Boardy is an AI agent that calls you, learns what you're looking for in a short conversation, and emails you a few curated introductions from its network. Referna is a small circle of non-competing professionals, matched by client type using AI-ranked recommendations from onboarding profiles, built to keep referring each other work on an ongoing basis. Both use AI to make matching smarter — but they're solving different problems, and prospects comparing the two are usually really asking which one fits a recurring need instead of a one-time ask.
What Boardy actually does
Boardy positions itself as an "AI superconnector." You talk to its voice AI agent — typically a short phone interview, around ten minutes — and it learns your goals, then looks across everyone else who's talked to Boardy for a fit. When it finds one, both sides have to opt in before Boardy sends the introduction by email. It's a broad, general-purpose network: the same agent might introduce you to a potential investor, a candidate, or a customer, depending on what you told it. There's no ongoing structure after the intro lands — what happens next, and whether it turns into anything, is on you.
What a Referna circle actually does
A referral circle starts narrower and stays narrower on purpose. Instead of one AI agent matching you against a huge, general network for a single ask, Referna places you into a small group — typically 8 to 12 people — of non-competing professionals who already serve the same kind of client you do. Every match is AI-ranked from real onboarding profiles, and you review and approve each one yourself before an introduction happens. The point isn't a single well-matched introduction; it's a standing group that keeps sending each other client referrals for as long as you're both in it.
The real difference: one-off intros vs. a recurring referral engine
This is the distinction that matters more than either company's AI: Boardy solves for a specific ask, right now. You need an investor intro, a hire, a warm door into a company — Boardy's agent finds someone in its network who fits and connects you once. It's genuinely good at that. Referna solves for a recurring need — independent experts whose client pipeline depends on other people thinking of them when the right opportunity comes up, again and again, not just once. A circle isn't a single match; it's a small group with an ongoing reason to keep referring you work, because you're doing the same for them.
Side by side
| Boardy | Referna | |
|---|---|---|
| What it delivers | One-off, double-opt-in introductions from a broad network | A standing circle that refers each other clients on an ongoing basis |
| How matching works | AI voice agent interviews you, matches on interests/goals/timing across its whole network | Matched by client type using AI-ranked recommendations from onboarding profiles |
| Vetting | Self-reported in the phone conversation, plus a double-opt-in step per intro | AI-ranked matching from real onboarding profiles, plus your own explicit approval before an introduction |
| Best for | A specific, immediate ask — an investor, a hire, a warm door into a company | Independent experts who need a recurring source of client referrals, month after month |
| Cost | Free core tier (intros capped per day); paid Boardy Pro ($100/mo) adds post-intro follow-through | Free to apply; free up to 4 members, then $20+/mo as the circle grows past 4 |
Can you use both?
Yes — they're not really competing for the same moment. Boardy is a reasonable first call when you have a specific, immediate ask and a broad network might have the answer. A Referna circle is for the standing problem underneath that: independent experts serving tech and startup companies rarely have just one referral need, they need a small group of peers who keep sending them client work as a matter of course. One is a lookup; the other is a relationship.