17 Apr Acquiring Minds: How to Build a $100m Holdco, The Power of ESOPs
Today’s guest, Chris Fredericks, has built an ESOP holdco. Empowered Ventures has 5 operating companies, 300 employees, and north of $120m in revenue. In addition to the great story of how he got here, Chris provides an excellent primer on what ESOPs — employee stock ownership plans — actually are. And not only that, but why they could be a model searchers explore. The owner of the business that Chris would go on to lead, wanted to exit. But he didn’t want to sell to a strategic or private equity, and there just weren’t other viable buyers. An ESOP was the answer. The seller had his exit & liquidity event, and the employees (including Chris) became owners. Chris was president, and this ESOP business became so profitable that it served as the foundation for what is today a holdco with north of $120m in revenue. There is a lot to model here. See if you agree.
