Comparison · 21 material differences
Entrepreneurs' Organization vs The Alternative Board
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.
Peer advisory
The Alternative Board
Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies.
What the records say
- Role or title: Entrepreneurs' Organization: No published role or title; The Alternative Board: Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused company.
- Minimum company revenue: Entrepreneurs' Organization: US$1,000,000 in revenue in the most recent fiscal year; The Alternative Board: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum employees: Entrepreneurs' Organization: Minimum 10 employees (venture-backed route only); The Alternative Board: 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; The Alternative Board: No published minimum capital raised.
- Annual dues: Entrepreneurs' Organization: $2,630 a year; The Alternative Board: Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally..
Side by side
| Entrepreneurs' Organization | The Alternative Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| 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 (Founded by Allen Fishman, reportedly in St. Louis, Missouri, after his own experience of the value a board of directors provided when his company went public. TAB began franchising in 1996.) |
| Headquarters | Alexandria, United States | Westminster, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Chapters across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific | Boards in 25 or more countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia, delivered through independently owned franchises |
| Members | 20,568as of September 2026 | Not disclosed as a current headcount. TAB's own FAQ states it has "supported more than 25,000 businesses worldwide", with "members representing over 1,100 industries" who "collectively generate $29.3 billion in gross revenue". Secondary sources report more than 4,600 current members globally; TAB does not publish that figure. |
| Chapters | 226 | 500 |
| Primary audience | Owners, founders and majority stakeholders of companies with at least US$1 million of annual revenue. | Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies. |
| 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. | Members are owners and senior leaders of privately held companies, recruited locally by the franchise owner who facilitates their board; competing businesses are excluded from the same board. TAB states members represent over 1,100 industries and collectively generate US$29.3 billion in gross revenue, and reports an average member tenure of 4.7 years. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | No published role or title | Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused companyTAB publishes no revenue, employee or net-worth threshold.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 |
| 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. | Prospective members contact a local TAB board through the site's board finder. The local facilitator coach screens and hand-selects members, excluding competitors of existing members, and places them on a board. There is no central admissions process. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. Secondary reporting describes TAB as effectively invitation-based, with most members joining through referrals from existing members; TAB does not state this on its own pages. |
| 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 ↗ | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Monthly dues | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. TAB states that membership dues are billed monthly with no binding contract and 30 days' written notice to leave, but terms and amounts are set locally by each franchise owner and no schedule is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | $3,500 one-timeOne-time fee stated on EO's apply-for-membership page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| 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 ↗ | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Membership term | Annual renewal; global dues prorated by fiscal month on joining | Monthly billing, no binding contract; 30 days' written notice required to leave |
| 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 | Monthly board meetings of about four hours (described elsewhere on TAB's site as half-day sessions), plus a monthly one-to-one coaching call |
| 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. | Boards of non-competing business owners, given as up to eight members on TAB's peer-advisory page and 8-10 on its membership page, each led by a TAB Certified Facilitator Coach. |
| Confidentiality | Forum operates under confidentiality; EO publishes membership eligibility procedures and a policies-and-procedures document rather than the Forum rules themselves. | Boards exclude direct competitors and operate as private advisory groups; TAB does not publish its confidentiality terms. |
| Time commitment | Not documented | About four hours a month for the board meeting plus a monthly coaching call, with a commitment to at least 12 meetings a year |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Not documented |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | Partial | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Partial | No |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | No |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Entrepreneurs' Organization · The Alternative Board