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.
As the Director of Certification, Andy spends most of his time working on Certified Evergreen®. More
Dan serves in an advisory capacity to The Tugboat Group, including Tugboat Institute, Tugboat IP and Tugboat Ventures. More
Angie enjoys working with current Tugboat Members, their referrals and fostering the growth of the Tugboat Membership. More
Michelle manages financial reporting and payroll for Tugboat Institute and contributes to a variety of operational and programming projects, including Certified Evergreen. More
Lauren Burson is thrilled to be a part of Tugboat Institute and work with the Member Services Team to ensure a positive member experience. More
Ryan heads the creative development, strategy and distribution of Tugboat Institute’s curated content, research, education, and Certified Evergreen programs. More
Chauncy creates, edits, and distributes the Evergreen Journal and the EJ Quarterly, in addition to working with the team to write and edit communications on all things Evergreen. More
Gary leads the Tugboat Institute’s expanding executive education programs, consulting services, and research projects that provide Members with data-rich insights into the management decisions that drive sustained profitable growth and long-term success. More
Elyse coordinates Tugboat Institute events alongside Events Director, Nani Stoick. More
Nani spearheads and executes Tugboat Institute events in-person experiences such as the Fall Exemplar Visit, Gathering of Teams, and the annual Tugboat Institute Summit. More
Dave founded Tugboat Institute in 2013 to connect, support, and inspire purpose driven leaders of Evergreen businesses. Dav More