Entrepreneurs' Organization

Entrepreneurs' Organization

Founded	1987
Founder	22 founders
Focus	Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow
Location	Alexandria, VA, U.S.
Area served	Owners and founders of businesses with at least US$1m in revenue
Members	more than 9,500
Website	http://www.eonetwork.org

Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global non-profit organization, whose stated mission is to "Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow." EO was formerly known as Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO).^[1]

History

In 1987, 22 young entrepreneurs created an organization whose goal would be to provide learning and networking opportunities for its members. The objectives of this new organization, originally known as the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization (YEO), were to support, educate and encourage young entrepreneurs under the age of 40 to succeed in building companies and themselves. YEO expanded quickly throughout the United States and Canada. Within a few years, membership grew to include chapters in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 1996, YEO helped create the World Entrepreneurs’ Organization (WEO), which served as an alumni organization for YEO members who, after the age of 40, wanted to continue their involvement in an entrepreneurial membership organization. In 2005, YEO and WEO merged to form the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) as it is known today. It is essentially a global network of business owners whose companies do more than $1 million in annual revenues.^[2]

Founding Members

Verne Harnish is the founder of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and recruited 22 entrepreneurs as founding board members to initially fund the start-up of the organization.^[3]

Additional Programs

The Entrepreneurs' Organization runs two additional programs: the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards ^[4]^[5] and the Accelerator Program.^[6]

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is an awards program for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who own and operate a business. EO GSEA operates as an international series of competitions for student entrepreneurs who are attending a recognized high school, college or university, who own a for-profit business, are principally responsible for its operation and have been generating revenue for a minimum of six consecutive months.

The EO Accelerator program's mission is to empower business owners with the tools needed to grow businesses to more than US$1 million in sales, and provide the skills necessary to make a better entrepreneur and leader. Accelerator provides similar membership opportunities as EO to businesses that have not yet met the minimum membership requirements.

Global Entrepreneur Indicator

The Global Entrepreneur Indicator (GEI) began in 2010^[7] as a semi-annual survey of the membership of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. The Global Entrepreneur Indicator surveys a globally representative sample of entrepreneurs to predict economic trends in a number of areas, including job creation, profits and debt loads, economic forecasting, and the business environment. The data from the GEI is then distributed where applicable to help inform those who wish to discuss economic data that originates from business owners.

In 2012, the GEI found that approximately 60% of businesses experienced a net profit, while 59% increased their employee headcount.^[8]

References