The moment you're in

You're early enough to build
this with intention.

Here's what we see happen when founders wait: the board fills itself. Early investors join. A mentor gets a seat. An advisor comes on informally. And before long, the board reflects how the company was financed rather than what the company actually needs.

That's not a failure. It's just the default. And you don't have to accept the default.

The default board

Built around who funded you.

Investor seats by default
Heavy on capital markets perspective
Light on consumer, brand, and operational expertise
Rarely reflects who your customer is
Added reactively, when there's a gap that can't be ignored

The intentional board

Built around where you're going.

Expertise matched to your next 3–5 years
Consumer insight from people who know your customer
Functional depth in retail, brand, operations, or wherever your gaps are
A board that reflects the people buying your product
Added proactively, before you need them

Three things worth knowing first

Before you start thinking
about your board...

You don't need a formal structure to start.

At your stage, a board director, an independent director, and a paid advisor can look almost identical. What matters isn't the title — you can create a board seat at any time. Very little actually comes to a vote at this stage. What matters is having the right expertise in the room. We work across all structures, and we help you bring any existing investors along on the conversation.

Your board should reflect the consumers you serve.

70–80% of consumer spending is driven by women. If your board doesn't reflect that, you have a gap between the decisions being made and the customers being served. That gap costs you, eventually.

The best time to add the right person is before you desperately need them.

Boards built in a crisis are boards built under pressure. The most valuable board members are brought in when there's time for them to actually learn your business before the hard decisions come. Start earlier than you think you need to.

What to look for

What does your next chapter actually need?

The most useful question isn't "who should be on our board?" It's: "what are the conversations I wish I could be having?" We help you start there — then work backward to find the person who can have them with you.

🏪

Retail & Omnichannel

Navigating from DTC into retail — or scaling across channels — requires expertise most early boards don't have.

📣

Brand & Marketing

Senior brand-builders who've scaled consumer companies understand what you can't yet see from where you're sitting.

⚙️

Operations & Supply Chain

Growth breaks operations. A board member who's fixed that problem before is worth more than almost anyone.

💰

Finance & Capital Markets

CFO-level experience outside your investor base gives your board a neutral voice on the most consequential decisions.

🌿

Category Expertise

Someone who has already operated at the frontier of your category can compress years of learning into a single conversation.

🚀

Fundraise & Exit Readiness

If you're thinking about your next raise, your Series B, or an eventual exit — having a board member who's navigated that is invaluable.

One of the first things we do when a founder comes to us is help them articulate the conversations they wish they could be having — not a job description. That's where the right match begins.

Who we are

Women on Boards Project

We're a nonprofit founded in 2020 by consumer industry leaders. We exist because boards that reflect the consumers they serve perform better — and we're here to close the gap between the women who should be in that room and the companies that need them.

Our search committee does this as their day job. They know the women in our network intimately — not from a database, but from years of working alongside them. That depth of knowledge is what makes our matches real. When companies work with us, we ask them to support our mission through a contribution to the W Project. Every dollar goes back into expanding this work.

What's possible

The right person changes the room

Every one of these placements started with a founder asking a simple question: what expertise do we wish we had access to?

Chomps

Liz Carter

President & COO — Perfect Snacks Humm Kombucha 5-hour ENERGY

Liz joined the Chomps board through the W Project in 2022. Within six months she was embedded in their growth strategy. Chomps then made her their President and Chief Operations Officer — one of the most remarkable board-to-operator stories we've seen.

Board member → President & COO

LinkedIn →

Sollis Health

Melanie Goldey

CEO — Tally Health CFO — Refinery29 (→ Vice merger) SVP — Everyday Health (IPO + acquisition)

A rare operator at the intersection of healthcare, tech, and consumer. Scaled companies through IPOs, led major mergers — and proves the right board member isn't category-bound.

Healthcare + tech + consumer

LinkedIn →

Simple Mills

Amanda Steele

SVP Marketing — Annie's Homegrown CMO — Agriculture Capital Safeway O Organics

Deep expertise at the intersection of brand, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture. She brought Simple Mills a strategic lens that went far beyond capital.

Acquired by Flowers Foods — $795M

Profile →

Rowan

Ana Badell

Chief Transformation Officer — Lululemon COO — Beautycounter VP Store Ops — Starbucks

Ana joined the board when Rowan had fewer than 10 locations. She's been in the room through their growth to 100+ piercing studios nationwide.

<10 studios → 100+ locations

LinkedIn →

King Arthur Baking

Denise Beckles

SVP — Walmart VP — Target Retail & omnichannel expert

Denise brought decades of retail and omnichannel expertise to King Arthur's board — the kind of operator perspective that helps a beloved brand scale without losing what makes it special.

250-year employee-owned company

LinkedIn →

King Arthur Baking

Grace Zuncic

Officer (10 yrs) — Chobani CPCO — Cotopaxi Harvard MBA

A decade as an officer at Chobani, including board service at Chobani Australia. Rare combination of operational depth, people strategy, and ESG leadership.

250-year employee-owned company

LinkedIn →

The process

Simple. Supported. Thorough.

We believe companies should bring as much rigor to a board search as they would to hiring a full-time executive. The impact is at least as significant. We bring the structure — you bring the vision.

The Conversation

We understand your company, your gaps, and the conversations you wish you were already having

Candidate Slate

We present women we know deeply and personally — not just by resume, but by how they think and what they're capable of

Interviews

We give you guidance on how to interview. A board interview is different — and interviewing well is a skill most founders have never been taught

Placement + PR

Onboarding, and the moment you announce it. We help generate an authentic PR moment your community will feel — because it's real

We ask companies to support our mission through a contribution. Every dollar goes back into expanding this work.

You're early enough
to build this
the right way.

Starting a board from scratch can feel overwhelming. It doesn't have to be. We've done this with founders at every stage — from pre-revenue to Series C. The first conversation is just that: a conversation.

Schedule a call with Kierstin

Or reach her directly at kierstin@wobproject.com

No fees We're a nonprofit. Donation-based model. We're aligned with you, not a transaction.

No pressure Not every conversation becomes a search. Some founders just need to talk it through first. That's fine.

No gatekeeping We don't believe women need to prove themselves to get a seat. And we don't believe founders need to be at a certain stage to work with us. If you're curious, that's enough to start.

Build it rightthe first time.

You're early enough to buildthis with intention.

Before you start thinkingabout your board...

What does your next chapter actually need?

Women on Boards Project

The right person changes the room

Simple. Supported. Thorough.

You're early enoughto build thisthe right way.

Build it right
the first time.

You're early enough to build
this with intention.

Before you start thinking
about your board...

You're early enough
to build this
the right way.