Employee Ownership
For small businesses transitioning to employee ownership
Why transition to employee ownership?
The reasons are myriad: Happier and more committed workers, higher productivity, better compensation, wealth that stays in communities—all leading to income mobility and more resilient local economies.
As an owner, by selling your company to your employees, you:
- Capture market value with tax advantages
- Enjoy flexibility and craft an exit strategy on your own timeline
- Cement your legacy, anchor your business and retain good jobs in your community
What you can expect:
Loans for:
- United States businesses
Size and terms tailored to support small businesses
- Availability of up to $500,000
- Ability for the owner to gain partial or full liquidity
Customized structures available
- Financing structure tailored to each business: loans, revenue-based financing, or equity
- Highly flexible use for funds, including regaining stability post pandemic, covering the costs of employee ownership transition, utilizing as growth capital
Expertise
- Project Equity’s guidance on the pathway to employee ownership
Meet portfolio company Hummingbird Wholesale
Hummingbird Wholesale works directly with family farms, curating and creating unique, artisanal, organically certified products that they ship from their small distribution center to locations along the I-5 corridor, from Bellingham, Washington to San Francisco, California, and to customers across the U.S.
After 19 years of ownership, Charlie and Julie looked for a way to preserve the unique culture of the company and empower their team with the opportunity to experience ownership. They sought guidance from Project Equity to support the transition to an employee-owned structure.