BNI

Charlotte, United States Founded: 1985 • Age: 41 yrs Acquired By Pioneer Equity
Referral marketing solutions are provided to businesses through networking platforms.

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.

  • Headquarters Charlotte, United States
  • Founders Ivan Misner
  • Stage Acquired
  • Sectors
    Business Services
    Technology
  • Phone
    •••• ••••
  • Website bni.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
  • Acquired by Pioneer Equity (Jun 2014)
  • Legal Name Bni Global, Llc
  • Date of Incorporation 16 Nov, 1999
Key Metrics

Products & Services of BNI

BNI offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Referral Networking.

Referral Networking
Networking Services

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.

BNI Connect® Mobile
Google Play Business Teen Free
Developer: BNI Global, LLC
View on Google Play
BNI Connect® Mobile
App Store Social Networking 4+
Developer: BNI Mobile
View on App Store
BNI TV
YouTube 22.1K subscribers 30 videos Travel & Events
Open channel

Videos from BNI

The most watched videos on BNI's YouTube channel, BNI TV (22.1K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.

BNI: 40 Years of Impact
5.3K views
2024 BNI Global Convention Full Recap | Days 1- 4 Highlights | Hawaii
2.7K views
Inside Look: A Walkthrough of the 2025 BNI Global Convention Venue
2.4K views
1985 - 2025: 40 Years of Growth for BNI
1.8K views

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.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
May 2019Series A–Pamlico Capital
–
Dec 2014Series A–Pioneer Equity Partners
–
Jan 2014Seed––
Valuation history

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.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Pamlico Capital is engaged in private equity investments for growth companies.
pamlicocapital.comCharlotte, United States
pacificlake.com
pioneerequitypartners.co.uk
pioneerequity.com
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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).

NameRoleGroup
Ivan Misner
FounderLeadership
Graham Weihmiller
CEOLeadership
Tony Mohorn
Director Of Strategic PartnershipsLeadership
Claire Sherman
VP Of Communications & EventsLeadership
Brooks McClary
Senior Director of Sales PerformanceLeadership
Tom Monaghan
Chief Development OfficerLeadership
Robert Gervais
President, Corporate ConnectionsLeadership
Meena Srinivasan
Chief Digital OfficerLeadership
Cindy Foultz
Senior Director of Human ResourcesLeadership
Stephen Schwartz
CTOLeadership
Robert Gorecki
Senior Director, Strategic DevelopmentLeadership
Clay S. Walker
Head Of Media ProductionLeadership
Howard Gershman
Director ConsultantLeadership
Anna Rivers
Managing DirectorLeadership
Vijaykumar Reddy
Director - Global IT SecurityLeadership
Heather Mcleod
Chief Marketing OfficerLeadership
Andrew Bender
Chief Financial OfficerLeadership
Somesh Raina
Senior Director Of Software EngineeringLeadership
Tim Houston
Director Of Market DevelopmentLeadership
Chris Hill
BNI Partner Concierge ManagerLeadership

11 more people are available in the full profile.

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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.

Acquisitions
Company NameDescriptionDomainLocationFoundedAcquiredAmount
Commercial banking services are offered in Indonesia.
bankmayora.comJakarta, Indonesia1993May 2022••••
Digital, social media marketing, advertising, and SEO services are provided.
scion-social.comBengaluru, India2011Jun 2020••••
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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.

  1. Founded BNI is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round.
  3. Exit Acquired by Pioneer Equity.
  4. Funding Latest funding round, Series A,.
  5. Acquisition Acquires Scion Social.
  6. 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 NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
extole.com2009San Francisco, United States$54.18M35
B2C and P2P referral automation platform
firstup.io2008San Francisco, United States$126.8M148
Cloud-based communication and employee experience management platform for enterprises
socialchorus.com2008San Francisco, United States$44.68M249
Advocate Marketing Solution
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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 visits
    239.8K

    ▲ 13.7% vs previous month

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with BNI. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
bniconnectglobal.com
bniconnectglobal.com
100%
#45,805–
bnipodcast.com
bnipodcast.com
77%
#738,876–
bni-india.in
70%
41.2K#775,357View details
utahbni.com
utahbni.com
56%
–
bnisalberta.ca
bnisalberta.ca
52%
#6,809,603–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
Premium access

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.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Creative Artists Agency is engaged in talent representation and brand management.
1975Los Angeles, California, United StatesUSD 263.26 M916
Provider of advertising services
2003New York, New York, United StatesUSD 174.38 M3,660
Software suite solutions are provided for brands and e-commerce businesses.
2013Lehi, Utah, United StatesUSD 277 MUSD 2.5 B2,158
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Related news about Bni

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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

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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.

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