Heylink.me finds mega success in Thailand’s booming digital economy

Born out of Sydney with Ukrainian co-founders, HeyLink.me was always going to be an international enterprise. And, as a digital platform, practical barriers to export were minimal.

As they respond to organic growth in Southeast Asia, founders Dr. Olga Oleinikova and Kyrylo Medvediev have focused on truly understanding their customers in each market.

Having met at the University of Sydney, Olga and Kyrylo started working together in 2015. They launched e-commerce platform Persollo, which allowed vendors to directly link social media images to a customer checkout.

Over time, they realised the highest conversions were coming not from brands, but from content creators and influencers, and many of them were using link-in-bio tools. 

‘We thought we could build something similar, with full white-label capabilities,’ says Kyrylo.

The duo launched HeyLink.me in 2020, offering simple, customisable landing pages, with in-built monetisation features.

‘In the first month, we had more clients than we had in 5 years of Persollo,’ Kyrylo recalls. ‘We realised it had potential, so we shifted our focus.’

Understanding international markets 

Today, HeyLink.me has ​​more than 10 million customers globally and generates 200 million site visits monthly. As many as 99% of customers are outside of Australia.

‘Given it’s a digital platform, it’s accessible all over the world,’ Kyrylo says. ‘We always had a global footprint in mind.’

The founders have taken a data-driven approach to expansion, analysing where organic demand is coming from and focusing on those markets.

This led them to explore opportunities in Southeast Asia, where they have taken part in Austrade business missions to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. 

In Thailand, in particular, Austrade has connected the team with key figures in government and industry, and supported them in learning about Thai culture and how locals engage with the digital economy.

‘Every market in Southeast Asia is unique,’ Kyrylo says. ‘You need to understand all these nuances to be a successful operator.’

However, Austrade support has also been pivotal in helping tackle one very specific — and missing critical — challenge.

Heylink.me is used by small businesses, content creators, not-for-profits and sole traders in almost every sector imaginable in Thailand.

Overcoming regulatory challenges in Thailand

In the early days of HeyLink.me’s entry into Thailand, the team realised regulation around digital content verification meant some customers’ landing pages were being blocked by local internet service providers (ISPs).

Austrade facilitated meetings with the Ministry of Digital Economy and other relevant government officials to help address the accessibility issue. Austrade also made connections to key ISPs, helping to validate HeyLink.me as a credible partner.

‘We’re not local. We don’t speak the language,’ Olga says. ‘It was very handy to have access to people who can communicate with the government, who can connect us to the right people in the local language, and who know the culture as well.’

In any market, Kyrylo adds, connecting with government bodies can be a challenge.

‘With Austrade, it’s fast-tracked. And once you’ve established those connections, it’s much easier to follow up, ask questions, and resolve issues.’

HeyLink.me now has more than 900,000 customers in Thailand, with growth accelerating year-on-year.

Traffic issues are much less frequent, but if a drop is detected from a particular ISP, the team can act fast to understand why, ultimately resolving the majority of issues within 24 hours.

Opportunities in Southeast Asia’s booming digital economy

In Thailand, HeyLink.me is used by small businesses, content creators, not-for-profits and sole traders in ‘almost every sector imaginable’, Kyrylo says.

These are businesses just starting their digital journeys, often with small budgets. Olga believes HeyLink.me’s success in Thailand is indicative of a trend that is only accelerating.

‘Business owners are jumping on tools that are accessible and inexpensive, and that give them tools to monetise,’ she explains.

‘We have scaled so well in Thailand because it’s an up-and-coming digital economy.’

The digital economy in Thailand is expected to reach a valuation of 4.69 trillion baht (approximately A$218.75 billion) this year, and is expanding by 6.2% year-on-year.

‘Digital economy has emerged as a key driver for Thailand’s long-term economic growth, creating jobs and boosting the country’s productivity,’ says Amelia Walsh, Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to Thailand and Laos.

‘The opportunities are diverse — from data centre development to AI and robotics in manufacturing. There are also an estimated 9 million content creators in Thailand.

‘Both the Thai Government and industry are seeking to accelerate this digital economy, creating opportunities for innovative Australian tech and skills offerings.’

Olga’s advice to other digital-first businesses is not only to think globally, but to pay close attention to the opportunities in Southeast Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

‘That’s where development is happening,’ she says.

‘For any company, focusing its business here would be a very good long-term and forward-looking strategy for success. This region is set for an economic boom in the next 10 years.’