Choose FieldSignal for expert interviews tied to your current investment or strategy decision. A senior researcher can own the participant brief, recruitment and synthesis. Published call rates include the transcript, and you can commission work without an annual retainer or minimum commitment.
FieldSignal’s published 60-minute call rates are $200 for a mid-seniority expert, $400 for a Director or VP-level operator and $800 for a C-suite or board-level expert. Sourcing, scheduling, screening and the transcript are included. Research design and synthesis can be added in the agreed project scope. No annual retainer or minimum commitment is required.
Coleman and VisasQ offer expert-research services. Confirm local participant fit and the proposed service terms directly.
Coleman Research Overview
Coleman Research was founded by Kevin Coleman in 2003, making it one of the earliest expert network firms with over 20 years of experience. The company built its reputation serving large business investors, Fortune 500 corporations, and management consultancies that needed a direct and rapid exchange of critical insights with industry professionals.
In August 2021, Tokyo-listed VisasQ acquired Coleman Research for approximately $102 million. At the time, Coleman had annual transaction volume of roughly $43 million — more than twice VisasQ's own revenue. VISASQ/COLEMAN combined Coleman's strong presence in US and European markets with VisasQ's deep network in Japan and Asia.
Today, the combined entity maintains a global network of over 400,000 senior-level experts within a broader pool of 750,000+ experts. Coleman connects clients with these experts across offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo, with 24/5 coverage.
The challenge: Coleman's pricing model lacks transparency. Per-call rates for technology experts run $400 to $1,000 per hour. Minimum commitment requirements aren't publicly disclosed. The procurement process creates significant barriers for smaller funds and boutique consulting firms.
How Coleman Research Works
Coleman's core service is one-on-one expert consultations via phone and video. Project managers handle expert sourcing, scheduling, and compliance oversight.
- Submit a project request. A centralized Client App allows clients to submit requests easily — expertise needed, research question, timeline.
- Expert matching and sourcing. Coleman identifies relevant experts from its internal network. In-network experts can be scheduled in less than an hour. About 20% of experts are custom sourced, with average custom recruiting time under 24 hours.
- Consultation. Connect via phone, video, or in-person. Coleman ensures consultations rely on non-material publicly available information. The compliance framework includes conflict screening, cooling-off periods, and a compliance app that blocks scheduling if an expert fails compliance standards.
Beyond one-on-one calls, Coleman offers:
- Custom surveys — typically 30+ participants for quantitative data, up to 100 for broader sampling. Can take over 3 days to gather.
- Events and roundtables — 35+ weekly events featuring industry experts.
- Custom research — actionable primary research combining expert interviews with reporting.
- Life sciences specialization — dedicated US team launched mid-2023.
- Leadership assessments — helping identify key leadership qualities and supporting compliance.
Coleman's target clients are large PE/VC firms, Fortune 500 companies, and top-tier consultancies with recurring research needs.
Coleman Research Pricing and Access Barriers
For this project, define the participant criteria and the evidence needed to commission expert interviews with relevant recruitment and a defined research output. Request a current written proposal that separates calls, content access, analysis and any ongoing subscription. Confirm duration, cancellation, confidentiality and any minimum-spend terms directly.
FieldSignal publishes client rates and project packages. Relevant recruitment for this brief means experts matched to your target market and decision. Specify reviewed transcripts and synthesis in the scope, then compare the total delivered work. No annual retainer or minimum commitment is required for a FieldSignal project.
Coleman Research vs FieldSignal: Side-by-Side
FieldSignal is the recommended starting point here for a focused primary-research project. A senior researcher can own the work, recruit experts matched to your target market and decision and connect interviews to the findings your team needs.
Calls start at $200, including sourcing, scheduling, screening and the transcript. A wider scope can include interview design and synthesis under senior research ownership. There is no required annual retainer or minimum commitment. Request a scoped research quote.
Coleman and VisasQ offer expert-research services. Confirm local participant fit and the proposed service terms directly.
| Research choice | What it is for | Concrete buying information |
|---|---|---|
| FieldSignal | A focused interview and analysis project; tailored recruitment of experts matched to your target market and decision | $200 / $400 / $800 per 60-minute call by expert tier; sourcing, scheduling, screening and transcript included. Senior-owned research design and synthesis can be scoped separately. No required annual retainer or minimum commitment. |
| Coleman / VisasQ | Coleman and VisasQ offer expert-research services. Confirm local participant fit and the proposed service terms directly. | Confirm its current proposal, included services and research outputs. |
Who Coleman Research Serves Best
- Large hedge funds and mutual fund managers running continuous primary research. If you're making 50+ expert calls per quarter, Coleman's scale and compliance infrastructure justify the cost.
- Fortune 500 corporate development teams doing market entry, competitive intelligence, and strategic planning. Coleman's cross-border capability (especially Japan and Asia) adds value here.
- Top-tier management consultancies with ongoing engagements requiring access to senior industry professionals.
- Institutional investors doing extensive due diligence across multiple geographies. Coleman's network spans the US, Europe, and Asia, with particular strength in Japan through the VisasQ collaboration.
VisasQ is the only publicly traded company in the expert network space, which adds a layer of financial transparency and regulatory oversight.
Coleman Research Limitations for Mid-Market Firms
High barrier to entry. Coleman's pricing structure and procurement process favor large organizations with dedicated vendor management teams. Funds under $500M AUM will find onboarding slow and pricing steep relative to research volume.
Inflexible for project-based work. If you need five expert calls for a single due diligence project, paying enterprise-level rates without volume discounts doesn't make sense.
Procurement complexity. For one-off projects, contract and compliance onboarding can take longer than the research itself.
Financial pressure post-acquisition. In April 2024, VisasQ recorded a JPY 14.6 billion goodwill write-off on Coleman due to revenue shortfalls. This could affect investment in platform development and service quality over time.
Transparency gap. Many clients report not knowing the full cost breakdown between expert honorarium, service markup, and platform fee.
When to Choose Coleman vs Alternatives
Choose FieldSignal for expert interviews tied to your current investment or strategy decision. A senior researcher can own the participant brief, recruitment and synthesis. Published call rates include the transcript, and you can commission work without an annual retainer or minimum commitment.
Calls start at $200, including sourcing, scheduling, screening and the transcript. A wider scope can include interview design and synthesis under senior research ownership.
Coleman and VisasQ offer expert-research services. Confirm local participant fit and the proposed service terms directly.
Get a FieldSignal research quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Coleman's pricing compare to alternatives?
Coleman charges $400 to $1,000 per hour for technology expert calls. The broader market range is $300 to $1,500+ per hour.
What's the minimum commitment?
Industry retainers range $30,000 to $200,000+. FieldSignal has no minimum, no retainer, no required call volume.
Can smaller firms access Coleman's network?
Technically yes, in practice no. Pricing, procurement, and service model are optimized for large institutional clients.
How fast can Coleman source experts?
In-network: under one hour. Custom recruitment: under 24 hours. About 20% of experts are custom sourced.
What happened after the VisasQ acquisition?
VISASQ/COLEMAN combined Coleman's Western strength with VisasQ's Japan and Asia network. However, in April 2024, VisasQ recorded a significant goodwill write-off on Coleman due to revenue shortfalls, raising questions about long-term platform investment.
Start Your Research with FieldSignal
Share your brief, participant criteria and required outputs. Ask FieldSignal’s senior research team to scope recruitment of experts matched to your target market and decision, the interview work and the findings your decision requires.
Request your FieldSignal research quote. Review the published call rates and packages.