About BNI
BNI is a Business Services company based in Charlotte (United States) founded in 1985 by Ivan Misner, and was acquired by Pioneer Equity in June 2014. Referral marketing solutions are provided to businesses through networking platforms. It operates on a Two-Sided Marketplace and Franchise / Licensing model in Business Services and Technology sectors. BNI has completed 2 acquisitions, including Bank Mayora and Scion Social. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Graham Weihmiller. Its website bni.com draws about 240 thousand monthly visits. BNI offers products and services including Referral Networking. Its focus areas include Networking and Referral Networking. Its legal entity in India is BNI Global, LLC (U72200TG1999PLC032858). Its competitors include Extole, Firstup and SocialChorus; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
BNI, known as Business Network International, is established as the worlds largest referral networking organization. Operations are conducted across 76 countries with over 11,300 chapters and 340,000 members. Services are focused on facilitating business growth through qualified referrals. A trusted network of professionals is built to support members success. Opportunities for exponential business scaling are provided through a proven system. Lifelong learning and master connector development are encouraged within chapters. Significant revenue, amounting to 26.4 billion, is generated for members annually through referrals.
- InvestorsPamlico Capital
& 3 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsBank Mayora
& 1 more
- Acquired byPioneer Equity
(Jun 2014)
Associated legal entities of BNI
BNI operates through Business Network International Limited (strike off). Its filings, financials, charges and directors are on the company page.
| Legal entity | Status | Incorporated | Registered in | Revenue | Employees | Directors | Company page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Network International Limited CIN U72200TG1999PLC032858 | Strike Off | 16 Nov 1999 | Secunderabad, Telangana | View details |
Products & Services of BNI
BNI offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Referral Networking.
Referral networking services are provided for business growth.
Apps and channels of BNI
BNI publishes 2 mobile apps with over 500K+ downloads; its YouTube channel BNI TV has 22.1K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from BNI
The most watched videos on BNI's YouTube channel, BNI TV (22.1K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on BNI TV.
Funding Insights of BNI
- Total Rounds 3
- Investors Count 3
All 3 funding rounds of BNI with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Series A | – | Pamlico Capital | – | |
| Dec 2014 | Series A | – | Pioneer Equity Partners | – | |
| Jan 2014 | Seed | – | – |
4 investors in total: 4 institutional.
Investors in BNI
BNI has secured backing from 4 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Pamlico Capital, Pioneer Equity Partners and Pioneer Equity.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pamlico Capital is engaged in private equity investments for growth companies. | pamlicocapital.com | Charlotte, United States | ||
| pacificlake.com | ||||
| pioneerequitypartners.co.uk | ||||
| pioneerequity.com |
Investor details for BNI
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of BNI
31 people are tracked at BNI (25 in leadership, 6 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ivan Misner | Founder | Leadership |
Graham Weihmiller | CEO | Leadership |
Tony Mohorn | Director Of Strategic Partnerships | Leadership |
Claire Sherman | VP Of Communications & Events | Leadership |
Brooks McClary | Senior Director of Sales Performance | Leadership |
Tom Monaghan | Chief Development Officer | Leadership |
Robert Gervais | President, Corporate Connections | Leadership |
Meena Srinivasan | Chief Digital Officer | Leadership |
Cindy Foultz | Senior Director of Human Resources | Leadership |
Stephen Schwartz | CTO | Leadership |
Robert Gorecki | Senior Director, Strategic Development | Leadership |
Clay S. Walker | Head Of Media Production | Leadership |
Howard Gershman | Director Consultant | Leadership |
Anna Rivers | Managing Director | Leadership |
Vijaykumar Reddy | Director - Global IT Security | Leadership |
Heather Mcleod | Chief Marketing Officer | Leadership |
Andrew Bender | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Somesh Raina | Senior Director Of Software Engineering | Leadership |
Tim Houston | Director Of Market Development | Leadership |
Chris Hill | BNI Partner Concierge Manager | Leadership |
11 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for BNI
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Investments & Acquisitions by BNI
BNI has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Bank Mayora and Scion Social.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commercial banking services are offered in Indonesia. | bankmayora.com | Jakarta, Indonesia | 1993 | May 2022 | •••• | |
Digital, social media marketing, advertising, and SEO services are provided. | scion-social.com | Bengaluru, India | 2011 | Jun 2020 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for BNI
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
- Exports
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of BNI
6 dated milestones of BNI across 37 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded BNI is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Exit Acquired by Pioneer Equity.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A,.
- Acquisition Acquires Scion Social.
- Acquisition Acquires Bank Mayora.
Competitors of BNI
BNI has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Extole, Firstup and SocialChorus.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| extole.com | 2009 | San Francisco, United States | $54.18M | 35 | B2C and P2P referral automation platform | |
| firstup.io | 2008 | San Francisco, United States | $126.8M | 148 | Cloud-based communication and employee experience management platform for enterprises | |
| socialchorus.com | 2008 | San Francisco, United States | $44.68M | 249 | Advocate Marketing Solution |
Detailed competitors of BNI
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of BNI
The website of BNI (bni.com) receives about 239.8K visits a month.
- Monthly visits239.8K
▲ 13.7% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with BNI. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
bniconnectglobal.com | bniconnectglobal.com | 100% | #45,805 | – | |
bnipodcast.com | bnipodcast.com | 77% | #738,876 | – | |
| bni-india.in | 70% | 41.2K | #775,357 | View details | |
utahbni.com | utahbni.com | 56% | – | ||
bnisalberta.ca | bnisalberta.ca | 52% | #6,809,603 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 26 similar websites and full traffic analytics for BNI
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 26 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Marketing & Outreach Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as BNI (Marketing & Outreach Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creative Artists Agency is engaged in talent representation and brand management. | 1975 | Los Angeles, California, United States | USD 263.26 M | 916 | ||
Provider of advertising services | 2003 | New York, New York, United States | USD 174.38 M | 3,660 | ||
Software suite solutions are provided for brands and e-commerce businesses. | 2013 | Lehi, Utah, United States | USD 277 M | USD 2.5 B | 2,158 |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Bni
Complete news archive for BNI
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about BNI
BNI was founded in 1985 and raised its 1st funding round 29 years after it was founded.
BNI is headquartered in Charlotte, United States. It is registered at Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
Graham Weihmiller is the CEO of BNI, as recorded in our data.
BNI, known as Business Network International, is established as the worlds largest referral networking organization. Operations are conducted across 76 countries with over 11,300 chapters and 340,000 members. Services are focused on facilitating business growth through qualified referrals. A trusted network of professionals is built to support members success. Opportunities for exponential business scaling are provided through a proven system. Lifelong learning and master connector development are encouraged within chapters. Significant revenue, amounting to 26.4 billion, is generated for members annually through referrals.
BNI's top competitors include Extole, Firstup and SocialChorus.
BNI offers Referral Networking.
BNI has made 2 acquisitions, including Bank Mayora, and Scion Social.
BNI has 4 investors. Key investors include Pamlico Capital, Pioneer Equity Partners, Pioneer Equity, and Pacific Lake Partners.
BNI operates through Business Network International Limited.
Yes. BNI was acquired by Pioneer Equity in June 2014.
Yes. BNI publishes BNI Connect® Mobile and 1 more app, with over 500,000 downloads.
The website of BNI receives about 240 thousand visits a month.

