Introduction:

This week, two special guests who have built highly successful companies talk about what they ultimately plan to do with those companies. Ari Weinzweig is co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, a collection of mostly food-related companies that are an iconic part of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Brad Herrmann is co-founder of Text-Em-All, a software firm based near Dallas that helps organizations deliver personalized, informational, and emergency messages by text and by phone. Both Zingerman’s and Text-Em-All consider themselves purpose-driven. Both practice open-book management. And so, not surprisingly, the founders of both companies took a hard look at selling to an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, in the hope that the cultures they’ve created might live on. But both companies, independently, soured on the notion of creating an ESOP, one after spending more than $200,000 and coming within a week of closing the deal. And now, both have settled on a little known alternative, what’s called a perpetual purpose trust. So far, only a handful of companies have tried to create a purpose trust for this purpose, but Zingerman’s and Text-Em-All are taking the leap. As both Ari and Brad acknowledge, they’re kind of figuring it out as they go.

— Loren Feldman

Steve Storkan, Executive Director at EOX, outlines what it means to be an employee owned company, and what an EOX State Center can do for owners considering employee ownership.

Victor Aspengren, Employee Ownership Consultant, talks with Steve and Rich about the pros and cons of employee ownership, and how employee-owned companies can more than double the wealth share of the bottom 50%. 

Tim Garbinsky, Communications Director at NCEO, talks with Rich and Steve about the 40-year legacy of NCEO, the impact the current political climate can have on employee ownership, and why employee-owned companies either thrive or fail.

Merrill Crawford, President/CEO of Charlie's Plumbing, Inc., talks about her journey to where she is now. Crawford also shares how to spot the snakes, bullies and weasels so they do not stop you from being successful.