How Do Expert Networks Make Money? The Business Model, Explained

How do expert networks make money? A clear look at the markup, subscription, and survey model behind GLG and AlphaSights, and why it pays you so well.

How Do Expert Networks Make Money? The Business Model, Explained If a firm is willing to route $100 to $500 an hour to you for a phone call, a fair question follows: how do expert networks make money in the middle of that, and is the deal actually good for you? The answer is reassuringly simple once you see the moving parts. Expert networks are matchmakers. They sit between clients who need fast, frontline insight and experts like you who have it, and they earn the spread for making the connection reliable, fast, and compliant. Understanding the model is not just trivia. It tells you exactly how to be the kind of expert the network loves to call. How do expert networks make money on each call The core mechanic is a markup. A client, often a hedge fund, private equity firm, or management consultancy, pays the network a fee for an hour of expert time. The network pays you your rate for that hour and keeps the difference. So if a client is billed a higher all-in price for the call and you receive your agreed rate, the gap between those two numbers is the network's revenue on that engagement. This is why your rate and the client's price are not the same number, and why that is fine. Y…