By Chris Gallagher, Contributor USA Today
Founded in 2017 by CEO Jay Allen, Influence Board aims to resuscitate corporate culture with a whole new way of organizing meetings and achieving change. The platform revises the cold outreach method, trimming the fat and making sure that the only meetings taken are the necessary ones. Both meeting requesters and business influencers take back control over their time and impact when the ice is broken with a donation to a worthy cause.
The idea to combine the busy schedules of hard-to-reach business influencers, the innovative proposals of meeting requesters, and the need to pay goodwill forward into one mutually and socially beneficial platform came about in 2011. It emerged from a meeting of 20 executives frustrated by the common challenge of hundreds of unsolicited emails flooding their inboxes, some of which may have held innovative ideas but were buried under a mountain of noise. Their question was simple but transformative: what if there was a way to structure outreach to make it purposeful, impactful, and mutually beneficial?
This concept was refined into the platform’s current form, a place where meeting requesters and business influencers could connect and give back to the world after a productive conversation. The platform has supported over 150 charities to date, and there’s no limit to how many can be supported in the future. Influence Board changed the game from one of cold outreach to a community of ‘welcomed outreach’.
At its core, Influence Board aligns the schedules of sales professionals and entrepreneurs (even college students looking for their career paths) with influential decision-making executives through a structure of mutual exchange. Unlike hordes of cold calls and emails, Influence Board offers a process for executives to outline the criteria for the kinds of conversations they want to have. This approach ensures that professional overtures are both welcomed and efficient.
Executives can set the parameters of worthy causes and worthy meetings by entering their availability and designating a fee for their time— entirely donated to their chosen charities. Rather than just another scheduling tool, Influence Board enables executives to have a say in the value of their time and puts tangible meaning on the word ‘impact’ by making a positive footprint on causes close to their heart.
The platform’s Time Value Calculator is one feature that enables decision-makers to viscerally understand that their time at work is a currency, one that can be exchanged for more than a conversation. After bearing the responsibility of vast amounts of money, people, and resources— for when it seems like there’s no time left to give— Influence Board enables executives to come face-to-face with the fruits of their labor. Instead, the dozens of hour-long meetings they take in a week can reflect in donations toward their favorite charities. Or, in complimentary meetings with college students looking for advice with the Mentorship Conversations feature.
On the other hand, salespeople and other meeting requesters no longer have to deal with the traditionally low success rate of cold outreach methods as the platform represents unparalleled access to business influencers. While it may have been the norm to wade through layers of management before reaching a decision-maker, Influence Board is a way for them to skip the line, saving valuable time and resources. With the added benefit of social responsibility, where meeting requesters donate to the influencer’s favorite cause, salespeople can immediately set themselves apart from the crowd and break the initial tension of a first meeting.
When both parties enter into this mutual exchange of time and impact, business influencers can quickly analyze the content of any meeting and easily establish a foundation of trust with their conversation partners. This unique model has led to more positive outcomes, fostering impactful conversations, driving philanthropic contributions, and making meetings a more human and compassionate business.
“This is about engendering real, meaningful conversations that can change the trajectory of careers and businesses. It’s our mission to revolutionize the way businesses connect,” explains CEO Jay Allen.
That’s precisely what is at the heart of Influence Board’s goal: to bridge gaps, foster innovation, and contribute to the greater good. As Jay Allen concludes, “In the past the inbox was used as the place to find innovation. Today’s inboxes have become a cluttered mess. Here at the Influence Board, we’re creating a new marketplace of ideas and innovation, one traded in goodwill.”
As the platform grows to meet its rapidly increasing demand, it continues to redefine what meaningful professional outreach means. Whether a decision-maker looking to optimize their time and engage with fresh ideas, or a young professional seeking guidance, Influence Board offers a place where innovation and compassion intersect.
