Alternative Exit
Alternative Exit is a dedicated to educating small business owners about the possibilities, benefits, and challenges of transitioning to an employee ownership model.
There are over 200m SMEs with an owner who will be retiring in the next 10 years, many of which will never find a buyer for their business, forcing them to close their doors.
There is an alternative. This show will explore various the different forms of employee ownership and best practices for successful transitions.
Each episode features interviews with experts in employee ownership, business owners who have made the transition, and consultants who facilitate these changes.
Alternative Exit
Alternative Exit #34 | The Future of Employee Ownership and Financial Wellness | John Hoffmire
What happens when a 9-year-old's sense of justice grows into a $2.2 billion investment banking career dedicated to employee ownership? In this episode, I sit down with John Hoffmire, research associate at Oxford's Center for Mutual and Co-owned Business and founder of an investment banking firm that facilitated massive ESOP transactions. John shares his unconventional journey from working with displaced farm workers in California to becoming a leading voice in employee ownership finance, revealing why he chose the challenging path of making employee ownership deals bankable.
We explore the financial realities behind employee ownership transitions, from the struggle to raise capital for EO-focused funds to the critical role of "bankable" CEOs in deal success. John opens up about the contradictions of working in high finance while staying true to his mission of economic justice, and introduces a revolutionary concept for expanding employee ownership globally through nonprofit surplus-sharing models. This conversation is packed with hard-won insights for anyone curious about the financial mechanics that make alternative exits possible.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview
01:51 Early Career Path to Employee Ownership
02:10 From California Farm Workers to Finance
05:03 Why John Considers Himself "Lucky"
06:53 From Bain & Company to Investment Banking
08:01 The Discomfort of Corporate Contradictions
09:48 The 9-Year-Old's Revelation About Poverty
11:25 Why Investment Banking for Employee Ownership
20:55 Employee Ownership in Countries Without Tax Support
24:01 Nonprofit Surplus-Sharing as EO Alternative
28:28 The Dignity Principle in Employee Ownership
33:36 Transition from Practitioner to Academic
37:08 Policy Advice: Start with One Case Study
39:53 Quick-Fire Questions
41:37 Contact Information and Wrap-Up
Key Takeaways:
- How childhood experiences with poverty and injustice can shape a lifetime career in economic democracy
- The fundamental challenge of raising capital for employee ownership funds when you're giving away majority control
- Why "bankable" leadership matters more than perfect financial structures in EO transitions
- The critical importance of dignity as a first principle in employee ownership design
- Why starting with one successful case study beats creating perfect policy frameworks
- The role of community organizers in building sustainable employee ownership ecosystems
- How going public became an alternative solution when private fundraising failed
About John Hoffmire:
John Hoffmire is a research associate at the University of Oxford Center for Mutual and Co-owned Business and director of the Center on Business and Poverty. He holds a PhD from Stanford and co-hosts the annual Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership. John founded an investment banking firm that facilitated approximately $2.2 billion in ESOP transactions and has dedicated his career to promoting inclusive economic development through innovative financial structures and employee ownership.
Connect with John:
Website: cobap.org
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/john-hoffmire-5999621
Connect with Andy Farquharson:
LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/andyfarquharson/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/andyfarq
Website - https://abettermonday.me/
Email - andy@bettermonday.me