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5

Employee Ownership

FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE
WORKER-WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIP.

The potential of a business resides 100% with its people. The value of your company is in everyone’s best interest when shareholder and employee motivations are aligned. Create results only possible through shared success.
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Stronger Attitudes

When everyone has a seat at the table, employee owners gain a greater sense of responsibility for their job. They work harder and more efficiently when motivated by a larger purpose and the collective efforts of the team.

Wealth Creation

The employee ownership model rewards skill, knowledge, and leadership at every level. Research shows employee-owners have higher wages, retirement savings, benefits, and job quality regardless of industry or demographics.

Business Success

Employee-owners more frequently report their companies as excellent places to work. Research shows that employee-owned businesses have significantly lower voluntary turnover and generate better financial results than peers.

By the numbers

OVER 6,500 ESOP COMPANIES EXIST IN THE US TODAY.

IN TOTAL, THEY HOLD OVER $1.6 TRILLION IN ASSETS.

$150 BILLION WAS PAID TO EMPLOYEE OWNERS IN 2020.

YOUR EMPLOYEES BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR BUSINESS’S SUCCESS.

UP TO 12% INCREASED WAGES FOR YOUR WORKERS.

ESOPS GUARANTEE THAT YOUR EMPLOYEES CONTINUE TO BE LOYAL AND INSPIRED.

Our history starts before we do.

In a true employee-owned business, every worker is not just a participant in the company’s journey, but a true stakeholder in its success. It empowers individuals to dream, innovate, and collaborate.

1956

The first ESOP is founded

San Francisco lawyer and economist Louis O. Kelso created the first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1956. He had seen the effects of acquisitions: key employees laid off, the identity of the company obliterated, and reductions in quality across the board to cut costs.

1979

Chrysler goes ESOP

In 1979, the Chrysler Corporation was nearing bankruptcy, and transitioned to an ESOP program. Several years later, Chrysler’s debt obligations were repaid ahead of schedule, and the ESOP sold its Chrysler shares in the open market for a threefold gain.

1995

The United Airlines ESOP

The United Airlines ESOP came into being in 1994 when the company realized that it could no longer compete in the deregulated U.S. airline industry without substantial wage reductions. Instead, employees acquire 55% ownership of United Airlines. Profits soared and shareholder value went up by $4 billion.

1996

THE SBJP ACT of 1996

The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 permitted ESOPs as eligible shareholders of S corporations. Since then, ESOPs have become the preferred tool of business succession and perpetuation for many S corporation owners.

2009

ESOPs grow further

According to a 2009 study by the University of Pennsylvania, ESOPs now cover nearly one out of every 12 workers. Since ESOPs are almost always adopted as a tool to facilitate business succession, almost all of these funds represent assets that workers owe almost entirely to their ESOPs.

2010

TVF goes ESOP

Our company TVF officially makes the switch to an employee-owned business, kickstarting the story of what would become Empowered Ventures.

2020

Empowered Ventures is founded

This is where we begin.

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How does the Empowered ESOP work?

  • A privately owned business sells to Empowered Ventures, Inc. at fair market value.
  • Seller receives all or most of the purchase price in cash at closing.
  • The business becomes a subsidiary of Empowered Ventures, Inc., which is wholly owned by the Empowered Ventures ESOP Trust.
  • Empowered Ventures, Inc. makes an annual retirement benefit contribution to the trust on behalf of each employee, funded by the operating companies’ profits.
  • The contribution is converted to shares of Empowered Ventures, Inc. within each employee’s account.
  • Accounts accrue value inside the trust, with the share price revalued annually by an accredited valuation firm.
  • The trust repurchases vested shares from employees when they exit the company.
Our Approach
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Our Companies

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International fabrics supplier established in 1974.

Employee-owned with

Em
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Leading thermoformed plastics since 1982.

Employee-owned with

Em
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Precision machining in ohio for over 23 years.

Employee-owned with

Em