The Alternative Board TAB® was founded in St. Louis, MO in 1990 by Allen Fishman. Prior to the formation of TAB, Allen was President and part owner of Tipton Centers, an electronics firm based in St. Louis. Under Allen’s guidance, Tipton went from a private to a public company. Tipton was eventually sold, allowing Allen to take an early retirement and move to Aspen, CO. While in Aspen, Allen realized the need of small to mid-size businesses for a board of directors to

provide sound, practical business advice, ideas and motivation, much like what was provided to Tipton once they became a public company. This was the basis for the TAB process.

The TAB concept is a simple one: most challenges faced by smaller businesses are the same throughout diverse industries. Bringing together the leaders of successful non-competing businesses to learn from each other’s successes and mistakes, and to benefit from each other’s experience and perspective means new solutions and better business for all involved.

The first TAB Boards were formed in 1990 in St. Louis and eventually TAB moved its home base to Denver in 1994. The concept caught on rapidly! After establishing five Boards in St. Louis, TAB begun to run pilot programs in other cities. In September of 1997, the first TAB Franchise in Canada was established and in April of 2002 a franchise was successfully started in Venezuela. The rapid growth continues nationally and internationally with emphasis in urban and suburban areas.

TAB membership currently exceeds 1,600 in the US and Canada