Simple, link-centric user profiles might not sound like a particularly ambitious idea, but it\u2019s been more than big enough for Linktree.
\nThe Melbourne startup says that 8 million users \u2014 whether they\u2019re celebrities like Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa or brands like HBO and Red Bull \u2014 have created profiles on the platform, with those profiles receiving more than 1 billion visitors in September.
\nPlus, there are more than 28,000 new users signing up every month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis category didn\u2019t exist when we started,\u201d CEO Alex Zaccaria told me. \u201cWe created this category.\u201d
\nZaccaria said that he and his co-founders Anthony Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys created Linktree to solve a problem they were facing at their digital marketing agency Bolster. Instagram doesn\u2019t allow users to include links in posts \u2014 all you get is a single link in your profile, prompting the constant \u201clink in bio\u201d reminder when someone wants to promote something.
\nMeanwhile, most of Bolster\u2019s clients come from music and entertainment, where a single link can\u2019t support what Zaccaria said is a \u201cquite fragmented\u201d business model. After all, an artist might want to point fans to their latest streaming album, upcoming concert dates, an online store for merchandise and more. A website could do the job in theory, but they can be clunky or slow on mobile, with users probably giving up before they finally reach the desired page.<\/p>\n
Linktree founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys. Image via Linktree.<\/p>\n
So instead of constantly swapping out links in Instagram and other social media profiles, a Linktree user includes one evergreen link to their Linktree profile, which they can update as necessary. Selena Gomez, for example, links to her latest songs and videos, but also her Rare Beauty cosmetics brand, her official store and articles about her nonprofit work.
\nZaccaria said that after launching the product in 2016, the team quickly discovered that \u201ca lot more people had the same problem,\u201d leading them to fully separate Linktree and Bolster two years ago. Since then, the company hasn\u2019t raised any outside funding \u2014 until now, with a $10.7 million Series A led by Insight Partners and AirTree Ventures. (Update: Strategic investors in the round include Twenty Minute VC\u2019s Harry Stebbings, Patreon CTO Sam Yam and Culture Amp CTO Doug English.)
\n\u201cWe had the option to just continue to grow sustainably, but we wanted to pour some fuel on the fire,\u201d Zaccaria said.
\nIn fact, Linktree has already grown from 10 to 50 employees this year. And while the company started out by solving a problem for Instagram users, Zaccaria described it as evolving into a much broader platform that can \u201cunify your entire digital ecosystem\u201d and \u201cdemocratize digital presence.\u201d He said that while some customers continue to maintain \u201ca giant, brand-immersive website,\u201d for others, Linktree is completely replacing the idea of a standalone website.
\nZaccaria added that Instagram only represents a small amount of Linktree\u2019s current traffic, while nearly 25% of that traffic now comes from direct visitors.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Linktree<\/p>\n
Black Lives Matter has also been a big part of Linktree\u2019s recent growth, with activists and other users who want to support the movement using their profiles to point visitors to websites where they can donate, learn more and get involved. In fact, Linktree even introduced a Black Lives Matter banner\u00a0over the summer that anyone could add to their profile.
\nLinktree is free to use, but you have to pay $6 a month for Pro features like video links, link thumbnails and social media icons.
\nZaccaria said that the new funding will allow the startup to add more \u201cfunctionality and analytics.\u201d He\u2019s particularly eager to grow the data science and analytics team, though he emphasized that Linktree does not collect personally identifiable information or monetize visitor data in any way \u2014 he just wants to provide more data to Linktree users.
\nIn a statement, Insight Managing Director Jeff Lieberman said:
\nAs the internet becomes increasingly fragmented, brands, publishers, and influencers need a solution to streamline their content sharing and connect their social media followers to their entire online ecosystem, ultimately increasing brand awareness and revenue. Linktree has successfully created this new \u201cmicrosite\u201d category enabling companies to monetize the next generation of the internet economy via a single interactive hub. The impressive traction and growing number of customers Linktree has gained over the last few months demonstrates its proven market fit, and we could not be more excited to work with the Linktree team as they transition to the ScaleUp phase of growth.<\/p>\n
Tap Bio\u2019s mini-sites solve Instagram\u2019s profile link problem<\/p>\n