Comparison · 23 material differences
Entrepreneurs' Organization vs Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Peer advisory
Verified September 2026 Entrepreneurs' Organization
Owners, founders and majority stakeholders of companies with at least US$1 million of annual revenue.
Family-business organization
Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center
Middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and the whole family around them, including family members who do not work in the business, in-laws, and non-family executives
What the records say
- Minimum age: Entrepreneurs' Organization: No published minimum age; Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: The Next Generation Leadership Institute is designed for 25 to 50 year-olds set to assume leadership positions in their family business.
- Minimum company revenue: Entrepreneurs' Organization: US$1,000,000 in revenue in the most recent fiscal year; Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum employees: Entrepreneurs' Organization: Minimum 10 employees (venture-backed route only); Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published minimum employees.
- Minimum capital raised: Entrepreneurs' Organization: Venture-backed alternative: at least US$2,000,000 privately raised, or US$5,000,000 publicly raised; Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published minimum capital raised.
- Annual dues: Entrepreneurs' Organization: $2,630 a year; Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: $7,500 a year.
Side by side
| Entrepreneurs' Organization | Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Family-business organization |
| Founded | 1987 (Founded as the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO) by Verne Harnish with 22 entrepreneurs as founding board members; renamed Entrepreneurs' Organization after the 2005 merger with the World Entrepreneurs' Organization.) | 1990 (Loyola's own news release announcing the current director states the Center was "Founded in 1990". The Center's Our Story page describes it as one of the first US communities formed to research and support family business, started by Loyola faculty and staff from the schools of business, social work and law.) |
| Headquarters | Alexandria, United States | Chicago, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Chapters across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific | Chicago and the surrounding Midwest; programmes run at Loyola's Water Tower Campus at 820 N. Michigan Avenue |
| Members | 20,568as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Chapters | 226 | A single university-based centre with no chapters. |
| Primary audience | Owners, founders and majority stakeholders of companies with at least US$1 million of annual revenue. | Middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and the whole family around them, including family members who do not work in the business, in-laws, and non-family executives |
| Typical member | Members are business owners rather than hired executives, and must hold controlling or majority ownership. EO states its member companies' median annual revenue is US$4 million, so the typical member runs a company well above the US$1 million entry threshold but far below YPO-scale businesses. | The Center describes working with middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and serving "the whole family, both inside and outside the business". Membership is bought by the family business and extends to family members regardless of whether they hold a role in the company; peer groups separately admit non-family CEOs, CHROs, CFOs and female board directors. |
| Qualification | ||
| Minimum age | No published minimum age | The Next Generation Leadership Institute is designed for 25 to 50 year-olds set to assume leadership positions in their family businessApplies to that programme, not to membership. Enrolment is open to members and non-members.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | US$1,000,000 in revenue in the most recent fiscal yearStandard test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Minimum employees | Minimum 10 employees (venture-backed route only)Attached to the funding-based qualification, not to the revenue route.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum employees |
| Minimum capital raised | Venture-backed alternative: at least US$2,000,000 privately raised, or US$5,000,000 publicly raisedApplies instead of the revenue test for venture-backed companies; requires a minimum of 10 employees.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum capital raised |
| Minimum ownership stake | Must be the owner, founder or majority stakeholder of the businessverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum ownership stake |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Programmes are delivered in person at Loyola's Water Tower Campus in Chicago, which effectively limits membership to the Chicago regionThe Family Office peer group is mostly virtual; the Stewardship Institute is fully in person.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | No |
| Application process | Applications go to a local chapter, which reviews the candidate against the eligibility criteria and then schedules an interview to discuss their interest in EO. Accepted members go through onboarding within three months, including orientation, Forum training and placement into a Forum. | Family businesses apply for membership through the Center's membership pages and pay the annual fee, after which members take part in an annual goal-setting meeting with Center staff. Peer group placement is arranged separately by the Center, which matches participants by role and life stage and keeps relatives from the same business apart. The two institutes enrol by cohort and are open to non-members as well; the Next Generation Leadership Institute takes a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to hold a place and runs information sessions before each intake. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed: no acceptance rate or screening criteria are published, though peer group placement is curated by staff. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $2,630 a yearGlobal dues, due at the start of each fiscal year (1 July); chapter dues are additional. “EO annual dues are US Dollar 2630.00.”verified October 2026 · source ↗ | $7,500 a yearAnnual membership is $7,500 per family business and covers the whole family. Includes a 15% discount on Loyola's Executive and Professional Education open-enrolment courses.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | $3,500 one-timeOne-time fee stated on EO's apply-for-membership page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No initiation fee is published.verified September 2026 |
| Local chapter dues | $5,558 a yearStated by Entrepreneurs' Organization (2026-10-16): EO Chicago chapter (chapter initiation USD 3,500). “EO Chicago annual dues are US Dollar 5558.00”verified October 2026 · source ↗ | Membership dues are flat at $7,500 per family business. Peer groups and the two institutes are charged separately, with member rates lower than non-member rates; institute tuition is not published. |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed | $3,500–5,000 a yearPeer groups: $3,500 a year for Center members, $5,000 for non-members. The Family Office group is free to members and $1,500 for non-members; CFO Roundtables are free.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual renewal; global dues prorated by fiscal month on joining | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Forum meets on a regular monthly cadence set by each Forum; chapters run additional events, with regional and global events through the year | Peer groups meet bimonthly for half-day sessions (the Family Office group quarterly); institute cohorts meet monthly or six times over 18 months; conferences, webinars and social events run through the year |
| Peer forums | Forum is a small confidential peer group operating under a structured protocol; EO does not publish a standard Forum size on the pages reviewed. | Eight peer groups of roughly five to twelve participants, segmented by role and stage: NowGen (family C-suite), NextGen (family members outside the C-suite), Legacy (owners retiring within five years), Family Council (family members not in daily operations), Family and Shareholder Relations / Family Office, Non-Family CEOs, Chief Human Resource Officers and Female Board Directors, plus sponsored CFO Roundtables. Most groups include two one-on-one coaching sessions a year. |
| Confidentiality | Forum operates under confidentiality; EO publishes membership eligibility procedures and a policies-and-procedures document rather than the Forum rules themselves. | The Center names confidentiality and non-solicitation among its founding values, states that all groups maintain strict confidentiality, and never places family members from the same business in the same group. |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Peer groups: a half-day every two months. Next Generation Leadership Institute: 18 months, a two-day opening retreat plus 17 day-long cohort meetings and 15 coaching sessions. Stewardship Institute: 18 months, six meetings of a day and a half. |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Cohort-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | No | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Yes |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | Partial | Yes |
| Spouse and partner programming | Partial | Yes |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Entrepreneurs' Organization · Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center