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 #42 | Eric Strickland on Employee Ownership & Innovation
What happens when you combine employee ownership with human services? In this episode, I sit down with Eric Strickland, CEO of 3TLs—a purpose-driven group of 18 employee-owned companies with nearly 700 employee owners across five states. Eric shares his 20-year journey from CFO to CEO, including the rare "ESOP-to-ESOP" transaction that launched 3Ls and his innovative approach to building employee wealth through vertical integration.
We explore how Eric thinks about employee ownership as an asset allocation problem, why culture requires intentional investment, and how to drive innovation in purpose-driven organizations. From quarterly town halls to investing in early-stage healthcare tech, Eric reveals what it takes to make employee ownership work in mission-focused businesses where workers care more about impact than retirement accounts.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Eric's Background
03:00 The First ESOP and Why It Closed to New Participants
07:00 The Rare ESOP-to-ESOP Leveraged Buyout
12:00 Three Ls and the Vertical Integration Strategy
20:00 Investing in Culture and Building Trust
30:00 Driving Innovation Through Frontline Creativity
36:00 Innovation as Asset Allocation
39:00 Common Myths About ESOPs
45:00 Quickfire Questions and Final Advice
Key Takeaways:
- Why OmniVisions needed a second ESOP after the first closed to new participants
- How to think about employee ownership as a retirement asset allocation problem
- The vertical integration playbook: turning operating expenses into employee-owned businesses
- Why quarterly town halls with open Q&A build the trust necessary for strong EO culture
- The biggest ESOP myths: complexity and cost compared to traditional exits
- Why it takes 24+ months for young workers to see meaningful value in their ESOP accounts
About Eric Strickland:
Eric Strickland is the CEO of 3Ls, a purpose-driven organization of 18 employee-owned companies serving human and health services across five states. With a 20-year tenure that began as CFO of OmniVisions in 2005, Eric has become a leading voice in the employee ownership movement, bringing a systems-minded, numbers-focused approach to social entrepreneurship.
Connect with Eric Strickland:
LinkedIn:https://linkedin.com/in/eric-strickland-3ls/
Website: https://3ls.com
Connect with Andy Farquharson:
LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/andyfarquharson/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/andyfarq
Website - https://abettermonday.me/
Email - andy@bettermonday.me