Comparison · 15 material differences
Seattle Executives Association vs Small Giants Community
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
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 Seattle Executives Association
Owners, principals and decision makers of established Greater Seattle businesses, one per business category
Networking organization
Small Giants Community
Founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized privately held companies that deliberately prioritise culture, purpose and quality over growth - the…
What the records say
- Role or title: Seattle Executives Association: The applicant must be a business owner, principal or decision maker for the company; Small Giants Community: The community is designed for founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized businesses.
- Geographic restriction: Seattle Executives Association: Greater Seattle area; Small Giants Community: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: Seattle Executives Association: Not publicly disclosed. The association does not publish dues; prospective members are told to call the office.; Small Giants Community: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Seattle Executives Association | Small Giants Community | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 1917 (Founded in 1917 by a group of Seattle businessmen who shared information about ships arriving in port and referred clients to one another, per the association's own history.) | 2009 (The About page states that "The Small Giants Community is officially formed and founded by Bo Burlingham and Paul Spiegelman" in 2009, four years after Burlingham's 2005 book Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big.) |
| Headquarters | Seattle, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | Greater Seattle area; weekly luncheons at the Washington Athletic Club and at member locations | Primarily United States. The member directory offers filters for more than 30 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, Brazil and South Africa; the organization publishes no country breakdown. |
| Members | 130as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization publishes a searchable member directory but no total membership figure. The only published capacity number is the annual Summit, which is capped at 250 attendees. |
| Chapters | A single-city association with no chapters. It is a member of the International Executives Association (IEA), a network of comparable city associations, and is listed as the Seattle chapter in IEA directories. | No chapters. The community operates online with a single annual summit and cohort programmes. |
| Primary audience | Owners, principals and decision makers of established Greater Seattle businesses, one per business category | Founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized privately held companies that deliberately prioritise culture, purpose and quality over growth - the model described in Bo Burlingham's book. |
| Typical member | Members are business owners, principals or company decision makers whose firms have traded for at least two years. The membership is deliberately spread across business categories rather than concentrated in one sector; open categories advertised in 2026 included appliance sales and service, residential cleaning, collision repair, distillery, fine dining, limousine service, office equipment and supplies, record storage and shredding, title and escrow, television station, replacement windows and winery. | The organization describes members as ranging "from solo founders to growing companies to established purpose-driven organizations", covering founders, C-suite executives and rising leaders. Company memberships bring whole leadership teams into the community. Published member quotes come from operating executives at privately held United States firms. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | The applicant must be a business owner, principal or decision maker for the companyverified September 2026 · source ↗ | The community is designed for founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized businessesStated as the intended audience rather than an enforced test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Greater Seattle areaverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | Sometimes | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | No |
| Application process | A prospective member calls the association office to find out whether an opening exists in their business category. If there is one, they are invited to attend a luncheon meeting and decide whether the group fits. Admission depends on the classification being open and on meeting the owner or decision-maker test and the two-year trading requirement. | Community membership requires no application: prospective members join the free tier online and upgrade to Individual or Company membership when they choose. The cohort programmes are screened. The Leadership Academy runs an application, a Zoom conversation covering cost and curriculum, a fit review and then acceptance and payment, with onboarding ahead of a January launch. Sounding Board uses an in-depth application and assessment followed by an interview. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed as an acceptance rate. In practice the binding constraint is category exclusivity: if a competitor already holds the classification, the applicant cannot join regardless of merit. | Not applicable to general membership, which is open. For the Leadership Academy the organization says it will "review your application and ensure a good fit before accepting payment", but publishes no acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. The association does not publish dues; prospective members are told to call the office.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $0 a yearFree tier: US$0. Includes the Small Giants Scorecard and report, a free book chapter, free virtual events and workshops, the resource library and the newsletter.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Paid memberships are billed annually and can be cancelled at any time. The cohort programmes and the Summit are priced separately from membership. |
| Programme fee | No dues figures appear anywhere on the association's public site. | $12,500 one-timeSmall Giants Leadership Academy: "an investment of $12,500 per participant", all inclusive of programme access, community access, lifetime resource access, a Summit ticket and meals, transport and activities for two in-person experiences; travel and accommodation are excluded. A 10 percent deposit is due on acceptance, with the balance paid up front or monthly.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Event costs | No dues figures appear anywhere on the association's public site. | $1,650–2,265 one-timeAnnual Summit tickets in three releases: US$1,650 for the first 40 registrants, US$1,960 for the next 60, and US$2,265 thereafter. Includes all sessions, a visit to a Small Giant company, meals and receptions and transport between events. Discounts are offered for groups of three or more and for Leadership Academy alumni.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Annual, billed annually, cancellable at any time; the free tier has no term |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Weekly luncheon meetings on Wednesdays, with a 50 percent minimum attendance requirement | Ongoing online forums and virtual events and workshops; one annual Summit; Journey runs six two-day excursions a year; Sounding Board meets monthly for twelve months |
| Peer forums | Weekly full-group luncheon plus one-to-one member meetings; no confidential facilitated peer forum is published | Online forums and chat open to paid members rather than assigned confidential groups; one-to-one mentorship pairs in Sounding Board; cohort groups in the Leadership Academy and Journey |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | At least half of the weekly Wednesday luncheons, per the association's published attendance requirement | Not published for membership. Sounding Board is a twelve-month commitment with monthly one-to-one meetings; Journey involves six two-day excursions over a year. |
| Organized as | Event-focused | Virtual, Event-focused, Cohort-based |
| Confidential peer forums | No | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | No | Yes |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | No | Yes |
| Retreats | No | Partial |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | Yes |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Seattle Executives Association · Small Giants Community