SPOS #992 – Dave Whorton On Building Companies That Last

Welcome to episode #992 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Dave Whorton has spent his career building, backing and reimagining companies, but not in the way Silicon Valley usually does it. As founder of Tugboat Institute and author of Another Way – Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last (which he co-authored with Bo Burlingham), Dave champions a different breed of business: evergreen companies. These are organizations designed to last generations, rooted in purpose, resilience and profitability… not just hypergrowth and exit strategies. Before this pivot, Dave had a front-row seat to the "get-big-fast" movement as an associate partner at Kleiner Perkins, and he co-founded ventures like drugstore.com and Good Technology. But the treadmill of fast capital and faster exits didn't resonate. He stepped off and sought a more meaningful model, eventually codifying it into the 7 Ps of Evergreen: purpose, perseverance, people first, and more. In this conversation, Dave explores the cultural and economic consequences of chasing unicorns, and what's gained when we celebrate the quiet power of companies in the middle. Those not seeking fame or fortune but focused on sustainable impact. Dave talks about the role of introverted leadership, long-term planning, and what capitalism can look like when it's driven by values rather than valuations. If you've ever felt that the venture-backed startup narrative doesn't tell the whole story or if you're building something you want to last, this conversation might just give you language and hope. Enjoy the conversation…

• Running time: 1:00:43.
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• Here is my conversation with Dave Whorton.
• Another Way – Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last.
• Tugboat Institute.
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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Evergreen Companies.
(02:47) - The Shift in Capitalism.
(05:52) - The Spectrum of Capitalism.
(08:55) - The Role of Venture Capital.
(11:50) - Defining Scale in Business.
(15:08) - The Importance of SMBs.
(17:53) - The Seven Ps of Evergreen Companies.
(21:13) - Revisiting Venture Capital Models.
(23:54) - Celebrating Success and the Power Law.
(31:40) - Reflecting on the Journey: The Value of the Middle.
(33:14) - The Economic Landscape: Building Evergreen Companies.
(34:38) - Historical Perspective: Resilience in Business.
(38:15) - The Role of Evergreen Companies in a Changing Economy.
(40:19) - Compensation and Value Distribution in Evergreen Companies.
(42:29) - Resisting the Unicorn Mentality: A Different Path.
(47:31) - From Manifesto to Strategy: The Evergreen Approach.
(51:49) - The Culture of Evergreen Leadership: Introversion and Stewardship.