Comparison · 16 material differences
Entrepreneurs' Organization vs Tugboat Institute
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
Tugboat Institute
Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least…
What the records say
- Role or title: Entrepreneurs' Organization: No published role or title; Tugboat Institute: Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company.
- Minimum company revenue: Entrepreneurs' Organization: US$1,000,000 in revenue in the most recent fiscal year; Tugboat Institute: At least US$10M in annual revenue.
- Minimum employees: Entrepreneurs' Organization: Minimum 10 employees (venture-backed route only); Tugboat Institute: 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; Tugboat Institute: No published minimum capital raised.
- Annual dues: Entrepreneurs' Organization: $2,630 a year; Tugboat Institute: Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation..
Side by side
| Entrepreneurs' Organization | Tugboat Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| 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.) | 2013 (The About Us page dates the founding to 2013, when Dave Whorton - previously a founder of four Silicon Valley companies and an investor at two venture and private equity firms - coined the term "Evergreen" and, with the help of Chris Alden, created Tugboat Institute following a small gathering of leaders in Sun Valley, Idaho in October of that year.) |
| Headquarters | Alexandria, United States | Sun Valley, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Chapters across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific | United States focused, with local in-person forums grouped by member geography and virtual "elastic" forums; the pre-application form accepts company addresses in any country. |
| Members | 20,568as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization refers to drawing on "hundreds of Evergreen companies" for its content platform but publishes no membership total. |
| Chapters | 226 | The organization runs local in-person forums based on member geography plus virtual forums, but does not publish a count or a list of locations. |
| Primary audience | Owners, founders and majority stakeholders of companies with at least US$1 million of annual revenue. | Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least US$10 million in annual revenue. |
| 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 must lead a closely held private company whose owners have no legal right to compel a sale or flotation, must hold a significant ownership stake themselves, and must have five years as chief executive or president of the current company or prior experience in that role. The company must have at least US$10 million in annual revenue, be cash-flow positive for two years and show consistent growth. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | No published role or title | Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company"Prospective members must be the CEO, President, or Executive Chairperson of an Evergreen company with a significant ownership stake."verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | US$1,000,000 in revenue in the most recent fiscal yearStandard test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | At least US$10M in annual revenueAccompanied by two further financial tests: cash-flow positive for two years, and consistent growth.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| 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 ↗ | Must hold a significant ownership stake; the business must be closely held with value-aligned owners who have no legal right to compel a sale or IPONo percentage is specified. The ownership test effectively excludes companies with investors who can force an exit.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Sometimes |
| 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. | Candidates who believe they meet the criteria complete a two-step pre-application covering personal details and company information: legal structure, year founded, annual revenue for the last fiscal year, employee count, number of years profitable, website and address. The organization says it reviews every pre-application in detail and that a member of the team then makes contact to discuss next steps. Staff biographies refer to a candidacy process and to working with member referrals. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. The criteria are published in full but no acceptance rate, application volume or waitlist information is given. |
| 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 ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | $3,500 one-timeOne-time fee stated on EO's apply-for-membership page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| 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 ↗ | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. The Summit, Exemplar Visit and Gathering of Teams are described as member experiences without published pricing.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual renewal; global dues prorated by fiscal month on joining | Not publicly disclosed |
| 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 | Forum groups meet through the year, locally in person or virtually; three annual gatherings - the Summit each summer in Sun Valley, the Exemplar Visit at a member company each autumn, and the Gathering of Teams in February |
| 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. | Confidential forum groups described as a structured environment balancing personal growth and business insight; members join either a local in-person forum based on geography or an "elastic" forum that meets virtually through the year and in person at Tugboat events |
| Confidentiality | Forum operates under confidentiality; EO publishes membership eligibility procedures and a policies-and-procedures document rather than the Forum rules themselves. | The organization describes its forums as "a safe space" and its community as defined by trust; it publishes no written confidentiality policy. |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Yes |
| Travel | Partial | Partial |
| Family programming | Partial | Partial |
| Spouse and partner programming | Partial | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Partial |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Entrepreneurs' Organization · Tugboat Institute