The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap
Market
Archetype
Mechanical
Natural
Tier
Developing
Trajectory Thumbprint
The Founder's Trap
What does this mean?
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
The Path Forward
The Dispersal
Forces succession planning and structural maturity. It requires raising capacity-building funds to decouple the organization's survival from the founder's personal sacrifice.
The Dispersal
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: The Founder's Trap ↓
Overall
51
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
40
Score
Program
60
Score
Title
-
Institutions
-
Avg Revenue
-
Risk Profile
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Founders Trap
Historical Performance
| Year | Revenue | Top Comp | Comp % Rev | Score | Phase Label | Outlook | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | — | 2.2% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2022 | — | — | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2021 | — | — | 1.9% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2020 | — | — | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2019 | — | — | 1.8% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2018 | — | — | 1.9% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2017 | — | — | 2.0% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2016 | — | — | 2.2% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2015 | — | — | 1.7% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2014 | — | — | 1.5% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2013 | — | — | 1.5% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2012 | — | — | 2.1% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2011 | — | — | 1.3% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALEXANDER D CURTIS | HEAD OF SCHOOL | Hidden | ||
| KATHLEEN WALLACE | FORMER ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL | Hidden | ||
| DANIEL COURCEY | CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER | Hidden | ||
| PATRICK T DURBIN | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | Hidden | ||
| MIRIAM COHEN JENNINGS | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| KATHRYN LEVESQUE | DEAN OF FACULTY | Hidden | ||
| ALISON CADY | CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER | Hidden | ||
| MARI JONES | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| KELLY GREEN KAHN | Board Member | — | ||
| DANIEL G KELLY | Board Member | — | ||
| VANESSA KONG KERZNER | Board Member | — | ||
| CECELIA M KURZMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| JAMES A LEBOVITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| CHRISTIAN B MCGRATH | Board Member | — | ||
| TAKASHI MURATA | Board Member | — | ||
| GEORGE F PYNE | Board Member | — | ||
| M ANNE SA'ADAH | Board Member | — | ||
| ALEXANDRA B AIRTH | Board Member | — | ||
| DANYA ALSAADY | Board Member | — | ||
| KENNETH G BARTELS | Board Member | — | ||
| CAROLINE T BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARC E BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| GEORGE F COLONY | Board Member | — | ||
| KATHERINE B FORREST | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID A FRAZE | Board Member | — | ||
| GUNTHER S HAMM | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID R HANG | Board Member | — | ||
| JUNGWOOK RYAN HONG | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2022
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALEXANDER D CURTIS | HEAD OF SCHOOL | Hidden | ||
| DANIEL COURCEY | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| KATHLEEN WALLACE | ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL (UNTIL 6/21) | Hidden | ||
| MARK CAPELLO | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| DOUGLAS WOLFF | FACULTY (UNTIL 6/20) | Hidden | ||
| MIRIAM COHEN JENNINGS | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| MATTHEW ADELMAN | INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE (UNTIL 10/20) | Hidden | ||
| RICHARD SALTZ | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (UNTIL 6/20) | Hidden | ||
| PATRICK T DURBIN | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (AS OF 7/20) | Hidden | ||
| ALEXANDRA B AIRTH | Board Member | — | ||
| DANYA ALSAADY | Board Member | — | ||
| KENNETH G BARTELS | Board Member | — | ||
| CAROLINE T BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARC E BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| GEORGE F COLONY | Board Member | — | ||
| KATHERINE B FORREST | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID A FRAZE | Board Member | — | ||
| GUNTHER S HAMM | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID R HANG | Board Member | — | ||
| JUNGWOOK RYAN HONG | Board Member | — | ||
| KELLY GREEN KAHN | Board Member | — | ||
| DANIEL G KELLY | Board Member | — | ||
| VANESSA KONG KERZNER | Board Member | — | ||
| CECELIA M KURZMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| JAMES A LEBOVITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| CHRISTIAN B MCGRATH | Board Member | — | ||
| TAKASHI MURATA | Board Member | — | ||
| GEORGE F PYNE | Board Member | — | ||
| M ANNE SA'ADAH | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALEXANDER D CURTIS | HEAD OF SCHOOL | Hidden | ||
| DANIEL COURCEY | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| RICHARD SALTZ | Treasurer | Hidden | ||
| KATHLEEN WALLACE | ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL | Hidden | ||
| JASON RAITI | CIO (UNTIL 8/31/19) | Hidden | ||
| KATHRYN LEVESQUE | DEAN OF FACULTY | Hidden | ||
| MARI JONES | DIR. DEVELOPMENT & ALUMNI RELATIONS | Hidden | ||
| MIRIAM COHEN | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| ANDREW SPEYER | Board Member | Hidden | ||
| WALTER SCHAEFFLER | Treasurer | Hidden | ||
| KENNETH G BARTELS | Board Member | — | ||
| SAMUEL P BARTLETT | Board Member | — | ||
| DANYA ALSAADY | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID A FRAZE | Board Member | — | ||
| GEORGE F COLONY | Board Member | — | ||
| BORJE E EKHOLM | Board Member | — | ||
| GUNTHER S HAMM | Board Member | — | ||
| LINDA J HODGE | Board Member | — | ||
| JUNGWOOK RYAN HONG | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID R HANG | Board Member | — | ||
| VANESSA KONG KERZNER | Board Member | — | ||
| CECELIA M KURZMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| DANIEL G KELLY | Board Member | — | ||
| CAROLINE T BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| JAMES A LEBOVITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| MARC E BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| PETER B ORTHWEIN | Board Member | — | ||
| M ANNE SA'ADAH | Board Member | — | ||
| ALEXANDRA B AIRTH | Board Member | — | ||
| TAKASHI MURATA | Board Member | — |
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Score breakdown
Score breakdown
Financial resilience
40 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
51 / 100
Developing
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Fewer than 3 peers found in CT for this NTEE subcategory; peer comparison would not be statistically meaningful.
5-year trend: The Founder's Trap
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
Overall score has gone from 55 → 51 over 5 years (declining by 4 points).
What's driving this score
- Comp-to-revenue ratio of 2.2% sits within the sector's healthy band (18–22%).
What would change this score
No specific high-impact levers identified — this org's score is balanced across components.
Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.