Reflections on a Sharsies x Tracksuit pair-up
Naomi Garry: OnBoard alumni 2024, Tracksuit board observer 2024, 2025, Sharesises Head of Data and Analytics
In 2024, I participated in the Onboard program and tagged along with Connor and Matt as Tracksuit grew revenue by 136%, nearly doubled their global team, and quadrupled the size of their US business. To the surprise of my ever-present imposter syndrome gremlin, Connor and Matt asked me to stay on in 2025 and continue to chip in my two cents on all things customer and data. So, what made this a successful partnership?
Check the vibes
From the first time I met with Connor and Matt, I could tell we would work well together. The conversation was lively and fun, and I’ve since discovered they’ve attracted leaders who bring a similar energy to the boardroom. As a result, even the tricky conversations start from a place of openness and positivity. I’m lucky in this regard, as I imagine not every boardroom is like this and may not offer the same level of participation to a newcomer.
Bring the curiosity and a wee bit of confidence
I would say curious; others might say nosiness. This has always been a personality trait that’s served me well in consulting, scale-up land, and now in my fledgling governance career. This led me to interrogate strategies, new products, and numbers in the board packs and form perspectives of my own. Bringing this to the boardroom and observing if my more experienced peers had reached the same conclusion was an interesting exercise.
In areas where I have expertise, I dove in, connecting with relevant Tracksuit leaders and completing my own analysis, which I shared through appropriate channels. There were times I questioned if I was overreaching—after all, as an observer, I was there to “observe.” However, by mucking in, I learned, satisfied my nosiness, and in subsequent conversations with Connor and Matt, confirmed Tracksuit gained valuable insights.
Connect outside of the board room
The boardroom discussions are interesting, as smart, ambitious people collide, but many of the most valuable discussions for me happened outside the boardroom. I gained heaps in coffee chats with Phoebe Harrop Meadows from Blackbird as I bounced my daughter on my knee, or from hitting the whiteboard with members of the Pit Crew (Tracksuit's leadership team).
You’ll get back what you put in
This opportunity came about at a busy time for me as I started a family and took on some significant projects at Sharesies. I was apprehensive about how much value I could offer Tracksuit and where the cost of spending time on Onboard might be felt in other aspects of my life. Toni Moyes shared how much she loved her governance role while on maternity leave and was very encouraging. I’m so glad I listened—Toni’s wisdom is seldom to be ignored!
While it was ‘work’, it was interesting, enriching work, and it was never an unmanageable load. Both Onboard and Tracksuit were supportive of missing the occasional session, for things like giving birth!
I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I’m excited for the year ahead observing Tracksuit’s board as they hit new strides. I’m confident Onboard has made me more effective communicating with the board in my day job, and affirmed my ability to contribute meaningfully at board level. I aim to pursue a governance career and now have a broader network to support this goal. Plus, I’ve learned you can accomplish a lot while nap trapped, like write this case study!
Naomi Garry - Head of Data and Analytics, Sharesies