Bolster found us a great engineering advisor with a background leading teams of Product Managers, Engineers and Designers at organizations of various scales. Achal can advise me on concerns at all levels of the organization; he helps me think through my options, provides a consistent approach, and has helped me systematize and automate the operation of a large chunk of the engineering organization while helping create structure and processes that have been appreciated by the engineers and their leaders.
For early stage growth companies, being able to use fractional leadership talent is a great opportunity. Bolster’s unique combination of assessment tools and executive marketplace is a great resource for the startup ecosystem.
As a young company, we needed to find the right fit for a fractional executive role and to find it quickly. Bolster helped us do that quickly and cost-effectively, without any additional overhead.
We knew we didn't have a full-time need for a General Counsel, but we wanted someone extraordinary who would also fit with our unique culture and diverse stakeholder population. Bolster listened to our needs, was able to quickly source several strong candidates, and we found an excellent match almost right away. We look forward to working with them again.
Working with Bolster was a game changer. It helped me see our executive team in a new light - our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Their rigorous framework for considering functional, leadership and values skills resonated with how we think about people development. There is a big gap in the market in structured approaches to managing, developing, and supplementing executive teams – and Bolster’s unique access to such a curated group of experienced executives is perfect to help fill out teams and boards. Bolster is on to something.
We were thrilled to find Robert Bertagna on Bolster to add to the Fincura Board of Directors. As a highly respected and seasoned leader with valuable financial services experience, his engagement and assistance has been instrumental in guiding our growth. Bolster’s depth of talent, as well as their advice and support through the search process, made the process fast and easy.
We loved working with Bolster on our independent board member search. They introduced us to phenomenal candidates and offered great advice throughout the process. I can't wait to work with them again.
Bolster addresses the entire spectrum of building an amazing team by starting with those who could be part-time advisors and mentors in a manner that enables both parties to get to know each other. In addition, Bolster's other services that support a CEO go way beyond transactional value and into long-lasting, company-lasting value.
Bolster is like a CEO’s best friend. The company’s services team gave me very quick advice on what I needed and instantly found me the right coach for my company’s needs and the right person to help me design and then facilitate an executive team offsite. I added a project-based consultant for a targeted need. The “on demand” talent was truly that – they were able to start work immediately.
Working with Bolster has helped me significantly accelerate our leadership development efforts at Quizlet. Bolster brings the power of a large, high quality talent marketplace combined with decades of collective wisdom and experience from Matt and his team on scaling an executive team and effectively utilizing the board of directors into an easy to use and simple to apply approach.
One of the best pieces of advice I've received as a first time CEO/founder is to seek smart money - since money is, at the end of the day, a commodity, it's important to raise capital from those that believe in the business, the impact it can make and you personally as well as being committed to take actionable steps to help the company grow as rapidly as possible. It was clear from the start this is how the Bolster team operates.
I valued the time we spent with Bolster. I am impressed with the level of detail that goes into their analysis of talent. They enable you to hone in on the specific skills and experiences that go beyond the resume or typical profile. The upfront work they've put into developing a set of criteria that helps candidates showcase their talents and employers determine suitability for a particular talent need ensures that valuable time isn't wasted on either end. There isn't anything comparable that exists today.
As a founder and CEO of a rapidly scaling SaaS company, building our executive team is one of my most critical responsibilities. It requires understanding what we'll need to grow from where we are today to $50M ARR. Working with Bolster helped me understand exactly which roles I needed to fill, and what competencies I needed with each role. And the Bolster marketplace came through with fractional executive talent within a week, cutting months off the traditional executive hiring process and helping our team drive success within the first quarter.
Bolster sounded fantastic, and delivered. Executive roles are critically important, and challenging to find when the need is part-time and imminent. Rather than relying on our network, Bolster delivered a perfect candidate through a simple process. This is a valuable tool to a young company.
Our HR and Finance functions were outgrowing our teams’ bandwidth and we needed some part-time, senior support. Working with Bolster helped me to clarify my needs and quickly sourced strong candidates for me, leading to a successful engagement. We will continue to work together as we grow our business.
Bolster is a game changer in scaling startup leadership teams. The CEO assessment tools provide an objective framework for mapping people and functions against stage-based benchmarks. Where gaps are identified, the marketplace provides access to fractional or full-time experienced and relevant candidates that have been vetted by Bolster and the community. Tying both elements together in a single platform is efficient and effective.
As an early-stage startup, it can be challenging to find the right support when building a team. Bolster met us where we’re at and has exceeded all expectations. They provided us highly qualified candidates for our executive coaching needs and were very responsive in helping us as we worked through the selection process. I look forward to working with them in the future as we fill fractional executive roles and build out our board. Bolster is a class act and I won’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking to build their team.
Thanks to Bolster’s easy and friendly matching process to fit our needs, we were able to meet wonderful and experienced talent in a record time.
Bolster gave me a unique insight not just into the abilities of my executive team as individuals, but our ability as a collective team. On top of this, the process didn't just give me clarity based on past performance, but based on future needs for a fast scaling and in a dynamic industry.
Going to market in 2021 with a strong Board of Directors was one of the most important projects of the last 6 months. There is no way, that on our own, we could have connected with the caliber of candidates that Bolster was able to bring to the table. The team walked us through every step of the process to ensure that everyone made the right decisions and that the fit was right. This will go down as one of the major transformational events for our company. We would recommend Bolster without hesitation, and we look forward to working with them in the future.
I had the pleasure of working with Bolster to help me find an independent board director. I had a good idea of what I what I was looking for but needed access to candidates outside my network and a partner to help me manage the process. Not only was Bolster fast, but I found them to be an invaluable partner at providing guidance throughout the full process on things like what to look for, interviewing, and compensation. Ultimately, I ended up with a great new board member in place in less than 90 days.
