🏛️ Support the Work

the Job of every Dollar.

$ 0.25 → Growth and Expansion

• Support Turning Points Executive Study Groups Nationwide
• Collaborate with Like-Minded Entrepreneurial Programs and Resources
• Collect/Record Business Insights, Expand America’s Business Library

$ 0.25 → The What Do You Need Fund

The Executives Institute Endowment

Sometimes we just need a little help. The What Do You Need Fund exists to provide practical financial assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners facing a legitimate need or unexpected challenge. We don’t make business loans. We don’t take an ownership stake. And we don’t pretend we can solve every problem. When we can help, we help. Awards of $1,000 up to $25,000 may be made to worthy applicants, based on the circumstances and the resources available. No strings attached. No repayment expected. Just a group of business owners helping another get back on track.

$ 0.50 → Total Operational Expenses

includes Legal, Marketing, Travel, Production and Shipping of Turning Points Study Guides, Administration, plus other printed educational and promotional materials

Organizational Structure and Transparency.

The Executives Institute is the educational initiative of The 100, Inc., an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to preserving, teaching, and passing down foundational business principles for the benefit of entrepreneurs, business leaders, students, and the general public.

The Institute’s educational resources are freely available and are supported through voluntary, tax-deductible contributions from individuals and organizations who believe these principles should be preserved for future generations.

The name The Executives Institute and its associated trademarks are owned by Grindstone Ventures, LLC and are licensed to The 100, Inc. for exclusive use in carrying out its educational mission. This licensing arrangement protects the long-term identity of the Institute while allowing the nonprofit to focus exclusively on serving the public through education.

The 100, Inc. is governed independently and operates exclusively for educational purposes in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The organization is committed to sound governance, financial transparency, and responsible stewardship of every contribution entrusted to its mission.

Our Commitment.

We’re not here to sell people the dream of owning a business, or make promises for success. We’re here to help first time entrepreneurs understand the work it truly takes to build a business, by studying and understanding the fundamentals; the guiding principles. We’re also here to help seasoned executives and their leadership teams get back on track, by reminding them of those fundamentals; the disciplines that built their companies that most of us tend to drift away from when we hit the the next target. Follow. Succeed. Ignore. Repeat.

“Gentlemen, this is a football.” —Vince Lombardi (if you’re not familiar, look it up)

The fundamentals build strong companies. Strong companies grow strong communities that help maintain a strong country. In many circles, the spirit that helped build America doesn’t always get the applause it deserves. It deserves to be celebrated, rewarded and encouraged. This is about the future of our country. It’s about the men and women who take the risks, make the sacrifice, put their reputations on the line, sign the checks, serve their customers, and carry the responsibility when things go wrong.

America doesn’t need another million ideas sitting on the shelf. We need a million people who can turn their good ideas into good businesses and build something significant. Something that lasts.

America has never typically lacked people with ambition. The question is whether we’re doing enough to prepare those people for the hard realities of running a business. Global entrepreneurship data tells us that fewer than one in five American adults were starting or running a new business in 2025. Established business ownership also declined slightly, and only about one in eight adults expected to start a business within three years. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they should get our attention.

Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. And experience is a very expensive teacher when you have to learn every lesson the hard way. Knowing how to read a profit-and-loss statement, manage cash, hire good people, earn a customer’s trust, and recognize a bad decision before it becomes an expensive mistake can make the difference between a promising idea and a lasting business. Don’t let those experiences die on your desk. Tell us your story.

3 things.

1st: The discipline to simplify.

What problem are you solving? Who needs it? Why will somebody pay for it? If you can’t explain that in plain English, and in 60 seconds, you may not understand your own business as well as you think you do. If it takes an hour and a whiteboard to explain your idea, it’s not ready yet ready for primetime. Simplicity scales. Clarity creates confidence.

2nd: The commitment to understand.

Understand your numbers. Know your costs, margins, cash flow, and what it takes to make a dollar. Don’t confuse sales with profit or a busy calendar with a strong company. Never stop learning. Define it. Measure it. Achieve it.

3rd: The integrity to prove.

Don’t just talk about what you’re going to do. Execute, because not everyone can. Make the tough decisions. Keep your promises. Build trust. Earn respect. Produce results when things don’t go according to plan. Own your mistakes. You can’t make excuses and make progress at the same time. Your brand is your promise.

These aren’t just requirements for starting a business. They’re what keep a business alive.

These are the fundamentals.

These are the things The Executives Institute is committed to collect, teach, study, challenge, preserve and pass on.

Our Core Values

At The Executives Institute, we believe leadership is more than a title, a position, or a collection of skills, it is a lifelong discipline. The greatest leaders never stop learning, never stop refining their judgment, never stop investing in others, and never stop thinking about the legacy they will leave behind. These are more than our core values; they are a way of thinking about leadership itself. They define how we approach business, how we serve one another, and how we fulfill our mission of preserving and advancing America’s entrepreneurial wisdom.

Every program, every conversation, and every contribution to the Institute is guided by these four enduring commitments: Discover. Practice. Contribute. Preserve.

Trusted business leaders do these four things, over and over and over again:

1. they DISCOVER.

Every great business leader is also a student. We study the ideas that have stood the test of time, not because the past has all the answers, but because it provides the strongest foundation for solving today’s challenges. Discover means seeking out the timeless principles, proven strategies, and hard-earned lessons that have shaped successful businesses throughout history.

2. they PRACTICE.

Knowledge changes nothing until it changes how you lead. No one cares if you’ve studied the Rules. Not your customers, or your team. Applying the Rules consistently, week after week, is what builds trust in your brand, confidence in your leadership, and long-term momentum in your organization. Practice means intentionally applying timeless business principles in the daily realities of leadership and measuring progress not by what we know, but by what we consistently do.

3. they CONTRIBUTE.

Every leader has something worth passing on. One of the most powerful and influential things you can do as a business owner, is share what you’ve learned. The Executives Institute repeatedly asks you to finish the line — “Let me tell you how that played out in my company”. Contribute means sharing the hard-earned lessons generously so others can learn faster, avoid unnecessary mistakes, and build upon the experience of those who came before them.

4. they PRESERVE.

The greatest legacy of leadership is what remains after we’re gone. Business wisdom is too valuable to disappear with retirements, career changes, or the passing of a generation. Through The Executives Institute, we’re asking America’s Presidents, CEOs, Founders and entrepreneurs to help us leave our profession, and our nation, stronger than we found it. Preserve means protecting the principles, stories, and practical knowledge that define American entrepreneurship and ensuring they remain freely available for those who follow.

Through generous support and a commitment to future generations, we help build a resource that will continue strengthening leaders long after our own careers have ended.

Together, we are stewarding the collective wisdom.

Why Everything is Free.

America was built by people who believed an idea could become something much bigger when it was shared. Benjamin Franklin understood this long before “entrepreneurship” became a business-school term. He built a library because he believed knowledge should be accessible. He gathered the Junto because he believed ambitious people become better when they learn from one another. He helped create institutions that outlived him because he understood that a prosperous nation depends on people willing to build, improve, teach, and contribute.

That spirit runs through American enterprise, from Franklin to Henry Ford to Elon Musk and the entrepreneurs building companies today. American entrepreneurship has created businesses, jobs, industries, technologies, and opportunities that have fueled not only our own economy, but the world economy. The Executives Institute exists in that tradition.

We believe timeless business knowledge should not be locked behind a pricetag. The books have already been written. The principles have already been proven. What matters now is putting those principles back into the hands of people willing to build something.

So we make the Institute free. Not because this knowledge isn’t valuable. It definitely is. We believe if one timeless principle helps a business owner make a better decision, build a stronger company, create another job, serve another customer, or keep a good business alive for another generation, the investment pays forward.

Benjamin Franklin called his Junto a club for mutual improvement. We see The Executives Institute as part of that same American tradition: learn from those who came before us, learn from one another, put the lessons to work, and leave something better for those who come next.

it’s pretty simple, really.

That is why everything is free.