes to an end, Huisman expressed his gratitude to multiple parties involved in the success of Expertwired, starting with the team.
“I am honoured to have worked alongside such a remarkable group of individuals,” Huisman says.
Huisman also wrote thank you notes to Expertwired’s clients and investors for believing in Expertwired and being partners.
Throughout its journey, the company was supported by Pop Up Qapital, which led its most recent seed funding of almost €1M in 2022.
It also received support from individual investors, including Jurgen van Dijk and Ruud van Hoek, founders of Stepstone Corporate Finance. Patrick Stal, who has prior experience with N26, Uber, and TomTom, also supported the company. In addition, existing investor MB Capital continued its involvement in the last funding round.
“I am immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together. Expertwired may be closing its doors, but the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and determination lives on in each of us,” says Huisman.
The story of Expertwired
Expertwired was founded in 2021 by Huisman and CTO Jeroen Slor. Huisman was inspired to start the company after 15 years of experience in strategy consulting and M&A.
His expertise in market research and expert networks led him to recognise the inefficiencies in the current system in the market, which leaves experts underpaid and unable to scale their knowledge sharing.
That was when he decided to build his network system, or what he dubbed “a better way.”.
Expertwired’s platform used a sourcing and matching technology that connected market research firms, investment advisors, in-house consulting teams, and other companies looking to connect to industry experts.
With Expertwired, users could search, select, and book pre-vetted and screened experts for half the price of traditional networks. Despite that, experts had the freedom to set their own rates.
“Expertwired pays out experts on average €400 per interview, but experts always choose their own rate,” says Huisman.
“This makes Expertwired the highest paying platform for experts globally, while clients – who pay a markup of 20 per cent platform fee – are always better off than through alternative ‘low-tech’ networks,” adds Huisman.
Some of its clients were large corporations (e.g. Philips, HP), investment firms (private equity, hedge funds), consulting firms (e.g. PWC, Deloitte, KPMG), life sciences companies, as well as Ivy League universities (e.g. Harvard).