We are pleased to announce support from Gary Community Ventures to explore new employee ownership conversion solutions in Colorado. This collaboration marks a crucial step towards promoting employee ownership in Colorado.
After more than a year of research in the small business environment in Colorado, SmallCapital received a major win in partnering with one of the foremost impact investors in our state. In partnership with Gary Community Ventures, we are working to convert two Colorado businesses to employee ownership this year. We then aim to use this experience to raise a larger employee ownership investment fund.
Colorado is the perfect place for this initiative due to its progressive policies and support for employee ownership. It offers the biggest and best tax incentives for businesses that transition to employee ownership. The Office of Employee Ownership at the State of Colorado has been extremely supportive of this effort.
The pilot will focus on small businesses (less than $10M in revenue) with 10-30 employees, with a focus on rural businesses that have been around for at least 10 years. This fund is dedicated to help address the “Silver Tsunami” in Colorado, so we’re particularly interested in small businesses with older adult owners who are 3-5 years from retirement.
Gary Community Ventures is a Denver-based philanthropic organization dedicated to increasing opportunities for Colorado kids and families and has a long history of supporting employee ownership. They have made investments in multiple national employee ownership investment funds, which has led to successful ESOP conversions in Colorado. “Partnering with SmallCapital has allowed us to take the knowledge we’ve built around employee ownership through our investments in national funds and apply it specifically to the unique challenges and opportunities posed by the Colorado small business landscape,” Nicolle Richards, an Investment Manager at Gary Community Ventures, said. Their support helps us push for economic shifts towards more equitable business practices and greater community wealth.
Everyday, we're talking to business owners across Colorado to understand their challenges. Our goal is to design practical and sustainable solutions that help small business owners retire, and help workers make more money.
As natives of Colorado, we're passionate about the state's economic health. We're working on strategies that could be used as a model for employee ownership conversions across the country. At the end of 2024, our goal is to begin fundraising for SmallCapital Fund I. From this fund, we will scale the SmallCapital solution to more businesses across the state.
Together with Gary Community Ventures, we are working towards a future where business success is shared, and workers have a major role in economic growth. We're committed to leading this change with humility and collaboration. We welcome your feedback and connections.