Lynk’s clients include many of the world’s leading investment houses, top-tier consultancies, corporates and startups

Hong Kong-based business advice startup Lynk has raised US$4 million in a Series A round led by Hong Leong Group. Participating investors include Hong Kong’s Cyberport, Zhuhai Da Heng Qin (DHQ), and Africa-focused CRE Venture Capital. Wavemaker Partners, which led Lynk’s US$1 million seed round in 2015, has also followed-on.

It will use the newly-raised capital to expand to new markets and invest in new technology and increase its staff and pool of experts.

On-demand business advice

Founded in 2013, Lynk provides on-demand business advice and consultation services. These include:

• Quick consultations — to find out about latest trends, best practices, and industry landscape; 
• Market research — to prepare for new market entry or product launch;
• Consulting projects — site visits by a specialist engineer;
• Longer-term engagements — advisory roles or strategic planning.

“Our clients typically have time-sensitive and business-critical questions, for example, an investor looking to better understand a particular market or technology, or a corporate that is considering whether to implement a new initiative and wants an expert with relevant experience to use as an objective sounding board,” said Peggy Choi, Lynk’s Founder and CEO, in an interview with e27.

“Small companies and startups have also come to us seeking advice from experts on fundraising, sales or pricing strategies, new market evaluation and for business plan reviews,” she added.

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There are currently over 35,000 business experts from across 70 countries on Lynk’s platform. They consist of seasoned C-level executives, retired senior professionals, thought leaders, scientists and engineers, independent consultants, specialist advisors, and lawyers. Lynk claim the large team of experts can offer business advice in over 20 languages.

The fees are based on both the nature of the expert’s speciality and the type of consultation required, whether it be a quick phone call or a week spent onsite at a manufacturing plant to review utilisation efficiency, so it varies from a few hundred to tens of thousands.

“Many of our clients are global institutions or regional conglomerates so one of the main reasons we decided to secure additional investment at this stage was to enable us to expand our coverage into even more markets internationally,” said Choi.

Expansion plans

Lynx, which has less than 50 staff spread across three markets Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai, said it will be opening a new office Zhuhai very soon with the support of one of its new investors, Da Heng Qin. It will be staffed by a combination of existing staff and new local hires.

This move will allow Lynx to serve existing clients in Shanghai and Beijing and broaden its reach to other parts of mainland China.

Lynx will also strengthen its presence in emerging markets including Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar via its Singapore office.

“Looking ahead, having an international mix of investors come on board in our Series A is brilliant for us (SEA, China, Africa, U.S.) as their experience and strategic relationships will help us to make the most of the growing opportunities in markets like China and Nigeria,” said Choi.

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Image Credit: Lynx

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The post Lynk raises US$4M to provide on-demand business advice and consultations in Asia appeared first on e27.

Source: e27