When Peyton Leveillee sold his family’s 40-year-old automotive business to Teamshares, he faced the challenge many baby boomer business owners experience: how to secure a legacy while stepping away from the day-to-day operations. After his father’s passing, Leveillee wanted to preserve both the business and the employees who had worked there for decades. Teamshares offered a unique solution by transitioning the Company to employee ownership, giving workers a stake in its future while allowing Leveillee to honor his family’s legacy.
This experience is emblematic of a growing challenge for nearly 3 million small business owners in the U.S. as they reach retirement age. As co-founder Michael Sutherland Brown notes, “American small businesses rarely transition within a family anymore.” At the same time, the prospect of selling to outside buyers can be daunting. Teamshares fills this gap by purchasing these small, profitable businesses and transitioning them to 80% employee ownership over time. Teamshares’ model preserves these businesses, reduces the risk of failure after a sale, and creates wealth for employees who have been integral to the Company’s success.
Founded in 2019 by Michael Sutherland Brown, Alex Eu, and Kevin Shiiba, New York-based Teamshares is quietly transforming the landscape of small business succession across America by giving workers a stake in the companies they help run. Since its inception, the Company has acquired 90 businesses in 29 states, from auto repair shops like Leveillee’s to bakeries, butcher shops, and more, representing a broad spectrum of Main Street America. The Company has created 2,100 new employee-owners, giving workers a stake in the businesses they help run every day. This approach aligns the interests of all stakeholders and, according to fellow investor Frank Rotman of QED Investors, "makes companies and people better off financially."
Initially, we questioned how a company like Teamshares, with its business model of buying and transitioning small businesses to employee ownership, could scale into a large enterprise. What we quickly realized was that the team had developed an efficient process for acquiring businesses and integrating them into a common financial platform, which is how Teamshares creates shareholder value while also serving a meaningful mission. With $245 million raised in venture capital and an additional $225 million in debt financing, Teamshares is poised for significant growth. The Company plans to expand to over 150 businesses while developing new financial and employee ownership products.
