Bicycle For The EO Mind
Podcast Description
Most small & medium businesses (SMB) struggle to sell — employee ownership is a proven exit path. Hear real stories from business owners who transitioned through employee ownership. Whether you're an owner, advisor, or investor, we dive into expert insights, practical strategies, and how technology is reshaping exit planning.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into various aspects of employee ownership, addressing issues like transition strategies and the impact of technology on these processes. Specific episodes feature success stories, such as JOMA Construction's transition to an ESOP, and discuss important themes like transparent communication, aligning interests, and navigating regulatory challenges.
Most small and medium businesses (SMB) struggle to sell — employee ownership is a proven exit path. Hear real stories from business owners who transitioned through employee ownership. Whether you’re an owner, advisor, or investor, we dive into expert insights, practical strategies, and how technology is reshaping exit planning.
Meet Nathan Schneider (Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder; Board Member, Start.coop). In this episode, we dig into how small business owners can make employee ownership (EO) a realistic exit path—and why Zolidar is designing a Wikipedia-inspired EO community to keep fragmented information fresh, accurate, and community-owned. We talk frankly about the hard parts of building participatory spaces and multi-sided commons: the need for clear early scaffolding (sometimes top-down) so participation matters from day one, and how the right software becomes an “Iron Man suit” for owners, advisors, and employees moving from curiosity to transaction.
Some takeaways:
- Why a Wikipedia-style knowledge layer is key for EO: freshness, accuracy, and shared ownership of information
- Participation is hard: pragmatic scaffolding early on so people actually contribute and benefit
- Tech as a thought partner: a platform layer that speeds trust, widens reach, and supports real transactions
- Day-one value design: seed content and peer owner stories so first visits create momentum
- Right-sized governance for SMBs: don’t rewrite every rule—shift accountability and keep participation lightweight
- Where the numbers work: tools that surface financially sound EO deals and run them on familiar professional rails
Click here to watch this episode on the Zolidar YouTube Channel.
MAILBAG | GET IN TOUCH WITH US We’d love to feature your voice in an upcoming mailbag episode! Have a question for us? Leave a voicemail at 650-203-6565, or send an email to [email protected]. Remember, voicemails make for more engaging episodes—we want to hear your actual voice!
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- https://zolidar.com
- https://zolidar.com/podcast
- https://zolidar.com/blog
- https://zolidar.com/grid/person/all
ZOLIDAR FEATURES:
- https://zolidar.com/exit-plan-guide
- https://zolidar.com/exit-financial-plan
- https://zolidar.com/dashboard?zolidai=true
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- https://www.linkedin.com/company/zolidar/
- https://www.youtube.com/@zolidar
- https://x.com/zolidar
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- https://www.facebook.com/zolidario
CHAPTERS
- (00:00) – Introduction to Nathan Schneider
- (00:24) – Exploring the Intersection of Technology & Social Change
- (02:07) – The Twitter Campaign and Platform Cooperativism
- (03:34) – Building New Digital Communities: The Case of Social.coop
- (05:02) – Cultivating Community in Online Spaces
- (06:49) – Diversity in Shared Ownership Models
- (08:28) – The Challenge of Stakeholder Ownership
- (09:47) – Shifting Accountability: From Shareholders to Stakeholders
- (10:25) – Aligning Incentives in Cooperative Structures
- (12:36) – High Fidelity Democracy: Liquid Democracy and Citizen Assemblies
- (14:42) – Designing Participatory Spaces for Community Engagement
- (16:22) – Success Metrics in Shared Ownership Models
- (20:01) – The Power of Ownership and Participation
- (23:14) – Navigating Fragmentation in Employee Ownership
- (25:37) – Scaling Employee Ownership Awareness
- (27:29) – Policy and Technology: A Dual Approach
- (30:14) – Building Trust in Online Communities
- (35:10) – The Importance of Governance in Online Spaces
- (37:38) – Podcast Outro
CONNECT WITH NATHAN SCHNEIDER
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:
Click here to view the episode transcript.
© Copyright 2025 Zolidar, Inc.
Note: This podcast is not investment advice and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the guest(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host or Zolidar.
LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2605NdSV35dhgtuB6cETBo?si=v9EdSd4iTDa7GDp4cxISTQ
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ownership-matters-designing-trust-and-participation/id1793273251?i=1000723116922
YouTube: https://youtu.be/d3hvknFTTMQ
Audible/Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e9fe6479-8499-4a29-9b51-cc164d686d79/episodes/6844010c-769e-48b1-8abd-fbbc4273db8c/bicycle-for-the-eo-mind-ownership-matters-designing-trust-and-participation-in-online-communities
YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=d3hvknFTTMQ&si=wcgh0GNzH5LnX3eb
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/bicycle-for-the-eo-mind/ownership-matters-designing-trust-and-participation-in-online-communities/PE:1319560595?part=ug-desktop&corr=210763187052618403
PocketCasts: https://pocketcasts.com/podcasts/62832590-c704-013d-7d6f-0affcdcd4ef3/459eb03f-cc06-4f34-aa14-64ed0db0fbd6
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