Gold Coast Serial Entrepreneur Launches Mastr, Acquires Synergy Boards

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA — Serial entrepreneur Lauren Hall, who has founded five companies, completed five exits and raised more than $70 million, today launched Mastr, a peer-to-peer advisory ecosystem for private business owners, and announced its acquisition of Synergy Boards.

Synergy Boards becomes Mastr. Boards, the cornerstone of the new ecosystem. Its founder, Jade Howcroft, joins as Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Mastr. Boards and will lead its growth nationally.

"Mastr. brings together everything I have learned over 30 years: how to begin, how to survive,how to scale and how to let go," said Lauren Hall, Founder and CEO of Mastr. "I want founders to benefit from those lessons without learning every one of them the hard way."

Experience earned through five exits
Hall has spent 30 years building businesses across technology, hospitality, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, FMCG and property development, as founder, CEO, board chair and director. She has expanded operations into 23 countries and led companies through capital raising, international growth, leadership transition, and exit.
Most recently, she founded and led iVvy for 17 years, taking the hospitality technology company from an idea to an enterprise SaaS platform operating in 23 countries. She raised more than $20 million, led it to profitability, and completed a private-equity transaction before stepping down as CEO to help founders navigate their growth-to-exit journeys.

"People often see the exit and assume that was the defining moment," Hall said. "They do not see the years when everything was on the line, the decisions that followed you home or the times you felt completely alone. I have lived those moments. Mastr. exists so other founders have experienced people beside them when those moments arrive."

Synergy Boards becomes Mastr. Boards
Synergy Boards gives Mastr. something that cannot be built quickly: trust, earned through confidential and honest conversations between business owners. Members keep the community they value and gain Mastr's wider network, specialist expertise and investment in growth. 

"Synergy Boards has always been built on the belief that business owners become stronger when they are surrounded by people who understand their journey," said Howcroft. "Our members have created a trusted community grounded in honesty, accountability and shared experience. Mastr. respects that foundation and gives us the capability to take it further, and I am excited about what we can build together."

"Jade's superpower is bringing the right people into the right room," Hall said. "She has built a community where business owners feel safe to speak honestly, challenge one another, and make better decisions. Mastr's role is to build on that, not change what makes it special." 

What members get
Mastr. is built for established private business owners who want to grow with clarity and discipline. Carefully selected members sit on confidential peer advisory boards led by experienced chairs, backed by specialist expertise across strategy, finance, talent, technology, brand, operations, governance, founder wellbeing and exit preparation.

Through Mastr, carefully selected owners will examine real business issues with peers who understand the weight of their decisions. Members can test strategy, confront risk, strengthen leadership and build the structures and processes needed for a business to operate beyond its founder.

"Founders do not need more generic theory," Howcroft said. "They need relevant experience, honest conversations and people who will challenge their thinking. Mastr. will help owners make stronger decisions and build companies that no longer depend on them for every outcome."

Building value without losing freedom
Mastr. treats founder wellbeing as a business issue. Years of carrying every decision take a toll on a founder's health, relationships, identity, and freedom, and a business that depends on one person is harder to grow and harder to sell.

"Too many founders create businesses that eventually imprison them," Hall said. "They
become essential to every decision and every relationship. The company grows, but their freedom disappears. A valuable business should create choices for its customers, its people and its founder."

What's next
Mastr will launch with private business owners and leadership teams across Australia, then expand its community, specialist network and member experiences internationally.

ENDS

About Mastr
Mastr. is a peer-to-peer business advisory ecosystem that helps private business owners grow, scale and prepare for exit. Built by founders for founders, it combines confidential advisory boards, experienced chairs, specialist expertise, and a growth engine. Mastr. Boards, formerly Synergy Boards, is its cornerstone. Learn more at mastr.com.au.

About Mastr. Boards
Mastr. Boards, formerly Synergy Boards, is a peer advisory-board community founded by Jade Howcroft. It gives business owners a confidential place to share challenges, test ideas, make better decisions and hold one another accountable.

Media enquiries
Lauren Hall, Founder and CEO | lauren@mastr.com.au | 0429 233 428