My experience with Boardy AI.

What is Boardy AI?

Boardy describes itself as an AI superconnector. You explain what you’re working on and whom you want to meet; it looks for relevant people and, according to its current website, makes an introduction after both people opt in. That is the basic proposition: use a conversation to help find another useful conversation.

My own entry point was professional: meeting founders and exploring where my operating experience could be useful. Someone building a company might have a different ask. The starting point is being able to explain what would make a connection worthwhile for both people.

Why founder connections matter to me

My background spans Wayfair and AllModern, Symmons, and Island Creek Oysters. I’ve owned P&Ls and worked across sales, marketing, ecommerce, operations and the very practical business of making things happen. That experience gives me a lot to talk about with a founder. It also takes a little more explanation than a job title.

A founder may be wrestling with repeat purchase, a fragmented customer experience, a new sales channel or a team that needs clearer ownership. Those are conversations I want to have. They let us discuss the actual business and where I might contribute.

In June, I described connecting with founders as Boardy’s biggest benefit. In October, I kept coming back to another point: these are people who want to talk to you. I’ve called it “the ultimate match maker,” because the value is in finding a reason for two people to meet.

The part I keep coming back to: people who want to have the conversation.

That willingness changes the starting point. You can spend more of the conversation understanding each other and less of it establishing why you’ve appeared in someone’s inbox. For me, that is a much more appealing way to build professional relationships.

Give Boardy more than your title

I’ve spent time explaining my background and refining the kinds of introductions I want. My interests include founder-led consumer businesses, ecommerce, food and beverage, retail and premium brands. I’m based in Boston, with interests beyond Boston. Those details are much more useful than simply saying I work in growth.

The advice I’d give someone starting out is to describe the business situation you understand, the people you hope to meet and what you can contribute. If you’ve led a team through a difficult transition, built a sales channel or solved a particular operating problem, say that. It gives a potential introduction something to be about.

I’d also keep the context current. The people you want to meet can change as your priorities change. After a useful introduction, explain what made it useful. After a less relevant one, explain what was missing. Specific feedback gives the next conversation a better starting point.

The introduction is where your work starts

I still have to show up prepared, ask thoughtful questions and follow through. There is no version of networking where software can do the relationship part for me. An introduction creates an opening; what happens next depends on the people involved.

My preferred approach is to be curious about the business before trying to explain everything I could do for it. What is the founder trying to build? Where are they stuck? What have they already tried? A conversation gets much better when it starts with understanding the problem.

I also think it helps to leave room for a connection to develop. A worthwhile conversation might become a professional relationship, a useful exchange of ideas or a reason to reconnect later. I wouldn’t judge every introduction by whether it immediately produces a job or a consulting engagement.

There are practical limits, too. A matching service can only work with the context and connections available to it. Relevance, timing and mutual interest still matter. I would use Boardy alongside my existing relationships and direct outreach, and bring the same judgment to an introduction that I would anywhere else.

Is Boardy worth trying?

For me, the value has been founder access and the possibility of a conversation that begins with shared interest. That is why I’ve kept talking about it, and why I’m comfortable sharing my experience as a user and advisor.

I think it is particularly interesting if you can explain what you’re building, the problems you know well or the kinds of people you could help. If you are exploring it for a job search, I would be specific about the contribution you can make and the businesses where it makes sense. If you are a founder, I would be specific about the problem behind the introduction you want.

My own experience has made me interested in AI that helps people find each other and start useful conversations. More activity is easy to generate. A good reason to talk is much more valuable.

Get started with Boardy ↗