Tugboat Institute

What Tugboat Institute does

Tugboat Institute is a private membership organization founded in 2013 by Dave Whorton in Sun Valley, Idaho, that connects, supports, and inspires CEOs and Presidents of Evergreen companies—closely held, profitable, purpose-driven private businesses built to endure across generations. Membership is application-based and restricted to leaders of companies with $10M+ in revenue that are cash-flow positive and aligned with the proprietary Evergreen 7Ps framework (Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth, Pragmatic Innovation). Members gain access to two annual in-person gatherings (Summit in Sun Valley, Gathering of Teams), Exemplar Visits hosted at member companies, structured peer forums (local in-person and elastic virtual), executive education sessions, the Certified Evergreen certification program, and the Evergreen Journal Quarterly print magazine.

The organization does not develop proprietary technology products; its platform consists of knowledge content, community forums, and assessment tools organized around the Evergreen 7Ps framework. Its revenue is diversified across four primary streams: (1) application-based annual membership with undisclosed pricing for CEOs and Presidents; (2) Evergreen Journal Plus self-serve subscription at $149/year providing weekly newsletter and access to 500+ articles and videos; (3) the Evergreen Growth Navigator, a 90-question assessment tool producing personalized improvement recommendations with quote-based pricing; and (4) book sales of "Another Way" by Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham through major retail channels. Recognition programs (Best Evergreen Companies annual list and Evergreen Company of the Year award) function as brand-building assets rather than revenue centers, while Certified Evergreen and Designated Evergreen programs create tiered certification monetization. The organization operates with 11-50 employees out of Sun Valley, is privately held with no external institutional funding, and grows through community-led, peer-referral-driven member acquisition.

Name

Tugboat Institute

Legal name

Tugboat Institute

Website

https://tugboatinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tugboat Institute is a private membership organization founded in 2013 that supports CEOs and Presidents of Evergreen companies—closely held, profitable, purpose-driven private businesses built to endure across generations—through peer forums, executive education, content subscriptions, assessment tools, and recognition programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sun Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Evergreen Journal Plus Subscription: Annual subscription providing weekly newsletter content, access to 500+ articles and videos, live online conversations with Evergreen thought leaders, and curated book recommendations. Offered at $149/year with automatic renewal.
2. Evergreen Growth Navigator Assessment: A personalized business assessment for CEOs and company owners that analyzes alignment with Evergreen 7Ps principles and provides customized recommendations. Sold as a one-time or recurring assessment service with pricing not publicly disclosed.
3. Tugboat Institute Membership: Annual membership for CEOs and Presidents of Evergreen companies providing access to two annual gatherings, Certified Evergreen program, executive education sessions, forum groups, and Evergreen content resources. Requires pre-application and meeting specific criteria.
4. Book Sales - Another Way: Sale of the book 'Another Way: Building Companies That Last...and Last...and Last' by Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham, available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and other retailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tugboat Institute is a membership organization that connects, supports, and inspires CEOs and Presidents of Evergreen companies—private, profitable, purpose-driven businesses built to last for generations. It sells annual memberships, content subscriptions (Evergreen Journal Plus), and an Evergreen 7Ps-based business assessment (Evergreen Growth Navigator), alongside certification programs (Certified Evergreen, Designated Evergreen) and recognition programs (Best Evergreen Companies list and Evergreen Company of the Year award).

Product overview

Tugboat Institute is a membership-based professional organization that supports Evergreen company leaders through a portfolio of products and programs. The core offerings include: Evergreen Journal Plus (EJ+) subscription content service providing weekly articles and a 500+ resource library; the Evergreen Growth Navigator assessment tool for benchmarking company performance against the 7Ps framework; formal membership with access to peer forums and exclusive events (Tugboat Summit, Exemplar Visits, Gathering of Teams); and certification/designation programs (Certified Evergreen and Designated Evergreen) that recognize and validate Evergreen maturity. The company also publishes the book 'Another Way' and produces the Evergreen Journal Quarterly print magazine. The 7Ps framework (Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth, Pragmatic Innovation) underpins all offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Evergreen Journal+ (EJ+): Weekly newsletter and content subscription service offering articles, videos, and insights from Evergreen leaders. Priced at $149/year.
• Evergreen Growth Navigator
• Certified Evergreen
• Designated Evergreen
• Evergreen Company of the Year
• Best Evergreen Companies
• Evergreen 7Ps

Products and services

• Evergreen Journal Plus (EJ+)

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies on Best Evergreen Companies list represent excellence across all Evergreen 7Ps principles
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• G100 Network: Membership community for CEOs and business owners of mid-sized companies focused on peer learning and leadership development. Comparable recurring-membership peer-group format for founders, though smaller scale and less philosophically curated than Tugboat Institute.
• Pavilion: Membership community for go-to-market leaders and executives offering peer learning, content, and events under a recurring subscription model. Comparable community-led GTM motion and content-plus-events value proposition, though targeting a narrower functional audience.

Direct peers

• Tiger 21: Peer membership organization for high-net-worth entrepreneurs and executives focused on wealth management, investing, and legacy planning. Comparable membership-only model with peer forums and asset-based recurring fees, though Tiger 21's focus is wealth stewardship rather than business operations.
• Strategic Coach: Coaching and peer-group program for entrepreneurs built around structured quarterly workshops, proprietary frameworks, and high-ticket recurring memberships. Highly comparable on business model — recurring membership for founders/CEOs with proprietary content frameworks and in-person events.
• Chief Executive Group: Peer network and content platform serving CEOs of mid-market companies through events, peer roundtables, and executive education. Comparable recurring-membership model with peer forums and CEO-focused programming, though broader in scope than the Evergreen-only niche.
• Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO): Global membership community for entrepreneurs who have founded and scaled companies above a revenue threshold. Directly comparable member-led peer community model targeting founder/CEOs, with chapters, forums, and learning programs — though EO is open to growth-oriented founders broadly rather than Evergreen-only.

Others

• Aspen Institute: Educational and policy organization that operates leadership programs, seminars, and values-based convenings for senior executives and civic leaders. Adjacent in values-based leadership-development programming and convening-format events, though serving a broader and largely non-business audience.

Broad incumbents

• Vistage: The largest CEO peer-group and executive coaching organization in the world, serving thousands of CEOs across small and mid-sized businesses. Closely comparable business model — recurring membership for CEOs with peer forums, events, and executive education — though Vistage is far broader and not anchored to a specific philosophy like Evergreen.
• YPO (Young Presidents' Organization): Premier global peer network for chief executives under a specified age threshold with significant company leadership. Comparable membership/peer-group format with forums, events, and executive education, but serving a much broader and larger CEO audience without the Evergreen-specific philosophy.

Regional players

• Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE): Global not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals, particularly strong among founders of technology and high-growth companies. Comparable peer-chapter membership model with events and mentorship, but oriented toward venture-backed entrepreneurship rather than Evergreen private companies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubepodcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evergreen-journal-by-tugboat-institute/id1477265304
• Xx.com/EvergreenJourn
• Facebookfacebook.com/EvergreenJournl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tugboat-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tugboat Institute