Comparison · 14 material differences
Front Row Dads 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
Paid mastermind
Verified September 2026 Front Row Dads
Fathers who own or run businesses and want to organise their working life around family rather than the reverse.
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 — Front Row Dads: No published role or title; Small Giants Community: The community is designed for founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized businesses.
- Annual dues — Front Row Dads: $2,497 a year; Small Giants Community: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Front Row Dads | Small Giants Community | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Paid mastermind | Networking organization |
| Founded | 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.) | 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 | Austin, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | Primarily virtual, with in-person retreats and an annual FRD Live event in Austin, Texas; the organization describes members in multiple countries. | 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 | 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. | 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 | No chapters; members are placed in small accountability groups called "Bands". | No chapters. The community operates online with a single annual summit and cohort programmes. |
| Primary audience | Fathers who own or run businesses and want to organise their working life around family rather than the reverse. | 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 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. | 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 | No published role or title | 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 ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | 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. | 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 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. | 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 | $2,497 a yearCore membership, annual rate, described on the page as saving 15 per cent against monthly.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 ↗ |
| Monthly dues | $247 a monthCore membership, monthly rate.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | 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 | Core pricing is published; the VIP tier price is not. | $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 | Not publicly disclosed. Members receive preferred access and discounted admission to FRD Live in Austin; no ticket price is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $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 | Monthly or annual; no trial period | Annual, billed annually, cancellable at any time; the free tier has no term |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Monthly deep dive calls and Band meetings, quarterly online summits, VIP retreats in spring and autumn, plus the annual FRD Live event | 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 | Small accountability groups called "Bands", supported by a private members' community and, for VIP members, a separate private thread | 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 | 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. | 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 | Virtual, Event-focused, Forum-based | Virtual, Event-focused, Cohort-based |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Partial |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | Yes | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Yes | No |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | High | Medium |
Next
Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Front Row Dads · Small Giants Community