Alternative Exit

What does it mean to truly live the values of shared ownership? In this episode, I sit down with Frank Cetera, Director of the Business Transfers Program at the Democracy at Work Institute, to explore his journey from a union household to becoming a national leader in employee ownership transitions. Frank shares how early experiences with workers' rights shaped his career helping businesses transi...

What happens when you combine employee ownership with human services? In this episode, I sit down with Eric Strickland, CEO of 3TLs—a purpose-driven group of 18 employee-owned companies with nearly 700 employee owners across five states. Eric shares his 20-year journey from CFO to CEO, including the rare "ESOP-to-ESOP" transaction that launched 3Ls and his innovative approach to building employee...

In this episode of Alternative Exit , Andy Farquharson sits down with legal industry veteran David Owen (formerly CEO of Oliver & Co Solicitors) to unpack the real-world exit journeys from law practice, the shift to employee ownership, and why the toughest deals often happen internally. We dive into leadership, succession strategy, emotional and financial components of exiting a professional s...

What drives a founder to sell their company to employees instead of outside investors? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Adria Scharf, Project Director of the Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership (CLEO) at Rutgers University, to explore her groundbreaking research on what motivates business owners to choose employee ownership as their exit path. Adria shares insights from her ongoing study...

What does it really take to transition a business to employee ownership—and what happens after you sign on the dotted line? In this episode, I sit down with Christian Wilson, a specialist solicitor with over 25 years of experience in business law and employee ownership. Christian has helped more than 62 companies transition to Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs), creating 3,500 employee owners across...

What happens when personal loss becomes the catalyst for transformative business change?  In this episode, I sit down with Karen McGuire, founder of Relinea, a successful GRP manufacturing company in Northern Ireland that transitioned to employee ownership in 2022. Karen shares her deeply personal journey from building a business over 17 years to making the brave decision to hand it over to her em...

What happens when a tech startup realizes that traditional venture capital doesn't align with its mission to democratize platform ownership? In this episode, I sit down with Juho Makkonen, co-founder and CEO of Sharetribe, a Finnish marketplace-building platform that made the bold transition from venture-backed startup to steward-owned company in 2018. Juho shares how a chance encounter at a post-...

What drives a successful corporate lawyer to abandon the mainstream legal world and dedicate their career to democratizing business ownership? In this episode, I sit down with Robert Postlethwaite, partner and managing director of Postlethwaite Solicitors and author of The Employee Ownership Manual. Robert shares his transformation from traditional M&A lawyer to becoming one of the UK's most p...

How do you transform an entire country's approach to business succession? In this episode, I sit down with Glen Dott, a specialist advisor in employee ownership at Cooperative Development Scotland, part of Scottish Enterprise. Glen shares the remarkable story of how Scotland went from having just 15 employee-owned businesses to over 340 in less than a decade, making it a global leader in the EO mo...

What happens when a 9-year-old's sense of justice grows into a $2.2 billion investment banking career dedicated to employee ownership? In this episode, I sit down with John Hoffmire, research associate at Oxford's Center for Mutual and Co-owned Business and founder of an investment banking firm that facilitated massive ESOP transactions. John shares his unconventional journey from working with dis...

What happens when you flip the traditional business pyramid upside down? In this episode, I sit down with Ian Hiscock, founder of IHC Limited and a seasoned voice in the UK employee ownership sector. After 30 years at the iconic John Lewis Partnership, Ian now helps companies navigate the complex transition to employee ownership as an independent trustee and advisor. He shares the psychological sh...

Host Andy Farquharson closes out Day 3 of the Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership with quick hits from the field. From the human side of ownership and employee wellbeing, to governance trade-offs in one-person-one-vote systems, to financing growth via ESOP-style leverage and M&A, this mini-episode captures what’s working, what’s hard, and what’s next for scaling EO worldwide. Key takeaways...

Join Andy Farquharson as he hosts a special series live from the Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership. Day two was filled with deep dives into various forms of employee ownership and impact investing, featuring insightful conversations with industry leaders. Key Highlights: Smitha Mankat shares her dual role in grassroots work with artisans in India and as an independent director on corporate bo...

Join us as we delve into the highlights of the Employee Ownership Symposium, featuring insights from industry leaders like  Karen McGuire, Chair of Employee Ownership Ireland, and  Pascal Nieuwland-Jansen, Director of the Netherlands Participation Institute. Frank Cumberbatch, Bader Philanthropies Jone Nolte, General Manager ASLE Dr. Gonzalo Hernandez, Professor and researcher ITESO  Discover the...

What happens when a founder realizes they're no longer the most passionate person in the room about their business's future? In this episode, I sit down with Chris Maslin, who made the bold decision to transition his accounting firm Maslin to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in 2021. Chris opens up about the personal moment when he recognized his team's excitement for growth had surpassed his own...

Alternative Exit #031 | How to Exit Without Leaving: Tim Rettig’s Playbook for Purposeful Ownership What happens when you witness the worst possible exit scenario and vow never to repeat it? In this episode, I sit down with Tim Rettig, CEO of Intrust IT, to explore his deliberate 8-year journey from sole ownership to employee ownership. Tim shares the pivotal moment in a Texas manufacturing plant...

What happens when a traditional exit strategy feels like value destruction rather than creation? In this episode, I sit down with Barry Horner, co-founder and executive chair of Paradigm North, one of the UK's leading financial planning firms. Barry shares his transformative journey from exploring trade sales to pioneering employee ownership in 2019, and how he recently completed the leadership tr...

What happens when a strategy consultant turns social entrepreneur and then becomes a champion for employee ownership? In this episode, I sit down with Mike Brady, co-founder of 40 Million Owners, to explore his fascinating journey from PWC strategy work to pioneering open hiring at Greyston Bakery, and now to scaling employee ownership across America's lower middle market. Mike shares how his expe...

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Alternative Exit Podcast, Andy Farquharson is joined by Dr. Ellen Frank-Miller, a seasoned expert in workforce research and organizational development. Ellen, the founder and CEO of the Workforce and Organizational Research Center (Work), shares her expertise on the role of employee ownership in creating better workplaces. With a focus on the link between qu...

Episode Summary: What if small business owners could explore employee ownership with clarity, confidence, and tools built just for them? In this episode, I’m joined by Sonali Kothari, Co-founder, Chief Product Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of Zolidar—a platform dedicated to unlocking employee ownership transitions for small and medium-sized businesses. Sonali brings together deep experience...

What does it take to let go of your business—and hand it over to your team? In this episode, I sit down with Arabella Lewis-Smith, founder and managing director of the creative agency Salad, to explore her journey from sole owner to 100% employee-owned company. Bella shares what sparked her pivot away from a traditional exit and into a future shaped by trust, transparency, and shared ownership. We...

Episode Summary: Ever wondered what it really takes to turn a grassroots composting hustle into a thriving, worker-owned enterprise? This conversation with Michael Robinson, co-founder of Rust Belt Riders, takes us inside that transformative journey. Michael and I talk about how Rust Belt Riders evolved from an idea rooted in community gardens and philosophical values into a formal worker cooperat...

Episode Summary: In today’s episode of The Alternative Exit, I’m joined by Erinch Sahan, Business and Enterprise Lead at the Donut Economics Action Lab. Erinch brings a bold new lens to our conversations on ownership, rooted in his work with the Donut Economics framework – a model that calls for businesses to operate within ecological limits while meeting social needs. Erinch and I dive into how e...

Episode Summary: Today’s episode offers a fresh perspective—from the employee’s seat. I’m joined by the brilliant and energetic Sam Moles, who brings a front-line view into what employee ownership actually looks like day-to-day. As a Trustee Representative and marketing lead at Stephens Scown, Sam unpacks how ownership changes mindsets, motivates innovation, and transforms how people show up at wo...

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Alternative Exit Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Tej Gonza—researcher, author, and co-founder of the Institute for Economic Democracy in Slovenia. Tej is a powerful voice in the global employee ownership movement, leading policy innovation and grassroots change across Europe. He’s also a research fellow at Rutgers University and the co-author of the “European ESO...