Seeing the Bigger Picture: How the OnBoard Program is Helping an Early Stage Start-up Gain Momentum
Connor Archbold is the co-CEO and co-founder of Tracksuit, a tool enabling companies to measure and communicate their brand awareness and marketing impact. As a two time board participant in the OnBoard program, the experience has been an invaluable way for the young company to access critical strategic skills brought by the Observer.
Tracksuit has hosted a board Observer for two years in the row on their board, and given the company is just over two years old, Connor can’t speak highly enough of the benefit it has brought to the company in this period of fast growth.
“This is a great way to give back to the start-up community by giving an experience to someone who wants to learn and grow, but it also makes absolute business sense because you’re getting people on your board who add to the diversity of thought with their business and life experiences. The individual is also a very senior leader that you probably couldn’t afford to hire at this stage of the business, but you can gain their insights and knowledge by being involved in the program.”
By participating in the OnBoard program, Tracksuit gained access to experienced individuals that brought valuable skills and expertise to discussions, contributing to the company’s growth.
Ruth Young (2023 OnBoard Observer, General Manager of People at CreativeHQ, previously Chief People Officer at MOBI) is currently supporting the company's growth with her knowledge on how to build high performing teams and cultures. Samantha Ryan (2022 OnBoard Observer, Product Manager, Expansion Opportunities at Sharesies) supported Tracksuit’s launch and expansion in New York. On completion of the Observer role, Samantha was brought on by Tracksuit into their GTM North America position.
“Having Ruth as an observer on the board this year allows us to access her exceptional experience building high performing teams and cultures. It is a no-brainer for a company like us to be involved in a program like OnBoard, given how much value it delivers in terms of skills, connections and insights.
We place a huge amount of value on having a diverse, high care and high performance team and being part of OnBoard has helped us have more diversity, expertise and high performance at the board level from an early stage.”
Connors's tips for boards who are considering having an Observer:
See the OnBoard program as an opportunity to bring expertise to your board for the current challenges the company is facing.
Take the opportunity to thoughtfully introduce the individual to the company, like a new employee you are onboarding - this will help both of you to maximise outcomes.
Remember to ask what the Observer would like to get out of this experience, with particular focus on their personal goals - and make sure you can support them with this opportunity.
