Valuing the Businesses Our Cities Can’t Afford to Lose
Maura Shenker, Founder, AllHold Capital
Valuing the Businesses Our Cities Can’t Afford to Lose
On this episode of Ethical Exits, Hannah sits down with Maura Shenker to unpack one of the most overlooked and urgent challenges in small business ownership: what happens to the businesses no one wants to buy.
We talk a lot about the “great wealth transfer,” but Maura challenges that idea directly. In her view, what’s actually happening is something very different. And that distinction changes how we think about ownership, value, and who these systems are really designed to serve.
Because right now, millions of small businesses are approaching a transition point… and most won’t sell. They’ll simply close.
Not because they aren’t important. But because the system isn’t built to support what happens next.
About Maura Shenker
Maura Shenker is the founder of All Hold Capital, where she is building a new model for transitioning small businesses into community-rooted ownership. With a background in political science and economic mobility, her work sits at the intersection of anti-poverty strategy, community development, and ownership design.
Through a combination of a fund, a nonprofit, and a technology platform, Maura is focused on preserving the businesses most of the market overlooks. The neighborhood anchors that are essential to the communities they serve.
👉 To learn more about Maura’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn or follow the progress of All Hold Capital.
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At Ethical Exits, we champion profit-for-purpose capitalism—leveraging business as a force for scaling philanthropy and meaningful change.
In each episode, we ask guests to highlight a cause close to their heart. For Maura, she highlights organizations like Unlock Ownership and the Ownership Capital Lab, which are working to expand access to ownership and reimagine how capital flows into communities.
🔗 Learn more or support their work:
https://www.unlockownership.org
https://ownershipcapitallab.capital
