Evergreen Journal by Tugboat Institute

In this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021, Natalie Nagele, Co-founder and CEO of software development company Wildbit, shares an innovative idea that has transformed her Evergreen® company: We can actually work a lot less.

Paced growth is an essential principle of successful Evergreen® businesses. While growth can be organic or accomplished through new ventures, some Evergreen companies will choose to grow through acquisition. Tom Rosztoczy, CEO of Stotz Equipment, has guided his Evergreen company to grow from three John Deere dealerships in Arizona to 25 stores in eight Western states over the past 20 years. In his...

Everyone deserves to enjoy delicious, high-quality food in a beautiful setting. At 12 locations in Los Angeles, La Monarca Bakery offers just that—notably in largely Latino neighborhoods often overlooked by investors and business owners. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2019, Ricardo Cervantes describes how he and his partner, Alfredo Livas, have committed to delivering a new cus...

Chris Mittelstaedt founded The FruitGuys in 1998 as a way to bring healthy, fresh fruit to offices. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020 , Chris shares the unifying theory of doing business that guides the Evergreen® company and keeps the team focused on being in service to others.

Kevin Switick, President & CEO of Avian, Inc., spent 20 years as a Navy test pilot before founding his defense contracting firm. As he has grown his Evergreen business and developed as a leader, Kevin has become increasingly aware of the key lessons from both his military career and his entrepreneurial education that have guided him as a leader. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2...

In this interview with Tugboat Institute Founder and CEO Dave Whorton, Jack Hand, Chairman of POWER Engineers, shares wisdom from his 19 years as CEO of the global consulting engineering firm. Jack offers valuable insight into current dynamics and long-term trends in power generation, distribution, and consumption.

Ingrid Carney, Founder and CEO of Ingrid & Isabel, a maternity essentials company, never considered bravery a defining characteristic of her life or business journey. But now, as she shares in this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, 20 years after founding her Evergreen® business as a new mother, Ingrid has a different view. As she reflects on the many small and big moments of motherhood and...

Bruce Williams, CEO of US Tool, learned a tough lesson fairly early in his career as second-generation leader of the family-owned specialty manufacturing firm. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Bruce shares the difficult conversation that served as a catalyst for personal and professional growth and the parallel, positive trajectory of the business over many years that was the resul...

As an expert in small-group dynamics and leadership development, Kaley Klemp coaches leaders and organizations in communication and interaction skills to help develop trusting, effective teams. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Kaley describes the concept of being "above or below the line" in relationships and the three unproductive roles of the "drama triangle," which can s...

Chris Ruder, CEO of Spikeball, bought the rights to a childhood game he loved, and through Pragmatic Innovation and a focus on early Profits, relaunched it with an entirely different approach. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit, Chris recounts the story of Spikeball, including how he leveraged e-commerce, social media, and existing communities to build a nationwide movement around the prod...

Allen Serfas founded and leads Assistance Home Care in St. Louis, Missouri, an Evergreen business he and his wife were inspired to launch after helping to care for his mother-in-law at home over many years. Allen's personal experience and his unique home care business model reflects an innovative and Purpose-driven approach, informed by a 20-plus year career in a completely different industry.

Dr. Tom Epperson serves as President of InnerWill Leadership Institute, which works with companies to navigate challenge and achieve success through values-based leadership. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Tom shares the origin story of InnerWill, offering insight into the transformation of the family-owned Luck Companies, and describes the process and impact of integratin...

Tugboat Institute Founder & CEO Dave Whorton continues his conversation with Dr. Gary Kunkle, a leading academic researcher in the area of sustained company growth over time.

Bill Roark, CEO and Co-Founder of Torch Technologies, has built a remarkable Evergreen® company in Huntsville, Alabama, with a deep commitment to service. From very humble origins, Bill has been driven to create opportunity and give back, inspiring his team to do the same. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Bill shares the path that took him from a tar-paper shack to become C...

Dr. Gary Kunkle is a leading academic researcher in the area of sustained company growth over time. In this interview with Dave Whorton, Founder and CEO of Tugboat Institute, Gary offers insight into several of the key variables that set sustained growth companies apart and perspective on the role these businesses play in the economy and in communities.

Alissa Leinonen is the award-winning Founder & CEO of Seattle's largest and longest running woman-owned catering and boxed-lunch company, Gourmondo Co. What began as a small, four-table lunch spot in Pike Place Market over 20 years ago is now a leader in the Pacific Northwest catering industry. There is much about Alissa and her success that is remarkable, but perhaps most inspiring is her commitm...

Navigating the wake of the COVID pandemic will continue to present challenges and uncertainty for Evergreen businesses. In this period, it can be helpful to look to leaders who have persevered through difficulty and maintained a focus on their purpose and their people. In this welcome presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Dave Whorton, Founder and CEO of Tugboat Institute, offers insigh...

How would you finance an acquisition? Deplete your cash flow? Take out a bank loan? Ignore the opportunity to avoid risk? In this 5-minute presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2019, Ami Kassar, founder and CEO of MultiFunding LLC, and author of The Growth Dilemma, presents another—less well-known—option for funding growth.