founder

founder · Optional

Appears in

Organization

What is it?

founder identifies the person or organization who established the entity. It accepts a Person or Organization object, or an array of either for co-founded organizations. It is the subject of the relationship "this organization was founded by [Person]."

Providing structured founder data connects your organization's knowledge graph node to its founders' person nodes, enabling AI systems to answer "who founded [company]?" with verified, structured data.

Why this matters for AEO

Founder attribution is a common AI answer engine query. "Who founded Stripe?" or "Who started Basecamp?" are questions AI engines answer by pulling from knowledge graph data. When you declare founder in structured data with a properly identified Person object, including sameAs links to the founder's Wikipedia or LinkedIn, you provide an authoritative source that takes precedence over scraped biographical content.

Google's Knowledge Graph displays founder information in company Knowledge Panels. AI assistants answering questions about company history and origin pull founder data from structured sources when available.

What the specs say

Schema.org:founder expects Person or Organization. "A person or organization who founded this organization." [Source: https://schema.org/founder]

Google: Not mentioned in Google's structured data documentation for Organization.

Format and code

Single founder (Person):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Basecamp",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jason Fried",
    "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Fried"
  }
}

Multiple founders:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Stripe",
  "foundingDate": "2010",
  "founder": [
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Patrick Collison",
      "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Collison"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "John Collison"
    }
  ]
}

Minimal (name only):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Tesla",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Elon Musk"
  }
}

Webflow implementation

Static pages

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Your Company",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Founder Name"
  }
}
</script>

CMS template pages

For directories, add a plain text CMS field for founder name and bind it. For the full Person object with sameAs, use a structured embed with multiple CMS fields.

In Schema HQ

The founder field is included a founder input in the Organization schema configuration, supporting both name and optional sameAs URL for the founder Person object.

Real examples

Basecamp :*

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Basecamp",
  "founder": [
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Jason Fried"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "David Heinemeier Hansson"}
  ],
  "foundingDate": "1999"
}

Related fields

• foundingDate — when the organization was founded
• foundingLocation — where it was founded
• member — current members of the organization
• employee — employees
• name — organization name
• ownershipFundingInfo — ownership and funding disclosure for the organization

FAQ

Should I include the founder's full Person profile or just the name?

Include at least name and @type: Person. Adding sameAs links to the founder's Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or LinkedIn profile significantly strengthens entity linkage in the knowledge graph. The more linkage, the more reliably AI systems can attribute founder information.

What if the organization was founded by another organization, not a person?

founder accepts Organization as a value type. Use a nested Organization object with name and optionally url and sameAs for the founding organization.

Is founder distinct from employee or member?

Yes. founder is specifically about who created the organization. employee is about current paid staff. member is about current members. A founder may no longer be an employee, these are separate relationships.