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Hired Goons
Helping great companies find amazing board members
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Ben Tossell

Hired Goons - Helping great companies find amazing board members

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Hired Goons lets great companies find amazing independent board members to help them grow and scale.

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eamonncarey
Maker
Hey folks! I've been working with and investing in startups for the last few years - as an angel, with Techstars, with Zeroth and more. One of the key things that I've seen move the needle for companies when it comes to success is the speed at which they put together a board. In particular, I'm interested in getting great independent board members into companies in this first instance. Right now, this process is pretty ad hoc. I created Hired Goons to allow great companies to find amazing independent board members. I'm also really keen to help find a more diverse pool of potential board members - which reflects the diversity of people using your products. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. It's very much an MVP, so be gentle. Happy to answer any questions you have on why a board is useful/helpful, what companies should think about, what potential board members should be aware of etc etc...
Tom Bielecki
@eamonncarey This is really cool, great work!
Neil Cocker
Hey Eamonn - we were part of the Ignite accelerator early last year, and our paths crossed then. What would you say are the three best attributes to look for in a board member / NED?
eamonncarey
Maker
@neilcocker great to reconnect, and great question! I think they should have experience/perspective - so they should be able to recognise patterns, help with decision making and hopefully identify problems and potential solutions. They should have a strong network - to help with everything from investment to PR and all the way through to hiring. Last, but not least, they should be engaged. You want someone who actively wants to get onto your Slack channels or talk/help/work with you on various challenges, problems, issues and more.
Neil Cocker
@eamonncarey Great, thanks! We're looking at NED/board stuff right now, so this is really useful. Have signed up!
Ryan Hoover
Eek, I don't want goons on my board!
eamonncarey
Maker
@rrhoover I couldn't resist the Simpsons pun - https://www.producthunt.com/post...
Louise Doherty
@rrhoover @eamonncarey I like it because it ensures you get ego-less board members from the start. No egos (on both sides) is a good place to start any relationship as important as this
Monty Munford

Anything that makes company boards more efficient is welcome. A 'board disruptor' in essence.

Pros:

Great idea, simple, like most things in life.

Cons:

Will be interesting to see how acquisition goes forward.

Ben Tossell
Maker
I got chatting to Eamonn about his idea of connecting great companies with board members and lent a helping hand to get the first version out there!
Ramzy Ismail
More and more capital is coming from non-traditional venture investors (HNWI, crypto, crowdfunding, etc) and the need for experienced operators on startup boards is becoming critical. A trusted network of board members is needed at any stage and the ability to quickly access that broad, global experience is what makes HG quiet interesting for founders and those looking to pay it forward.
eamonncarey
Maker
@ramzyis thanks Ramzy! That's absolutely the case - companies need more experience on their side at every stage of their journey. I wanted startups to have access to a more diverse panel of potential board members, and I wanted more amazing people to consider a board position as a viable option.
Dainis Kanopa
hi guys, is this just a MVP and you are validating business model? what happens when I fill airtable form here https://www.hiredgoons.us/find-a... ? Is this suppose to be a paid service? question raised because I guess it isn't a non-profit idea.
eamonncarey
Maker
@dainiskanopa when you fill in the Airtable, we try to match you up with relevant board members. It's an MVP right now in that we're doing manual matching rather than doing anything more automated. In the future, we're looking at ways to automate the process for board members and for companies, but for now, we'll do our best to join the dots between relevant folks. Right now, there's no paid option. It's something we might look at in the future. Or it might end up being a non-profit. All depends on the feedback from this initial iteration.
eamonncarey
Maker
@dainiskanopa also clarifying this on the website - thanks for asking the question!
Todd Soulas
This is great! Speaking from the Australian experience it can often be a hard task to find board members from outside your existing network and/or the usual suspects to play the role of a great Independent Director.
eamonncarey
Maker
@toddsoulas thanks Todd! That's exactly the issue. Right now, board members come from requests or referrals from people's network - and while that can work, it can also have exactly that 'usual suspects' outcome that you described. Frequently, having that external perspective can help CEOs and companies in a huge number of ways. I've witnessed it dozens of times, and it struck me that there was a real opportunity to try and help other companies have the same experience with a broader range of independent board folks.
Keegan Huang
I’m a founder from Zeroth.ai batch 2. Can vouch for Eamonn as one of the most knowledge, supportive, and well-connected mentors with strong integrity. One of a kind.
Mohammed Rafy
Best thing I have seen on Internet today. Hired goons. 😂
Jenna Brown
Great name 😂 and yes would be awesome to find the lesser known but high quality senior talent in B2B enterprise
Adith Victor
What's the significance of the name? Why did you choose it? By the way, it's different and interesting :)
eamonncarey
Maker
@adithvictor finally! someone asked! ;) the name is from an episode of the Simpsons (
). I love the line at the end of that video about 'the hands-on touch you only get with Hired Goons'. I think that hands-on touch is precisely what I think board members should bring. I originally bought the URL for a consultancy business I thought about setting up years ago, but it's been sitting idle for a while now, and so when I started thinking about this, I figured it would be a great time to use it. Plus, it made me laugh. Hopefully folks don't take any offense!