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In the hurricane-battered Bahamas of 1987, twenty-two young business owners gathered, not for disaster relief but to create something that would outlast any storm. Among them stood Verne Harnish, a young entrepreneur who believed business owners needed more than just capital — they needed community.
As the group traded war stories over rum punches, they couldn’t have known they were forming what would become the world’s most influential entrepreneurial network that would one day span 95 countries, transform over 20,000 business leaders, and build on different scales across 220 chapters worldwide.
Back to where it started
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization, or EO as it is now known, didn’t set out to become the world’s most influential entrepreneurial community. It began as a not-for-profit experiment: “What happens if you put entrepreneurs together, strip away their strengths, and let them learn from each other’s scars as much as their successes?”
The first chapter opened in Washington, D.C., in 1988, and by 1990, chapters had sprung up in Canada, making the network tap international markets across borders. Operating in almost deliberate contrast to traditional business education, YEO’s founding principle was disarmingly simple: create a safe space where business owners could share their failures alongside their successes.
“We didn’t want to create another chamber of commerce or networking group,” Verne Harnish, founder of EO, mentions. “We wanted something where you could admit that you were terrified, show your balance sheets when they weren’t pretty, and ask for help without judgment.”
By the organisation’s tenth birthday, membership had reached 1,000, and a new branch, World Entrepreneurs’ Organization (WEO), was created for those who had aged out of the original under-40 requirement.
Years later, when YEO and WEO merged, they gave birth to the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, removing the age restriction and embracing a more inclusive vision. However, this wasn’t merely a rebranding; it was an acknowledgment that entrepreneurial journeys continue far beyond early adulthood and that cross-generational learning strengthens the entire community.
The forum: EO’s secret weapon
Behind EO’s impressive growth statistics lies the core of its strategies: the Forum, where groups of 8-10 entrepreneurs gather in what is described as “the ultimate boardroom for life’s complex equations.” Unlike business gatherings drowning in PowerPoint presentations and elevator pitches, the Forum operates on a simple principle: members share experiences, enabling peers to draw practical insights.
The Forum methodology has been refined over decades to create what psychologists might recognise as a perfect trust container. Strict protocols govern these meetings: no interruptions, no judgment, timed sharing, and the expectation of complete confidentiality. Within this structure, CEOs and founders accustomed to projecting constant confidence can finally exhale and admit uncertainty.
What happens in these rooms remains mainly undocumented, but the impact reverberates through businesses employing hundreds of thousands worldwide. Relationships forged in Forum frequently continue for decades, even as members’ companies evolve from startups to industry leaders.
“The Forum is where you stop pretending you have all the answers,” James Vickery from Sydney mentions. “It’s where you admit you’re scared, and everyone else nods because they’ve been there too.”
A blueprint for the 360° entrepreneur
EO’s core insight makes it different from every other business network, which is that entrepreneurship is a whole-of-life endeavor. The organisation’s programs are designed to support what they call the “360° entrepreneur,” recognising that the challenges of running a business are inseparable from leading a family, contributing to a community, and growing as a person.
“The traditional image of the entrepreneur sacrificing everything for business success is outdated and dangerous,” says Dawn Piebenga, a member of EO Sydney. Our most successful members aren’t just good at business; they’ve developed skills to maintain balance across all dimensions of life.”
EO’s Forum is just the start of its move to tap more types of entrepreneurs. For instance, the Accelerator program helps early-stage founders leap from $250,000 to $1 million in revenue with a curriculum focused on strategy, people, execution, and cash.
The organisation’s respective local chapters also host world-class events, bringing in speakers who have built, lost, rebuilt, and sold businesses. For those already at the top, EO’s partnerships with Harvard Business School, Wharton, London Business School, Bond University, Oxford University, and INSEAD provide executive education tailored to the entrepreneur’s mindset: fast, practical, and unvarnished.
The numbers tell a story of scale and ambition born through these various networking approaches. EO now has more than 19,000 members in 219 chapters across 95 countries. In Entrepreneurs Organisation Australia alone, five chapters — Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Perth, and Adelaide — bring together over 750 members, representing some of the country’s most dynamic brands.
Costa Vasili, President of EO Melbourne, shares, “It’s exciting to see how much EO has grown since I joined in 2016. But what really matters to us is the impact we’re having, those breakthroughs our members experience, and the sense of community they keep telling us they can’t get enough of.”
All eyes on the next 38 years
As EO approaches its fourth decade, the organisation faces new challenges. Digital transformation has changed how entrepreneurs connect, learn, and operate. Next-generation founders arrive with different expectations and needs. And economic turbulence tests the resilience of entrepreneurial communities worldwide.
Yet EO’s fundamental formula, bringing entrepreneurs together to learn from each other in environments of radical trust, remains as relevant as it was in 1987. Though approaches change over time, the organisation continues with its initial vision of maintaining in-person experiences, recognising that certain kinds of transformation happen only through direct human connection.
“Our vision hasn’t changed,” says Tracy Angwin, current president. “We want to enable entrepreneurs to learn and grow together. What changes is how we deliver on that promise for each new generation.”
From those 22 founders in the Bahamas to today’s global community of 19,000, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization has built something remarkable: a self-sustaining ecosystem where business owners transform themselves, their companies, and ultimately, the communities they serve.
In a typical business scenario where relationships are increasingly transactional, EO brings back the power of genuine connection, where entrepreneurs find their place in the circle, and together, conceive the next big thing in the industry.
