Tugboat Institute® is dedicated to supporting Evergreen™ leaders, their teams, and their companies through recognition, a range of experiences, several publications and programs to bring forth inspiration, new ideas, proven best practices about business, family and life. To be clear, we do not profess to be experts, but instead we view our role as conveners and curators. We believe everything that needs to be known is within our Evergreen community and from Evergreen thought leaders. Our current offerings include:
Please explore our website to learn more about Tugboat Institute!
In 2005, Dave Whorton had a transformative conversation with an entrepreneur and friend that would deeply challenge his beliefs about business and launch a movement.
Having founded four companies in Silicon Valley and spending his early career as an investor at two of the top venture capital and private equity firms in the world, Dave’s conversation with Stella & Dot founder Jessica Herrin awakened him to an alternative path to business success. Jessica’s approach to building a business was novel in the Silicon Valley landscape: She dreamt of building a private company to last her lifetime and beyond, growing at a paced rate over time, and fueled by a deep purpose and a commitment to her employees.
The conversation became an idea that took over seven years to germinate. In 2013, Dave had dozens of conversations with leaders around the country who were ambitious to build a meaningful company but eschewed the VC and PE path to exit by sale or IPO. Combining sound business principles, extraordinary purpose and a desire to bring their employees along in their success, and without an expectation of an exit, these leaders were building growing, private, profitable companies for a lifetime, or longer.
In 2013, Dave coined the term “Evergreen” leaders and “Evergreen” companies to describe the people and businesses leading this movement. After a small gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho in October of that year, with the help of Chris Alden, he created Tugboat Institute to convene Evergreen CEOs to help one another through inspiration, new ideas, best practices, support, and encouragement.
(Read the full launch post here.)
We believe in the vital importance of humans coming together to create and grow enduring, private businesses that make a dent in the universe.
Our vision is two-fold. First, that Evergreen companies will go from being underappreciated to being broadly recognized for what they are—attractive employers, partners, suppliers, customers, and community members that aren’t going away because they are adaptable, well-run, share in their success, and are not for sale.
Second, that Tugboat Institute will be the unrivaled resource for Evergreen CEOs and their businesses, providing a value-aligned support network unlike any other and additional services that are highly valued by our members and the broader Evergreen community.
We have dedicated our careers to supporting great entrepreneurs, and we believe that supporting Evergreen leaders is our calling.
Dan oversees financial management and operations for Tugboat Institute and The Tugboat Group, including management of the Certified Evergreen program, development of new member services for Tugboat Institute, and process oversight and business analysis for Tugboat Evergreen and Tugboat Ventures. More
Michelle manages financial reporting and payroll for Tugboat Institute and contributes to a variety of operational and programming projects, including Certified Evergreen. More
Paige supports the CEO in a wide range of administrative tasks and projects across member relations, research, gatherings, and business development. More
Laura assists in the planning, preparation, and execution of Tugboat Institute events and provides administrative support across membership, sales, and operations. More
Maria engages purpose-driven leaders in the Evergreen movement, recruits new members, builds community, and promotes programs and events to serve the Tugboat community. More
Jenn contributes to building the Tugboat Institute community and developing meaningful connections with current and prospective members. More
Annie manages the scheduling, coordination, and execution of Tugboat Institute Events, including Tugboat Institute Summit, Tugboat Institute Exemplar Visits, and the Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams. More
Diana curates members’ and thought leaders’ wisdom and insight through print and online publications for Tugboat Institute, including Evergreen Journal and Evergreen Journal Quarterly. More
Dave founded Tugboat Institute in 2013 to connect, support, and inspire purpose-driven leaders of Evergreen businesses. Dav More