Teamshares, the pioneering market leader for small business employee ownership, has made headlines with its latest funding announcement.
The firm has secured a remarkable $245m in venture capital. This recent influx includes a notable $124m Series D funding round. The driving force behind this Series D round was Frank Rotman at QED Investors. The investment saw substantial involvement from prior investors such as Inspired Capital, Khosla Ventures, Slow Ventures, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures.
At its core, Teamshares is a beacon for employee ownership in small businesses, powered by bespoke software, comprehensive education, and innovative financial tools. They aim to cultivate an impressive $10bn in new wealth via employee stock ownership.
The firm purchases conventional small enterprises from retiring proprietors, ensuring that these businesses become 80% employee-owned within a span of two decades. Furthermore, they equip these businesses with rejuvenated leadership, essential financial literacy, equity management systems, and an array of financial instruments. Remarkably, these enterprises will perpetually be owned by their employee shareholders and Teamshares, eliminating the need for another sale.
The recent Series D funds are poised to facilitate Teamshares in its mission to expand its unique model nationally and expedite its product development phase. This includes their nascent neobank, charge cards, and insurance solutions crafted exclusively for Teamshares’ network of employee-dominated businesses.
From its humble beginnings with just four companies generating $10m in revenue in January 2021, Teamshares has seen exponential growth. The firm now boasts collaborations with 84 companies, pulling in revenues surpassing $400m as of July 2023. This success story translates to the creation of 2,100 new employee owners spread across 29 states and 42 distinct sectors.
Teamshares CEO Michael Sutherland Brown said, “We founded Teamshares after a decade of hard-won experience running small businesses, delivering education at scale, and executing M&A transactions. 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.”
QED Investors’ Chief Investment Officer Frank Rotman commented, “Teamshares is a unique company with a huge addressable market. Employee ownership aligns the interests of all stakeholders and makes companies and people better off financially.”
The historical narrative of Teamshares’ funding journey reveals that USV has consistently backed Teamshares. Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at USV, shared that USV took the decision to invest in every Teamshares round since spearheading their Series A, commending the firm’s potential to play a transformative role for both small businesses and the wider American economy.
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