About Bolster
Bolster is a Technology company based in New York (United States) founded in 2020 by Shawn Nussbaum, Andrea Ponchione, Matt Blumberg, Jack Sinclair, and Cathy Hawley. Executive talent is matched through an online job board platform. It operates on a Professional Services model. Bolster has raised $19.15 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including SVB, High Alpha and Union Square Ventures. The company has 31 employees. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Cathy Hawley. Its website bolster.com draws about 13 thousand monthly visits. Bolster offers products and services including Executive Search, Board Search, and On-Demand Hiring. Its focus areas include Professional Services, Recruitment and Executive Search. Its legal entity is Bolster Networks, Inc. Its competitors include ExecThread, Continuum and SucceedSmart; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Bolster is involved in redefining executive search by combining expert recruiters with an AI-powered platform. Services are provided across various industries to fill executive roles, board positions, and on-demand hiring needs. Solutions are offered with speed, transparency, and specialized expertise to ensure quality candidate matches. The focus is placed on streamlining processes through innovative technology while maintaining a commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
- Headquarters New York, United States
- Employees 31
- Founders Shawn Nussbaum, Andrea Ponchione, Matt Blumberg, Jack Sinclair, Cathy Hawley
- SectorsTechnology
- Website bolster.com
- Social LinkedIn X
- Legal Name Bolster Networks, Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$19.15M (USD)
in 2 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$8.15M (USD), Series B
Jul 2024
- InvestorsSVB
& 6 more
- Employee Count31
Products & Services of Bolster
Bolster offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Executive Search, Board Search, and On-Demand Hiring.
Executive roles are filled across various industries efficiently.
Board candidates are matched quickly for all company stages.
Interim and fractional executive roles are filled promptly.
Funding Insights of Bolster
Bolster has successfully raised a total of $19.15M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $8.15 million completed in July 2024. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $19.15M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series B — $8.15M
- First Round $11M
(Jan 2022)
- Investors Count 7
All 2 funding rounds of Bolster with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2024 | $8.15M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Jan 2022 | $11M | Series B | – | Foundry |
7 investors in total: 7 institutional.
Investors in Bolster
Bolster has secured backing from 7 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include SVB, High Alpha and Union Square Ventures.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A venture firm that creates and funds B2B SaaS companies. | highalpha.com | |||
Venture capital firm focused on blockchain, wellbeing, and multiple sectors | usv.com | New York, United States | ||
Venture capital firm focused on early stage fintech, data, AI, and security companies | costanoa.vc | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Venture capital investing and portfolio management services for accredited investors. | av.vc | |||
Acceleration is provided to seed-stage, early-stage, and later-stage companies. | capitalfactory.com | Austin, United States | ||
Venture capital is invested in early-stage tech startups. | foundry.vc | Boulder, United States | ||
Banking services are provided to innovative companies, investors, and individuals. | 1983 | svb.com | Santa Clara, United States |
Investor details for Bolster
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People of Bolster
18 people are tracked at Bolster (6 in leadership, 7 in board & advisors, 5 in team); the tracked headcount is 31.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Shawn Nussbaum | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Andrea Ponchione | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Matt Blumberg | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Jack Sinclair | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Cathy Hawley | CEO & ex-Co-Founder | Leadership |
Patti Dorsey | Executive Search Partner | Leadership |
David Rosenblatt | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Fabio Rosati | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Dan Finnigan | Strategic Advisor | Board & advisors |
Cindy Robbins | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Scott Dorsey | Director | Board & advisors |
Andrea Rice | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Cristina Miller | Director | Board & advisors |
Randy Breen | Bolster Prime Mentor | Team |
Sydney Thompson Caraway | Executive Recruiter | Team |
Leanne Smullen | Bolster Ambassador | Team |
Bill Kahlert | Advisor | Team |
Akash Bhatia | Advisor | Team |
Complete people profiles for Bolster
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
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- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Bolster
3 dated milestones of Bolster across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Bolster is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $11.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $8.2M.
Competitors of Bolster
Bolster has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include ExecThread, Continuum and SucceedSmart.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| execthread.com | 2015 | New York, United States | $6.5M | Professional network for executives | ||
| joincontinuum.com | 2019 | United States | $14.85M | 15 | Executive jobs are matched via an online platform. | |
| succeedsmart.com | 2021 | Los Altos, United States | $6M | AI-based executive search and recruitment platform |
Detailed competitors of Bolster
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Web traffic of Bolster
The website of Bolster (bolster.com) receives about 12.6K visits a month.
- Monthly visits12.6K
▲ 61% vs previous month
Top companies in HR & Workforce Technology
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Bolster (HR & Workforce Technology) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anonymous employee reviews and job search platform are operated. | 2007 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 201.5 M | 1,695 | ||
Cloud-based LMS platform for IT industry | 2004 | Farmington, Utah, United States | USD 235.41 M | USD 4.95 M | 1,774 | |
Employee health benefits are facilitated via a cloud-based platform. | 2007 | Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, United States | USD 228.3 M |
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Related news about Bolster
Complete news archive for Bolster
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Frequently Asked Questions about Bolster
Bolster was founded in 2020 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.
Bolster is headquartered in New York, United States. It is registered at New York, New York, United States.
Cathy Hawley is the CEO of Bolster, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Bolster is a funded company, having raised a total of $19.15M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series B of $11M, raised on Jan 2022.
Bolster has 31 employees.
Bolster is involved in redefining executive search by combining expert recruiters with an AI-powered platform. Services are provided across various industries to fill executive roles, board positions, and on-demand hiring needs. Solutions are offered with speed, transparency, and specialized expertise to ensure quality candidate matches. The focus is placed on streamlining processes through innovative technology while maintaining a commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
Bolster's top competitors include ExecThread, SucceedSmart and Continuum.
Bolster offers Executive Search, Board Search, and On-Demand Hiring.
Bolster has 7 investors. Key investors include SVB, High Alpha, Union Square Ventures, Costanoa, and Alumni Ventures.
Bolster operates through Bolster Networks, Inc..