Valuing the Businesses Our Cities Can’t Afford to Lose
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.
M&A for the Rest of Us: What No One Ever Told You About Buying a Business
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.
Valuation, Risk, and the Truth About Seller Regret
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.
Recovery Hardware: Building & Selling a Business That Heals
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.
The Next Evolution of Employee Ownership: Chris Fredericks and the Diversified ESOP Holding Company Model
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.
