A monthly, mentor-led peer group of founders at your stage - working through what's actually in your way, together. Run by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.
Marketing, pricing, ops, bookkeeping, sales - all of it lands on you, and there's no one to sanity-check your next move.
Friends and family mean well. But they've never made payroll, priced a product, or lost sleep over cash flow.
You know roughly what to do. Doing it consistently, month after month, alone - that's what actually breaks.
8-10 owners, grouped by business type - product-based or service-based - so every conversation is relevant to how your money is actually made.
Each cohort is facilitated by an experienced entrepreneur. Workshops cover the things members vote for: target customers, brand story, pricing, cost of goods, sales, AI leverage.
Structured peer sessions where you put your real problem on the table and leave with experience-tested paths forward - plus 30-day goals with people who will ask about them.
Learning events with Portland's EO members, guest speakers who've scaled past $1M, tours of real operating businesses, and a lunch table of people who get it.
First revenue to $250K. Build the foundations and the habits. Grow past $250K.
$250K - $1M revenue. A global program focused on reaching $1M.
$1M+ revenue. Full membership in the Entrepreneurs' Organization - 18,000+ founders, 60+ countries.
Once you pass $100K, you'll also join EO Accelerator learning days twice a year - so you meet the next level before you get there.
"Developing our target customer, UVP and brand story finally clicked for me. Better understanding this has created a colossal shift."
"One meeting in, and it was a knockout home-run use of my time. I learned a ton of valuable, tangible takeaways I want to incorporate into my business."
"It makes me calmer to know my challenges are universal. I've become a more confident entrepreneur and feel less like I'm living in a bubble on an island."
"Practical tools, peer accountability, and honest perspective that helped me step back, think more strategically, and make better decisions for my business."
Product cohort · EO Ignitor Chapter Head
Founded BootsnAll in 1998 and acquired AirTreks in 2013, then ran it for 12+ years. Nearly three decades of bootstrapped entrepreneurship, and a strategic-planning facilitator for companies and nonprofits since 2002.
Service cohort
Founder of Integrity Legal Nurse Consulting in Portland. A registered nurse who built a professional-services firm of her own, so she knows the service-business path firsthand.
$350 per year plus a $100 one-time initiation fee. That covers your monthly cohort days, lunch, materials, and access to EO Portland learning events. EO Portland is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit - nobody is profiting from your membership.
One 4-hour cohort meeting per month (with lunch, usually a weekday), plus at least one learning event per year. You're allowed two absences a year - the group only works if people show up.
Close. It works like a small business mastermind or peer advisory board: the same 8-10 Portland founders meet every month, share what's working and what's stuck, and hold each other to 30-day goals. The difference is the structure - a trained mentor-facilitator, a member-voted curriculum, and a direct path into EO Accelerator and the Entrepreneurs' Organization as you grow.
In person in Portland, once a month, for about four hours including lunch - usually a weekday. Each cohort sets its calendar for the year, and your coach sends the location before every meeting.
Neither. Ignitor is a peer group guided by mentor-facilitators. You'll get experience shares - "here's what I did in your situation" - from founders who've been where you are, not advice from someone selling you a program.
No. EO has a strict non-solicitation policy: members may not pitch, sell to, or recruit each other. It's one of the reasons the room feels different from networking events.
A short conversation with the Ignitor team: where your business is, where you want it to go, and whether the program fits. If it does, you'll be invited to apply for the next cohort intake. If it doesn't, we'll point you somewhere better suited - no hard feelings, no pressure.
EO Ignitor is run by EO Portland, the local chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization - a global network of 18,000+ founders. Ignitor is the entry point: grow past $250K and you're eligible for EO Accelerator, past $1M and you're eligible for full EO membership.
Strictly. What's shared in the group stays in the group - it's a signed commitment every member makes, and violating it means removal from the program.
Tell us a little about your business. A real human from the Ignitor team will reach out to set up a short conversation - usually within a few days.
Your consultation request is in. Someone from the Ignitor team will reach out by email within a few days to find a time that works.
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