The Ownership Economy

In this episode of The Ownership Economy podcast, a discussion is held with Dr. Bill Castellano, Director of the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. Dr. Castellano's extensive background, including over two decades on Wall Street in strategic HR management and his academic role, is explored, noting his early exposure to employee ownership through an ESOP and equity compensation.The empirical and scientific evidence supporting the value of employee ownership is a central theme. Benefits such as enhanced employee engagement, increased productivity, higher customer satisfaction, and improved business survivability, even during economic downturns, are discussed. The role of employee ownership in addressing wealth inequality and increasing retirement savings for a broad range of employees, including low-to-moderate income workers and people of color, is emphasized, often provided as an additional benefit.Various forms of employee ownership, including equity compensation, worker cooperatives, ESOPs, and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs), are differentiated. Significant tax incentives associated with ESOPs (e.g., 1042 capital gains relief for C-corps, federal tax exemption for S-corps) and EOTs are detailed.Despite these compelling benefits, barriers to widespread adoption are examined. These include a lack of awareness among business owners regarding employee ownership as a succession strategy, the perceived complexity of regulated programs, and difficulties in securing financing for these transactions. Policy initiatives, such as proposed bills for guaranteed loans, are presented as potential solutions. While significant growth has been observed in EOTs, it is noted that the overall percentage of the workforce participating in employee ownership programs has remained largely stagnant over 15 years.Finally, the intersection of employee ownership with the future of work and artificial intelligence is explored. Employee ownership is presented as a crucial model for navigating the transformation brought by AI and automation, fostering employee engagement and ensuring successful business adaptation rather than widespread job elimination. The institute's mission, including its research, conferences, and policy analysis, is highlighted, with resources available at ownership.edu.Get your ticket to this year's summit here: www.ownershipeconomy.com/registration

This week, we chat with Rowland Hobbes, Founder and CEO of Stake. Rowland, who will be speaking on the housing track at the upcoming Ownership Economy Summit 2025, offers insights into how to use modern fintech to accelerate renter wealth building and give more people upside in ownership through renting.In this episode, we cover:The pivotal moment Stake's strategy was shifted from offering renters equity to focusing on immediate cash back will be discussed. It will be revealed how direct feedback from renters indicated that for many, "it's the money, stupid"—implying that current financial relief for essentials like groceries, medicine, and childcare was considered far more critical than future equity. Initially, Stake had explored giving equity to renters, envisioning ownership through their residence, but this approach did not resonate with renters in market testing, partly due to a lack of trust that the equity would materialize and a desire for immediate utility.How an innovative, mutually beneficial business model was developed by Stake, encouraging landlords to fund cash back for renters, will be explained. Drawing inspiration from loyalty programs and the Costco membership model, it will be shown how properties can achieve better performance, with delinquencies reduced by 44% and renewal rates increased by 15%, through investing in their renters' financial well-being. This approach converts existing landlord spend, such as "one month free" offers, into cash back for renters, proving more effective than negative behavioral incentives like late fees.The broader vision for "tenant equity vehicles" and embedded financial services that empower renters beyond just paying rent will be presented. How renters are helped by Stake to build credit, save money, and access fair banking will be discovered, fostering a movement towards institutionalized financial savings for renters, akin to 401ks or 529s. The evolution of tenant equity vehicles, including profit sharing in the form of cash back, will be detailed, highlighting collaborations with entities like Enterprise Community Partners and government initiatives in Colorado.Invaluable lessons for anyone interested in mission-driven ventures, financial innovation, and addressing systemic wealth gaps are offered in this conversation.Rowland Hobbes will be speaking at the Ownership Economy Summit in New York on October 7th, 2025! Grab your ticket here, 20% listener discount is active until the end of August: https://www.ownershipeconomy.com/registration

Gigi Danziger, co-founder of Eutopia Holdings, and Albert Wenger, partner at Union Square Ventures, dive into innovative steward ownership models aimed at reversing extractive capital trends. They discuss diverse projects in the Hudson Valley, like a basic income pilot and sustainable farms, emphasizing community engagement and environmental sustainability. The duo highlights challenges such as community distrust while envisioning a future where ownership evolves with AI to ensure equitable wealth distribution, aiming for a world where everyone can thrive.

Join Ben Fielding, the visionary founder and CEO of Gensyn, as he delves into the world of decentralized AI. He shares his journey from deep learning research to tackling the monopolization of compute resources. Learn how Gensyn's Verde system ensures trust in distributed networks, improving the reliability of machine learning. Discover their ambitions for open protocols reminiscent of the early internet, aimed at democratizing AI capabilities and fostering collaboration across the tech landscape.

In Episode 081 of The Ownership Economy Podcast, we welcome John Abrams, pioneering founder of South Mountain Company, a 40-person architecture and building worker co-op. John shares his journey from inadvertently starting his business in 1973 to converting it into a worker co-op in 1987, where every member-owner has one share and one vote after a unique 5-year tenure. He discusses how this model offers a positive succession story for founders, how this contrasts with traditional business exits that often leave founders with broken hearts, and employees feeling let down. John also breaks down the main approaches—Worker Co-ops, ESOPs, and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)—and advises founders to start now in their transition planning. John Abrams will be sharing his invaluable expertise and case studies at the Ownership Economy Summit on October 7th in New York, for founders looking to build cooperatives or shared ownership enterprises. Grab your tickets to the summit here at the lowest price before they go on 7/31:https://www.ownershipeconomy.com/registration

Is Crypto Finally Becoming... "Boring"? A Deep Dive into Mainstream Adoption with Coin Fund's DavidJoin us for a captivating conversation with David, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Coin Fund, as he shares his unique journey from Venrock and consumer internet startups to the forefront of the crypto space. With nearly a decade in the industry, David believes we're on the cusp of a "boring moment" for crypto – and that's a good thing!In this episode, we unpack:The "Road to Boring": Discover why the widespread adoption of stablecoins is the key indicator of crypto's maturity, enabling the movement of fiat-like money on blockchain rails at incredibly low costs.Legislative Catalysts: Learn about the pending US legislation, including the Genius Act and the Market Structure bill, that could unlock massive institutional adoption and dramatically increase stablecoin market cap and transaction volumes, potentially reaching over $1 trillion and $100 trillion respectively.Unlocking New Behaviors: Explore how a "pay" button in every app, 24/7 global payments at fractions of a penny, and yield-bearing stablecoins will transform personal finance, payroll, and business operations. David discusses how these innovations stand to disrupt traditional financial services like remittances and even fundamentally reshape banking's net interest margin.The "On-Chain" Movement: Understand what it means to be "on-chain" and how the combination of stablecoin usage and strong demand for digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum is accelerating the movement of wealth onto blockchain networks.DeFi 3.0 & Real World Assets: Get insights into the next evolution of decentralized finance, including the explosive growth in staking, perpetuals, and the tokenization of Real World Assets (RWAs) like private credit and potentially even equities, leading to 24/7 global trading.The Future of Digital Collectibles: David provides his outlook on NFTs, distinguishing between the past "picture-based" boom and the current, more practical uses of NFT technology in areas like AAA gaming and "IP on-chain".David also highlights the immense opportunities for founders to build the next generation of decentralized financial products, including privacy-protecting payment solutions. Prepare to hear why a small community of developers has built infrastructure poised for adoption by giants like Amazon and JP Morgan, signaling a catalytic moment for the entire crypto ecosystem.Tune in to understand why crypto's journey to becoming "boring" means it's more exciting and impactful than ever before.

Christian Kroll, founder of Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees, discusses the trials of building a purpose-driven company. He shares his journey of turning Ecosia into a steward-owned entity, revealing the unexpected legal challenges faced in Germany and the importance of integrity from investors. Christian reflects on how a focus on environmental impact can create a competitive edge against giants like Google, while emphasizing the need for strategic flexibility to balance profit with purpose.

Julie Menter, Program Director at Transform Finance, advocates for businesses that prioritize people and the planet. She dives into alternative ownership enterprises like employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and cooperatives, using examples such as New Belgium Brewing and Tony’s Chocolonely to illustrate their societal benefits. Julie emphasizes how these models address wealth inequality and promote community engagement. The discussion also touches on innovative funding strategies and the necessity for business structures to align with founders' values, shaping a more equitable financial future.

In 2008, Juho Makkonen and his co-founder built what was essentially Facebook Marketplace before Facebook Marketplace. Their student-focused platform at Aalto University in Helsinki quickly morphed into ShareTribe, a company that empowers entrepreneurs to create their own online marketplaces. ShareTribe offers a powerful yet user-friendly software solution that allows entrepreneurs to launch marketplaces without coding and provides no-code customization options for more complex needs. They even have a network of developers to help with advanced customization. But ShareTribe's journey wasn't without its challenges. Early on, Juho and his team realized the misalignment between traditional venture capital and their purpose-driven mission. In 2018, they made the bold decision to transition to a steward ownership structure, buying out their investors and raising €1.1 million through crowdfunding. This shift ensured ShareTribe remained true to its values of sustainability and impact, prioritizing the needs of its customers and employees over hypergrowth. Tune in to hear Juho's story and learn about the challenges and rewards of building a purpose-driven, sustainable business in tech. Juho will also be speaking at the Ownership Economy Summit next week, December 4th, 2024 in New York. Get your ticket now, with a 30% discount for listeners (use EXCLUSIVE30 at checkout). https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-ownership-economy-summit-registration-920820347447

Nathan Schneider returns to the Ownership Economy Podcast to discuss strategies for building a more equitable economy through shared ownership. He argues that we need to create new "destinations" for cooperative businesses to thrive. While there's a lot of energy focused on supporting co-ops in their early stages, he believes we need to think more strategically about how to enable these businesses to achieve significant scale.Drawing on examples like the Rural Electrification Act and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Nathan highlights how targeted policy changes can help unlock the potential of shared ownership. He points out that the current venture capital model, focused on rapid growth and exits, often leaves shared ownership ventures behind. To counter this, Nathan calls for new financial structures and policy frameworks that align with the goals of shared ownership and prioritize long-term sustainability and community well-being.This conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of work, economic justice, and building a more equitable economy.