Teamshares Inc., the market leader for small business employee ownership, announced today it raised a cumulative $245M in previously unannounced equity from leading venture capital firms, including a recent $124 million Series D financing. The Series D round was led by Frank Rotman at QED Investors, with significant participation from existing investors Inspired Capital, Khosla Ventures, Slow Ventures, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures.
QED invested in back-to-back growth rounds as the company launched its neobank and began development on charge cards and insurance products for Teamshares’ network of employee-owned businesses. The Series D financing helps Teamshares further scale its model nationally and accelerate product development.
Teamshares is an employee ownership platform for small business, driven by proprietary software, education, and financial products. Its mission is to create $10 billion of new wealth for employees through stock ownership. The company buys traditional small businesses from retiring owners to make them 80% employee-owned within 20 years, and provides the companies with new leadership, financial education, equity management software, and financial products. The companies will be permanently owned by employee shareholders and Teamshares, and never need to be sold again.
“We founded Teamshares after a decade of hard-won experience running small businesses, delivering education at scale, and executing M&A transactions,” said Michael Sutherland Brown, Cofounder and CEO of Teamshares. “American small businesses rarely transition within a family anymore and face a 70% failure rate when trying to sell. Teamshares provides retiring owners with a financial exit and a legacy of employee ownership, while also preserving jobs and creating stock wealth for hard-working small business employees.”
“Teamshares is a unique company with a huge addressable market,” said Frank Rotman, Cofounder and Chief Investment Officer of QED Investors. “It combines an unmatched customer value prop and a compelling business model with an authentic social mission: employee ownership. Transitioning stock ownership from a single business owner into the hands of employees matches the shifting preferences of society. Employee ownership aligns the interests of all stakeholders and makes companies and people better off financially.”
Teamshares has grown from 4 companies with $10 million of revenue in January 2021 to 84 companies with over $400 million as of July 2023, creating 2,100 new employee owners in 29 states and 42 industries. The company believes employee ownership works in all industries, as illustrated by the broad cross-section of the American economy who have chosen Teamshares as their succession plan, with an average age of 30 years, including:
- Brad’s Service Center, an auto service business in Western Massachusetts
- Boxes4U, a packing material distributor in Plano, Texas
- Central Texas Plumbing, in Waco, Texas
- Don & Millie’s, a fast-food restaurant chain in Nebraska
- Horn Photo, a specialty retailer in Fresno, California
- Julia’s Homestyle Bakery, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Maggie’s Organics, a sock and apparel company in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Runkle’s, a notary, tag, and title retail chain in Central Pennsylvania
- PlanForce, an architecture and design firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Select Sand & Gravel, an aggregates distributor in Texas
- Thielen Meats, a butcher shop with nationally famous bacon in Pierz, Minnesota
- Wright Way Cleaning & Restoration, in the Seattle–Tacoma, Washington area
Teamshares’ win-win business model attracts talented presidents with strong business backgrounds to lead the companies as they transition to employee ownership. Leaders have joined as Teamshares presidents from a wide variety of leading organizations including Amazon, BCG, Deloitte, Tesla, USAA, Walmart, and branches of the U.S. military.
“USV has invested in every Teamshares round since co-leading their Series A because of their potential to be a generationally important company for small business and the broader American economy,” said Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at USV. “As a highly trusted brand that broadens access to capital, knowledge, and well-being via its employee ownership platform and network of companies, Teamshares was a good fit for USV’s investment thesis. We have been impressed with the company’s growth and execution since first investing in March 2020.”
“I founded Maggie’s Organics 30 years ago, with a commitment to treat people and the planet with care, and to try to always do the right thing,” said Bená Burda, former owner of Maggie’s Organics, now a Teamshares network company. “Transferring ownership of my life’s work to my employees seemed the natural next step to solidify my legacy and impact for future generations.”
About: Teamshares Inc. is an employee ownership platform for small business, driven by proprietary software, education, and financial products. Its mission is to create $10 billion of new wealth for employees through stock ownership. The company buys traditional small businesses from retiring owners to make them 80% employee-owned within 20 years, and provides the companies with new leadership, financial education, equity management software, and financial products. Teamshares is the market leader for small business employee ownership, with 84 companies acquired to date and over $400 million of consolidated revenue. Founded in 2019, the company has 140 employees across the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at https://www.teamshares.com/
