What happens to the businesses no one wants to buy?

In this episode, Maura Shenker of AllHold Capital, challenges the idea of a “wealth transfer” and offers a radically different approach to valuing and preserving the small businesses our cities can’t afford to lose.

What if you didn’t have to start a business to become an owner?

In this episode of Ethical Exits, Hannah sits down with Kari Doherty to unpack the “third path” to entrepreneurship: buying a business. From seller financing to the hidden barriers between buyers and sellers, they explore why so many good businesses never sell—and what’s missing in the system.

A candid conversation about access, ownership, and what becomes possible when more people understand how the game actually works.

What does it actually mean to be ready to sell your business?

In Episode 20 of Ethical Exits, Hannah sits down with Judy Park, CMAA, to unpack valuation, risk, seller readiness, and why the gap between emotional value and financial underwriting is where regret is born. A conversation about trust, transparency, and designing deals you can actually sleep on.

In this episode of Ethical Exits, Hannah sits down with Gina Schaefer, founder and retired CEO of Recovery Hardware, a $50M, 13-location Ace Hardware business in Washington, DC. Gina shares how a single human decision reshaped her company’s culture—and how selling the business to her employees through an ESOP became a joyful opportunity to amplify what it had already become.

What happens when a mission-driven company becomes infrastructure?

In this narrative episode of Ethical Exits, we trace Whole Foods’ journey from a community-rooted grocery store to its acquisition by Amazon — and examine what changed when growth, capital, and values collided.

What if the biggest wealth transfer of our lifetimes didn’t lead to consolidation, extraction, and loss — but to shared ownership and durable prosperity?

In this episode of Ethical Exits, Hannah sits down with Chris Fredericks, founder of Empowered Ventures, to explore how disciplined, values-aligned acquisitions can scale employee ownership and protect the businesses, people, and communities behind them.

Chris breaks down why the “silver tsunami” of retiring founders demands better buyers, how acquisitions can turn hundreds of workers into owners overnight, and what thoughtful M&A strategy actually looks like when the goal is long-term stewardship, not short-term flips.

This conversation is a masterclass in ethical buying — and a roadmap for founders, operators, and investors who believe ownership matters.

When Democracy Inherits the Business
John Abrams and the Blueprint for the CommonWealth Company

Meet Mackey McNeill, the mastermind behind MACKEY and The Prosperity People, the CFO firm for owners and founders.  

As a CPA, PFS, and award-winning author of The Prosperity Playbook and The Intersection of Joy and Money, Mackey brings a refreshing perspective gained from helping thousands of entrepreneurs achieve the three freedoms of prosperity – mind, time, and money freedom. Her wisdom has graced the pages of INC magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Money, and more.

MACKEY, was one of the first certified B Corps in its region, is a 5-time Real Leaders Impact Award Winner, scored a seat on the INC 5000 in 2022, and received INC Power Partners awards in 2023 and 2024.

Cameron Madill is a renowned social impact entrepreneur with experience in building and scaling organizations, focusing on relationship development and positive psychology. In 2020, he transitioned ownership of PixelSpoke, an award-winning digital marketing agency, to his employees, exemplifying a co-op model where entrepreneurs, employees, and stakeholders benefit. Since January 2024, Cameron has taken on a coaching and advisory role at PixelSpoke, now supporting entrepreneurial couples in fostering intentional relationships and family growth.

Recognized with honors such as the Global Citizen of the Year award from the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Cameron is also a B Economy Leader for his community efforts. He is currently pursuing a master’s in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Anna Madill, and their young son.

Bonnie Coberly is an executive health coach, breathwork practitioner, speaker and consultant with more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur. Her driving desire to support the well-being of others while reimagining the critical role of business in solving big challenges have fueled her professional path.

Prior to starting her coaching and consulting practice, Soul Fire Strategies, Bonnie combined her deep passion for the organic and regenerative agriculture movement with her health coaching background to found and scale the first organic prepared meal delivery service in the Washington DC metro area. After 7 years of operation and expansion, she exited through an acquisition by a mission-aligned company expanding to multiple city markets.