Charter Member

Charter Members are successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporate executives and senior professionals who have reached a stage in their professional life when they are ready, willing and able to contribute to fellow members. Charter Membership is by invitation only, and subject to the due process prescribed in the Chapter’s Bylaws. They also participate in the leadership and management of TiE.

 

Requirement for Charter Members:

TiE’s underlying theme is Entrepreneurship. TiE believes that creation of wealth is a noble purpose and sees entrepreneurs as a source of energy. Although most organizations are typically homogeneous in nature, TiE is distinctive in the sense that it facilitates Charter Members to serve Associate Members, the aspiring entrepreneurs. This is done by monthly events and annual conferences. This helps facilitate strong vertical interaction between the two groups and at the same time attracts and retains an unparalleled group of Charter Members on a global basis. Thus, one of the key objectives of Charter Members is to inspire budding entrepreneurs and then to increase the probability and quality of entrepreneurial success, and to accelerate their timing. Only a handful of TiE Members may become true successful entrepreneurs, but they in turn will inspire hundreds of others.

 

Objectives for Charter Members:

A key strength of TiE is the unsurpassed quality of its Charter Members. To keep them interested, revitalized and active, it is important to create a very strong, self-reinforcing network amongst them.

To reinforce the TiE mission, the Charter Members’ objectives could be stated as

  1. Inspire and enable fellow Charter Members to become better leaders and entrepreneurs
  2. Inspire and enable Entrepreneurs / Associate Members to become better leaders and entrepreneurs
  1. Develop intellectual content and manage knowledge dissemination to accelerate the entrepreneurship process
  2. Help TiE become integrated in the mainstream organizations in the world
  3. Help promote TiE charter Members and Associate Members to positions of global leadership

 

Benefits of Charter Membership:

Charter members benefit by networking with each other and derive satisfaction by helping budding entrepreneurs. They also get opportunities to participate in start-ups in many ways:

 

  1. Membership by invitation only
  2. Charter Membership is a global membership
  3. Opportunity to participate in monthly events as speakers and/or panel members
  4. Opportunity to serve as mentors to budding entrepreneurs
  5. Opportunity to network with other successful entrepreneurs in the local ecosystem
  6. Participate in the leadership and management of TiE as their Chapter or at the Global level through TiE Global
  1. Invest in Start – ups through the TiE Angels program

 

A Framework for Selecting Charter Members:

A Charter Member should have “Ability to Contribute” and “Willingness to Give.”

 

Ability to Contribute:

If a potential Charter Member candidate has successfully gone through the entrepreneurial process, he or she can be a role-model and an inspiration for the budding entrepreneurs, be a beacon and a guide in the new entrepreneurial journey, and can provide the wisdom to do the “right” things and avoid the “wrong” things. If their entrepreneurial process has been spectacularly successful, and preferably more than one time, then their unparalleled stature and prestige attracts and unleashes the entrepreneurial energy in the budding entrepreneurs. Call this Track I – the Charter Members who have been proven entrepreneurs.

 

But there is a Track II. The Charter Members need not be limited to only those with tremendous entrepreneurial success. They could also have a superior access to what entrepreneurs need – funding; customers; consulting, legal and accounting advice; and possibly wisdom and knowledge of academia. Therefore, Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists, senior managers of large corporations, senior partners of management consulting, legal and accounting firms, and professors in the fields which can be helpful to entrepreneurs, should also be important pools of candidates for Charter Membership

 

They are no less important than Track I. Often, they have superior skills of problem solving, articulation, communication, and people-development. Their years of investment in building relationships with potential customers and other resources can significantly increase the odds of success for the entrepreneurs.

 

Willingness to Give:

This “Ability to Contribute,” eventually of course needs to be translated into “Willingness to Give.” Charter Members would have to be willing to invest time, energy, and resources to mentor budding entrepreneurs. They can encourage entrepreneurs to have courage, develop skills, cultivate knowledge and gather wherewithal to increase the odds of success. The Charter Member’s willingness to give has to extend to three constituencies: Members (i.e., budding entrepreneurs), other Charter Members, and TiE itself as a non-profit institution primarily fueled by the energies of the Charter Members. Thus, it is a Charter Member’s individual initiative, drive, persistence and willingness to volunteer that propel TiE’s growth. A strong network within these Charter Members is a necessary condition for the TiE mission to be fulfilled.

 

Charter Membership Renewal Policy:

  1. Charter Membership is due for renewal on an annual basis
  2. Pending dues are monitored on a monthly basis
  3. Charter Members whose membership is due for renewal will receive an invoice by email within the first week of the month of their membership expiration
  4. Charter Members who are delinquent by over 90 days will be notified that their membership status will be changed
  5. A Charter Member can reinstate his/her Charter Membership by paying the annual dues

TiE Charter Members (CMs) are successful, high profile entrepreneurs, corporate intrapreneurs and thought leaders, who have reached a stage in their professional life when they are ready, willing and able to contribute to fellow members.

  • TiE CMs are dedicated to the mission of TiE and the virtuous cycle of wealth creation, engaging and giving back to the community.
  • They believe in the merits of capitalism, and have a strong desire to help other entrepreneurs in the community.
  • Charter Membership is by invitation only and subject to a due process prescribed in the TiE bylaws.
Charter Member Benefits
  • Charter members benefit by networking with each other They derive satisfaction through helping budding entrepreneurs. They also gain opportunities to participate in start-ups in many ways.
  • Opportunity to participate in monthly events as speakers and/or panel members
  • Opportunity to serve as mentors to budding entrepreneurs
  • Opportunity to network with other successful entrepreneurs in the Bay Area
  • Opportunity to recruit talented members, interns and volunteers
  • Participate in the leadership and management of TiE at their Chapter or at the Global level through TiE Global
  • Invitation to attend annual TiE CM Retreat, an exclusive event in a destination to create closer bonds in the CM community.
  • Complementary attendance to all Flagship events hosted by TiE Chapters all over the world
  • Invitation to attend your local Chapter’s exclusive events inviting delegations, entrepreneurship focused organizations, holiday parties and entertainment mixers.