Last verified
Alliance of Chief Executives vs Foundations
Alliance of Chief Executives is a in-person facilitated forum with paid facilitator. Foundations is a hybrid community platform with staff-convened. This page compares cost, requirements, format, and stage fit using verified public data. Alliance of Chief Executives: Bay Area CEOs who want confidential, facilitated strategic peer forums with industry-diverse operators. Foundations: Seattle technical founders who want an invite-only in-person community, space, mentors, and peer accountability around early company building.
Side-by-side
| Field | Alliance of Chief Executives | Foundations |
|---|---|---|
| Format | in-person | hybrid |
| Structure | facilitated forum | community platform |
| Facilitation | paid facilitator | staff-convened |
| Group size | About 12 per Alliance Group (target ~8 in-meeting) | Not published for peer subsets |
| Stage fit | Series A, Growth, Late stage | Pre-seed and seed, Series A |
| Revenue / capital floor | Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated | Not published |
| Annual cost | $750 one-time enrollment + $11,000 annual dues (monthly/quarterly options). Charged only after first private-group meeting confirms fit. | Not published |
| Application model | invite-only | application |
| Venture-specific | No | Yes |
| Other requirements | Qualified leadership position (CEO / senior leaders); personal fit interview; confidentiality and no-selling principles | Invite-only application; Member acceptance requires strong track record of building/scaling startups; FIR path for earlier founders; Seattle or SF/Bay based options |
| Time commitment | About 40 hours/year on Alliance participation (site claim); private group meetings plus roundtables/dinners | FIR: 6-month residency with space as full-time office; Members: visit as third space up to a couple times/week plus weekly events |
| Geography | San Francisco Bay Area / Northern California / Silicon Valley | Seattle (Capitol Hill) and San Francisco (South FiDi) |
| Best for | Bay Area CEOs who want confidential, facilitated strategic peer forums with industry-diverse operators. | Seattle technical founders who want an invite-only in-person community, space, mentors, and peer accountability around early company building. |
| Not for | Pre-revenue founders seeking a startup-only room, or anyone unwilling to invest significant annual time. | Operators seeking a classic confidential CEO peer board with published dues and a fixed monthly half-day forum. |
| Last verified | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-15 |
Verdict by stage
Pre-seed and seed
At Pre-seed and seed, Foundations lists this stage. Alliance of Chief Executives does not. The fit is Foundations for this stage band.
Series A
At Series A, both list this stage. Foundations is venture-specific. Alliance of Chief Executives is broader. The fit is Foundations when you want a venture-scale room; Alliance of Chief Executives when you want a wider peer mix.
Growth
At Growth, Alliance of Chief Executives lists this stage. Foundations does not. The fit is Alliance of Chief Executives for this stage band.
Late stage
At Late stage, Alliance of Chief Executives lists this stage. Foundations does not. The fit is Alliance of Chief Executives for this stage band.
FAQ
- How much do Alliance of Chief Executives and Foundations cost?
- Alliance of Chief Executives: $750 one-time enrollment + $11,000 annual dues (monthly/quarterly options). Charged only after first private-group meeting confirms fit. (verified 2026-09-15). Foundations: Not published (verified 2026-09-15). Prices are shown verbatim from public sources; nothing is estimated.
- What are the requirements for Alliance of Chief Executives vs Foundations?
- Alliance of Chief Executives: Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated Qualified leadership position (CEO / senior leaders); personal fit interview; confidentiality and no-selling principles Foundations: Not published Invite-only application; Member acceptance requires strong track record of building/scaling startups; FIR path for earlier founders; Seattle or SF/Bay based options
- Which is better for venture-backed founders?
- Foundations is venture-specific. Alliance of Chief Executives is not. The fit is Foundations when you want a venture-scale room.
Sources
Primary public pages used for the fields above.
- allianceofceos.comRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Alliance of Chief Executives
- allianceofceos.com/about_overviewRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Alliance of Chief Executives
- allianceofceos.com/exp_membersRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Alliance of Chief Executives
- fndtns.orgRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Foundations
- fndtns.org/membershipRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Foundations