Growth companies looking for advisors and board members

Most advisory engagements are part-time and flexible — typically 2–4 days per month. In practice this means joining monthly or bi-monthly calls with the founding team, reviewing key decisions, making introductions, and being available for occasional ad-hoc questions. Some advisors are more hands-on during a specific phase (a fundraise, a market entry), then step back once that goal is reached. There's no universal format — the scope is agreed between you and the company at the start.

No. Companies care about whether you've solved the problem they're facing — not whether you've held a formal advisor title before. If you've built sales channels in Germany, scaled a SaaS product, raised institutional funding, or expanded into a new market, that experience is directly relevant. Many of the most effective advisors on Boardio came from operating or founder roles rather than professional advisory careers.

Compensation is agreed directly between you and the company — Boardio doesn't take a cut. Common arrangements include equity (typically 0.1–0.5% with a vesting schedule), a monthly cash retainer (€500–€2,000 depending on commitment), or a combination of both. At early stage, many advisors prefer equity-heavy deals; cash retainers become more common as the company matures and the time commitment increases. You set your own terms when you apply.

There's no hard limit, but most advisors find 3–5 active engagements is a comfortable ceiling if each involves meaningful time. The bigger risk is spreading too thin and not delivering value to any of them. It's common to take on a few at a time and let engagements end naturally as companies hit milestones — then pick up new ones. On Boardio, you can apply to as many searches as you like and decide what to accept.

The single most important thing is specificity. Companies get multiple applications and quickly skip anything generic. A strong application shows you've read the brief, names the exact experience that's relevant to their challenge, and explains concisely how you'd help. Avoid AI-generated openers and long career summaries — lead with the most relevant thing you've done. Two focused paragraphs outperform a five-paragraph cover letter every time. See our guide to writing a strong application →

Yes — meaningfully so. An advisor has no legal authority, no fiduciary duties, and a flexible, informal engagement. It's the faster and more practical starting point for most companies. A board member holds a formal governance role with legal responsibilities and typically a heavier time commitment. Both types of roles are posted on Boardio. When you apply, you'll see clearly which one the company is looking for.

Joining Boardio is open to anyone — but matching is curated. When applications come in, Boardio reviews them and selects the strongest fits to present to the company. This means a good profile and a tailored application matter: generic submissions are filtered out before the company ever sees them. Advisors on paid plans (Plus or Priority) also benefit from higher visibility in search results and proactive matching when new relevant searches are posted.

The free account lets you apply to all open searches at no cost. Advisor Plus (€39/month) adds full profile visibility to every company, instant notifications when a new matching search is posted, and priority placement in results. Advisor Priority (€99/month) goes further — it includes a personal profile review session (the Verified Advisor call, worth €149), up to 10x more profile views, and a spotlight feature in the Boardio blog and newsletter. None of the paid plans affect whether a company selects you — that's always based on your background and application.