When a company starts developing something from scratch, it faces a chicken and egg problem: what comes first, the product or the user? To overcome this challenge, Oliver Charles, a fashion brand, created a customer advisory board to get people interested in their product before it existed while also validating its existence. The board is designed as a community and feedback loop, where members provide input on the design process, share ideas, and give feedback on future products. The company's goals for the board included learning what kind of sweater people wanted, developing a relationship with customers, building an email list, getting user-generated content and social proof, and creating a mechanism for viral growth. To achieve these goals, Oliver Charles designed a system that included surveys, product testing, and engagement activities such as introductions, product input and data collection, validation and reward, personal connection, and the 1-week challenge to encourage user-generated content. The board was successful in converting customers who converted at around 4% and had a higher average order value compared to non-members.