Board Xcelerate
A 90-day program to tackle the urgent problem of the lack of diversity at the board level with a new approach — bringing powerful stakeholders together to design the solution.
About
Demographically diverse boards of directors lead to better results — they drive higher returns, decrease risk, and increase key performance metrics.
It’s time to accelerate access for women, non-binary individuals, and those from underrepresented groups to these critical decision-making roles at the board level — and keep them there. Change starts at the top.
With Board Xcelerate, All Raise taps into the power of our community to place accomplished, board-ready and board-proven leaders onto the boards of high-growth, private tech companies, delivering a finalist candidate within 90 days.
HOW IT WORKS:
Board searches don't need to take 9 months. We conduct a thoughtful, tailored search process - designed to minimize disruption to a CEO’s time while maximizing access to a qualified, diverse slate of candidates. We conduct searches across all sectors and deliver a finalist candidate within 90 days.
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Step 1
Powerful Start
- Jumpstart the program with a call to gather requirements and review the vetting, interview, and offer process. Based on input by the CEO and key stakeholders, we create all the relevant materials to run the search — from board spec, to company pitch, to compensation benchmarks.
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Step 2
Access Best Fit Candidates
- Tap the All Raise network to quickly and efficiently surface qualified women and/or other underrepresented executives. Our network includes 20,000 iconic founders, investors and operators. There is no one we can’t access through the All Raise partner network including Silicon Valley Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs; VC/PE funds, and other organizations focused on increasing diversity in tech: BLCK VC, Latinx VC and Valence.
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Step 3
Continual Calibration and Guidance
- Regular calls ensure the best-fit director is delivered. Our guidance and best practices around screening, BOD interview templates, independent BOD compensation data and more gives you a competitive advantage with high demand candidates.
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Step 4
Land Your Next BOD Member
- Our goal is to have a high-caliber independent director from an underrepresented group* sign as a board member within 90 days of launching the search. *We are following the California State definition of “underrepresented community”: those who identify as Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native, or as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Get Started: Harness the power of All Raise and the Board Xcelerate Program
CEOs/Investors
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Fill open independent board seats and capitalize on the economic and cultural impact a diverse board brings to your business. Contact:
Candidates
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Interested in being considered for Board opportunities through the Board Xcelerate program? Contact:
Our Partners
Program Founding Partners
Each founding program partner represents a critical aspect of the system, and each one is committed to doing their part to effect change and increase representation on boards. GGV Capital, Sequoia, Sapphire Ventures, and 3FORTY3.
Venture Capital Partners
We have access to top-tier board director seats across the portfolios of leading VC firms like Sequoia, GGV Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Battery, Bessemer Ventures Partners, Cowboy Ventures, Greycroft, Greylock Partners, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Playground Global who have committed to offering the Board Xcelerate program for their portfolio companies’ board searches.
Retained Executive Search Firm Partners
We match your needs to the highest quality search firms that bring best practices to the table for the most successful, efficient placements. Partners: 3FORTY3, Heidrick & Struggles, and Rich Talent Group.
Value Partners
Other organizations supporting the success of our board directors: Aon’s rewards solutions business to leverage their Radford compensation data for fair and transparent board insights; Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB) and Him for Her to provide our newly placed board members with support, guidance, and access to their community of experienced women board directors; and Valence to tap into their incredible talent community.
Advisory Committee
“I am thrilled that All Raise connected WorkBoard with Margo Georgiadis. Margo is an exceptional leader and very accomplished CEO; her experience using OKRs to drive sharp focus, fast growth and high alignment and her belief in an outcome mindset will help us amplify our value to enterprises.”
“What struck me about Board Xcelerate was the goal of removing friction for the CEOs of high-growth private companies to connect with qualified, diverse board candidates. The match was obvious to both me and Ryan, Electric’s CEO - I knew my experience was relevant and that I could add value to the board from an operators’ perspective. The company is about to go through another stage of high growth and through several critical milestones, and I look forward to helping the team navigate the future.”
“Selecting a board member is a massive responsibility. These are big decisions that need to be made thoughtfully but also efficiently. We knew that partnering with All Raise on our independent director search would give us the leverage to move fast and find the best candidates. All Raise has made it so easy that if you’re a CEO, there’s no excuse not to do this. Our hope is that programs like this are just the beginning of a more positive and inclusive tech industry.”
“The diversity of ideas, backgrounds and life experiences of our team members is what fuels our ability to continue to create, and come up with new ideas. We’ve been excited to work with the team at All Raise because of their incredible community of accomplished and diverse leaders, and their ability to help us attract, engage, and ultimately onboard leaders and board members.”
“All Raise is playing an important role in creating connections, opening doors and amplifying the voices of women leaders across industries. They are creating meaningful change in how boards are built, with the representation of diverse backgrounds and experiences.”
FAQs
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How much does the Board Xcelerate program cost?
Traditional board searches typically cost a minimum of $100K. For every search conducted via the Board Xcelerate program, All Raise partners with a retained executive search firm that specializes in independent director board searches. CEOs get the benefit of tapping into All Raises’ powerful network of female/non-binary executives and underrepresented men, as well as having access to the search firms’ deep networks and service. Searches via Board Xcelerate start at $55K.
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I want to learn more, how can I get in touch?
- Read our blog post for the founding story and successful board placements as of our launch. For companies that have a need to diversify their board, please contact: boardxcelerate@allraise.org We conduct searches for both private and public companies and work across all sectors. For women and underrepresented men seeking board opportunities, please contact: xceleratetalent@allraise.org.
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How is All Raise building a diverse community?
All Raise currently has an active community of over 20,000 iconic founders/CEOs, operators and investors. With the launch of the Board Xcelerate program we are purposefully growing our community to include thousands of high-calibre, board-proven and board-ready female/non-binary and underrepresented male executives. In addition to the All Raise community, we have partnered with a number of organizations which have access to high calibre, diverse talent, including: financial services partners: Silicon Valley Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan; VC/PE funds, and our partner organizations focused on increasing diversity in tech: BLCK VC, LatinX VC, Valence and Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB).
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How long is the typical Board Xcelerate search?
On average, Board Xcelerate searches take 90 days. Within the first 30-45 days of the search, we have typically identified, assessed and introduced the top finalist board candidates to the CEO and the remainder of the search is focused on having finalist candidates meet with other stakeholders involved in the board interview process. We curate female/non-binary executive and underrepresented male executive talent to successfully close searches within 90 days.