Alternative Exit
Alternative Exit
Podcast Description
Alternative Exit is a dedicated to educating small business owners about the possibilities, benefits, and challenges of transitioning to an employee ownership model.There are over 200m SMEs with an owner who will be retiring in the next 10 years, many of which will never find a buyer for their business, forcing them to close their doors. There is an alternative. This show will explore various the different forms of employee ownership and best practices for successful transitions.Each episode features interviews with experts in employee ownership, business owners who have made the transition, and consultants who facilitate these changes.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a range of topics including the importance of employee ownership trusts (EOTs), the benefits of differentiated business models such as ESOPs versus worker cooperatives, and strategies for preserving company legacy and culture. Episode examples include discussions on building community resilience through employee ownership and the significant impact of employee engagement in sustainable business practices.
Alternative Exit is a dedicated to educating small business owners about the possibilities, benefits, and challenges of transitioning to an employee ownership model.
There are over 200m SMEs with an owner who will be retiring in the next 10 years, many of which will never find a buyer for their business, forcing them to close their doors.
There is an alternative. This show will explore various the different forms of employee ownership and best practices for successful transitions.
Each episode features interviews with experts in employee ownership, business owners who have made the transition, and consultants who facilitate these changes.
In 2012, Monica’s boss told her he treated his staff “like dogs on leads.” That conversation shaped everything she built after it. Monica started in dentistry at 18 as a dental assistant, became a dentist, and founded Your New Dentist in 2015. In 2023 she moved 100% of the business into an Employee Ownership Trust. Australia has no dedicated EOT legislation, so she worked it out with her accountant and lawyers as they went. She talks about funding the move through a 5 to 7 year buyback, running two practices with no middle management, flexible quarterly profit share for a mostly female team, and why she expected the business to get smaller before it grew.
Chapters
00:53 Welcome and introduction
02:22 The “dogs on leads” boss
05:54 Dentistry, trust and conscious capitalism
07:47 Your New Dentist: two practices, 10 people, no middle management
09:59 Buurtzorg and self-management
14:19 The 2016 turning point
16:05 An industry that is 88% female
17:37 “Employees don’t want this”
19:46 Why ownership: wealth distribution and social justice
22:40 Choosing an EOT over corporate, franchise and ESOP
24:50 Being a pioneer without legislation
26:33 Funding the transition: a 5 to 7 year buyback
28:21 Telling the team with a 10-year strategic plan
30:10 Rebuilding trust takes patience
32:41 Financial transparency and women’s financial independence
34:22 Naked in, naked out: no secondary market
37:19 Why she went all in at 100%
37:46 Quarterly round tables and flexible profit share
40:26 Fast round
43:49 Where to follow Monica, plus Grace O’Malley
Key Takeaways
✅ You can do an EOT in Australia without dedicated legislation if you have advisors willing to work it out with you.
✅ Monica funds her exit through incremental buyback payments over 5 to 7 years.
✅ Going 100% builds trust in a way a partial transfer doesn’t.
✅ Expect some people to leave. The transition shows who is committed to the work.
✅ Profit share can fit around people’s lives: showing up counts, and doing more earns more.
💡 Trust takes years to build. Monica started talking to her team about it in 2017.
Notable Quotes
🎧 “I don’t do infantilisation and I don’t do exploitation.”
🎧 “Be prepared for your business to get smaller before it gets bigger. It’s the breakdown before the breakthrough.”
🎧 “I’d be being disingenuous to the mission if I didn’t go a hundred percent.”
Links
🔗 Monica O’Malley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-o-malley-233a2021/
🔗 Your New Dentist: https://yournewdentist.com.au
🔗 Employee Ownership Australia: https://employeeownership.com.au
📚 Reinventing Organizations, Frederic Laloux: https://www.amazon.com/dp/2960133501
📚 Small Is Beautiful, E.F. Schumacher: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061997765
🔗 Buurtzorg: https://www.buurtzorg.com
🔗 Corporate Rebels: https://corporate-rebels.com
🎙️ Host: Andy Farquharson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyfarquharson/
🌟 a better monday: https://abettermonday.me
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