Last verified
Foundations vs Vistage
Foundations is a hybrid community platform with staff-convened. Vistage is a hybrid facilitated forum with paid facilitator. This page compares cost, requirements, format, and stage fit using verified public data. Foundations: Seattle technical founders who want an invite-only in-person community, space, mentors, and peer accountability around early company building. Vistage: CEOs and owners who want a Chair-facilitated confidential peer group with coaching, across a wide range of company sizes.
Side-by-side
| Field | Foundations | Vistage |
|---|---|---|
| Format | hybrid | hybrid |
| Structure | community platform | facilitated forum |
| Facilitation | staff-convened | paid facilitator |
| Group size | Not published for peer subsets | 12 to 16 |
| Stage fit | Pre-seed and seed, Series A | Series A, Growth, Late stage |
| Revenue / capital floor | Not published | Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue. |
| Annual cost | Not published | Not published |
| Application model | application | application |
| Venture-specific | Yes | No |
| Other requirements | Invite-only application; Member acceptance requires strong track record of building/scaling startups; FIR path for earlier founders; Seattle or SF/Bay based options | CEO/owner peer groups of non-competing members; Chair-led. Qualify via form. |
| Time commitment | FIR: 6-month residency with space as full-time office; Members: visit as third space up to a couple times/week plus weekly events | Monthly peer group meetings plus monthly 1:1 with Chair; speakers and events |
| Geography | Seattle (Capitol Hill) and San Francisco (South FiDi) | Global chapters; local groups |
| Best for | Seattle technical founders who want an invite-only in-person community, space, mentors, and peer accountability around early company building. | CEOs and owners who want a Chair-facilitated confidential peer group with coaching, across a wide range of company sizes. |
| Not for | Operators seeking a classic confidential CEO peer board with published dues and a fixed monthly half-day forum. | Founders who need a venture-scale-only room or who reject paid facilitators. |
| Last verified | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-14 |
Verdict by stage
Pre-seed and seed
At Pre-seed and seed, Foundations lists this stage. Vistage does not. The fit is Foundations for this stage band.
Series A
At Series A, both list this stage. Foundations is venture-specific. Vistage is broader. The fit is Foundations when you want a venture-scale room; Vistage when you want a wider peer mix.
Growth
At Growth, Vistage lists this stage. Foundations does not. The fit is Vistage for this stage band.
Late stage
At Late stage, Vistage lists this stage. Foundations does not. The fit is Vistage for this stage band.
FAQ
- How much do Foundations and Vistage cost?
- Foundations: Not published (verified 2026-09-15). Vistage: Not published (verified 2026-09-14). Prices are shown verbatim from public sources; nothing is estimated.
- What are the requirements for Foundations vs Vistage?
- 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 Vistage: Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue. CEO/owner peer groups of non-competing members; Chair-led. Qualify via form.
- Which is better for venture-backed founders?
- Foundations is venture-specific. Vistage is not. The fit is Foundations when you want a venture-scale room.
Sources
Primary public pages used for the fields above.
- fndtns.orgRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Foundations
- fndtns.org/membershipRetrieved 2026-09-15 · Foundations
- vistage.comRetrieved 2026-09-14 · Vistage
- vistage.com/membershipRetrieved 2026-09-14 · Vistage
- vistage.com/membership/programs/chief-executive-programRetrieved 2026-09-14 · Vistage
- vistage.com/membership/programs/small-business-programRetrieved 2026-09-14 · Vistage