Ambition is a responsibility, not a trophy.
The people in this room will go on to make decisions that affect employees, communities, and people they will never meet. We care what kind of leaders they become, not only what they achieve.
About Tycoon
An institution for who you are becoming.
Tycoon brings exceptional early builders and leaders together while relationships can still begin with curiosity rather than status. We are building slowly and deliberately, so that every invitation, experience, and tradition becomes worthy of the people carrying the name forward.
What we stand for
The convictions underneath the invitations.
Tycoon is built on a view of what makes a room worth being in, and what the people in it owe the world outside it. These are the convictions the selection standard and the year are designed around.
Evidence over résumé.
We look for substance and trajectory: what someone has caused to happen relative to the opportunity they have had. A prestigious school, employer, or title is not the requirement, and never a substitute.
Generosity is a qualification.
How someone treats people with nothing to offer them tells us more than any reference. A class only works if its members make the people beside them stronger.
Relationships are the asset.
Not introductions, not access, not a list. The same small group, often enough and long enough that recognition becomes trust.
Knowledge should travel between generations.
Some lessons become clear only after years of leadership. Tycoon exists partly to bring that lived knowledge into conversation with people still on their way, while their judgment is still forming.
Why Tycoon exists
Why this exists.
The same thing kept showing up from different directions.
The most compelling people were almost never the ones with the most legible résumés. They were the ones operating slightly ahead of the permission they had been given. Trusted with more than their title accounted for. Building something on the side that quietly worked. Holding a team together that would have come apart without them, and not especially interested in being thanked for it.
Very few of them knew each other. And the rooms where that introduction happens were closed to them, not out of malice, but out of design. Those rooms open after the proof arrives: the title, the round, the number, the name people recognize. By the time you qualify, you have usually already solved the problem the room would have solved for you.
That gap is the entire reason Tycoon exists.
Tycoon is not a networking group. There are plenty of those. Most are perfectly pleasant and most produce contacts rather than relationships. This is something narrower and considerably harder: a small class of people who are exceptional right now in ways the market has not finished pricing, put in the same room often enough, and well enough, that they stop being strangers to one another.
The bet underneath it is simple. Get twenty of the right people into a room early. Do it well enough that they genuinely know each other. In twenty years, a meaningful number of them will be running things, and they will still be picking up the phone when one of them calls.
None of that can be proven yet. What can be said now is what Tycoon will not do. It will not invite someone because they look impressive on paper and make a room worse. It will not let a sponsor buy a seat. It will not lower the bar to fill the class. It will not describe access it has not actually secured.
What can also be said is that the standard for who belongs here is written down and published, which is the part most institutions keep private. It is on the Selection page. Read it and hold us to it.
If you recognize yourself in it, request an invitation. If you recognize someone else, nominate them. Either one is a favor.
Questions
Everything you may be wondering before you step inside.
A selective experience should never feel mysterious in the ways that matter. Here is what to expect from Tycoon 2027, from the first invitation request to the final evening of the year.
Who is Tycoon for?
Exceptional early builders and leaders whose evidence is unusually strong relative to their stage and opportunity. Members may be founders, operators, investors, creators, researchers, or policymakers. The common thread is trajectory, agency, character, and substance.
Is Tycoon a networking group?
No. Networking produces contacts. Tycoon is designed to produce durable relationships through a small class, repeated in-person experiences, and meaningful participation.
Do I need a nomination?
No. A nomination may help us discover someone, but it does not lower the bar. Invitation requests and nominations are evaluated against the same standard.
What does the Tycoon Year include?
Eight core in-person experiences over roughly twelve months, including four Signature Experiences and four Class Experiences centered on the Tycoon class itself.
Does membership end after the Tycoon Year?
No. The Tycoon Year ends, but membership is intended to continue. Future alumni experiences may carry separate costs.
When will guests be announced?
A guest is announced only after formally confirming. Selected members will receive confirmed guest and experience details with the advance notice needed to prepare, while Tycoon will never use an aspirational name as though it were secured.
Does Tycoon guarantee specific guests or outcomes?
No. Tycoon promises four carefully designed Signature Experiences with consequential senior access, not any particular name. Investment, hiring, referrals, mentorship, or continuing access may emerge naturally, but they are not guaranteed.
How large is Tycoon 2027?
Tycoon 2027 is being designed for approximately twenty members. A smaller, strong class is better than filling seats by lowering the selection standard.
Do I need to live in San Francisco?
No, but every core experience is planned to take place in person in San Francisco. Members are responsible for getting themselves to the city, and ordinary travel and lodging are not included in dues.
How much time does the Tycoon year require?
Eight in-person experiences over twelve months. Some are evening gatherings; others involve a longer stretch of time together. Good Company is an extended immersive gathering. Dates and expected durations will be shared ahead of time so members can plan.
Can I request an invitation again if I am not selected?
Yes. A decision applies to that class and that moment. Materially stronger evidence or a changed trajectory may support a future request.
How much does membership cost?
Tycoon 2027 membership is $5,000. Dues include all eight core experiences and lasting membership. Everyone sees the same price before choosing whether to enter the selection process, and selection is decided before any conversation about money.
Can my employer pay for Tycoon?
Possibly. Your employer may allow professional-development, leadership-development, or learning funds to cover all or part of membership. Selected members will receive a reimbursement kit with program details, learning outcomes, dates, and suggested language for a manager or finance team. Approval remains subject to each employer’s policies and never influences selection.
Where will experiences take place?
Tycoon 2027 is being built around in-person experiences in San Francisco. Specific venues will be shared privately with selected members.
What stays confidential?
Members and guests may use what they learn, but may not identify another participant or attribute remarks without express permission. Recording and public recaps require advance agreement. Any experience-specific rule will be communicated beforehand.
Contact
Get in touch.
Nominations open in January 2027.