The Local Leaders Roundtable met on February 10 for an enlightening presentation and discussion with AMIBA partner Infinity Point on transitioning businesses to ESOPs as an exit strategy for retiring owners. But the conversation went far beyond that straightforward idea.
Marc Tognotti, Founder & President of Infinity Point, shared his vision of an economic transformation of a future where all residents have a stake in the local economy through ownership. ESOP’s are a tool to achieve this vision.
As any IBA leader knows, baby boomers own half of businesses with employees. Boomers who will be retiring in the coming decade and deciding what to do with their business. Marc notes that 6 in 10 companies will close or be sold in the next decade. Couple that with the fact that 48% of business owners don’t have an exit plan, and you have a disaster—or an opportunity. The opportunity to convert ownership to the employees saves jobs, stabilizes the business, and helps create a local, sustainable economy.
Infinity Point is a CDFI that works with companies to build employees into owner-leaders for a successful transition to an ESOP. As a CDFI, they also lend to approved companies to make this transition.
As local leaders, we can use this resource to help our members guide their legacy businesses into the next generation. Contact Marc at marc@infinitypointcdfi.org or 426-262-3434. You may also find the presentation document helpful and informative.
Missed this event? You can see the video on YouTube.
The Local Leaders Roundtable is every second Thursday at 1 pm ET. Our next Roundtable is March 10, What’s New at AMIBA: Measuring how we’re going. We’ll review and finalize a tracking system to help you track your progress. See upcoming Local Leaders Roundtables and other AMIBA events here. Hope to see you soon.