Business conversions to employee ownership

Industry: Bakery
Location: Union City, CA
Converted: July 2017
Employees: 8
Read case study & view video >>

A Slice of New York

Industry: Restaurant
Location: San Jose, CA
Converted: July 2017
Employees: 33
View video >>

Urban Ore

Industry: Retail Resale Store
Location: Berkeley, CA
Converted: In progress
Employees: 38
Listen to the NPR Marketplace report >>

Arbor Assays

Industry: Biomolecular Research
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Converted: January 2017
Employees: 11
Read case study & view video >>

Select Machine

Industry: Machinery Manufacturing
Location: Ohio
Converted: 2006
Employees: 13
Read case study >>

Island Employee Cooperative

Industry: Convenience & Hardware Store
Location: Maine
Converted: 2014
Employees: 60
Read case study >>

Real Pickles

Industry: Packaged Food
Location: Massachusetts
Converted: 2014
Employees: 10
Read case study >>

Pattycake Bakery

Industry: Restaurant
Location: Ohio
Converted: 2014
Employees: 10
Read case study >>

Namaste Solar

Industry: Solar
Location: Colorado, California, New York
Converted: 2011
Employees: 73
Read case study and view videos >>

Big Timberworks

Industry: Construction
Location: Montana
Converted: 1999
Employees: 11
Read case study >>

Cargas Systems

Industry: Software Technology
Location: Lancaster & Pittsburgh, PA
Converted to direct employee ownership: 1998
Employees: 101
Read case study >>

Financing

A Yard and a Half Landscaping deal structure

Industry: Landscaping
Location: Massachusetts
Year converted: 2013
Total capital: $635,000
Annual revenue at sale date: $2M
Worker-owner buy-in: $7,000
Worker-owners: 20
Read financial study >>

New Era Windows deal structure

Industry: Manufacturing
Location: Chicago, IL
Year converted: 2013
Total capital: $850,000
Annual revenue at sale date: $0
Worker-owner buy-in: $1,000
Worker-owners: 16 (20 employees)
Read financial study >>

Island Employee Cooperative deal structure

Industry: Grocery/Retail Variety
Location: Maine
Year converted: 2014
Total capital: $5,600,000
Annual revenue at sale date: $12M
Worker-owner buy-in: $7,000
Worker-owners: 45 (62 employees)
Read financial study >>

Real Pickles deal structure

Industry: Food Manufacturing
Location: Massachusetts
Year converted: 2013
Total capital: $749,000
Annual revenue at sale date: $581,000
Worker-owner buy-in: $6,000
Worker-owners: 5
Read financial study >>

New School of Montpelier deal structure

Industry: Education
Location: Vermont
Year converted: 2015
Annual revenue at sale date: $2M
Purchase price: $200,000
Worker-owner buy-in: $500
Worker-owners: 38
Read financial study >>

Interviews & stories

Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass: Mo’s Story

Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass, in Berkeley, CA, is world renowned for manufacturing laboratory glassware. The co-founders brought in Project Equity to assist with the transition of company ownership to their employees. Mo is preparing to become one of the new owners. Read full story >>

Niles Pie: Sarah Vegas’ Story

This is an interview with a worker-owner, Sarah Vegas, who is a single parent to 11-year-old Attison. Due to the irregular hours and pay in her previous restaurant jobs, Sarah struggled to provide and be present for Attison in the way she wanted to be. Learn how becoming an owner changed her life. Read full story >>

Toto’s story

I’m Toto. I started working at Niles Pie in May 2015. I was hired to work at the farmers’ markets after my contract was over as a data analyst for the IRS. Now that I’m an owner, I’m looking at the job and business from a very different perspective. Read full story >>

Ren’s story

I thought it was going to be really difficult to establish employee ownership, but Hilary and Patty really taught us so much through the whole process. They broke it down and showed us that it was up to us to decide what guidelines would work for us. Read full story >>

The Cheese Board Collective: Martha’s story

Martha is enjoying her East Bay life, two grown kids flourishing on the East Coast, a good running practice, a vegetable garden, backyard hens and over 20 years of baking with the Arizmendi Association. Read full story >>

Prospera: Lupita’s story

Lupita and her husband arrived in the US as newlyweds with the hope of a better life and dreams of building a home for their young family. Lupita began working at an orange packing facility, but the earnings were not stable and she wasn’t able to support her family. Read full story >>

California Solar: Lars’s Story