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p/sidebar-4Peer-driven professional development for top senior leaders.
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Saba Karim

Sidebar - Peer-driven professional development for top senior leaders

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Sidebar is peer-driven professional development for a highly-vetted group of founders and leaders. We catalyze success by matching members in small groups where they enhance each other's superpowers. Powered by purpose-built technology and expert facilitation.

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Lexy Franklin
Maker
📌
Hello Product Hunt! 👋 I’m Lexy Franklin, Founder & CEO at Sidebar. I founded Sidebar with the goal of connecting extraordinary people and catalyzing their success through the power of small peer groups. Why peer groups? Humans have always relied on their closest relationships and their shared experiences to guide decision-making and growth. However, leaders today often find themselves on a lonely journey of navigating professional pitfalls without a sounding board. At Sidebar, we believe everyone should have a high-quality, private, and supportive peer group around them at every stage of their professional journey. We’ve developed an advanced matching engine to group peers based on similarities in career stage and goals, while emphasizing diversity of backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives. Using this technology, we expertly curate a small group of 8 people - your Personal Board of Directors. By understanding your goals, superpowers, and skill gaps, Sidebar matches you with the right people to push you forward. The result is a dynamic environment designed to unleash each member’s greatest work. We’re really excited to add this new tool to the toolbox of the most-driven professionals, and provide the Product Hunt community pre-launch access to a high-quality, private network of people to brainstorm, learn, and be accountable with. Take one step closer to growing into the leader you want to become. Apply here 👉https://www.sidebar.com With love Team Sidebar 💜 Special thanks to @imsabakarim for hunting us :)
Saba Karim
Hunter
@lexy_franklin I've said it before and I'll say it again... I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for the people I had in my life supporting me from day one. That's why I'm super proud to hunt Sidebar! Peer-development is a game-changer for personal and professional growth. It helps people realize they're not alone. Some people may have seen my tweet about needing a startup that's building an advisory board but for friends. So I'm glad to see you and the team rise to the challenge. Readers, if you haven't had the privilege to be part of a supportive community, or even access to top leaders, then I'm confident you're going to love Sidebar. Check it out!
Lin Haowen
Congrats on the launch @lexy_franklin! Heard a lot of great things about it from friends, will def sign up! What is the story behind Sidebar?
Gabriel Nori
🔌 Plugged in
Congratulations on your recent launch on Product Hunt, Sidebar team! I must say, I am absolutely thrilled to discover a platform that prioritizes the power of small peer groups in developing a professional network. 😍 Your matching engine sounds impressive, and I can only imagine the quality of connections that can be sparked within a Personal Board of Directors. 🤝 I am curious to know more about the potential use cases for a Sidebar membership. Could you share some real-life scenarios where a peer group has made a significant impact on a member's professional growth? 🤔 Overall, I am excited to see how Sidebar empowers individuals to become better leaders and advance their careers through curated networks. Keep up the fantastic work 🎉🙌🌟
Asher King
Maker
@gabriel_nori, thank you for the support and the great question! Sidebar is uniquely built to support your entire professional journey, not any singular challenge. Use cases are incredibly diverse; members have leveraged their group to navigate successful fundraising rounds, make the jump into the C-Suite, get buy-in on big decisions, or better integrate high performing personal and professional lives—often all in the span of a single facilitated session. Privacy is a top value at Sidebar, so we refrain from sharing member’s professional triumphs and challenges without explicit consent—but there is a whole range of testimonials live on our website where members show how they lean on their Sidebar group when it matters most: https://www.sidebar.com/#home-te...
Zsolt Kacso
Congrats on the launch Lexy! Once I apply, what happens next?
Lexy Franklin
Maker
Thank you so much for your support, @kaolti! Once we receive your application, our membership team assesses if you align with our community, keeping in mind our ethos and the application criteria. If we see a potential fit, we'll invite you for an interview. This is a crucial step in understanding more about your career, and professional goals, and helps you learn more about Sidebar. We look for outsized impact and electric qualities that simply don’t show up on paper! ⚡️
Sofe Ring
This is incredible, how exciting! What's included in my membership?
Lexy Franklin
Maker
Thank you so much @sofe_ring! Your Sidebar membership includes our best-in-class matching technology as well as access to our three key pillars: 1. Core Group Sessions: Bi-weekly 90-minute virtual sessions with a curated group of 8 peers - your Personal Board of Directors, guided by unparalleled programming and professional facilitation to propel you to achieve your most audacious goals, better and faster. 2. Continuous Feedback System: Our end-to-end platform streamlines the process of gathering insights across the ecosystem, offering real-time messaging access to the entire community and targeted resources for your short and long-term objectives. 3. Diverse Community of Experts: Each member gains immediate access to an elite growth-focused community. Each of our highly vetted members brings unique professional strengths to the table, providing real-time access to industry-leading insights. With access to our live interview series with subject matter experts, an extensive library of past events, a bi-weekly newsletter filled with the latest insights and opportunities, and white-glove support from the Sidebar team, you'll have everything you need to unleash your full potential.
Matthew Young
This sounds awesome, can I join Sidebar even if I live outside of the United States?
Lexy Franklin
Maker
@matthew_young2 Absolutely! We are a global community, with members from all over the world. As long as you're comfortable communicating in English, you are welcome to apply. We are also working towards making Sidebar available in more languages in the future.
greg carron
This looks amazing, great work Lexy! Is the focus more on tech founders or does the platform apply to a wide variety of industries?
Lexy Franklin
Maker
Greg! Thank you so much for the question! Sidebar’s vision is everyone’s potential unleashed. We believe every leader deserves a supportive and impactful network at every stage of their career - a network that brings out their best work, sparks innovative thought, and catalyzes extraordinary success. Our members are elite professionals from across industries. Sidebar's matching engine curates peer groups based on the peers who will add the most value to your professional journey. By understanding your goals, superpowers, and skill gaps, Sidebar matches you with the right people to push you forward, no matter what industry you are in.
Meredith Black
Congrats on the launch Lexy! Love what you are doing. I'm curious, what happens in between group meetings?
Asher King
Maker
Thank you for the support, @msmeredithblack! That's a great question. Sidebar is always on. Between sessions, you stay connected with your group members via the Sidebar app. You can share insights, ask questions, and even schedule 1:1 sessions with a group member or any member or the broader community to dive into a challenge or topic in more detail.
Francisco Sanchez
Congrats on the launch, Lexy! What happens during a group session?
Jeremy Barton
Maker
@fmsanchez Thank you for the support and the question here! In each session, members gather focused advice, perspective, and critical feedback. With the guidance of best-in-class programming and professional facilitation, Sidebar members achieve their most audacious goals, faster. Our ethos is built on the principle that extraordinary growth requires meaningful exchange, which we support and multiply with systems and structure to drive tactical value and measurable results.
Harris Brown
Love this concept -- congrats on the launch, Sidebar team! Curious to understand what happens if I don't like the group that I'm placed into?
Jeremy Barton
Maker
@hharrisbrown thank you for the support and the question! While rare, it sometimes happens. In the rare event that you don't find your group to be a good fit, let us know. You’ll re-enter the matching pool and we will work to find another group that is more in line with your expectations. The rematching process usually takes between 2 to 4 weeks.
Rustom Hakimiyan
Congrats on the launch! Love this! Two questions for you all: 1. What is your application criteria? 2. Is Sidebar a mobile app or should we think about it differently?
Asher King
Maker
Thank you @rustom_hakimiyan, both great questions! 1. To apply for Sidebar, we require that you are a senior leader with 10+ years of professional experience, have been in a leadership role for 2+ years, and are currently managing a team of at least 10 people. Alternatively, if you are a founder who has started a company that has shown traction, you are welcome to apply. In addition to these criteria, we look for individuals who show a drive for personal growth and are eager to contribute to the community. 2. As for how to think about the platform: Sidebar works wherever you do. You can log in on our website or by using the Sidebar app on your iOS mobile device.
Ian Dohm
Hey! Super interested in Sidebar and congrats on the launch! Question for you: Is Sidebar a confidential space?
Madi Jacox
Maker
Thanks for the excitement, @ian_dohm1! Absolutely. We maintain a 100% confidentiality policy at Sidebar. Our Rules of Engagement cover everything from confidentiality to communication protocols, attendance, and more. It’s required for all members to adhere to this policy.
Loren Cheng
🔌 Plugged in
Interesting concept. I see so much on exec coaching fronts but when I hear about people feeling supported, I hear mostly from people who have been in coaching "circles" and the value of talking with a small group of people with similar experiences. Love seeing you guys run with this concept. Quick question - do you have instances where employers reimburse the expense of Sidebar for a team member? Or pay for it for them outright? If Sidebar delivers results, I could see this being something companies could be interested in providing for employees.
Lexy Franklin
Maker
Thank you for the support, Loren! And, great question about reimbursement. Yes, many Sidebar members get their membership fees covered by their employers. Shoot us an email at hello@teamsidebar.com and we're happy to help with the process.
HUSSAIN AHMED
Congratulations on your recent launch on Product Hunt🎉
Emma White
Great work on getting your product out into the world! You took the first step and that's half the battle.
Ahmad Ali
Sounds great! Congrats on the launch
Daniel Alagba
The quality of this product is top-notch. It's clear that a lot of care went into its development.
Loren Cheng
Sorry for another tactical question but have you all looked into whether Sidebar can be a tax-deductible expense for companies? I just think that L&D arms of companies have been investing in the same paradigms for a while -- love that there could be a fresh new avenue for them to explore.
Jeremy Barton
Maker
@lorencheng - Thank you for this, and no apologies - this is a good question! Is Sidebar a tax-deductible expense if your run a business? Most likely, yes. If you run a business in the US, the IRS allows you to deduct expenses needed to “maintain or improve skills you need in your trade or business.” Sidebar is definitely a place where you grow and improve as a business leader. Every business is unique, so please talk to your tax preparer to make sure that you can claim your Sidebar membership as a tax-deductible business expense.
Nadia Eldeib
Congrats on the launch, Lexy and Sidebar team! The focused on curation, vetting, and matching to create a "Personal Board of Directors" is a brilliant concept.
Matt Schulman
Huge fan of the product + mission
Samuel David
Just tried out this new VR experience, and it's mind-blowing! The graphics are stunning, and the immersive gameplay is unparalleled.