Connectd Reviews 644

Agent who signed me up didn't cover all of the ground and set the best expectation (I hear he's moved on now). Mentor is good, but the pro bono placement is not strong, but I will support as best as I can. The founder was so effusively delighted that I had accepted I would imagine that he's been turned down a few times. What is a little disappointing is that there are no strong matches to my experience, as most companies seem to be after their own sector experience. So a key piece of feedback would be to run a dummy search on a potential advisor or NED prior to them signing up, to identify those that may struggle to find something (like me, as there's nothing in healthcare coming up). I've also not heard from anyone at Connectd so am feeling a bit out there right now. In summary I am left wondering whether the investment of several thousand pounds is actually worth it. As it stands, it's a 'No'.

Incredibly helpful to be able to work with long-time business professionals and benefit from their experience - crucial as we’re scaling from startup artisanal brand to serious category challenger.

After my first call I was introduced to 3 experts in related fields within 24 hours, and in conversation with them within the first week. Great experience so far.

Great idea with the matching service and an intro call with Connectd, but I am a bit unsure what happens after that— any guidance for the “intro call” would be appreciated, how many connections are allowed? I’ve tried reaching out to Connectd for answers yet I seem to not be able to connect with Connectd after that first call…

Connectd did an excellent job of having HIGH quality advisors on hand. Our business practices and team got a major boost in morale and forward momentum when we brought on Connectd advisors. We interviewed 4 and move forward with 3. Our advisors immediately had valuable contributions, deep funds of knowledge, and were delightful to work with.

Connected is like dream come true. Words can't explain my satisfaction since I joined. The team is amazing. Everyone has been super helpful and so kind. The Advisors are amazing with loads of passion and experience to help founders. I highly recommend, 100 stars if I could

Training was completely AI generated, and poor quality. This has been a waste of £5,000. Deeply dissapointed in the expreince. If I could go back, I would have never signed up.

Informative Training. The training pack for Board Advisors is well organised and laid out with interactive elements and guidance explaining the key differences between the BA role and previous types of role.

Have been working with Connectd for just over 6 months and has been transformative. Of the 3 advisors we initially were assigned we've kept 2 on past the placement period as board advisors who help us define our company strategy. Harriet was, and continues to be a huge help to the team. As an early stage startup it can be difficult to understand how to navigate these relationships contractually and fairly, so having an engaged and switched on CSM was more important than we realised. Would recommend Connectd to anyone looking to gear up their business to scale.

They’ve been brilliant at changing our thinking and bringing structure to how we build.

We had weekly hour long advisor sessions with strategic input on product, journey optimisation, prioritisation and OKRs. They also introduced a clear framework for user journey mapping and helped us improve our roadmap and prioritisation process.

A big win was automating customer feedback so our roadmap stays focused on what customers are actually telling us. I’d highly recommend Connectd to any founder looking for practical, high impact senior support.

I joined Connectd to pivot from staff role into a fractional executive. The Academy is excellent in its content and it encourages the learner to think for him/herself, so it is not simply a video-watching exercise.

We brought on an advisor through connectd to help with product and GTM strategy. The onboarding process was seamless. No friction, no lengthy back-and-forths.

They matched us really well and we've seen a huge impact already.

If you're a founder looking for specialised help without the overhead of hiring full-time, worth a look. Really happy.

Great service and James works hard to understand your needs. When a placement feel through (advisors decision) he worked hard to find a better replacement.

The quality of my other advisor is outstanding.

In a short space of time I've been welcomed onto the Connectd platform, matched with an advisor and had a few really positive points of contact with Harriet and Dan. This has the makings of a hugely valuable service. Highly recommended to early stage and more established founding teams.

I have interacted with over 50 advisor-side Connectd members and here is a summary of our experiences.

- Placement issues: lack of receiving a placement and being ghosted by the support team upon joining the service, irrelevant matches, questionable companies, inaccurate listings, and pressure to accept. Startups on the platform are dormant, shell companies, or have founders with questionable backgrounds that would fail basic "know your client" screens
- Deceptive Sales and Marketing Tactics: Misleading vetting claims - Sales reps claimed a rigorous vetting process where only 35% of applicants are accepted, which members now suspect is a fraudulent tactic to build false confidence. Prospects were told that failing to make a placement "never happened," despite current members knowing of many others who required refunds for that exact reason.
- Unmet Local Networking Promises: Members were promised regular in-person networking events in cities like New York and Boston that never materialized
- Hidden "Priority" Systems: A staff member admitted to using a points-based scale to prioritize placements for those whose memberships are nearly over, rather than matching based on fit
- Community Suppression: After members began organizing to request transparency, links to the community platform were disabled or members were removed
- Mediocre Materials: The AI-generated educational content is described as "repackaged basic/obvious material," "lightweight enough to be useless," and "beyond mediocre".
- Inconsistent Mentorship: While some mentors are praised, others have been criticized for "variable quality," "front-loading" sessions just to get paid, or spending entire sessions on self-promotion.

I’ve absolutely loved working with Connectd and the team James, Harriet, Inarah and Sarah have been incredible.

From day one, they’ve been responsive, supportive and genuinely invested in what we’re building with PLUGG. It’s been fun, fast-paced and full of real value.

They didn’t just introduce us to “advisors” they connected us with the right people. The kind who challenge you, guide you and help you level up properly. Those conversations have genuinely helped propel PLUGG to where it is today.

Huge thank you to the whole Connectd team. Appreciate you all 🙌

I joined this program with high hopes. I was particularly excited about the opportunity to network with like-minded people and be part of a structured, interactive cohort experience. Unfortunately, my experience over the past nine months has been disappointing in several key areas.

1. Course Structure & Content
Before enrolling, the program frequently uses the term “cohort” with clear cut-off dates during the pre-sales process, which gave me the impression of a structured, group-based learning experience. However, once enrolled, the experience felt largely self-directed.

The core content consists of AI-generated video lessons without in-person classes or live interaction. While the material may be helpful for complete beginners, I found it fairly generic. There is also no interactive component where participants can actively engage with LLMs as coaches - it’s primarily pre-recorded video content. In my view, similar (and sometimes more in-depth) information is freely available on platforms like YouTube.

2. Networking Opportunities
Networking was one of the main reasons I signed up. However, the events are infrequent and fill up within hours. In nine months of membership, I have been able to attend only one networking event and was fortunate to secure a ticket for another upcoming one.

The event I attended consisted mainly of a few talks followed by informal mingling over pizza and drinks. While this may work for some, I personally would have appreciated more structured networking formats and longer time slots to facilitate meaningful connections.

3. Placement Experience
My first placement unfortunately turned out not to be a good fit for the program. While I was initially very excited, it ultimately did not work out. Now, nine months in, I am still without a placement, which has been frustrating given the program’s positioning.

I also opted for the two-year program, which in hindsight was premature. I am currently exploring options to step out of the second year.

4. Networking platform
Unfortunately the networking platform is clunky and web-based. Apparently there is a way to use a third party app to use the platform in app, however, this does not work for me. Additionally, it appears, the platform is little used by members. Another thing I noticed is, that the platform is highly sanitised. When some of my peers aimed to raise struggles, concerns or frustration with the program on the platform - which would have been a great way to meet and find peers - these posts are typically removed within hours.

I genuinely believe the concept has potential, especially for people at an early stage who are looking for introductory guidance. However, based on my experience, the program did not meet my expectations in terms of clarity, structure, interactivity, or networking opportunities, especially for the price.

I hope this feedback is taken constructively, as I would have loved for the experience to match the promise presented during enrollment.

Ted reached out to me first week of January, since that time after doing due diligence and some soul-searching, I decided to make the commitment to the connectd network. I enrolled in the academy and took my time going through it. I found it a useful as a returning board member, and a few new points to consider for the different types of relationship you can build. I was contacted the day I completed the training to meet with a founder! I met with him earlier today and I think we are going to be working together. For me this has been a great experience. I expect to be working with several startups on a part time basis. Highly recommended.

Pay money to work for free. Great business for someone that's not you.

Cut to the chase in the "screening call" - This is a paid-for course to become a NED/ Advisor. Reading these reviews it looks like you then get an unpaid placement with a startup.

Preying on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a NED job title.

How does this company have good reviews? I have been contacted on LinkedIn three times by three different employees with a copy and paste message. If you look on their individual LinkedIn pages they also post the same stuff on the same days with identical captions added. Awful impersonal approach.

Update 23/03/2026: Another cold message in my inbox today, despite the response from the company. It’s again a carbon copy of previous messages. Do better.

Update 02/04/2026: Another cold message.