A survey platform we built grew to 13 million members, paid out $80 million, and got acquired by the world’s largest first-party data company. This is the story of MintVine.
The Growth
Branded Surveys — originally launched as MintVine — started in 2012 as a paid survey platform connecting consumers with market research opportunities. MOTS Technologies built the membership platform that powered it from the ground up.
In November 2017, the platform rebranded to Branded Surveys, reflecting the scale it had achieved and the sophistication of its re-engineered data collection platform.
The numbers tell the story:
- 13 million+ members across the US, UK, and Canada
- ~15 million surveys completed annually
- $80 million+ in total payouts to members
- 4.1/5 stars on Trustpilot with 115,000+ reviews
- 4.6/5 on iOS, 4.2/5 on Android
The Acquisition
In June 2022, Dynata acquired Branded Research — the parent company behind Branded Surveys. Dynata is the world’s largest first-party data platform for insights, activation, and measurement, with reach to nearly 70 million consumers and business professionals globally.
The acquisition was strategic: Branded Research’s proprietary panel and member management expertise expanded Dynata’s high-quality data capabilities. The platform we originally built had become valuable enough to attract the biggest player in the industry.
What We Built
MOTS Technologies originally built the membership platform that powered MintVine — the core infrastructure that made everything else possible:
- User registration and demographic profiling
- Survey matching engine that paired members with relevant research opportunities
- Points and rewards system with multiple redemption options
- Referral tracking and loyalty program infrastructure
- Scalable architecture serving three international markets
This was the foundation that scaled from zero to millions of members — the infrastructure that processed 15 million surveys a year and distributed $80 million in payouts.
Why This Matters
We build platforms that scale. This one scaled from a startup idea to 13 million members, earned the trust of 115,000+ reviewers, and ultimately scaled to an acquisition by the largest first-party data company in the world. That’s the kind of foundation we build.