Picking the Right Investors: Dave Whorton on Building a Company that Lasts

Strategy at Scale

Dave Whorton has spent decades at the highest levels of Silicon Valley—working alongside industry legends at Kleiner Perkins, co-founding pioneering companies like drugstore.com and Good Technology, and eventually charting a different course with Tugboat Institute. His focus? Evergreen businesses—companies built to last, guided by purpose, and driven by sustainable growth.

In this episode, Dave shares his journey from venture capital to founding the Tugboat Institute, where he champions a different way of building companies—one that rejects the high-risk, high-reward mentality of VC-backed startups. We dive into his new book, Another Way: Building Companies that Last… and Last… and Last, co-authored with Bo Burlingham, exploring the core principles of evergreen businesses and how they defy conventional wisdom.

Tune in to learn:

• Why many of the tech giants VCs celebrate (like Google and Microsoft) actually took minimal venture funding—and what that means for founders.
• How the explosion of the VC market has changed how businesses are built—and why that’s a problem.
• The "Evergreen 7Ps" framework and how they guide companies toward sustainable, long-term growth.
• Real-world examples of evergreen businesses that prioritize steady growth, pragmatic innovation, and people-centered leadership.

Let’s dive in with Dave Whorton.

Thanks for listening! This episode is brought to you by Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Networks and Verne Harnish of Scaling Up.