co-founder

An organizational founder is a person who has undertaken some or all of the formational work needed to create a new organization, whether it is a business, a charitable organization, a governing body, a school, a group of entertainers, or any other type of organization. If there are multiple founders, each can be referred to as a co-founder. If the organization is a business, the founder is usually referred as an entrepreneur. If an organization is created to carry out charitable work, the founder is generally considered a philanthropist.