The Boardlist

What The Boardlist does

BoardProspects, Inc., operating as The Boardlist, is a two-sided online community and board recruitment marketplace founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco. The company serves individual directors pursuing their first or next board seat—providing career development resources, tools, and peer connections—and public and private companies seeking qualified director candidates. Its positioning emphasizes the "upstream" portion of board recruitment, focusing on relationships and credibility-building before board seats are publicly posted, rather than competing with traditional executive search firms on disclosed roles.

The core product set includes an annual Director Membership program with insights (webinars, research, curated feeds), tools (Board Bio Workbook, Board Bio Generator, coaching sessions), connections (1:1 networking, group discussions, online community), and visibility features (appointment announcements, board role listings, 2026 curated talent lists). On the corporate side, the Board Search platform offers three engagement modes: self-serve job posting, database search, and full-service executive search delivered in partnership with Boardroom Resource Partner Robert Half Executive Search. Sidley and Protiviti serve as additional Boardroom Resource Partners, contributing governance, legal, and risk advisory content to the member community.

Revenue is generated primarily through individual director membership subscriptions, corporate board search services, and transactional fees for board role postings. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The platform reports 14,000+ members accumulated since 2010 and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees. Core technology is not publicly disclosed, no AI/ML capabilities are referenced, and the company has taken only one disclosed external investment—a 2020 seed round from Precursor Ventures.

Name

The Boardlist

Legal name

BoardProspects, Inc.

Website

https://theboardlist.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BoardProspects (The Boardlist) is a two-sided marketplace and membership community, founded in 2010, connecting 14,000+ directors pursuing board seats with public and private companies recruiting board talent, supported by partners Sidley, Robert Half, and Protiviti.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Board Recruitment Services

akta.pro primary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Board member recruitment
• Director membership platform
• Board search services
• Corporate governance talent
• Executive search marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Director Membership Subscriptions: Individual membership subscriptions for directors seeking board seats. Provides access to insights, tools, connections, and visibility features.
2. Board Search Services: Flexible recruitment solutions for companies to identify, assess, and recruit board members. Includes job posting, database search, and full-service search support through Robert Half Executive Search.
3. Board Role Posting: Companies can post open board opportunities to attract interest from the director community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BoardProspects operates a dual-sided board readiness and recruitment platform. For individual directors, it provides a paid membership delivering insights, tools, connections, and visibility to advance board careers. For public and private companies, it offers a board search marketplace with role postings, database access, and full-service executive search support delivered in partnership with Robert Half Executive Search.

Product overview

BoardProspects is a dual-sided board readiness and recruitment platform combining director membership services with a board search marketplace. The Director Membership provides tools (Board Bio Workbook, Board Bio Generator, Coaching Sessions), insights, connections, and visibility features. The Board Search platform enables companies to post opportunities, search the talent database, and access full-service recruitment support. Events programming includes webinars and networking. The offering is a unified platform connecting board-ready directors with companies seeking governance talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership for Directors Annual individual membership program for board-aspiring and sitting directors, delivering insights (webinars, research, curated feeds from Boardroom Resource Partners), tools (Board Bio Workbook, Board Bio Generator, coaching), connections (1:1 networking, group discussions, online community), and visibility (appointment announcements, curated talent lists, board role listings).
• Board Search for Boards Board recruitment marketplace for public and private companies to identify, assess, and recruit board members. Includes posting open board opportunities, accessing a database of 14,000+ director candidates, and engaging full-service executive search support through Robert Half Executive Search.
• Board Role Postings Transactional offering that allows companies to post open board positions to attract interest from the BoardProspects director community; members can view and apply for board opportunities.
• Events Programming Programming calendar of webinars and networking events featuring leading subject matter experts and sitting directors on governance risks, recruitment trends, and board career development.
• Coaching Sessions Group and one-on-one coaching sessions designed to strengthen board candidacy and professional development for members.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SidleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoardroom Resource Partner providing governance expertise and resources to the member community. World-class partner supporting director development and board excellence.
• Robert Half Executive SearchcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFull-service search support partner for companies seeking board talent. Leveraged for executive-level board recruitment with flexible search solutions across all board needs.
• ProtiviticoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoardroom Resource Partner providing internal audit, risk, and governance resources to enhance member knowledge and board readiness.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spencer Stuart: One of the world's leading executive search firms with a prominent board practice placing directors at public and private companies. Direct competitor for enterprise board search mandates that BoardProspects targets through its Robert Half partnership.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a major board and CEO services practice. Competes with BoardProspects for board recruitment engagements at large enterprises and offers broader talent advisory services.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated board practice. Direct competitor for board director placement, particularly at large public companies and PE-backed boards.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Executive search firm with a well-established board and CEO practice. Competes for the same enterprise board placement engagements that BoardProspects facilitates through its marketplace and search partners.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated board practice. Direct competitor in placing independent directors, particularly at mid-to-large cap public and private companies.
• Chief: Private membership network of senior executive women that acquired the original 'The Boardlist' women-on-boards platform. Directly comparable as a community-led model targeting women executives pursuing board and C-suite positions.
• WomenCorporateDirectors: Global membership organization and network of women corporate directors. Comparable to BoardProspects as a community/network model focused on advancing women into board roles through peer connections and visibility.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD): The largest US membership organization for corporate directors, providing education, certification, and resources. Operates as a broader incumbent serving the same director audience with overlapping governance and board readiness content.
• Diligent: Governance, risk, and compliance software company with a Director Network offering. Adjacent competitor that combines governance technology with director recruitment and board effectiveness services for enterprises.

Emerging players

• Equilar: Board intelligence and executive compensation data platform serving companies and directors. Comparable as an enabling technology layer for board recruitment, board composition analytics, and director networking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theboardlist
• Facebookfacebook.com/theboardlist
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10413530

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Boardlist