Brynn Putnam had already done the thing most founders spend a career chasing: she built a company from nothing and sold it for life-changing money. Mirror, the wall-mounted connected-fitness startup she founded in 2016, raised $72 million and sold to Lululemon in 2020 for $500 million — Lululemon’s first-ever acquisition. Putnam, a Harvard graduate and former professional ballerina, stepped down as Mirror’s CEO about a year after the deal closed. She could have stopped there.
Instead, she started over in a category she had no track record in: gaming hardware. Putnam unveiled Board publicly at TechCrunch Disrupt in October 2025 — a 24-inch touchscreen set in a wood-finish frame that uses sensors to recognize physical game pieces on its surface, pairing the tactile feel of a board game with the responsiveness of a video game. It launched with 12 original titles and roughly 50 physical pieces, priced around $499.
The traction came fast. Board is now in tens of thousands of homes across all 50 states, plus schools, hospitals, and restaurants, and Putnam says 85% of customers average more than 30 play sessions a month — the kind of repeat-use number most hardware startups never see. Investors followed the traction: Board raised $15 million pre-launch from Lerer Hippeau (the same firm that led Mirror’s original $3 million seed), First Round, and Box Group, then closed a $20 million Series A in June 2026 led by Union Square Ventures, with angel investors including Biz Stone, Tim Ferriss, and Scott Belsky. The new capital is funding an expansion from console into a full creator platform, including a title-building tool called Board Studio.
Putnam has been direct about why she picked games for her second company: “We didn’t want to make another screen to stare at — we wanted to build something that brings people back to each other.” It’s a different problem than the one Mirror solved, but the same instinct — building for genuine human connection, not just engagement — carried over. Selling a company for half a billion dollars would be enough validation for most founders to coast. Putnam used it as seed money for a harder bet.
Frequently asked questions
What is Board?
Board is a hybrid game console founded by Brynn Putnam that pairs a 24-inch touchscreen, set in a wood-finish frame, with sensors that recognize physical game pieces — blending tabletop games with video-game interactivity. It launched in October 2025 with 12 titles and roughly 50 physical pieces, priced around $499.
Who is Brynn Putnam and what did she build before Board?
Brynn Putnam is a Harvard graduate and former professional ballerina who founded the connected-fitness company Mirror in 2016. Mirror raised $72 million before Lululemon acquired it for $500 million in 2020 — Lululemon's first-ever acquisition — and Putnam stepped down as Mirror's CEO about a year later.
How much funding has Board raised?
Board raised $15 million from Lerer Hippeau, First Round, and Box Group before its public launch, then closed a $20 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures in June 2026, with angel investors including Biz Stone, Tim Ferriss, and Scott Belsky.