Comparison · 13 material differences
Dynamite Circle vs Front Row Dads
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
Invitation-only community
Verified September 2026 Dynamite Circle
Founders of bootstrapped, profitable, location-independent businesses in software, e-commerce, services and media.
Paid mastermind
Front Row Dads
Fathers who own or run businesses and want to organise their working life around family rather than the reverse.
What the records say
- Role or title — Dynamite Circle: Business founder; freelancers, employees, multi-level marketers, C-suite executives, upper management and department heads are excluded; Front Row Dads: No published role or title.
- Minimum company revenue — Dynamite Circle: At least US$100,000 per year in business revenue (standard DC membership); Front Row Dads: No published minimum company revenue.
- Annual dues — Dynamite Circle: $697 a year; Front Row Dads: $2,497 a year.
Side by side
| Dynamite Circle | Front Row Dads | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Paid mastermind |
| Founded | 2011 (Founded in 2011 by Dan Andrews and Ian Schoen, who had started the Tropical MBA podcast in 2009.) | 2016 (Founded in 2016 by Jon Vroman, who had earlier founded the Front Row Foundation in 2005. The frontrowdads.com About page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetching on 2026-09-06; the year was read from search results quoting that page.) |
| Headquarters | Not documented | Austin, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Members in 50+ countries and 200+ cities, with in-person meetups across seven continents and annual conferences in Bangkok and Mexico City. | Primarily virtual, with in-person retreats and an annual FRD Live event in Austin, Texas; the organization describes members in multiple countries. |
| Members | 1,400as of September 2026 | Could not be independently verified. Search results quoting the organization's About page describe "over 300 members in 10 countries", while an earlier account cites 230 members in 12 countries; the page returned HTTP 403 to direct fetching on 2026-09-06. |
| Chapters | No formal chapters. The organization runs local meetups in cities including Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Tokyo, Barcelona and Portland, and states it holds 200+ in-person meetups a year. | No chapters; members are placed in small accountability groups called "Bands". |
| Primary audience | Founders of bootstrapped, profitable, location-independent businesses in software, e-commerce, services and media. | Fathers who own or run businesses and want to organise their working life around family rather than the reverse. |
| Typical member | Members are business owners rather than freelancers or executives, running bootstrapped companies with consistent recurring revenue above US$100,000 a year; the premium tier is limited to founders above US$1 million. | Members are entrepreneurial fathers. The organization's framing is "family men with businesses, not businessmen with families"; it publishes no revenue, net worth or company-size test. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Business founder; freelancers, employees, multi-level marketers, C-suite executives, upper management and department heads are excludedCertain professional categories are also excluded, specifically coaching, consulting and recruiting.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published role or title |
| Minimum company revenue | At least US$100,000 per year in business revenue (standard DC membership)The organization also requires consistent recurring revenue rather than one-off income.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Applicants confirm they meet six published requirements, agree to the code of conduct and submit an application with written answers about themselves and their business. A team member reviews each application personally and notifies the applicant within 48 business hours. DC BLACK adds a discovery call with the founder and revenue verification through a signed profit-and-loss statement, followed by facilitator-led placement into a mastermind group. Referrals from current members are encouraged. | Core membership is bought directly at the published monthly or annual rate. The VIP tier requires an application and at least three months of Core membership before applying. The organization states there is no trial period. |
| Selectivity | "Only a fraction of applicants are accepted", per the requirements page; no acceptance rate is published. | Not publicly disclosed for Core, which is open at the published price. VIP requires an application; no acceptance rate is published. One third-party summary states the Brotherhood is closed to new members, which the live membership page does not corroborate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $697 a yearStandard DC membership: "$697 per year - one-time annual payment", covering the online community, app and free local meetups.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $2,497 a yearCore membership, annual rate, described on the page as saving 15 per cent against monthly.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Monthly dues | Not publicly disclosed | $247 a monthCore membership, monthly rate.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed in aggregate. The events page states that local meetups and Juntos are typically free, and that "Global conferences and retreats have ticket prices that are listed on each event page".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. Members receive preferred access and discounted admission to FRD Live in Austin; no ticket price is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual | Monthly or annual; no trial period |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | 200+ local meetups a year plus 13+ organised events annually; DC BLACK masterminds meet monthly | Monthly deep dive calls and Band meetings, quarterly online summits, VIP retreats in spring and autumn, plus the annual FRD Live event |
| Peer forums | Online community and mobile app for all members; DC BLACK members are placed in facilitated mastermind groups of five to seven peers matched by track | Small accountability groups called "Bands", supported by a private members' community and, for VIP members, a separate private thread |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed beyond a published code of conduct | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Third-party summaries citing the organization describe an expectation of roughly 3-4 hours a month; not confirmed on a page that could be fetched directly. |
| Organized as | Virtual, Event-focused, Forum-based | Virtual, Event-focused, Forum-based |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Partial | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Yes |
| Travel | Partial | Partial |
| Family programming | No | Yes |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Next-generation programming | No | Partial |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Dynamite Circle · Front Row Dads